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RE: 1946 St. Louis Cardinals - 9/28/2009 2:02:56 AM

Orcin

Posts: 162
Joined: 7/6/2009
Status: offline

GM Analysis - June 1, 1948

The Giants are running away with this thing! They were 23-7 in May, but they were 0-5 against the Cardinals. Of course, that means they were 23-2 against the rest of the league. We have to hope their luck turns and other teams can knock them off, because we are not going to catch them if they play .750 ball all season.

We are 4th in the N.L. in offense, scoring 4.5 runs per game. That's pretty good, but it is down from the previous two seasons. It feels like a slump. We are in the middle of the pack with regard to batting average and power stats, so we are doing it with timely hitting. We lost Ron Northey for a week, but otherwise we have been injury-free (knock on wood).

Most of our regulars are playing well. Seminick and Marion have started slowly, but we believe they will come around. Ashburn is hitting .308 since the trade and is doing all of the other valuable things that we expected. Our best player so far is probably Musial, who is hitting .303 with 6 HR and 20 RBI. Goodman has been very valuable coming off the bench. He has appeared in 35 of 42 games, and is hitting .306 in mostly pinch-hit duty.

The long-term concern among the regulars is Whitey Kurowski. He has fallen off in terms of power (slugging .428) and on-base percentage (.320). Those numbers are not good enough for a corner infielder. Al Rosen is hitting .280 at AAA, and our scouts say he is ready. Dyer is reluctant to make the move, so we are staying with Whitey for a little longer.

I will take the decision out of his hands at some point. Kurowski has two years left on his contract after this one, and I don't want to get stuck with it. We will trade Kurowski now while he still has some value if Rosen is going to take over anyway. There will be a team out there that needs a third baseman and doesn't have the options that we do.

The pitching has been much better so far this year. We rank second in our league (behind New York) with a 3.59 ERA. Brecheen, Dobson, and Pollet have all been steady and rank among the top 35 pitchers with below 4.00 ERA's. Zoldak and Bickford have been a little less dependable, and we have recently moved Parnell and Hearn into the rotation to replace them. It's nice to have young and talented options. Hearn is picking up where he left off last year, and Parnell has been very good in two starts. Zoldak and Bickford are still getting their turns because we have had several double-headers with no days off. Staley, McLish, and Fannin are all pitching well at AAA, and can be called up if we need them.

The bullpen has been very good also. Paige and Konstanty have exceptional ERA's (under 2.00). Roe has been slow to adapt to the bullpen role, but he has a WHIP of 1.41 with a 4.22 ERA so we are confident that he will be ok. Wilks has a 3.38 ERA, but he has converted 9 of 11 saves with a 1.31 WHIP. Lots of teams would be happy if their closer were that dependable, and we are a little spoiled. We have not suffered any significant injuries in the pitching staff so far, and we hope it stays that way.

The trade for Ashburn unloaded Reiser's big contract and gave us a lot of room to maneuver. We now have room in the budget to extend Wilks' contract, and we intend to get that done soon. We might also be able to give Dobson the big raise he is seeking, but I am not sure it is a good idea. I want to give McLish a shot at some point, and I don't like being locked into three big money pitchers. We might take this one into the off-season and risk losing him to get a better deal. Unloading Kurowski's contract would give us even more flexibility.

At some point, you have to let the younger players into the lineup/rotation or you will have wasted your investment in them. The trick is knowing when to do this, and trusting that you have evaluated them correctly. If the Giants stay this hot, we may be looking at kids like McLish, Kluszewski, and Rosen very soon because the race will be over.

< Message edited by Orcin -- 9/28/2009 2:33:12 PM >

(in reply to Orcin)

Post #: 61

RE: 1946 St. Louis Cardinals - 9/29/2009 4:25:45 PM

Orcin

Posts: 162
Joined: 7/6/2009
Status: offline

GM Analysis - July 1, 1948

We continue to play mediocre baseball. We are in second place, but we are closer to third. We trail the Giants by 7.5 games, while we lead the Braves and Dodgers by only 2 games. The pitching is still pretty strong, but the hitting is not coming around. We especially lack power.

We called up Al Rosen on June 2 and started to play him part-time at 3B in place of Whitey Kurowski. Rosen has delivered a few big hits but has struggled overall. Meanwhile, Kurowski got his second wind and now has a respectable .455 slugging percentage with 7 HR. Funny how that works. Rosen will stay on the major league roster, splitting time with Kurowski, because he has nothing left to prove at AAA and is better than Christman.

Our new problem is Ron Northey. He is mired in a month-long slump and his power has declined to a .407 slugging percentage. It is time to make the move that we always knew would come sooner or later. We have called up Ted Kluszewski to play 1B and Stan Musial will move to left field.

We consider the move of Musial to the outfield to be permanent. We don't want to jerk around with Stan Musial by making him check the lineup card every day to know which glove he needs. He will play first base only in emergency and Eddie Robinson will be the safety net for Kluszewski. Robinson is hitting as well as Northey, so we don't have much to lose. Northey will become our primary pinch-hitter and can back up Musial in left or Slaughter in right.

Wally Westlake will continue to back up the corner outfield spots against lefthanders and he will also become the new backup center fielder. Ashburn doesn't need to be rested as much as Reiser did. In addition, Billy Goodman has taken over the primary "get-on-base" pinch-hit role. These two factors combine to make Harry Walker expendable and we sent him to AAA to make room on the major league roster for Kluszewski.

The pitching, while much improved and very reliable overall, is not without its own challenges.

Ted Wilks went on the disabled list with a rib injury on June 6 and will not be back until after the all-star break. We tried Jim Konstanty in the closer role, but he was obviously not ready and blew a few games. We had to send him to AAA to get his confidence back, so we moved Gordon Maltzberger into the role. He has been solid with 3 for 3 in saves and a 0.00 ERA in 6 appearances, and he might be earning another one-year contract for next season. We have Jerry Staley up from AAA to fill the last bullpen spot until Wilks gets back.

Joe Dobson has gone from an asset to a problem and is making the decision to not extend his contract an easy one. He has surrendered 11 HR in his 13 starts and has a 4.69 ERA to go with his 2-8 record. Vern Bickford has a 5-3 record with a 4.58 ERA, and he has allowed more baserunners than Dobson but only 2 HR. It's a tough decision, but we have decided to stay with Dobson for a few more starts. If he gets to 10 losses before showing improvement, then we will make the move to Bickford. McLish is a tempting "call up", but I would like avoid throwing him to the wolves in the middle of a pennant race. (I may be delusional, but I still think we are in a pennant race.)

The other four starting spots are taken (barring injury) by Brecheen, Pollet, Parnell, and Hearn. Hearn has been our best starting pitcher with a 5-0 record and a 2.32 ERA. Parnell is 3-3 with a 2.88 ERA and has bumped Zoldak to long relief. Brecheen and Pollet have been solid but not spectacular and have not justified the second and third-highest salaries on the team so far. The scouts say they will in the second half. I look forward to that.

Satchel Paige has been very reliable with a 2.43 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP in 24 appearances. He has clearly been our best relief pitcher. Roe has been good also (3.32 ERA, 1.29 WHIP) and has pitched a lot of innings for us in 26 appearances. These two veterans have combined to completely stabilize the setup role, although neither is designated for it. Dyer just uses whichever is the most rested, or sometimes both, as his primary options out of the bullpen. Often, those two are all that he needs.

This is actually a rebuilding year, but don't tell anyone. We had moved from one of the youngest teams in the association to one of the oldest in just a couple of years. Youth must be served and we have begun to transition young players like Kluszewski (24), Rosen(24), Ashburn (21), and Parnell (26) into key roles replacing players who were over 30. We have 10 expiring contracts at the end of this season. Eight of those players are over 30, and a majority will not be back. We must continue to develop replacements for other key players like Brecheen (34) and Marion (31) so that we don't get caught unprepared if their skills suddenly decline.

Keeping the cupboard stocked is the primary job of a GM. We are just now beginning to evaluate how well I have done, because only 12 players remain from the 40-man roster that I inherited three years ago. The next couple of years are very important and I don't intend to leave my talented rookies in AAA for the next GM to exploit. We will sink or swim with them now.

(in reply to Orcin)

Post #: 62

RE: 1946 St. Louis Cardinals - 9/30/2009 3:40:07 PM

Orcin

Posts: 162
Joined: 7/6/2009
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Standings
July 15, 1948

It seems we DO have a pennant race after all!

At the end of June, we had just lost 10 of our last 13 and our prospects were not looking good. Since then, our pitching has become downright stingy and our offense has shown signs of life. The result is winning 9 of our last 10 games to climb back into the race. It's too early to get excited, because most of these wins have come at the expense of the bottom teams in our league (Chicago and Cincinnati). However, we weren't beating these teams a month ago.

We are averaging 6 runs per game since revamping our lineup with the two rookies, Kluszewski and Rosen. Dyer moved Slaughter up to third in the order and he has responded with some timely hits and 11 RBI in 10 games. In addition, we are only allowing an average of 2.5 runs per game in this stretch due to some spectacular starting pitching.

Rosen has begun to hit and Dyer thinks he might be over his first month jitters. Kluszewski got off the train hitting and hasn't shown any signs of letting up. In his first 13 games, Klu is hitting .356 with 7 RBI. He hasn't shown much power yet, but that will come. These two are probably in the lineup to stay now, giving us three rookie starters including Ashburn.

The trade deadline is approaching and teams are calling about Northey and Kurowski every day. I don't know that I want to part with either of them. Northey's contract is not expensive, so I am not likely to let him go. Kurowski has a bigger contract and more trade value, so we'll see. If I can improve the team, I would be interested.

Wait a sec... the phone's ringing again... who? Oh, really? I need to take this call... I'll get back to you soon.

(in reply to Orcin)

Post #: 63

RE: 1946 St. Louis Cardinals - 10/1/2009 4:10:52 PM

Orcin

Posts: 162
Joined: 7/6/2009
Status: offline

Standings
August 1, 1948

We did not make any July "deadline" trades for the first time in my three-year tenure as GM. The lack of trade activity has a lot to do with how well we are playing during the past month. I didn't see any way to improve the team without busting my budget and giving up valuable assets. Sometimes, the best move is the one that you didn't make. Our chemistry is really good right now and there is no reason to upset that while we are winning.

We were 20-9 in July and we took full advantage of a long homestand, going 16-4 to catch New York in the standings. The Giants had their second straight losing month and are 26-31 since June 1. Pittsburgh, Brooklyn, and Boston remain within striking distance and Philadelphia has played very well since assembling their "whiz kid" pitching staff.

Why are we playing so well? I've said it before and I'll say it again... pitching, pitching, pitching! Here are some highlights from the month of July...

Starters:
Brecheen 6-0, 2.92 ERA, 1.28 WHIP
Dobson 3-2, 1.70 ERA, 1.14 WHIP
Pollet 2-2, 3.44 ERA, 1.36 WHIP

Bullpen:
Maltzberger 1.29 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 3 saves
Wilks 0.00 ERA, 0.86 WHIP, 5 saves

Team pitching totals for July 1948: 3.57 ERA, 1.35 WHIP... very nice!

Brecheen is now 14-2 with a 3.12 ERA and he is a leading candidate for N.L. Best Pitcher. Ted Wilks, who recently agreed to a new 5-year contract, came back strong from his injury to tighten up the bullpen. And, given his astonishing turnaround, maybe I should be working on an extension for Dobson? Talk about a contract drive...

We are still scoring 4.5 runs per game and remain in the middle of the pack for the season offensive stats. However, we averaged 5.2 runs per game in July. The improvement was not due to Kluszewski (.245) and Rosen (.261), although they did well for rookies. Schoendienst hit .381 in July, while Ashburn, Slaughter and Musial were very consistent (all around .300). And our catchers have been spectacular. Seminick hit .352 in July and Garagiola hit .350 in 9 games as the backup.

Now we go on the road for 16 games, including a big 3-game series at the Polo Grounds. We come home for the remainder of August, including another 3-game set with New York. Those are huge games against the Giants, because we are finished with them for the year after that. If we end August with a lead, our chances are good because we play a lot of games in September against the weaker teams.

The American League race is really entertaining, with seven teams still very much alive. Boston has come on strong lately and will probably win the thing if their pitching holds up. The key for them is keeping the rookie pitchers, McDermott and McCall, in the minors and using the veteran pitchers, Harris and Bearden, in the rotation. They took off when they made this change but they seem to have an internal power struggle over it. The rookies were recalled once for a turn or two and then sent back down again. Very strange.

(in reply to Orcin)

Post #: 64

RE: 1946 St. Louis Cardinals - 10/2/2009 3:15:31 PM

Orcin

Posts: 162
Joined: 7/6/2009
Status: offline

Standings
September 10, 1948

Our pitching stays strong in mid-August and, on August 26, the Giants come to town for a crucial three-game series trailing by a game and a half. Unfortunately, the back end of our pitching rotation is scheduled for this series and they won't face our hot pitchers, Brecheen and Dobson.

In Game 1, Howie Pollet and Clint Hartung are locked in a scoreless pitcher's duel through eight innings. The usually reliable Satchel Paige comes in to pitch the ninth, and walks the leadoff man. The floodgates open and, triple-double-double later, the Giants have a 3-0 win and a tie in the standings.

In Game 2, the Cardinals get even with five runs in the first and hold off the pesky Giants to win 8-6, setting up a classic rubber game. Vern Bickford starts this crucial Game 3 instead of Jim Hearn because of Dyer's hunch about Hearn having a tired arm. Bickford matches the Giants' Dave Koslo in another pitcher's duel and the game is tied 1-1 going to the bottom of the eighth.

Giants' manager Leo Durocher brings righthander Andy Hansen in to pitch the eighth inning, and Dyer sends lefty Ron Northey up to pinch-hit for Whitey Kurowski with the bases empty and two out. The strategy pays off when Northey homers to give us a 2-1 lead.

Bickford has only thrown 94 pitches and he was cruising, explaining why Dyer sends him back out to pitch the ninth inning instead of closer Ted Wilks. But that move backfires when Buddy Kerr fouls off eight straight pitches, doubles, and scores on a single that Slaughter couldn't reach. The Giants tie the game again at 2-2 and we fail to score in the bottom of the ninth.

Paige allows two hits, but gets Kerr to fly out with two on to end the top of the tenth. The Cardinals stun reliever Mike Budnick with three straight singles in the bottom of the tenth to win 3-2. You would have thought that we won the pennant right there, judging by the celebration on the field and the roar from the fans.

The euphoria from this win stays with us, and the team goes on to twelve wins in a row and counting. Meanwhile, the Giants go 7-3 and lose three more games in the standings. We still have 19 games to go, but I would rather be the one counting the magic number instead of the one looking up at it.

Dyer has finally found a lineup where the rookies appear comfortable. He has Slaughter hitting fifth, with Klu ahead of him and Rosen behind him. This has taken some of the pressure off them, and Klu is seeing a lot of good pitches to hit. We are scoring more runs as a result, but the key to our success is the starting pitching. Look at the runs allowed compared to every other team in the association. The only team close to us is the Giants. Remind me to steal a pitcher from them in the offseason.

Brecheen has all but locked up the Best Pitcher award with a record of 20-2 (most wins ever in my association) and a 2.84 ERA (fourth in the league). He leads the league in complete games with 12. He is second in strikeouts with 130 in 196 innings. His K/BB ratio of 2.32 leads the league. If he doesn't get the award, it will be a criminal offense. He should be the league MVP, but they won't give it to a pitcher. (Willard Marshall will probably win this award with a .335 BA, 36 HR, and 116 RBI).

Stay tuned to see if we hold on to win our second pennant in three years. Will Boston repeat in the A.L., or will Cleveland or Washington be able to catch them? It promises to be an interesting few weeks. We only have 6 home games left, so we are not popping the champagne corks yet.

(in reply to Orcin)

Post #: 65

RE: 1946 St. Louis Cardinals - 10/2/2009 7:56:00 PM

Orcin

Posts: 162
Joined: 7/6/2009
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September 20, 1948: The Cardinals clinch the 1948 National League championship! We have to wait to see who we will play in the World Series. Boston leads the A.L. by 1 game with a week to go.

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Post #: 66

RE: 1946 St. Louis Cardinals - 10/3/2009 5:15:11 AM

Orcin

Posts: 162
Joined: 7/6/2009
Status: offline

1948 World Series Summary
St. Louis (94-60) vs. Boston (87-67)

Game 1 @STL: BOS 4 STL 1
Tex Hughson pitches seven strong innings and hits a two-run homer.

Game 2 @STL: STL 11 BOS 1
Howie Pollet gives up one run over seven innings. The Cardinals pound Murry Dickson and three other Red Sox pitchers for 16 hits.

Game 3 @BOS: STL 3 BOS 2
Red Schoendienst homers in the seventh to break a 2-2 tie. Roe and Wilks close it out.

Game 4 @BOS: BOS 7 STL 6
Dom Dimaggio hits a wind-blown homer off Satchel Paige to decide a see-saw game.

Game 5 @BOS: STL 7 BOS 4
Red Schoendienst delivers a two-run triple in the eighth to break a 4-4 tie. Musial homers and drives in three.

Game 6 @STL: STL 8 BOS 0
The Cards jump on Murry Dickson for 6 runs in the first two innings. Pollet goes all the way for the shutout and his 2nd win.

St. Louis wins 4 games to 2

Howie Pollet is named the 1948 World Series MVP.

Our guys picked up some post-season hardware also.

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!
I have now won two post-war world series rings for Musial compared to one for the real Cardinals.

But I don't plan to stop now... on to the 1949 Amateur Draft. (But first, an upgrade to 1.86 to test the new draft AI.)

(in reply to Orcin)

Post #: 67

RE: 1946 St. Louis Cardinals - 10/3/2009 9:08:26 PM

Orcin

Posts: 162
Joined: 7/6/2009
Status: offline

The 1948-49 offseason would have less player turnover than previous years. First of all, we are a World Championship team and we don't need as much improvement as a rebuilding team. Plus, we only have 8 expiring contracts so there are not a lot of open roster spots to fill.

So we go into the draft and free agency with a shorter list of needs than in the past...

1. Shortstop to groom as Marion's replacement
2. Backup first baseman to replace Robinson (if we can't resign him)
3. Starting pitcher to replace Dobson
4. Depth in starting pitching, especially righthanders
5. Catcher to groom as Seminick's replacement
6. Corner outfielders with power

Now that seems like a long list and a lot to ask, but we don't need everything now since only #2 and #3 will really have an impact on the 1949 season. There are very few good pitchers available in the Amateur Draft this year, so our focus is likely to be on position players.

1949 Amateur Draft

St. Louis is drafting last. It is becoming a familiar position.

Round 1: St. Louis selects 26-year-old SS Solly Hemus. This is an affinity pick for me. Hemus played for the Cardinals from 1949-55. He was a great fielder with a pretty good lefthanded bat (averages in the .280's, slugging in the low .400's). He could be our shortstop of the future and can also play 2B/3B. This will allow us to move Boone to his more natural position at 3B to back up Rosen, making Whitey Kurowski expendable for a possible trade. Hemus could make the 1949 opening day roster but will more likely start in AAA.

Round 2: Brooklyn selects Joshua Jackson (scrub CF). Don Newcombe is still on the board.

Round 2: St. Louis selects 21-year-old 1B Steve Bilko. This is another affinity pick for me. Bilko played for the Cardinals from 1949-54. He was never a great player and is very unlikely to beat out Ted Kluszewski. He provides depth at 1B and hits for some power. Bilko is nowhere near ready and will start in AA.

Round 3: Philadelphia(A) selects Michael Allen (scrub 3B). Bobby Shantz is still on the board.
Round 3: Brooklyn selects Frank Azar (scrub OF). Newcombe is still available. Yes, he is expensive but Brooklyn has plenty of money.
Round 3: Detroit selects 3B Tommy Glaviano. The AI stole my next affinity pick! Glaviano played for the Cardinals from 1949-52, ending his brief major league career with the Phillies in 1953. Ok, bub. The gloves are off now.

Round 3: St. Louis selects 22-year-old C Smoky Burgess. Chicago had already passed on Burgess for a scrub, so he was fair game. Burgess played for several teams in his long career, having his best years with the Pirates. He was a great lefthanded hitter with a lifetime .295 average and .446 slugging percentage. He is my catcher of the future, at least the primary half of a great platoon.

Burgess will start in AA because he is 2-3 years away. We have Seminick and Garagiola ahead of him, plus Westrum and Wilber in AAA. Burgess makes Wes Westrum somewhat expendable in a trade because I now have five catchers. Westrum might get us that RH starting pitcher that we need if we can't pick one up in the draft or free agency. Wilber is not likely to bring the kind of pitcher we want so he will remain our fourth catcher for now.

Round 4: Philadelphia(A) selects Lucio Siddiqui (scrub 2B). Shantz is still available. I suspect it is because he is labeled as "past peak" (72 potential) even though he is clearly not even close to his prime.

Round 4: Brooklyn selects William Jones (scrub RF). Newcombe is still available. Perhaps it is because of the 2-year gap in his career due to military service in Korea. His ratings are off the charts so it is a real mystery as to why the AI teams (especially Brooklyn) keep passing on him.

Round 4: St. Louis selects 26-year-old LH starting pitcher Bobby Shantz. Shantz is clearly the best pitcher available other than Newcombe. Shantz wants $25,000 per year for a five-year deal and Newcombe wants $125,000. Shantz had a longer career with slightly better stats, and he is a favorite player of mine since he pitched for the Cardinals in the early 60's. His best year was 1952 when he went 24-7 with a 2.48 ERA and 1.05 WHIP.

Shantz is ready now and will probably start the season on the opening day roster replacing Zoldak as long relief/spot starter. We still need a RH starter but Newcombe is pretty expensive for an unproven rookie. I have my eye on someone else anyway.

Round 5: FINALLY, Brooklyn selects Don Newcombe! Why wait so long?

Round 5: St. Louis selects 26-year-old LF Gus Zernial. A righthanded hitter with excellent power, Zernial had a .486 lifetime slugging percentage and a .815 lifetime OPS. He hit more than 25 homers in a season 7 times. He certainly qualifies as a corner outfielder with power. Of course, I already have Stan Musial in left field, but we need depth in the organization. I'll worry about how and/or where to use him later.

Free Agency

We need three players to fill out our roster:

1. backup 1B for the major league roster (re-sign Eddie Robinson is our plan)
2. righthanded starting pitcher
3. relief pitcher

The pitchers don't have to be major-league ready, but it would be nice if the starter is. I have over $200,000 in available budget, so I can sign or trade for anyone in the league. I am not among the top five teams in payroll right now, which is pretty good considering we are the defending champions.

It took five weeks of no offers for Eddie Robinson to finally realize that no team was going to pay him $50,000 per year. He lowered his asking price for a five-year contract to $23,000 and we jumped on it. He will be a great backup 1B and lefthanded pinch-hitter, and provides the insurance we need against our young starter, Kluszewski. We don't want to be forced to move Musial back to 1B.

We made an offer (5 years, $2,800 per year) to a young relief pitcher, Cloyd Boyer. We like Boyer a lot. He is a great short relief prospect in the mold of Ben Wade. But we had one additional reason to be interested in this player. He has a couple of younger brothers, Ken and Clete, that we REALLY like. We want the whole family to be Cardinals someday, so we sign Cloyd and will send him to AA for seasoning. Hopefully, he will be sending letters home to his younger brothers about our great organization.

We still need that righthanded starting pitcher. We were not willing to pay Joe Dobson a $100,000 contract. His skills are beginning to decline and there are good options on our current roster for a lot less money (Hearn, Bickford, McLish). However, we were shocked when we got to week 7 of the free agent period and the players who had received no interest began to drop their prices dramatically. We took advantage of this fire sale to sign Joe Dobson to a two-year deal at $13,000 per year. At that price, he is a bargain and great insurance. He will start the season in AAA if we can land a top starter in trade; otherwise, he is probably in our starting rotation.

(in reply to Orcin)

Post #: 68

RE: 1946 St. Louis Cardinals - 10/3/2009 11:00:06 PM

Orcin

Posts: 162
Joined: 7/6/2009
Status: offline

Offseason Trades

One thing became clear to us after the 1948 campaign. A team just can't have enough quality starting pitching. We won in 1946 because of dominant pitching. We lost in 1947, despite a great offense, because of mediocre pitching. We won in 1948, despite a mediocre offense, because of dominant pitching. You can't have too much pitching!

BUT we have a budget. We traded top starter Murry Dickson for Joe Dobson (effectively) in 1946 because Dobson made $100,000 less per year. We suffered for this allocation of resources at times, and we have now concluded that we CAN afford three top-dollar starters. No wait... not CAN afford... MUST afford. After some careful trading and releasing of players with larger contracts (Brazle, Zoldak, etc.), we have freed up enough salary over the past two years to pay a top-dollar pitcher within our budget constraints. Now we have to find and obtain the pitcher. He will be righthanded simply for balance because our other two top pitchers are lefties.

There were no pitchers in free agency that met our qualifications for this role. We will have to trade for this piece of the puzzle. Obviously, you have to give up a high-demand player to get someone of this caliber. It doesn't make sense to just swap top pitchers, so I need to trade a position player for the pitcher. Here are the best position players we have in order of desirability:

Musial
Schoendienst
Ashburn
Kluszewski
Slaughter
Marion

None of those players is available. Period. That's most of our starting lineup and they are all potential all-stars. We need to go a little further down the list if we are going to get this done.

The next two players on the "in-demand" list are the lefty-righty platoon catcher of the future: Burgess and Westrum. The lefty side of the platoon is the key because you typically face a lot more righthanders. It is pretty easy to fill the righty side with a veteran catcher, and that could even be Seminick in a few years when he nears the end of his career. So Westrum is more expendable, and is the obvious choice to trade if someone has to go. He does not fit in our immediate plans because Garagiola is the backup catcher on the major league roster. We hate to part with Westrum but you don't get something for nothing in this game.

So now we know who we want to trade, but who do we want to acquire? We made a list of pitchers that fit our criteria (righty, dominant stuff and control, under age 30, goes deep into games, proven consistent performance, durable with no history of injuries). It's a pretty short list but here it is. In parenthesis, we have listed the response we got when we offered Westrum in trade.

Blackwell, CIN (will take Musial or Schoendienst only)
Garver, SLA (will take Musial only)
Houtteman, DET (will take Musial only)
Jansen, NYN (yes, we'll do it)
Roberts, PHI (you don't have any players that we would accept for Robin Roberts)
Rush, CHN (will take Musial or Schoendienst only)

This seems pretty easy, doesn't it? Larry Jansen offers a huge advantage over the rest of the list besides the fact that he is the only one we can get. Trading for Jansen takes one of my main rival's best pitchers away and gives him to us! What's the catch? Why do they want to do this?

First reason... The New York Giants need to cut payroll. They have the largest payroll in the association, and Jansen is their second-highest paid player. The Giants are spending 95% of their available finances and Horace Stoneham did not become rich by recording small profits. He wants a little more than 5% left at the end of the year.

Second reason... The New York Giants are in desperate need of a catcher. Their #1 catcher is Walker Cooper. He is a great player, in fact an all-star player. He is 34 though and cannot continue to catch every game. He will begin to require more rest and suffer more nagging injuries. Their #2 catcher is Earle Brucker. He is a 24-year-old scrub making $860 per year. Last season, he hit .173 in 248 at-bats and he does not appear to be on track to get better. However, like him or not, he is THE backup. Yep, they only have TWO catchers on their 40-man roster. They could really use a guy like Wes Westrum.

Larry Jansen is a sinkerball pitcher with outstanding control. He might have the best control of any starting pitcher in our league. He is a true #1 pitcher on any team in the league. He should be extremely effective with our defense behind him. We will have to move a few more dollars off the payroll to fit Jansen in our budget because his contract is the same as Brecheen and Pollet. It will be worth it.

We put Stoneham on hold and made a couple of other calls. The goal was to move Vern Bickford. The reason is simple. He makes $58,000 per year for the next four years and Jansen will take his spot. We want to downsize his salary, include Hal Rice in the trade, and get an outfielder back that is better than Rice (who became expendable as a LF when we drafted Zernial.) Using the extra roster spot, we will sgn a free agent pitcher at the current bargain prices that is a better fit for the long relief role than Bickford was last season.

Amazingly, the best offer is practically a refund of the same trade we made to get Bickford in the first place. It seems that the Braves realize they need pitching (they sure do) more than they need an extra outfielder. Bickford will probably be their third-best pitcher. He doesn't make our major league roster after we add Jansen. They offer Don Mueller back to us. We like Mueller and we regretted trading the St. Louis native almost immediately after we did the deal. We agree but only if they will take Rice in the bargain. They want Bickford bad so they will do the 2-for-1 even though it means they will have to eat a small ($860) salary to get to the roster size limit.

All that remains is to sign the free agent pitcher. We did not like 40-year-old Dutch Leonard at the $190,000 per year contract that Pittsburgh gave him as a free agent in 1947. We like him a lot at the 1949 price of $3,000 per year! We sign Leonard to a two-year contract as insurance for our bullpen. He could also start if we have a rash of injuries and we like the flexibility he gives us. He is a perfect replacement for Gordon Maltzberger who retired after last season. (Leonard is another of my favorite players, and I wanted him on my team all along but couldn't fit him into the salary structure until now. He has several years left in a relief role similar to Satchel Paige.)

We call Stoneham back and complete the blockbuster deal for Jansen. The New York papers will have a field day with this one. I can see the headline now...

GIANTS TRADE BEST PITCHER TO TOP RIVAL FOR MINOR-LEAGUER

Heh heh.

(in reply to Orcin)

Post #: 69

RE: 1946 St. Louis Cardinals - 10/4/2009 8:53:45 AM

LetsPlay2

Posts: 487
Joined: 6/15/2007
From: Arkansas, USA
Status: offline

This is great, Orcin !!

_____________________________

LP2

(in reply to Orcin)

Post #: 70

RE: 1946 St. Louis Cardinals - 10/4/2009 4:22:48 PM

Orcin

Posts: 162
Joined: 7/6/2009
Status: offline

Contract Management

Judgement Day is looming in our near future. We have 14 expiring contracts in 1950. Many of these are key players: Musial, Brecheen, Jansen, Marion, Schoendienst, Roe, and Kluszewski. We must find a way to get through this massive renewal without busting our budget. Some of these players are operating on rookie contracts and will command huge raises at market prices.

Compounding the problem, we only have six expiring contracts in 1949, and we want to renew four of those players. That would only leave two roster spots for five 1950 Amateur Draft selections. Those draft picks are the life-blood of the organization, and we don't like to pass on them.

This is a delicate and challenging problem that will keep us occupied in the office during 1949 while the team tries to repeat as champions on the field. We go to work on the easiest of the group. Stan Musial accepts our offer of a 2-year extension at his current salary, locking him up for four years. That's 1 down, 19 decisions to go.

Howie Pollet's contract expires after this season, and we don't want that to be a distraction. We offer a 1-year extension at a 10% raise, making him the highest-paid pitcher on the team by $1,000, and he accepts. This action really doesn't solve the problem but it does forestall it. By moving his extension decision to after the 1950 season, we make it coincide with the decison on Brecheen.

We lock up our "big three" starters for two years, and we will see how the scouts view their future after the 1950 season. We can decide to renew one, both, or neither depending upon what we have in the pipeline to replace these pitchers. Brecheen wil be 36 by then, beyond our usual age marker for top-of-the-rotation pitchers. Pollet will only be 30, so he is a more likely candidate for a short renewal at top money.

We also have Larry Jansen expiring in 1950. We don't want all three of our top pitchers bolting at the same time. We offer Jansen a 2-year extension at his current salary, and he accepts. He will only be 32 when that contract expires and he has been very durable, so a 4-year contract seems like a good risk. That's 2 down, 18 to go.

Cal McLish wants $8,000 per year for a 5-year contract. That's pretty reasonable and he is a great prospect, so we do that one also. 3 down, 17 to go.

It is truly a no-brainer to extend contracts like Musial, Jansen, and McLish because they can be traded anytime that we want to unload the contract. The problem renewals are those for players with limited trade value or huge salary demands. There are no more easy decisions left, so we separate the rest into three categories: must renew, won't renew, not sure.

must renew: Garagiola, Schoendienst, Roe, Kluszewski, Wilber (or some other 4th catcher)
won't renew: Northey, Fannin, Kurowski, Dobson, Leonard
not sure: Paige, Pollet, Brecheen, Marion, Staley, Wade, Diering

Garagiola falls into the "must renew" group because his contract expires before we expect Burgess to be ready. We always want four catchers anyway, and two must be major-league caliber. We can't get an equivalent free-agent replacement for less than Garagiola's salary demand, so his will be the first renewal when we find the money.

We hate to give up on Fannin but we must face reality. He deserves a shot to play somewhere before he gets too old to be an attractive prospect. Northey could be a good pinch-hitter for a few years, but we already have Robinson for that role. We also have Zernial and Mueller at AAA.

Kurowski has a very large salary. If we move his contract for a player with an expiring contract, it solves two problems. We will create enough budget for one of the "must renew" group, and we will free a spot for a draft pick. I will need to choose two more players from the "not sure" group for the same treatment before the trade deadline. It's too early to make the decision now, but the leading candidates are Wade and Diering. Their loss would have the least immediate impact on the club. Paige could be a candidate also, but it depends upon his early performance. We have bullpen alternatives and we would get his services for this season anyway. It's really a choice between whether Paige or Wade would be more valuable in 1950.

We contacted the agents of the "must renew" group to see how much budget expansion we will need to sign them all.

Garagiola +$22,000
Schoendienst +$33,000
Roe +$53,000
Kluszewski +$48,000
Wilber (not much)

So we need $155,000 in salary budget to renew them all, and that leaves nothing for the "not sure" group. NOW you see the magnitude of the problem.

(in reply to Orcin)

Post #: 71

RE: 1946 St. Louis Cardinals - 10/7/2009 1:46:56 AM

Orcin

Posts: 162
Joined: 7/6/2009
Status: offline

GM Analysis: June 1, 1949

Last year on June 1, we were staring up at an eight-game deficit as New York jumped out to a 32-10 start. We had doubts about catching them since they were playig so well and had such a big early lead. However as you know, we got hot and they cooled off. We did catch them on August 1, passed them in late August with a big winning streak, and won the pennant by eight games.

One year later, it's the Cardinals that have jumped out to the fast start with a 29-11 record. We don't have such a huge lead though, because Cincinnati is right there at 28-15 along with Brooklyn at 26-16. We are obviously happy with the performance of the team, but we are not complacent after seeing what can happen to an early lead last year. We will do our usual "quarter-pole" analysis to see where we might improve the team.

Offensively, we are scoring 5 runs per game, ranking first in our league. We are second in slugging percentage and fourth in home runs, so the power has improved but could still be a little better. Kluszewski has started very well with a .320 average and has 4 HR, 25 RBI, second on the team to Musial with 5 HR, 29 RBI. Eddie Robinson has been awesome as a pinch-hitter with a .436 average and 13 RBI in 39 AB.

Joe Garagiola is getting a lot of playing time and has a .292 average. He is sharing the catching duties with Seminick in what amounts to a platoon system although it is not a strict one depending upon who is more rested. We would like to find a better righthanded hitting catcher than Del Wilber to pair with Smoky Burgess in the minors. This is on our shopping list for the offseason.

Ron Northey is struggling and Gus Zernial is tearing up AAA, so they may switch places as the backup leftfielder soon. Northey is an expiring contract and we would like to look at Zernial as his replacement. Wally Westlake has been solid as the other backup outfielder and gets most of the playing time.

Al Rosen is playing well enough to make Whitey Kurowski expendable as a starter. Kurowski is signed through next season at starter money and we need the budget room to extend other contracts. However, we need to find a backup 3B before we can unload his contract. Ray Boone has started slowly at AAA and the scouts say he is not ready. We may need to look outside the organization for this role. This move needs to happen before the trade deadline.

The pitching and fielding have been outstanding. We have a 3.00 team ERA, second only to the Reds. We have only allowed three unearned runs in 40 games and have committed only 16 errors all season. If you score five runs per game and only allow three, you will win a lot of them!

The individual pitching report is led by Larry Jansen, our big offseason acquisition. Jansen has pitched superbly, going 5-1 in eight starts with a 2.30 ERA and 1.07 WHIP. Brecheen is 3-0 with a 1.82 ERA but missed three starts with an injury, so Jim Hearn took his spot in the rotation and went 3-0 with a 2.30 ERA. Mel Parnell has struggled early so we are considering keeping Hearn in the rotation to replace him.

We had a double-header with the Reds yesterday and only one rested starter. Cal McLish was called up when Brecheen went on the DL so we gave him the chance (his first major league start). He responded with eight shutout innings and we won the game 1-0 on a ninth-inning pinch-hit triple by Billy Goodman. A performance like that deserves another but we just can't find room for him in the rotation. It's nice to have that kind of depth.

Satchel Paige has been brilliant out of the bullpen. He has pitched 27 innings in 12 appearances, including 6 shutout innings in relief when Brecheen was injured. He is 5-1 with a 0.67 ERA (leads the league) and a 0.93 WHIP. He is clearly still on top of his game at age 43 and we will almost certainly sign him for next year. We have the best bullpen in the league with Paige, Preacher Roe, and closer Ted Wilks.

We renegotiated the contracts of Joe Dobson and Dutch Leonard. They both agreed to reduce the length from two years to one in return for 75% of the second year salary added to this year's contract. We had room in our budget to do this and it makes both sides happy. The players get most of the money plus the freedom to negotiate another deal for next year. We get the roster space for draft picks.

Our scouts tell us next year will be a great year for righthanded starters in the draft. We now have three expiring contracts on our pitching staff and hope to draft three righthanders to fill them. It seems a little early to be planning for next year, but a good GM always tries to think several moves ahead.

Look for a couple of small moves before the trade deadline, but we have most of the team already in place to make a run at our third World Series ring in four years.

(in reply to Orcin)

Post #: 72

RE: 1946 St. Louis Cardinals - 10/8/2009 3:09:04 PM

Orcin

Posts: 162
Joined: 7/6/2009
Status: offline

A brief interruption for a word from our sponsor...

I plan to continue to play this association on v1.86 (haven't gone beyond it to 1.87 yet) until at least October 16. At that point, I'll decide what to do... whether to continue with a new version or stay on v1.86 (or stop completely but that's not very likely). And that will probably drive whether I move this report at some point to Wolverine or stay here.

For the moment, I plan to just keep writing this drivel just like nothing has happened. Thanks for reading.

Regards,
Orcin

(in reply to Orcin)

Post #: 73

RE: 1946 St. Louis Cardinals - 10/8/2009 4:55:55 PM

Orcin

Posts: 162
Joined: 7/6/2009
Status: offline

GM Report - All-Star Break (almost)

We actually have one week to go before the break, but this is a good time (July 1) to stop and take stock of our situation. We started 21-4 but since then we are 22-24. If you do the math, that leaves us at 43-28 which is a very good record. However, two things concern us. We have played mediocre baseball for most of the season so far, and Brooklyn is on fire. The Dodgers were 18-11 in May and 23-4 in June, leaving them with a record of 49-21 and an eight-game lead.

The Pythagorean record for each team is interesting... Brooklyn's is 42-28 so their actual record is seven games better, primarily because they are an unbelievable 19-7 in one-run games. The Cardinals' Pythagorean record is 40-31, so we should actually be only two or three games behind them instead of eight. Part of the difference is our 3-9 head-to-head record against the Dodgers.

All this number-crunching doesn't change the fact that we need to make up eight games in the standings against a team that is playing scary good right now. Here's their lineup:

3B Jorgensen .245 3 28
2B Robinson .354 11 45 (22 SB)
CF Snider .328 18 44 (17 SB)
C Campanella .315 15 51
1B Hodges .246 8 30
SS Reese .329 9 46
RF Furillo .306 6 30
LF Shuba .285 3 22

Wow, they have three or four guys hitting better than anyone we have. Why Jorgensen hits leadoff instead of eighth is a mystery, but please don't help them fix it. Here's their pitching rotation:

Newcombe 8-2 2.80
Lombardi 6-3 5.10
Branca 7-2 3.75
Gregg 5-2 5.12
Erskine 1-4 6.97

There's room for improvement. I bet they wish they had landed Preacher Roe before we did. The rookie, Newcombe, is clearly their best pitcher. In fact, he is the league's best pitcher!

We just have to hope that their bats cool off in the second half. They are scoring 5.3 runs per game to our 4.85, so we are not so far behind that the law of averages couldn't reverse the two trends over the last few months of the season. Our lineup is not chopped liver...

CF Ashburn .288 3 21 (21 SB)
2B Schoendienst .283 4 27 (20 SB)
LF Musial .312 13 51
1B Kluszewski .308 14 59
RF Slaughter .312 3 24
3B Rosen .265 6 25
C Garagiola .282 4 25 & Seminick .233 8 16 (platoon)
SS Marion .274 3 29

Ahhh, but our main starting pitchers are better than theirs...

Brecheen 5-2 2.47
Jansen 6-3 3.16
Pollet 6-3 4.35
Dobson 5-3 3.40
Hearn 5-0 3.25

However, both teams have a team 3.98 ERA (we are tied with Brooklyn for second behind Cincinnati's 3.96). That's because our main starters have missed some games due to injuries and our backups have not been as good.

Parnell 5-4 4.87
McLish 0-1 5.60
Shantz 1-1 4.85

In addition, our bullpen has thrown gasoline on the fire a few times, featuring Jerry Staley's 12.54 ERA in 9 appearances and Konstanty with a 7.04 ERA in 5 appearances. In a desperate attempt to find someone consistent behind Paige (6-3 2.91) and Roe (4-3 4.08), we called up Ben Wade who has responded with three perfect outings.

The trade deadline is approaching and we are getting a lot of interest from the American League. Seven of the eight teams are still in the race, and every one of them wants someone that we have. Of course, they start with the elite six that we consider untouchable, but there is some interest in other players too. We anticipate completing a couple of deals. Our intent is to trade depth (backups) for quality prospects. We will be a player if we can find a partner to give us value in return.

Whitey Kurowski is the leading candidate to go. He is 31 now and his performance is steadily declining, particularly in power numbers. His slugging percentages have slipped (1946 .511, 1947 .402, 1948 .365, 1949 .395) into unacceptable territory for a corner infielder. He is signed to a high salary contract through 1950 and we need the budget room. However, he does not command a premium prospect in return. We will probably take the best deal we can find for money reasons. There will be teams that are desperate for bench help and righthanded pinch-hitting. He is batting .279 with a .396 on-base percentage and still plays a good 3B, so there is some value there for teams that need an infielder. He could probably also play 1B for someone.

We have quality depth in pitching in our organization, and we can deal pitching if it benefits us for the long-term. We will trade a pitcher that is not in our top 10 on the depth chart for a prospect that we project into our top 10 in a year or two. The bottom-tier pitchers that have enough value to bring this type of prospect in return are few: Staley, Wade, and Fannin. We aren't shopping them, but we are listening to offers.

In fact, the phone is ringing right now... I'll get back to you later.

< Message edited by Orcin -- 10/8/2009 4:58:40 PM >

(in reply to Orcin)

Post #: 74

RE: 1946 St. Louis Cardinals - 10/8/2009 10:03:32 PM

Orcin

Posts: 162
Joined: 7/6/2009
Status: offline

St. Louis Post-Dispatch, July 2, 1949

The Cardinals announced a trade with the Cleveland Indians today. The Cardinals sent 29-year-old relief pitcher Jerry Staley to the Indians in return for 26-year-old AAA starter Mike Garcia.

Staley had a good rookie year for the Cardinals in 1947. In 1948, he spent the year trying to convert to a starter role in AAA with decent success. This season, he was sent back to the bullpen and struggled at the major league level. Cleveland manager Lou Boudreau said that he plans to use Staley as the major league closer and hopes that he only needs a change of scenery to realize his potential.

Garcia is a righthanded power pitcher with outstanding stuff and control. He was drafted by Cleveland in round 1 of the 1948 amateur draft and spent the 1948 season bouncing between AAA and the major league club. In 16 games with Cleveland, he has a lifetime record of 7-4 with a 4.60 ERA. He has pitched in AAA so far this season with a 2.81 ERA in 48 innings. Cardinals' GM Orcin said, "We think Mike Garcia has tremendous upside and we expect him to compete for a job in our starting rotation next season, if not before." Garcia will report to the AAA Rochester Red Wings.

This appears to be a case where both teams have received something of value, and it remains to be seen which team will benefit the most.

(in reply to Orcin)

Post #: 75

RE: 1946 St. Louis Cardinals - 10/9/2009 12:56:04 AM

DonBraswell

Posts: 384
Joined: 8/24/2005
From: Millbrook, Alabama
Status: offline

Orcin, I'm glad you've decided to hang in here. I'm like you , I'm going to play it by ear for a while. I haven't ruled out buying PureSim2. I'll just wait and see how things go.
Don

_____________________________

Don Braswell

PureSim Old Timer

(in reply to Orcin)

Post #: 76

RE: 1946 St. Louis Cardinals - 10/12/2009 5:07:14 PM

Orcin

Posts: 162
Joined: 7/6/2009
Status: offline

August 1, 1946

The Dodgers come to town for a critical three-game series at the end of July. We had won eight of our last ten games but were only able to gain a game on Brooklyn in the standings. Brooklyn was on a five-game win streak of their own. So we started the series four games back and really needed to win at least two out of three to keep it close.

Don Newcombe shut us out in the first game with help from his bullpen, running his record to 12-2 with a 2.80 ERA. Pollet pitched well and so did our bullpen but we lost 2-0. To add injury to insult, Satchel Paige hurt his knee and will be out for at least a month. This is a severe blow as he was our best bullpen pitcher. We called up Jim Konstanty to take his place on the roster.

Jim Hearn got us even in game 2, going all the way to win 6-2. Hearn is now 8-1 with a 2.92 ERA. Ted Kluszewski slugged his 17th homer of the season and collected 2 RBI to run his total to 77 (2nd in the league to Ralph Kiner at 79).

Joe Dobson pitched a four-hitter in the rubber game, going all the way to win 6-1. We take the series and narrow the lead to three games! Dobson is now 9-3 with a 2.81 ERA and he is proving to be a very valuable free agent signing.

The Giants and Braves are struggling to stay within striking distance at 13-14 games back. It appears to be a two-horse race between us and Brooklyn in the National League. In the American League, the Athletics have a three-game lead over Detroit but five teams are still very much alive.

Pittsburgh contacted us right at the trade deadline with a deal for Whitey Kurowski. We had not planned to move him, but Pittsburgh offered Ed Fitzgerald, a very promising 25-year-old catcher who bats from the right side. Since we were in the market for an upgrade over Del Wilber and we save a large sum in salary, we made the deal. Fitzgerald could be the catcher to pair with Smoky Burgess in our platoon of the future. For now, they will share the duties at AAA.

We use the new room in our budget to extend the contract of Joe Garagiola to five years at $22,000. This solves our last remaining contract problem, since we plan to just renew Satchel Paige for another year at the end of the season.

(in reply to DonBraswell)

Post #: 77

RE: 1946 St. Louis Cardinals - 10/12/2009 9:07:39 PM

Orcin

Posts: 162
Joined: 7/6/2009
Status: offline

The pennant races really heat up in August!

August 6: Howie Fox of Cincinnati throws a perfect game against the Dodgers! We beat the Giants 9-2 behind Dobson, and take over first place by one-half game.

August 12: Brooklyn beats Pittsburgh 7-6 in 14 innings to pull even with us. Both teams have identical 70-39 records. Detroit now leads the Athletics by a game and a half in the A.L. Philadelphia has lost seven in a row to let their lead slip away.

August 19: Harry Brecheen suffers a minor injury and has to leave the game in the first inning. Preacher Roe relieves and is injured himself in the second inning! We use six pitchers and win 4-1 anyway to remain tied with Brooklyn at 75-41. Roe joins Joe Dobson on the disabled list. Fortunately, Satchel Paige should be ready to go in a few days. In the A.L., Detroit wins its eighth straight to stretch their lead over the Athletics to 5.5 games.

August 22: We pound Carl Erskine and four other Brooklyn pitchers for 21 hits and win 17-7 at Ebbets Field. Kluszewski and Rosen each drive in 6 runs. We are tied with the Dodgers again at 77-43.

August 23: Jim Hearn goes 10 strong innings against Brooklyn and we go to the top of the 11th tied at 5-5. Joe Garagiola singles and Marty Marion sacrifices him to second. Solly Hemus pinch runs for Garagiola. Eddie Robinson pinch hits for Hearn and lines a single to right scoring Hemus for a 6-5 lead. Ted Wilks pitches a perect 11th and we sweep the two-game series to take a one game lead over the Dodgers.

August 30: Stan Musial hits a three-run homer in the top of the ninth for a 5-4 win over the Braves. We are back in a tie with Brooklyn again at 81-46 as they lose to Pittsburgh 10-0.

We finish the month of August with an 18-10 record, while Brooklyn goes 16-14. We are in a dead heat with the Dodgers to start the final month of the season. Detroit leads the A.L. by seven games over the Athletics.

(in reply to Orcin)

Post #: 78

RE: 1946 St. Louis Cardinals - 10/12/2009 9:58:28 PM

Orcin

Posts: 162
Joined: 7/6/2009
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September 15, 1949

The Cardinals win 9 straight to open a 4.5 game lead over Brooklyn. Our magic number stands at 10.

Detroit's magic number is 9 but there are still six teams mathematically alive in the A.L.

(in reply to Orcin)

Post #: 79

RE: 1946 St. Louis Cardinals - 10/12/2009 10:30:32 PM

Orcin

Posts: 162
Joined: 7/6/2009
Status: offline

September 17: Jim Hearn is injured on the first batter of the game and will be out for 9 days. On the next batter, reliever Satchel Paige suffers a season-ending "very serious" rotator cuff injury.

(Maybe it IS time to look at that injury model.

)

(in reply to Orcin)

Post #: 80

RE: 1946 St. Louis Cardinals - 10/12/2009 10:39:02 PM

Wrathchild

Posts: 817
Joined: 10/12/2007
From: Reading, PA
Status: offline

Now now now, no sour grapes!

BTW, when are you going to switch your reports over to Wolverine? You know, each one you post here is one more you have to copy!

_____________________________

J.G. Wrathchild, Manager, St. Louis Cardinals (1900-1906), Brooklyn Superbas (1907, 1908)

(in reply to Orcin)

Post #: 81

RE: 1946 St. Louis Cardinals - 10/12/2009 10:58:37 PM

Orcin

Posts: 162
Joined: 7/6/2009
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: Wrathchild

Now now now, no sour grapes!

But that was my best relief pitcher!!!

There is no forum for the reports at Wolverine yet. As soon as they create one, I'm there.

And I have a surprise.

(in reply to Wrathchild)

Post #: 82

RE: 1946 St. Louis Cardinals - 10/13/2009 1:39:53 AM

Orcin

Posts: 162
Joined: 7/6/2009
Status: offline

The Cardinals clinch their third pennant in four years!

We will face Detroit in the 1949 World Series. Detroit features a strong starting rotation and we have the best pitching staff in baseball. It should be quite a battle.

(in reply to Orcin)

Post #: 83

RE: 1946 St. Louis Cardinals - 10/13/2009 4:09:09 AM

Orcin

Posts: 162
Joined: 7/6/2009
Status: offline

1949 World Series Summary
St. Louis (97-57) vs. Detroit (87-67)

Game 1 @STL: DET 6 STL 4
The Cardinals score 3 in the fifth to take a 4-3 lead, but Dick Kryhoski triples off Preacher Roe with the bases loaded in the eighth to win it.

Game 2 @STL: STL 3 DET 1
Brecheen pitches 7 strong innings and the bullpen closes it out to even up the Series.

Game 3 @DET: STL 2 DET 1
JIm Hearn pitches 10 shutout innings. The Cards score 2 in the top of the 11th. Ted Wilks is injured in the 11th, but Preacher Roe gets out of a jam to save it.

Game 4 @DET: DET 9 STL 7
The Tigers jump on Pollet for four in the first and never relinquish the lead even though the Cards battled back.

Game 5 @DET: STL 8 DET 2
Andy Seminick hits a three-run homer to give the Cardinals all the runs Larry Jansen needed.

Game 6 @STL: STL 3 DET 0
Harry Brecheen goes all the way for the shutout. Ted Kluszewski drives in all three runs with a bases loaded double in the third inning.

St. Louis wins 4 games to 2

Harry Brecheen is named the Most Valuable Player of the 1949 World Series.

The Cardinals did not take home any of the postseason awards this year, but they did get the most important trophy of all. Several Cardinals now have three World Series rings. Stan Musial won his second batting title (.344) and Harry Brecheen led the N.L. with a 2.55 ERA.

Ralph Kiner was the N.L. MVP, hitting .321 with 49 HR and 132 RBI. Ted Williams won his fourth consecutive MVP award in the A.L.! Don Newcombe was N.L. best pitcher and Bob Lemon of Cleveland was the best pitcher in the A.L.

(in reply to Orcin)

Post #: 84

RE: 1946 St. Louis Cardinals - 10/13/2009 10:49:41 PM

Orcin

Posts: 162
Joined: 7/6/2009
Status: offline

This league was started with three objectives:

1) Have some fun!

2) Take up the challenge offered by Shaun in the v1.84 release notes: "Updated Computer GM AI in real player associations. I doubt any of you guys will be able to beat it now. Good luck!"

3) Experience the players and history of the St. Louis Cardinals and their competition in the era immediately following World War II. This era is the start of the "Golden Age" of baseball and it is my favorite decade or two of baseball history. I wanted to build a championship team constructed around my favorite player, Stan Musial.

Let's stop for a minute and judge the results:

1) I assure you that #1 was accomplished. I had more fun with this league than any game I've played since Tony LaRussa Baseball II. I literally woke up thinking about my next roster move, which is a sure sign of immersion. Or obsession...

2) I offer my three world championships in four seasons as evidence that #2 was achieved, especially considering that the real Cardinals only won once in the same four-year period. Frankly, it was still easy to exploit the AI for talent, even with self-imposed budget restraints and turning down a lot of "Joe Dimaggio trades". I don't mean to be overly critical though. I did see improvement in Shaun's updated draft AI and trades for Hall of Fame players were harder to make for the most part. The game is headed in the right direction as far as difficulty and realism for historical replay associations.

3) This third objective is still gnawing at me. I have been a Cardinal fan all my life and I am pretty familiar with Cardinal players throughout history. I regret that my current roster doesn't look much like the Cardinals anymore. It is more like an All-Star sundae with some Cardinals sprinkled on top. I got so wrapped up in objective #2 (i.e. building a dynasty to "beat" the game) that I lost sight of playing the 1946 Cardinals. I don't want a micro-managed exact replica of the Cardinals, but I crave a Cardinals sundae with a few extra toppings for that special flavor.

All the past tense that I am throwing around has probably given you a clue that I am suspending my progress with this league. I might return to it if my new adventure fails to hold my interest, but I suspect that I am finished with it. However, I am not anywhere near finished with PureSim or with writing "dynasty reports". I have a new project in mind. I will again be the GM of the 1946 Cardinals, but with a few player acquisition rules (shackles) to keep me from going overboard this time and a creative twist that puts the cherry on top of the sundae without destroying the game balance.

I will describe the league's premise, in the painful level of detail that you have come to expect from me, in the first post of my new dynasty report on the Wolverine forums. I hope you will follow me over there. I also hope you will be motivated to keep playing yourself, whether it be via PureSim 2 or v1.86 freeware. I read your reports too, every word, and I don't want to be the only weirdo writing this stuff!

I am organizing the league now so I'll be posting my first few reports as soon as the "PureSim Dynasty Reports" forum is available. Please stay tuned.

Regards,
Orcin

(in reply to Orcin)

Post #: 85

RE: 1946 St. Louis Cardinals - 10/14/2009 1:39:09 AM

Wrathchild

Posts: 817
Joined: 10/12/2007
From: Reading, PA
Status: offline

Thanks for writing about this replay. I really enjoyed reading it and I can't wait to see what kind of rules you're going to put on yourself next. I'm not sure whether I'm going to write my next update or night, as I'm still not sure what the rest of this week holds. I do know, however, that I won't go any further in my season until I get the update up, so I guess I'll be doing some writing if I get too much withdrawal.

_____________________________

J.G. Wrathchild, Manager, St. Louis Cardinals (1900-1906), Brooklyn Superbas (1907, 1908)

(in reply to Orcin)

Post #: 86

RE: 1946 St. Louis Cardinals - 10/14/2009 3:42:31 AM

DonBraswell

Posts: 384
Joined: 8/24/2005
From: Millbrook, Alabama
Status: offline

As always I enjoyed every single word of your reports. I followed your Cardinals right from the begining. I will also read all of your new reports.
Thanks,
Don

_____________________________

Don Braswell

PureSim Old Timer

(in reply to Wrathchild)

Post #: 87

RE: 1946 St. Louis Cardinals - 10/14/2009 1:42:26 PM

Orcin

Posts: 162
Joined: 7/6/2009
Status: offline

Thanks, guys! I appreciate the support and encouragement. See you on the other side.

(in reply to DonBraswell)

Post #: 88

RE: 1946 St. Louis Cardinals - 10/27/2009 11:31:02 PM

Orcin

Posts: 162
Joined: 7/6/2009
Status: offline