RE: 1946 St. Louis Cardinals (Full Version)

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Orcin -> RE: 1946 St. Louis Cardinals (9/13/2009 4:51:42 PM)

[image]http://fittsworld.home.comcast.net/~fittsworld/awards1946.jpg[/image]



Musial certainly deserved his MVP award... take a look at this leaderboard.


[image]http://fittsworld.home.comcast.net/~fittsworld/leaders1946.jpg[/image]


Red Schoendienst won a Gold Glove and Pure Slugger award at second. Whitey Kurowski and Enos Slaughter also won Pure Slugger awards.

Ted Williams (.322, 31 HR, 121 RBI) was the American League MVP, and Mickey Harris (16-7 3.36), also on the Red Sox, won the A.L. best pitcher award. (You would think the Red Sox would have finished higher than fifth. They were 78-76.)






Wrathchild -> RE: 1946 St. Louis Cardinals (9/13/2009 6:33:10 PM)

Good job winning the World Series, though I hate to see it at the expense of the Yankees.



Orcin -> RE: 1946 St. Louis Cardinals (9/14/2009 12:13:15 AM)

Off-season analysis: 1946-47

I am really happy that the Cardinals won the 1946 World Series in my association. Of course I enjoyed watching it happen, but also it was consistent with reality and it set me up for the real project that I started. In 1946, I did exactly what I should have done... I won with a team that should have won. Now the fun begins. The Cardinals failed to win another pennant for the next 18 years. I intend to beat that and then some.

The 1947 off-season should be an interesting one, in part because of the introduction of black players. Brooklyn will have a very early pick in the amateur draft, and I really hope that they draft Jackie Robinson. It won't be realistic to me if he ends up elsewhere. Larry Doby should be picked by Cleveland. Many of the early black players will not arrive in my association until later because I have "early debut" turned off.

Since I have a world champion club, I don't have a lot of areas of need. My starting lineup, starting rotation, and closer are set in stone. My bench and bullpen are almost filled going into spring training, but 1 or 2 spots are open. I could use a left-handed reliever and I need an infield super-sub to allow me the luxury of keeping three catchers. I hope to re-sign Mark Christman in the free agent period to fill the infield sub role, because he can play all three spots very well and is an excellent pinch-hitter. The relief pitcher may have to be obtained via trade.

So the major league roster will look much the same going into next season. However, when I examine my minor-league system I find almost nothing of value. This alarming lack of young talent is a critical need for the coming offseason. I must use the draft and free agent period to re-stock the minor leagues. There are three players that I plan to draft who were rookies on the 1947 Cardinals: Jim Hearn (SP), Jerry Staley (RP), and Chuck Diering (CF). This leaves me 2 "wild-card" draft picks, and 1 or 2 free agent signings to use on young talent. I must choose carefully.

There is always a danger in standing pat with a club that just won. However, this is a very young team and I don't think their performance will decline. The real 1947 Cardinals finished second, five games behind the Brooklyn Dodgers. The Dodgers seem to be more of a mess in my association, having finished 1946 in last place instead of second. The other top real-life teams were the Braves and Giants, who finished second and third in my association but faded down the stretch. It will be interesting to see if the improved AI GM makes them better in the offseason.




Orcin -> RE: 1946 St. Louis Cardinals (9/14/2009 10:24:39 PM)

I was excited to see my first offseason with this association. I am running the version of the game that includes the new AI GM updates, so I was expecting a competent draft by the AI GM and an active free agent period as well. However, I really don't see much change in the AI behavior compared to previous versions. I was expecting the AI teams to at least draft their own HOF players, and I was hoping for some bidding between teams for those quality free agents. Unfortunately, there were several quality players left undrafted and unsigned, while fictional players were in high demand. I will make some manual adjustments to fix the glaring oversights, but I will also continue (within my self-imposed budget rules) to build my golden age dynasty with impunity.

1947 Amateur Draft

St. Louis is drafting last due to having the best record in 1946. My first three picks will follow the "player affinity" rule, choosing players that played significant chunks of their careers with the Cardinals starting in 1947. My round 4 pick will come after every other team has four chances at the pool, and I figure that everybody on the board is fair game at that point. In preparation, I put together a list of dream picks, including some personal favorites, some all-star players, and a couple of HOF'ers. I was very surprised to see almost all of my "favorites" still available for rounds 4 and 5.

Round 1: St. Louis selects Jim Hearn, age 26, right-handed starting pitcher. Hearn is a candidate to go into the rotation right away. He will be given every opportunity to win the fifth starter spot in spring training. (His actual 1947 stats were 12-7, 3.22 ERA, 21 starts, 162 IP. He pitched 13 seasons in the majors, 4 with STL, with a lifetime record of 109-89 3.81 ERA.)

Round 2: St. Louis selects Jerry Staley, age 27, right-handed relief pitcher. Staley will probably start the season at AAA Rochester, but we will keep an eye on him in the spring. (Staley appeared in 18 games with 29 IP for STL in 1947, spending most of the season in AAA. He had a 15-year major league career, 8 with STL, with a lifetime record of 134-111, 3.70 ERA, 61 saves.)

Round 3: St. Louis selects Chuck Diering, age 24, center-fielder, bats right. Diering will start the year in AAA so we can evaluate his bat. (Diering was a backup outfielder/defensive replacement in his 9-year career, 5 with STL, with a lifetime .249 AVG. He was a very good centerfielder with a lifetime .984 fielding percentage.)

With round 3 in the books, we now leave our regularly scheduled program for this brief interlude...

Incredibly, other than my three selections, the only players among my "favorites" that were off the board for my fourth-round pick (64th player taken) were Larry Doby (round 1 to Cleveland) and Jackie Robinson (round 4 to Brooklyn). Jackie Robinson in round 4? Well, I guess that is understandable considering Brooklyn's picks in the first three rounds. [8|]

Brooklyn round 1 = Clyde King (23 year old P), 7 year career, lifetime record of 32-25 with 4.14 ERA
Brooklyn round 2 = Erv Palica (19 year old P), 9 year career, lifetime record of 41-55 with 4.22 ERA, 10 saves
Brooklyn round 3 = Jack Banta (22 year old P), 4 year career, lifetime record of 14-12 with 3.78 ERA., 5 saves

The best thing that I can say about these picks is that the players spent most or all of their careers with the Dodgers. So player affinity works and these players were chosen over fictional players. However, still on the board at this point, and NOT drafted by the Dodgers, are Duke Snider and Gil Hodges!!!! Brooklyn takes Robinson in round 4, and then...

Brooklyn round 5 = Spider Jorgensen (28 year old 3B), 6 year career, lifetime .266 avg with 9 HR

I don't care how you spin it, the Brooklyn draft is a dismal failure. Robinson is an obvious pick, but how you can take the other four players over Snider and Hodges? Snider had a HOF career of 18 seasons, almost all with the Dodgers, with a lifetime .295 avg and 407 HR. Hodges had a "should be HOF" career of 18 seasons, almost all with the Dodgers, with a lifetime .273 avg and 370 HR. Brooklyn should have taken Snider, Robinson, Hodges in that order and been off and running to a great team with Reese and Furillo already on the roster. It's not that they couldn't afford them. Brooklyn's payroll is 13th of 16 teams, and they have only spent 40% of their available budget.

Even more incredible than Brooklyn passing on these players, is the fact that EVERY other team passed on these players for five rounds too! Well, every AI team that is. Returning to the St. Louis draft...

Round 4: St. Louis selects Curt Simmons, age 18, left-handed starting pitcher. Simmons is a developmental pick who will start the season at class A Columbus. (Simmons spent the prime of his career with the Phillies, coming to the Cardinals via trade in 1960 and giving them 6 good seasons in his late 30's. He had a lifetime record of 193-183 on some bad teams with a 3.54 ERA.) Philadelphia took two short-career "affinity" players and two fictional players ahead of this pick, so they had their chance.

Round 5: With the 80th and final pick of the 1947 amateur draft, St. Louis selects 21-year old centerfielder Duke Snider! Snider is a five-tool prospect, and will start the season in AA.

My intent was to use the round 5 pick on Al Rosen, a potential successor to Whitey Kurowski at third, if he were still available. He was because Cleveland incredibly took TWO fictional third-basemen, a fictional outfielder, and a fictional catcher after Doby while passing on their future all-star third baseman with great ratings (65 potential and developing). However, with both Snider and Hodges still out there, I decided Brooklyn needed to be punished for their failure to draft wisely and Rosen could wait until the free agent period.

Hodges slid through the free agent period without getting a contract and is still sitting there unsigned at the start of spring training. I plan to remedy this abysmal draft performance for hapless Brooklyn by signing Hodges for them and trading Snider to them. I want the Dodgers to have their full complement of stars so I can beat them mercilessly throughout the decade of the 50's without excuses. The trade for Snider will cost them a short term price though, and it will rectify another famous Branch Rickey incident.

"Pistol Pete" Reiser grew up in St. Louis and was a Cardinal fan as a child. He was scouted by the Cardinals at a tryout camp at age 15, and was very disappointed to be sent home almost immediately. However, a Cardinal scout showed up the next day and explained that Pete was sent home to keep other scouts from seeing him. The Cardinals signed him and paid him $50 per month under the table until he was old enough (age 17) to join their class D team. This off-roster stockpiling of players was against baseball rules at the time, and Reiser was one of 100 Cardinal players to be declared free agents by Commissioner Landis in the spring of 1938.

Rickey was not easily defeated, however. He concocted a deal with Dodgers' GM Larry MacPhail whereby the Dodgers would sign Reiser, keep him for a few years, and then trade him back to the Cardinals. Presumably, there was a quid pro quo for the Cardinals to hide an unknown Dodger prospect. But Leo Durocher, the Dodgers' player-manager, foiled the plot when he got a look at Reiser at spring training in 1939 and demanded he be put on the fast track to Brooklyn.

The Cardinals should have played by the rules and signed Reiser fair and square. Therefore, I will "fix" this and trade Snider to the Dodgers in return for Reiser, putting things right for both teams. Reiser, the original "Charlie Hustle", was the victim of many self-inflicted injuries, mostly due to running full speed into concrete walls to catch fly balls. (He was once given last rites on the field.) However, he was a helluva player for a few years and I am hoping that he has a longer career in my alternate reality. If not, c'est la vie. At least I will have the benefit of his services as long as he lasts, and he represents a significant upgrade over Harry Walker. If I use Walker to give him lots of time off, maybe I can prolong his career. The Dodgers have nothing to complain about because they wouldn't have either Snider or Hodges if I didn't step in, and the two of them definitely make up for losing Reiser for the year that he played prior to Snider taking over in center field.

1947 Free Agency:

The AI signed one player among all teams combined. Washington stepped up and signed Willie "Puddin' Head" Jones to a contract. Jones played 11 quality seasons as a starting 3B for the Phillies. But the Phillies did not draft him, choosing two journeymen and three fictional players instead.

I did not let the AI's inability to scout and sign talent keep me from my appointed task. I signed three prospects, and could have signed more except that I ran out of money and roster room. We signed free agents Al Rosen (23 year old 3B), Ted Kluszewski (23 year old 1B), and Mel Parnell (25 year old lefthanded starting pitcher). None of these players were HOF'ers, but they were all significant stars who should develop into solid contributers in a year or two.

I did not bid on any of these players until week 4, and no other team had bid on them up to then. I felt comfortable waiting on these players because I had made an offer to re-sign Mark Christman as my infield super-sub. Christman accepted my offer in week 4, so I made immediate offers on the other propects rather than see the free agent period end due to inactivity. They all accepted my offers within a week or two, and the free agent period closed. I am confident that they would not have been signed by any other team, at least until after the season started.

The following significant players were left undrafted and unsigned, and I will be manually sign them to free agent contracts with their proper teams: Gil Hodges (Dodgers), Ferris Fain (Athletics), and Earl Torgeson (Braves). I will leave the rest to form an interesting free agent pool for the upcoming season, and we'll see where they end up.

My goal for the offseason was to upgrade my minor league talent, and I certainly did that between the draft and the free agents. I plan to develop Simmons and Rosen for my own team. I will probably use Kluszewski and Parnell as trade bait in the next year or two, but I will let them develop first. Hearn, Staley, and the Snider-for-Reiser trade will push major league players back to AAA and further strengthen my depth.

I am left with 42 players, so I will need to trim 2 players from my roster before the start of the season. In addition, after the Reiser trade is completed, I will need to cut my payroll by almost $100,000! These preseason roster moves will be the subject of my next post.

Sorry for the long-winded report, but I had a lot to say about it. Most of you have probably fallen asleep by now anyway. [:D]





DonBraswell -> RE: 1946 St. Louis Cardinals (9/15/2009 3:09:57 AM)

Long winded nothing! You could make longer post and it would be fine with me. I want you to know, I read every word and can't wait for each time you post. I love the post in the Locker. I try to read every thing posted in this form.  Thank you for a great read.



Orcin -> RE: 1946 St. Louis Cardinals (9/15/2009 3:40:41 AM)

St. Louis Post-Dispatch, April 15, 1947

The Cardinals open the defense of their World Series title today at Cincinnati, and the team will be just a little different due to two offseason trades.

Pete Reiser will be the new leadoff man and center fielder. Reiser was obtained from the Brooklyn Dodgers in return for outfield prospects Duke Snider and Bill Endicott. The Cardinals are hoping that Reiser will be able to stay healthy because he is one of the best offensive players in baseball when in the lineup.

Rookie sensation Jim Hearn will open the season as the fifth starter. To make room for Hearn in the rotation, the Cardinals traded star pitcher Murry Dickson and outfield prospect Joseph Frasure to the Red Sox for left-handed relief pitcher Earl Johnson. Dickson was coming off a season-ending elbow injury, but insiders say that this move was really about Dickson's large salary. Johnson was among the best relievers in the American League last year and will fill the setup role for closer Ted Wilks.

<end of article>


The paper is right of course. Dickson made the 15th largest salary in the association. Brecheen is 13th and Pollet is 23rd. I could not afford three starters at that salary level. Trading Dickson gave me enough room to add Reiser and Johnson, and still be $100,000 under budget. The AI agreed to Snider for Reiser and Dickson for Johnson as 1-for-1 trades, but I made them take the extra player in each case rather than be forced to release those players and eat 75% of their contracts to get to the roster limit.

I now have lots of salary room to add players at the trade deaadline, and prospects to entice other teams to hand them over. I hope I don't need to make any moves, but it is better to have flexibility. What I really hope is that Hearn pitches well, and we avoid that rash of pitcher injuries, and Johnson finally gives me that reliable "lights-out" setup man that I have been seeking. If Hearn fails or we have injuries, I have three veteran starters in AAA plus money to pursue a trade if necessary.





Orcin -> RE: 1946 St. Louis Cardinals (9/15/2009 1:31:29 PM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: DonBraswell

Long winded nothing! You could make longer post and it would be fine with me. I want you to know, I read every word and can't wait for each time you post. I love the post in the Locker. I try to read every thing posted in this form.  Thank you for a great read.



Thanks for the kind words and the encouragement, Don. It's great to know someone is interested and still enjoying this. I am having almost as much fun writing these posts as I am playing the game (almost).

I think keeping this "journal" about my league has enhanced my enjoyment of the game, and I encourage other new players to give it a try. It doesn't have to be fancy. Just posting results is interesting, documenting the thought process is even more interesting, and making it personal gives you some passion about it.

One of the things we "simmers" all need is someone to tell when something exciting or interesting happens in our league. I know my wife is tired of hearing about who I drafted, and the people at work look at me kind of funny. But you guys listen to me patiently, and I appreciate the camaraderie here.




Wrathchild -> RE: 1946 St. Louis Cardinals (9/15/2009 1:51:00 PM)

I'm enjoying it, as well. It's encouraging to try to add a little more commentary to my reports instead of just listing information. Maybe I'll have to make some adjustments for the 1908 season.



Orcin -> RE: 1946 St. Louis Cardinals (9/16/2009 8:55:24 PM)

GM Report - May 19, 1947

We are 33 games into the season (21%) and the Cardinals are off to a very good start. We are in second place at 19-14, trailing the Cubs by one game and a game ahead of New York and Brooklyn. There are seven teams within four games of first place, so it is difficult to know who the real competition will be. It could be at least a four-team race with the only Phillies stumbling out of the gate.

Brooklyn is much improved. They have a rookie first-baseman named Jackie Robinson... you may have heard about him. All the uproar over integration is a distraction from the fact that he looks to be a great player. He is hitting .311 with 13 stolen bases already. There is a rumor that they might try shifting him to second base so they can play another rookie, Gil Hodges, at first. Brooklyn is already starting rookie center fielder Duke Snider, who we thought needed more seasoning. Another rookie, draft pick Spider Jorgensen, is playing well at third. They have a couple of rookies in the bullpen that are pitching well also.

New York has power hitting and solid pitching. Johnny Mize has 10 HR already, and Willard Marshall is hitting .348. Rookie Larry Jansen is 4-2 with a 3.60 ERA. Chicago finally made room for Andy Pafko in the lineup, and the move is paying dividends. He is hitting .348 and ranks fourth in RBI. I don't think the Cubs have the lineup or pitching to stay with the New York teams and us, but we have to respect them as contenders. I am also wary of the Braves, who could be tough if their pitching comes around.

It will be interesting to see if the Dodgers can contend through the summer with all of these kids in the lineup. One thing is certain... they will be a force in the future and we must continue to spend and stockpile talent to keep up. In this regard, and before we leave the subject of Jackie Robinson and integration, I want to say that I am glad to have the full support of ownership to pursue black players. Our scouts are already assembling reports on Negro League players and other prospects. We don't want to be left behind in the talent race, and perhaps we can gain an advantage by being pro-active. Brooklyn and Cleveland have a small head start, but it is not too late for us to be on the leading edge of this movement.

Looking more closely at our own club, I can find a lot to like and a few things that disturb me. The strength of the team continues to be the offense. We are scoring 5.5 runs per game, first in the league. We lead the league in batting average and on-base percentage. We are second in the league in HR and third in SB, so we have a nice combination of power and speed.

Individually, Whitey Kurowski is on a MVP pace at .368 (2nd in the league) with 6 HR (tied for fourth) and 29 RBI (leading the league). Ron Northey is right behind him (they are batting 4-5 now), hitting .375 with 5 HR and 28 RBI. Pete Reiser has been great in the leadoff spot with a .405 on-base percentage and 12 SB. Musial and Slaughter are both hitting over .300, and C Andy Seminick is a real pleasant surprise, hitting .341 with 5 HR and 22 RBI. Schoendienst has started slowly but is looking better in the past week or so. Marion is hitting .227 but we don't pay him to hit. Walker and Dusak are both hitting over .300 as pinch-hitters and part-time players.

Pitching is another matter. We have a team ERA of 3.97, which ranks ahead of only Boston and lowly Philadelphia in our league. I have done some analysis on the pitching staff to pinpoint the problem. The starters have a decent 3.45 ERA, 8 complete games, and they average 7 2/3 innings per start. However, the bullpen has a 5.48 ERA with only 3 holds. Clearly, we still have issues in the bullpen despite numerous attempts to upgrade it.

The only problems among the starters are inconsistent performance by Brazle (4-2, 5.02 ERA) and too many injuries. We have already been forced to use a substitute starter in five games. In addition, there is extra stress on our bullpen to manage the remainder of those games in which the starter was hurt early. (Doesn't the injury always seem to occur in the first inning?) Burkhardt, our sixth starter by the original plan, started for an injured pitcher and went out of the game after two batters with his own injury. This forced us to use Munger in long relief one game and as a starter in two more, and Lanier was called up from AAA to start two games.

Rookie Jim Hearn has been a real bright spot, pitching 3 excellent games (3-0, 1.37 ERA), but he missed three starts due to injury. Brecheen was just injured two days ago and will probably miss two starts. Dobson just came back after missing two starts. If we can keep everybody healthy, I think we will be fine with our rotation. We just brought Ken Burkhardt back up from AAA to take the next couple of turns in Brecheen's spot. We don't want to disable Brecheen and have him miss three starts, so we are carrying the sixth starter/long reliever leaving us a little short in the already weak bullpen.

I do get very tired of the Post-Dispatch constantly reporting that Murry Dickson is off to a hot start with Boston (4-1, 3.16 ERA). Yes, we would probably rather have him than Brazle. He is gone though, so they should just get over it already. It hasn't helped that the guy we got for Dickson has blown a couple of games for us.

Regarding the bullpen, let's start with the good... Ted Wilks has been nearly perfect with 5 saves in 5 appearances. However, he has only appeared in five games out of 33. This is because we are always either way ahead (due to our offense) or way behind because a reliever other than Wilks has already blown the game. We must find a couple of reliable relievers to get us through the 7th and 8th innings. It is driving me crazy, but Dyer seems pretty patient about it and points out that our relievers are effective 67% of the time (about the league norm). I am stressed out about the other third.

Earl Johnson, acquired in the offseason for Dickson, was supposed to solve this problem but he has been a major disappointment. He is 1-2 with a 8.78 ERA and 2.33 WHIP in 9 appearances. On April 22, he came into a game with Pittsburgh in the eighth, leading 2-0 after 7 shutout innings by Pollet. He allowed four runs, didn't get out of the inning, and we lost 4-2. A week later, April 29, he entered a game with New York in the seventh, trailing 3-0 (still in it with our offense). He allowed 5 runs in two innings, and we lost 8-0. However, he has a 3.27 ERA and 1.55 WHIP in his other seven appearances, so maybe he just had a bad week.

Cliff Fannin, acquired in last year's big trade for Terry Moore and Dick Sisler, has also been disappointing so far. He is 1-1 with a 5.06 ERA in 12 appearances. He started the season with 6 straight strong outings, but has allowed runs in each of his last 6 appearances. Dyer says that he thinks Fannin is a little over-worked and wants to move him to the back of the bullpen for a while to get his second wind.

Red Munger has been pretty good in relief, and we plan to stop using him as a spot starter and try him in the "workhorse reliever" role. We need to get a good look at him now because his contract expires after this season and his agent wants a big raise for an extension.

We need to find a setup man though. Freddy Schmidt has a decent 3.48 ERA in 6 appearances but opposing batters are hitting .295 against him. Everett Fagan has been less than spectacular so far, and was sent down to AAA to make room for Burkhardt. Pete Center and rookie Jerry Staley are both off to good starts at AAA, with ERA's below 2.00. Center is 35 and has an expiring contract, so he is on the bubble for next season. He might be the best choice now, and we might come back to him in a month. But Dyer and I agree that the better move for the future is to gamble on Staley.

Other clubs have thrown rookies into the fire this year with great success, and we have done the same with Hearn, so we hope it will work with Staley too. We need to be patient if he fails a few times, because he has the potential to solve the problem for the long-term. We have a lot of money invested in him, and we need to see a return. I don't like to hold young players back while I watch veterans struggle. I would rather see the high-potential players fail in the short-term and hopefully develop more quickly because of the exposure. He can't be any worse than the pitchers we have put in that role so far... I hope.




Orcin -> RE: 1946 St. Louis Cardinals (9/17/2009 10:39:20 PM)

St. Louis Post-Dispatch, June 8, 1947

The Cardinals made another attempt to bolster their sagging bullpen today. The team acquired reliever Gordon Maltzberger from the Chicago White Sox in exchange for reliever Freddy Schmidt. Maltzberger, an all-star selection last year, was 1-0 for the White Sox with a 0.90 ERA in 20 appearances. Schmidt was 0-0 with 3.48 ERA in only 6 appearances, having spent most of the season at AAA. Maltzberger will join the Cardinals in time for today's doubleheader with the Giants, and will assume the setup role according to manager Eddie Dyer.

<end of article>

Maltzberger is 35 and his rather large contract will expire at the end of the season. This is a gamble on a rent-a-player to get through the season. I'll worry about whether to re-sign him later. The trade for Dickson allowed me the payroll room to make this move, and I didn't have to sacrifice a valued prospect.

This would be a cost-cutting move for the White Sox, if the AI cares about such a thing. Otherwise, I assume that the AI preferred the younger Schmidt who pitched longer than Maltzberger.



Orcin -> RE: 1946 St. Louis Cardinals (9/18/2009 2:17:43 PM)

St. Louis Post Dispatch, June 10, 1947

The Cardinals and Browns announced a three-player trade yesterday. The Cardinals acquired starting pitcher Sam Zoldak in return for struggling reliever Earl Johnson and backup catcher Clyde Kluttz. Zoldak, 29, is a lefthander who was 3-6 with a 4.07 ERA for the Browns. Last year, Zoldak was 10-13 with a league-leading 2.55 ERA and 5 shutouts. Johnson had been horrible in the bullpen for the Cardinals, but the Browns are hopeful that a return to the American League (where he had been successful with the Red Sox) will improve his performance.

Kluttz is a capable veteran catcher and pinch-hitter, who will help young Les Moss learn the position for the Browns. The Cardinals signed free agent catcher Wes Westrum to fill Kluttz's spot on the roster.

The Cardinals are admitting two things with this trade. One, the trade of Murry Dickson was a mistake. Johnson's performance never justified the trade and it was clearly about money. Dickson is 6-1 for the Red Sox, who are running away with the American league thanks to their strong starting pitching. Two, Al Brazle is not a reliable starting pitcher, and probably never will be. Brazle was sent to AAA to make room for Zoldak in the rotation.


<end of article>


Dickson, Dickson, blah blah Dickson...  He's gone already, get over it.  [8|]

I am hoping that Zoldak will be consistently decent, and will make the bullpen stronger by going deep into games. They are right about Brazle. I could no longer live with his over 6.00 ERA in the rotation. He will be assigned a relief role at AAA, and I am hopeful that he and Munger can reliably fill two long relief spots in the bullpen before the end of the season. I have a couple of relievers, Center and Fagan, with expiring contracts that I don't plan to extend.

The inclusion of Kluttz in the deal was necessary to get the Browns on board, but he was expendable because his contract was expiring and he wanted a 400% raise to renew. No way that is happening for a backup catcher. Wes Westrum looks like a solid prospect for less money than Kluttz was making before the raise. Besides, I still have Garagiola.

This deal consumes most of my remaining salary budget, but I do have room for a minor deal or two. I am out of bullets in my gun. If Zoldak and Maltzberger don't improve the pitching, then it will be a long winter. It would be a shame to lose the pennant with such a strong offense. I really thought the pitching would be better than this...




Orcin -> RE: 1946 St. Louis Cardinals (9/19/2009 4:29:30 AM)

June 26, 1947

We completed a trade today to acquire a power-hitting right-handed outfielder, and it wasn't Sid Gordon. I really thought I wanted Gordon, but I found a better alternative... rookie Wally Westlake of Pittsburgh. One of the main reasons behind the trade was the need to replace Erv Dusak, our right-hand hitting corner outfield sub and primary RH pinch-hitter. Dusak was in the final year of his contract, and wanted $50,000 per year for an extension.

Dusak wasn't worth $50,000 when Gordon, a better hitter, was available straight up in trade at $65,000. However, Gordon was only signed through 1948. He wanted over $100,000 per year for an extension, and that is too much for a backup. Slaughter is not going anywhere, and Northey is playing way better than Gordon in left. So I talked myself out of Gordon, but I still wanted to move Dusak before the trade deadline.

I wanted a right-handed hitter because Northey and Slaughter are both left-handed. I want the backup to be able to play both corner spots to spell either player against tough lefthanders. He needs to be good enough to start for extended periods of time in case of injury. Ideally I want a power hitter, since it is a corner outfield position. Westlake was the best right-handed power-hitting corner outfielder that I could find in my salary range anywhere near even up for Dusak. Westlake is now a Cardinal.

The Pirates were not willing to move Westlake for Dusak straight up, but they were thrilled when I offered to add 22-year old first base prospect Nippy Jones to the deal. Jones became expendable when I drafted Ted Kluszewski and traded for Eddie Robinson. Even if I move Musial to left field at some point, Jones is still a distant third on the depth chart. He would never hit for enough power to satisfy me at first base anyway.

Westlake is signed through 1951 at $55,000, so he is a lot cheaper than Gordon. Westlake is a better defensive player than Gordon. Westlake is three years younger than Gordon. Westlake is a former Cardinal (1951-52). He makes more sense than Gordon for my need, so I am glad I took the time to shop around.

The two-for-one trade with Pittsburgh left me an empty roster spot, which I filled by signing 39-year old free agent relief pitcher Johnny "Fireman" Murphy to a one-year contract. Murphy was released by the Yankees at the end of last season, but he pitched well last year. He will be good insurance for the stretch run, assuming I stay in the race. And then, he will provide a valuable open roster spot free of charge at the end of the year, whereas Jones was signed for two more years and taking up a roster spot that could be used by a draft pick.

This completes my trading for 1947, as I have reached my salary cap and I have no expendable players. So win or lose, we're going into the second half with these players.





Orcin -> RE: 1946 St. Louis Cardinals (9/19/2009 2:15:59 PM)

Standings
July 10, 1947


[image]http://fittsworld.home.comcast.net/~fittsworld/standings470710.jpg[/image]



Just after the all-star break, we arrive in New York for a HUGE 3-game series with the Giants. We continue with 3 against the Phillies, 2 in Boston, and finish the road trip with 3 at Ebbets Field vs. the Dodgers. This is a big two-week stretch for us. We need to at least breakeven on the trip, especially against the Giants and Dodgers. It is a great opportunity to make up some ground if we could start a winning streak here in New York.

Then we finish the month of July with a long homestand against the same four opponents. If we have maintained our position within striking distance or gained a little ground while on the road back east, that latter two-week stretch of home games would be our chance to take the lead.

Our offense is still the best in the association. Our pitching has improved a little, but still middle of the pack. The bullpen is still unreliable. A couple of guys seem to be coming around, most notably Staley. Our patience may be paying off with him. Maltzberger has been ok, but not as good as he was in the A.L. Even Wilks has blown a couple of saves and has a 3.21 ERA.

We placed four players on the All-Star team. Ron Northey got the most votes of any player, and may be the MVP of the team (maybe the league if we win). Stan Musial and Whitey Kurowski made the team as substitutes. Harry Brecheen (8-1, 3.17 ERA) was our only pitcher on the squad.

All the analysis is done. The lineup and rotation are set. Everyone starts the second half healthy (knock on wood!). There's nothing left to do except play the games. We need to take 2 of these next 3 with the Giants and go from there.





Orcin -> RE: 1946 St. Louis Cardinals (9/20/2009 5:13:44 PM)

St. Louis Post-Dispatch, July 21, 1947

The Cardinals finished a very successful east coast road trip yesterday with a thrilling 1-0 victory at Ebbets Field.

Rookie Jim Hearn and lefty Joe Hatten were locked in a scoreless pitching duel through eight innings. In the top of the ninth, Harry Walker pinch-hit for Wally Westlake against reliever Hank Behrman, and homered to give the Cardinals the lead. Ted Wilks pitched the ninth to pick up his 14th save and give Hearn the win. Hearn is a legitimate Rookie of the Year candidate with his 6-1 record and 2.55 ERA.

St. Louis was 8-3 on the road trip, including winning 2 of 3 from both the Giants and Dodgers. The Cardinals (51-40) have pulled to within one game of the league-leading Giants, and are tied for second with the Dodgers. The Cardinals and Giants will play a critical three-game series starting Tuesday to kick off a 13-game homestand for the Redbirds.




Orcin -> RE: 1946 St. Louis Cardinals (9/21/2009 1:15:12 AM)

The Pirates approached me right before the trade deadline looking to acquire Red Munger. They offered Cal McLish, a 22-year old righthanded pitcher. It just so happens that McLish was a favorite player of mine. Pittsburgh drafted McLish in round 1 of the 1947 draft, and they had been pitching him in the majors all season without a lot of success. I would have started him in A ball, but maybe I am too conservative. I had tried to acquire McLish earlier in the season, but Pittsburgh was asking a lot for him and I put the idea aside.

Anyway, Pittsburgh was now at 49-49 and making an effort to upgrade their roster for the stretch run. Yesterday, they made the biggest free agent signing in the history of my association, giving a two-year deal worth $176,635 per season to 38-year old starter Dutch Leonard. Now they were apparently looking for even more pitching.

Munger was a decent reliever/spot starter who was steady but never spectacular. He currently has a 4.81 ERA in a league that has overall 4.20 ERA. I thought about this deal for a little while, and concluded that we have a lot of that type of pitcher. Barrett, Burkhardt, Lanier, Brazle, and Munger were all steady but never spectacular pitchers. That's one reason the Cards kept coming in second in the late 40's. Do I want to continue that trend, or do I want to take a little risk with a young pitcher who might develop into a great one?

(McLish was never great but he had some all-star years in his early 30's - 10 years from now. However, in 1950-55 he was a star AAA pitcher for Los Angeles in the Pacific Coast League. L.A. was not affiliated with any major league team and I suspect that this kept McLish from getting a fair shot in the majors earlier.)

I had been seriously considering demoting Munger to give Johnny Murphy a shot a the setup role. Murphy was pitching well at AAA, plus I still have Center, Fagan, and Fannin down there. I can afford to gamble with Munger. I made the trade for McLish and sent him to AA. I hope to see him pushing for a starting rotation job in 1949 or 1950. It's unusual for a contender to trade a veteran for youth, but that's one of the advantages of stockpiling talent.



Orcin -> RE: 1946 St. Louis Cardinals (9/21/2009 1:58:02 AM)

St. Louis Post-Dispatch, July 31, 1947

Player Transactions:
Boston (AL) - placed Murry Dickson on the 60-day DL with a season-ending severe arm injury.

_________________________________________


Interesting. Who would have guessed that this very expensive pitcher would blow out his arm? Certainly not the bright beat writers at the Post-Dispatch. [8D]




Orcin -> RE: 1946 St. Louis Cardinals (9/21/2009 3:33:15 PM)

Standings
August 1, 1947


[image]http://fittsworld.home.comcast.net/~fittsworld/standings470801.jpg[/image]



We have gone 14-7 since the all-star break. The starting pitching has been much better during this stretch. Since replacing Brazle in the rotation on June 27, Sam Zoldak is 4-0 in 6 starts with a 3.53 ERA (3 CG's and 8 innings in the other 3). I have tightened up the bullpen rotation by designating my last two pitchers for "mop-up duty". Wilks has been perfect in 5 appearances with 4 saves since July 10. Murphy is perfect in 3 appearances as a setup man so far. Staley and Maltzberger are the other two pitchers getting the bulk of the late inning work.

PSPN Highlights for July:

July 30: Sam Zoldak pitches a 4-hit shutout for a 6-0 win over Brooklyn.

July 25: St. Louis' Ron Northey hit a walk off 2 run homer to defeat Boston 5-3. Northey is hitting .375 with 19 HR and 83 RBI this season.

July 16: Pete Reiser and Red Schoendienst each hit 2 HR's in a 11-2 win over Boston.

July 13: Ron Northey has 10 RBI in a 16-6 win over Philadelphia.


We will spend most of August on the road as the Browns will be using our stadium. However, we only have 4 games against New York and Brooklyn combined. We are hoping to maintain our pace of .600-plus ball against the second-division teams on our schedule. Cincinnati has been hot lately and just traded with Detroit to obtain Roy Cullenbine (.254 16 HR 66 RBI) at the deadline. We play four games (there) with them.



Orcin -> RE: 1946 St. Louis Cardinals (9/22/2009 8:20:34 PM)

September 1, 1947

The pennant races have come down to this:

American League
Boston 82-48
New York 78-51 3.5

National League
New York 77-52
St. Louis 75-54 2.0
Cincinnati 74-59 5.0
Brooklyn 71-61 7.5

The other teams in both leagues are either below .500 or more than 10 games back.

We were 18-10 in August, going 7-1 at home but only 11-9 on the road. Unfortunately, the Giants were 21-8 in August. However, we have 18 of 25 games in September at home, while the Giants have only 9 home games left. We play a huge 3-game series at home with the Giants. Of the remaining 22 games for each team, we have 5 games left against Cincinnati & Brooklyn while the Giants have 9 with those teams. We hope that the schedule will play in our favor.

We averaged 5.1 runs per game in August, compared to our season average of 5.4 runs. However, we only scored 1 run in 6 different games, going 1-5 in those, so inconsistent hitting still plagues us. Four runs would have won three of the five we lost, and we would be in first place because one of those was a 2-1 loss in 11 innings at New York.

Here is our current lineup and stats to date:

CF Reiser .306 11 53
SS Marion .309 2 62 (outstanding year!)
1B Musial .340 13 80
LF Northey .358 24 111 (could be MVP)
C Seminick .290 11 57
RF Slaughter .281 7 75
3B Kurowski .266 11 65 (in a slump)
2B Schoendienst .273 5 50

The pitching improved in August. Our stats for the month of August were 3.61 ERA & 1.39 WHIP compared to 4.00 ERA and 1.48 WHIP for the season. (Yes, I did a spreadsheet game-by-game to figure this out because I wanted to understand who was pitching well for the stretch run.)

Joe Dobson was our “pitcher of the month”, going 4-1 in 5 starts with a 2.41 ERA and 3 compete games. In the bullpen, our best pitcher was Maltzberger with a 2.25 ERA and 0.75 WHIP in 6 appearances. This result surprised me, as I had the impression Staley and Murphy were pitching better. Staley was pretty good also, with a 3.48 ERA in 9 appearances.

If we continue to play this well, we have a chance to win this thing. We brought up a few extra players with the expansion of the rosters on September 1. I don’t like to bring up players who will not be used, but we added some bench depth and a couple of pitchers. If we fall out of the race, we will start looking at younger players, but I hope I don’t see them until the spring.




Orcin -> RE: 1946 St. Louis Cardinals (9/22/2009 11:00:43 PM)

September 14, 1947

The Giants come to town with a four-game lead. We need to sweep the three-game series to get back in it, or at least win 2 of 3 to stay somewhat alive.

Game 1: STL 13, NYN 3
Musial is 2-5 with 6 RBI. Zoldak pitches a complete game for the win.

Game 2: NYN 1, STL 0
Jim Hearn loses a heartbreaker. The Giants score their run on an error by Marty Marion, only his 6th of the season.

Game 3: NYN 7, STL 5
Our ace, Harry Brecheen, suffers a season-ending injury on the first batter and the bullpen is unable to hold the Giants back.

We now trail by 5 games with 11 to play. New York's magic number is 7. It doesn't look good.






Orcin -> RE: 1946 St. Louis Cardinals (9/23/2009 3:00:41 PM)

1947 World Champions: New York Giants
(defeated Boston 4 games to 2 in 1947 WS)


[image]http://fittsworld.home.comcast.net/~fittsworld/standings1947final.jpg[/image]


I accomplished the two goals that I established after losing the critical September series to NY:
- finish second (just like the real 1947 Cardinals did), and
- finish 20 games over .500 (it seemed like a nice round number)

I had to hold off a furious rally by Brooklyn to achieve my second place finish. I led my league in offense and finished a respectable fourth in pitching/defense.

National League MVP = Johnny Mize (NYN) .318 48 HR 130 RBI
N.L. Best Pitcher = Ewell Blackwell (CIN) 14-5 2.51 ERA

American League MVP = Ted Williams (BOS) .339 19 HR 106 RBI (2nd straight MVP award)
A.L. Best Pitcher = Tex Hughson (BOS) 21-6 3.14 ERA

Ron Northey and Stan Musial had great years, but that 48 HR by Mize is hard to ignore!

St. Louis Cardinals notable achievements:
- Ron Northey wins batting title with .356 AVG and led the N.L. in hits (206)
- Northey was 2nd in RBI with 129 (1 behind Mize) and 3rd in HR with 28 - great year for my cleanup hitter!
- Red Schoendienst won the Gold Glove at second (.994 fielding pct.) and hit .280
- Marty Marion won the Gold Glove at shortstop (.991 fielding pct.) and hot .297 - strong double-play combination!
- Stan Musial had another solid season (.333 15 HR 97 RBI) and led the N.L. in runs scored (116) - it helps to bat in front of Northey

We had no leaders among the pitchers, but there were some solid seasons among the group.
- Harry Brecheen was 16-5 with a 3.97 ERA in 186 innings (27 starts)
- Jim Hearn had a great rookie year with 11-5, 3.13 ERA, 26 starts, 175 IP
- Joe Dobson was very dependable at 13-10, 3.39 ERA, 27 starts, 191 IP
- Jerry Staley had a nice rookie season in the bullpen with 3.44 ERA and 1.25 WHIP in 35 app (49 IP)
- Ted Wilks had a high 3.12 ERA for a closer but still recorded a respectable 24 out of 28 saves (86%)


I am pretty happy with the overall performance of the team, but there is room for improvement. Time to prepare for the off-season!







Wrathchild -> RE: 1946 St. Louis Cardinals (9/23/2009 3:21:41 PM)

Even though you didn't make it to the World Series you had a great season. I hate, though, when you can get so close to winning the pennant and you still can't quite pull it off. And after the next round of expansions it'll get even worse as you then have to still win a championship series!



Orcin -> RE: 1946 St. Louis Cardinals (9/23/2009 9:41:53 PM)

1947 post-season analysis

The position players are easier, so let's start there.

Our starting lineup is set. It's the best overall lineup in the league. We led the league in offense and our defense, particularly up the middle, is as good as any team. We won't alter the lineup for 1948 unless we have injuries. So that leaves two areas to analyze.

Bench:
We want 6 players, 3 LH and 3 RH (for pinch-hitting). The lefties are Eddie Robinson (1B), Harry Walker (CF), and Joe Garagiola (C). Robinson had a terrible year, but we have a solution for that if he starts poorly in 1948. The other two are back and good to go. The RH's are Wally Westlake (RF), Mark Christman (3B), and Wes Westrum (C). We like Westlake and Christman as pinch-hitters and defensively.

Christman was out of position backing up at short and second, and covering three positions keeps him in the lineup too much and therefore unavailable to pinch-hit. This year, we want to carry a true middle-infield sub instead of a third catcher. It is an off-season priority to find this player, since we don't have anyone that we like in the minors. Jeff Cross (SS) will be released to make room for this addition, and Lou Klein (2B) is available for trade.

Propects:
We have two blue-chip position players at AAA. Al Rosen is our third baseman of the future. He hit .278 with 18 HR at AA last season. We think he is still a year away, which is perfect timing because Christman is signed for 1948 only. Rosen will probably spend this season at AAA, but he could be called up if Kurowski gets hurt or continues his second-half slump.

Ted Kluszewski is a different problem. He is ready now, but there is no place to play him. Our best player, Stan Musial, plays his position. Stan can play left field, but our second-best player (Ron Northey) is there. We could play Northey in right, Musial in left, and bench Enos Slaughter. However, Slaughter is a pretty good player and we already have Westlake backing him up. Manager Eddie Dyer didn't like that idea at all when I floated it because he loves Slaughter's hustle and consistent quality play, plus that scenario significantly weakens our defense.

There are three possible solutions for 1948: keep Klu in AAA, trade him, or use him to replace Robinson as the primary LH pinch-hitter and 1B/LF sub. We won't trade Klu in the off-season, but it's a possibility during the season if we have a serious injury to one of our key players. He is such a great prospect that we could get one of the association's best players or pitchers for him, which is a good "hole card'. We are not ready to give up on Robinson as the long-term backup, so Klu will probably start the season in AAA.

If Northey stumbles out of the gate, we might consider moving Musial to left, starting Klu at first, and trading Northey. This is very risky considering Klu is untested and Northey is a MVP-caliber player signed for 2 more years at ridiculously cheap money. I don’t think I can get enough value back for Northey to justify this move.

One thing I haven’t mentioned is corner outfield prospects. That’s because we don’t have any. This is another off-season priority. We must sign one or two corner outfielders to develop. We have two center-field prospects in Diering and Gionfriddo. Diering hit .275 at AA and will move to CF at AAA this year. Gionfriddo hit .238 at AAA and his contract expired at the end of the season. He might still be a good prospect, but we just don’t have room for him in center and he doesn’t have the power to play left or right in our system. We will use his spot on the roster to draft a high-potential corner outfielder.

The pitching is a bigger problem and a more challenging analysis. We have lots of good pitchers, but we need to identify the best ones for 1948. We have 5 expired contracts on the pitching staff, so there is plenty of flexibility and opportunity for improvement.

Ideally, we would like to carry 12 starters, 6 lefties and 6 right-handers, on our 40-man roster along with 6 pure relievers. We have 10 starters under contract (6 LH and 4 RH), and 4 relievers. A critical off-season priority for us is to draft one or two high-potential RH starters to develop in our system. If one of those is ready now, that’s even better and we’ll find room for him. We must also find a couple of major-league relief pitchers to cure that ever-bothersome bullpen problem.

Simmons and McLish are outstanding prospects that could be starting for us in 1949. However, they need more seasoning and will be pitching in the minors this season. That leaves us eight starting pitchers fighting for five rotation spots, with another two probably starting the season on the major-league roster in long relief/spot starter roles. Choosing the five rotation pitchers will be difficult and critical to our success next season.

Harry Brecheen is a lock for one spot, assuming he recovers well from the serious ribcage injury that ended his 1947 season a couple of weeks early. Joe Dobson is a solid #2 starter. So it is really six pitchers competing for three spots. Since this is such a critical decision, we asked our player personnel group to prepare reports on each of these six pitchers.

Pollet: LH age 27, physical condition excellent, extremely high potential, excellent stuff and control. He had an off-year in 1947, cause unknown but more likely mental than physical. We predict continued under-performance in 1948 (just a hunch), but we think he has a career year yet to come that could be “best pitcher” level. Don’t give up on him.

Zoldak: LH age 30, physical condition good with only minor past injuries, excellent stuff and control, some potential but not a lot of upside left. We think he pitched to expectations in 1946-47. We expect 1948 performance to be dependable and consistent with last year.

Hearn: RH age 27, physical condition good with minor knee problems in his history, good potential, excellent stuff and control. He had a great rookie season but we are concerned about a sophomore jinx. Stay with this guy for the long-term, we think he is worth the patience. In the short-term, he may be erratic and unreliable. You should have a backup plan for this season in case he flames out or his knee becomes a more serious problem.

Parnell: LH age 26, physical condition excellent, great potential, still developing his stuff and control. Watch this guy in the spring. He has tremendous upside. He could have a breakout year, and you don’t want him buried in AAA if he does. He should be given every opportunity to make the team. He is a can’t-miss prospect with all-star ability.

Brazle: LH age 35, physical condition good with only minor previous injuries, very limited potential, good stuff and control. He has severely under-performed for two straight years with no logical explanation. We have very little expectation for him to suddenly improve given his age. He is expendable in our opinion.

Barnett: RH age 33, physical condition questionable after major arm problems in 1946, great stuff and control, very limited potential, poor 1947 performance due to slow recovery from injury. If this guy looks good in the spring, trade him before he blows out his arm for good. He might have a good year or two left, but don’t count on it.

I asked for one more report on my personal pet project, Cliff Fannin. It was heart-breaking, but it finally convinced me that I was probably not going to be able to turn him into a shut-down closer.

Fannin: RH age 24, physical condition excellent, some potential, great stuff and good control.  Expect erratic performance to continue as a reliever. Future is probably as a starter because he puts too many men on base and is dangerous coming into games with inherited runners. He is still developing, so keep him around. We suggest giving him a starter role in AAA to improve his endurance.

Dyer and I met to discuss these reports, and here are our conclusions.

We have to continue with Pollet as a starter. He makes too much money to put in the bullpen or minors, and he doesn’t have a lot of trade value based on his contract and last year’s results. We can afford one under-achiever in the rotation if that’s the way it turns out. Hopefully, the scouts are wrong on their hunch. Even if he performs below expectations, he’s probably still better than half of the starters in the league.

Zoldak is the steady and reliable Dobson of lefthanders. We need him in the rotation, if for no other reason than to have fewer question marks. He will be our fourth starter to open the season.

Hearn has to open the season as the fifth starter based on last year’s performance. However, we have to find a RH starter that is major-league ready to have behind him. This soon-to-be-acquired pitcher will open the season in the bullpen in one of the long relief/spot starter slots. If we can’t draft this pitcher, we have to trade Brazle and/or Barrett to get him. Parnell will start the season as the other long bullpen pitcher, assuming he pitches well in spring training.

Wilks and Staley will open the season in two of the short relief spots. The other two short relievers will probably need to be obtained via free agency or trade. Our scouts have identified one possibility for the amateur draft, but it is such a controversial suggestion that I don’t want to put it in writing. It’s a long shot anyway.

We still have Fannin and Lanier in the minors with the hope that they will develop into either starters or relievers at the major league level. In an emergency, they could fill either role. We will start the season with them reversing their previous roles, i.e. Fannin will be a starter and Lanier will be a reliever.

It promises to be an interesting off-season, and we hope that improved pitching will put us back on top in 1948. With the planning behind us, it’s on to the draft…



Orcin -> RE: 1946 St. Louis Cardinals (9/24/2009 6:44:35 PM)

The AI deserves a round of applause for this draft. I made my usual list of favorites, packed with all-stars and HOF'ers, and all of them were taken by the end of the draft. There were no "Duke Snider" picks left for me, which is exactly the way that it should be.

I got the player that I really wanted in round 1, took one for the home team in round 2, and selected the best player available in rounds 3-5. I bent my own rules to take a HOF'er in the first round, but this is a special case for a couple of reasons. The player did not earn his HOF status during his brief major-league career, and his selection by me will not alter the balance of power like a Duke Snider might. This pick fits my role-playing scenario perfectly, and it was also a good pick for baseball reasons.

So, without further adieu, we present the...

1948 Amateur Draft

The Cardinals are drafting in the 13th position. We won't take this as a bad omen. We are picking ahead of the Giants, Yankees, and Red Sox, and right after Brooklyn and Cleveland. Philadelphia takes (future HOF'er) Richie Ashburn with the first pick. We sit quietly as several other top names, including Roy Campanella to Brooklyn and Mike Garcia to Cleveland, go ahead of us. Then we serve up a shocker of our own...

Round 1: St. Louis selects 42-year-old RH pitcher Satchel Paige! The Cardinals join Brooklyn and Cleveland as front-runners in the movement to integrate baseball. We think that Paige's showmanship and reputation will quickly win the hearts of our fans. But, at age 42, can he still pitch? Will our players respect his ability?

We had to answer these questions, so we arranged a secret tryout at Sportsman's Park a few weeks ago. We asked Enos Slaughter to drop by and help us evaluate a pitching prospect. Slaughter was not amused when he arrived and saw what we had arranged, but he agreed to participate in the tryout. Paige threw 20 pitches, 19 for strikes, and Slaughter managed to make contact only once, a weak popup. At the end of the session, Slaughter turned to me and said, "Sign him!" We think this endorsement by Slaughter, a team leader with a burning desire to win, will discourage any clubhouse problems before they start. (Editor's note: This story actually happened, but it was Bill Veeck who arranged the tryout with player/manager Lou Boudreau as the batter.)

Paige will use his baffling variety of pitches and deliveries in the bullpen setup role for us. We hope this finally solves our short relief problem.

Round 2: St. Louis selects 24-year-old LF Hal Rice (bats left). Rice was a part-time player who hit .260 over six seasons with the Cardinals. This is an affinity pick for me (to make things fair since the AI is forced to do the same). Rice will start the season in AAA. In truth, he will probably spend his entire career there and serve to compensate for those fictional scrubs that the AI carries on its rosters.

There were no other players of any significance that St. Louis introduced in 1948, so I spent the rest of the draft looking for the best player available without blatantly stealing anyone from the AI.

Round 3: St. Louis selects 25-year-old SS Ray Boone (bats right). This pick comes after Cleveland (Boone's affinity team) took a scrub two picks before me. Boone was a two-time all-star over 13 seasons with Cleveland and Detroit. He had a lifetime batting average of .275 with 151 career HR’s. He was the best player available at a position of need.

Boone will start the season at AAA while I decide how to use him. He might become the backup on the left side of the infield next year, replacing Christman whose contract expires, because he can also play 3B.

Round 4: St. Louis selects 21-year-old LH pitcher Billy Pierce. This pick comes after Detroit (his affinity team) and the White Sox (his primary team) had both picked scrubs in round 4 ahead of me. Pierce was a 7-time all-star with 211 lifetime wins and a career 3.27 ERA. He was definitely the best pitcher available, and a favorite player of mine. However, I need another LH starting pitcher like I need a hole in my head! Instead, I desperately need a RH starting pitcher, but all of the good right-handers were long gone.

(In case you are wondering why I need a RH instead of a LH, the answer is simple. I am a Libra. I now have 7 LH and 5 RH pitchers, and I can't stand that my roster is not balanced. [8|] )

So I must decide whether to keep and develop Pierce or trade him. I already have Parnell and Simmons as young LH prospects ahead of him, but I could trade one of them. I really should keep all three of them and trade Brazle instead, which would help with my salary budget. However, Pierce and Simmons are my #3 and #4 players on the AI's trade value ranking, just ahead of Kluszewski and behind only Musial and Schoendienst. I could trade either one of them for an all-star RH starting pitcher who could step into the rotation today. It's a nice problem to have.

Round 5: St. Louis selects 21-year-old RF Don Mueller (bats left). This pick follows the Giants (his affinity team) having taken a scrub in rounds 3 and 4. Mueller was a two-time all-star over 12 seasons with a .296 lifetime batting average. He is a similar player to Enos Slaughter, but with less power and a lower on-base percentage. Mueller could be good insurance against an injury to Slaughter for a few seasons, or I might trade him (maybe to the Giants if they are nice to me).

Mueller has a mid-level trade value (16th on my 40-man roster) and could bring a decent RH starting pitcher. I could then trade Brazle (29th in trade value) for an older backup corner OF with more power. This scenario would potentially save significant salary dollars that I need in order to extend the contracts of some key players.


1948 Free Agency

There was very little activity in the signing period, with only two pitchers signed by the Cubs. I did not bid on any players, so the signing period ended rather quickly. My only need was two relievers to get to 40 players before “finalizing” rosters. (Why does the player have to have a full roster before this step, but the AI does not?) I preferred to choose my free agents from what was left after prices had come down a little, and this strategy paid off for me.

I was able to re-sign Gordon Maltzberger to a one-year deal at half of the money that he was demanding immediately after the season ended. The salary difference was enough to sign Satchel Paige! Maltzberger is a gamble at age 36 (his career actually ended in 1947) but his ratings are still very good (81 stuff, 97 control). I am hoping he still has something left in the tank.

I took a flyer on a developmental player for the last roster spot. We signed 23-year-old relief pitcher, Buddy Lively. He had a very brief major-league career with a lifetime 4.16 ERA. However, he has nice ratings of 86 stuff, 64 velocity, and 77 control, with a potential of 41 and developing. You have to feel good about a fastball pitcher with the name “Lively” so I have a hunch that this one will work out well. If not, at least he was cheap.





Orcin -> RE: 1946 St. Louis Cardinals (9/24/2009 6:44:35 PM)

Hot Stove League news:

It looks like the Cardinals will have some new faces next year. Rumor has it that GM orcin is busy working the phones. Every conversation starts with the same word... pitching.



Wrathchild -> RE: 1946 St. Louis Cardinals (9/24/2009 6:57:41 PM)

How do you determine the trade value of your players?



Orcin -> RE: 1946 St. Louis Cardinals (9/25/2009 3:42:57 AM)

Try to trade for a HOF player. Usually, you will only get 1 or 2 options for players the AI will take. The top one is your most valuable player.

Now offer your most valuable player to another team in trade. He will offer evey player that he has. Note who the bottom one is. Clear the offer, and then offer to trade for his bottom player. He will be willing to take all of your players in trade. They will be listed in the order in which he values them.

Be careful, because your #6 player might be worth more than another team's #3 player, or might be worth less than another team's #10 player. The rankings are only relevant within your team.



Wrathchild -> RE: 1946 St. Louis Cardinals (9/25/2009 3:49:26 AM)

Cool. I didn't know that the players would accept in trade were in any specific order. I'm going to have to make a note of that. Would I see the same list regardless of team that I try to trade to, i.e. does each computer team value my players in the same order?



Orcin -> RE: 1946 St. Louis Cardinals (9/25/2009 4:02:12 AM)

I see players move up or down a notch or two depending upon the specific needs of the teams being queried. They don't change much, just one or two spots.

You will be surprised by some of your best players being at the bottom of his list. This usually relates to age or contract or both.


Edit: I also need to mention that this ranking changes as teams "evaluate players". So players can move up or down the list during the season.



Orcin -> RE: 1946 St. Louis Cardinals (9/25/2009 5:29:39 PM)

We lost the 1947 pennant for one reason... pitching. The recent player personnel evaluations convinced me that we needed a significant upgrade before the 1948 season. Satchel Paige was part of that plan, but that would not be nearly enough. In addition, we have now completed three separate trades for pitchers that should really help us.

Deal #1:

Harry Brecheen, our star pitcher, approached me after the season ended to talk about a player that he knew from his days in the Cardinals minor league system. This pitcher, Preacher Roe, was traded to the Pirates a few years ago (before I took over) and had a miserable 1946 season. He improved quite a bit in 1947 and made the All-Star team with a 12-8 record and 3.66 ERA. Brecheen said Roe had suffered a fractured skull before the 1946 season, but he pitched with it and didn't tell anyone for fear of being released. Roe's improvement on the field in 1947 was directly tied to the improvement in his health.

I told Brecheen that was all well and good, but we know about Roe and he is not really on our radar. We have left-handers who are better than him, so why should we add one more? Brecheen winked and said, "Because this year, Roe will be throwing a Beech-Nut curve." Well now, that's interesting.

You see, Beech-Nut is a brand of chewing gum. It's really special because when you chew it your saliva becomes very slippery. "Beech-Nut curve" is code for a spitball. Now I am not condoning cheating here, but I am also out to win. The spitball should not have been outlawed anyway. It's no more dangerous than that wild fastball Cliff Fannin throws, or that "mind-of-its-own" knuckleball that Dutch Leonard uses. Lots of guys fool around throwing spitters on the sidelines, but Harry said Preacher was pretty good at it and had developed ways to hide it in a game. A well-timed wet curve could turn a good pitcher into a great one pretty quick.

I thanked Harry for the information, and got on the phone with Pirates GM, Roy Hamey. I was not surprised to learn that Branch Rickey, Dodgers GM, had beaten me to the punch and was close to a deal to acquire Roe for Vic Lombardi. Rickey has good sources also. I asked Hamey what he really wanted for Roe. His answer was "a young left-handed starting pitcher". Lombardi was 26, a lefty, and and had a pretty good year in 1947. However, I had my own stable of young lefties and I got his attention when I offered 21-year-old phenom, Billy Pierce. Apparently, the Pirates' scouts were really upset that five position players were taken in the 1948 draft while Pierce was ignored on their board. Hamey jumped at Pierce and the deal was done.

It felt good to steal Preacher Roe right out from under Rickey's nose. And the really good news? Roe is signed for three years at minor-league money, so I haven't lost much except a draft pick if that "extra pitch" doesn't jump-start his performance. We have so many left-handed starters already that we plan to use Roe in the bullpen this year. Plus, we need to see how the deception goes before he starts spending whole games on the mound. (This memo will self-destruct in 5-4-3...)

Deal #2:

Cliff Fannin also came to see me and talked about a player stuck in the Braves' farm system that was from his neck of the woods in eastern Kentucky. This pitcher, Vern Bickford, was going to get a shot to make the Braves roster in the spring, but he was already 28 and no longer looking like a prospect. Fannin assured me that this guy could pitch so I checked with our scouts. Their thumbnail was: "great stuff, excellent control, physical condition excellent, high upside, ready to have a breakout year". Hmm...

We offered Red Barrett to the Braves for Bickford. You remember Barrett, the pitcher our scouts said to trade fast before he breaks down? The Braves didn't have our report so they were interested but wanted a little extra. They liked Don Mueller, our #5 draft pick, to groom as an eventual replacement for Tommy Holmes. I didn't have an immediate need for Mueller, so the 2-for-1 deal was done and we finally acquired that right-handed starter that we did need immediately.

Deal #3:

While I was talking about Bickford for Barrett, Al Brazle's name kept coming up (from me). The Braves liked Barrett a little better, but I went back to them and asked about their closer, Jim Konstanty, for Brazle. They would not do a straight up trade... apparently it was 2-for-1 week in Boston. The Braves' scouts were high on Buddy Lively, our young free agent reliever who they were apparently planning to sign before we beat them to it. So we were able to acquire Konstanty, a quality relief pitcher, for a guy who had worn out his welcome (Brazle) and a guy we weren't planning to use (Lively).

Summary of the pitching trades:
- Cardinals trade Billy Pierce to the Pirates for Preacher Roe
- Cardinals trade Red Barrett and Don Mueller to the Braves for Vern Bickford
- Cardinals trade Al Brazle and Buddy Lively to the Braves for Jim Konstanty

These deals left me two players short on the 40-man roster, so we went looking for free agents. We signed Ben Wade, another young reliever that our scouts had rated highly (just below Lively). We also re-signed Al Gionfriddo to a one-year deal as outfield insurance.

These deals combined to be payroll neutral, so I still have some room in my budget. I need this room because my new problem is expiring contracts for two key pitchers. Now we get to the REAL reason for acquiring a right-handed starter and a potential closer. Joe Dobson and Ted Wilks both have expriring contracts and want huge raises. I can't afford both along with next year's draft so something has to give. I need a backup plan, so I might as well execute the plan now and be pitching rich for at least one year.

I think we have enough depth now to handle the loss of one pitcher, so I am going to risk losing Dobson and not extend him. I am hoping that I can pick him up in free agency for less than his current demand. If not, c'est la vie. I will probably extend Wilks before the next free agency period if I still have excess budget by then.

Our major-league staff will go into the season organized this way:
Starting rotation = Brecheen, Dobson, Pollet, Zoldak, Bickford
Long Relief / Spot Starters = Parnell and Hearn
Short Relief = Konstanty, Roe, Paige, with Wilks as the closer

That's a much-improved bullpen... I hope. We struggled with taking Hearn out of the rotation, but all the talk about sophomore jinx and knee issues convinced us that he might be better off starting the year in the bullpen. He and Parnell will go into the rotation if we have injuries.

Maltzberger will start the year in AAA but he is good backup for Paige and Konstanty, or in case we need Roe as a starter. We are converting Fannin and Staley to starters, and the plan is to leave them in AAA this year unless we have a lot of injuries. And we still have McLish and Simmons, both of whom should be ready to pitch at the major-league next year..

We still had one more nagging assignment from the off-season "to-do" list - finding a backup second baseman / pinch-hitter. I contacted everyone, and I was really surprised and pleased to get the perfect player.

We traded Lou Klein, our backup 2B, to the Red Sox for Billy Goodman, a 22-year-old 2B (bats left, throws right). Goodman hit .430 (no, that's not a typo) in 107 AB with the Red Sox last year, and hit .323 in almost a full season at AAA. Goodman has great hands, good range, and can also play first, third, and all three outfield spots. So he is the ideal utility player and a great pinch-hitter when you need a baserunner. His only drawback is that he has no power, which is not a big deal for a middle infielder. Goodman could start for Schoendienst in case of injury without sacrificing much offense at all.

What's the catch? I couldn't find one. Goodman was only signed for one year, but he was happy to sign a four-year extension at ridiculously cheap money. So we have our backup infield problem solved for five years between him and Boone. Goodman also gives us another left-handed bat off the bench, which could come in handy because Harry Walker also has an expiring contract and I might need to replace him next year with Chuck Diering (who bats right).

PSPN has us rated #1 in the pre-season power rankings, so they must like these moves as much as I do. The proof is in the pudding, so let's play some games.




Orcin -> RE: 1946 St. Louis Cardinals (9/27/2009 10:21:18 PM)

Sometimes your team needs to be shaken up. There’s nothing like a headline trade that involves your starting lineup to give you a fresh start.

On May 12-13, we sweep a two-game series from the first-place Giants and things are looking up after a lackluster start. But over the next 10 games, we go 5-5 while the Giants win 10 straight to extend their lead over us to 8 games. The Phillies come to town, and we split a double-header on Sunday. We invite the Phillies' GM (and owner), Robert Carpenter, to dinner after the games, and the discussion turns to the future of our clubs. It is nice to negotiate with someone who doesn't need to check with the boss.

The Phillies #1 draft pick, Richie Ashburn, is hitting .347 and looks like the real deal. He is 21 and signed to a rookie contract for five years. I ask what it would take to get Ashburn, and Carpenter wants one of our two top prospects (Curt Simmons or Ted Kluszewski PLUS our starting center fielder, Pete Reiser). "Wow, that's a pretty steep price, Rob." Carpenter replies, "The guy is hitting .347 and he was the #1 pick in the draft." He has a point.

The Phillies have been scouting the 19-year-old Simmons since last year, and they dream of pairing him with 22-year-old Robin Roberts as a left-right 1-2 punch in their rotation for the next decade. They also have 24-year-old Rex Barney (courtesy of us in the Ron Northey trade), so they would have a great nucleus of young starting pitchers.

The Phillies have a huge hole at first base, so although they preferred the pitcher they were more than willing to do the deal with Klu instead of Simmons. I didn't want to give up Kluszewski, and I have tremendous depth in starting pitching, especially lefthanders. So we went that direction, and celebrated over dessert.

The headline in tomorrow’s Post-Dispatch sports page will read: “Cardinals acquire Ashburn” in return for center fielder Pete Reiser and minor-league pitcher Curt Simmons. There will be a lot of buzz over this deal, and I think it will give our club a lift.

We also signed Clyde Shoun, a 36-year-old left-handed free agent relief pitcher, to a one-year contract, bringing the roster back to 40 players. Shoun pitched well for the Reds over the past two years (3.25 ERA over the two seasons), and will be additional insurance for the bullpen.

Will the trade of another great pitching prospect be worth it? Is it a good move… for now and for the future?

Pete Reiser is 29 and at the peak of his career (potential 1 at peak). His skills will begin to decline, and he will become more prone to injury. His range in center field will shrink, and he is flanked by two outfielders who have limited range themselves. Ashburn is only 21 and already as good as Reiser with tremendous potential (86 and developing). He gets on base, hits doubles and triples, steals bases, and plays a Gold Glove caliber center field. His range and speed will allow him to get to balls that Northey and Slaughter cannot, which will make my whole outfield defense better. He has a rocket (rating 100) for an arm.

The Phillies have a dream of their 1-2 pitching punch. I dream of Richie Ashburn patrolling center field and leading off for the Cardinals for the next decade or more. Today, both our dreams came true. It sounds like a win-win deal to me.

_____________________

>>>out-of-character note regarding game balance:

Avid readers of this journal might recall that I traded a fifth-round draft choice, Duke Snider, to get Reiser. Simmons was a fourth-round pick. The AI passed on drafting both of these players several times, so I didn’t go out of my way to steal either of them.

A Snider-for-Ashburn trade is probably lop-sided in favor of the team receiving Snider. Add Curt Simmons to the deal, and it definitely favors the team giving up Ashburn for a HOF’er and an all-star. All three players were 21 or less at the time of the trades, so they all had their entire careers left for the receiving teams.

In fact, Simmons is probably better than he would have been since I carefully developed him for two years in the minors. The AI would have potentially ruined him by pitching him to death in the majors at age 18. Simmons pitched for the Phillies for the decade of the 50's, so he should be on this team anyway.

Ashburn is a HOF player but he was not voted in before his eligibility expired. He was elected by the Veteran’s Committee in 1995 (more than 30 years after he retired). Bill James did not include him among the 100 greatest players of all-time when he wrote the Historical Baseball Abstract in 1985. However, he was mentioned among the great center-fielders in the “players” section of the book that covered the top “few hundred” players according to James. Ashburn was truly a great player, but a borderline HOF’er.

Therefore, I ruled this trade to be “fair and balanced” and, as Commissioner, I allowed it. Ashburn was a favorite player of mine, and one of the players that I coveted for my team when I planned this replay league. I am really happy to have Ashburn-Schoendienst-Musial as my 1-2-3 hitters for the decade of the 1950’s.





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