While Turkey Stearnes will receive a lot of attention during the spring, how roles fall out between Sal Bando, Pedro Guerrero, Dick Lundy, and Roy Hartzell will see some focus as well–someone in that group is likely to end up at SS, and none of them are really naturals at that position.

Injuries

Carl Erskine was a long shot to make the roster; a shoulder injury costing him most of spring training confirmed he will start the season in the minors.

First Cuts

A host of arms were sent down: Red Ehret, Diego Seguí, Frank Barberich, James Shields, Charlie Ferguson and Rube Walberg all hit the minors, clearing quite a bit of space as the Sea Lions try to work out their staff.

Behind the plate, Mickey Cochrane has moved into the lead for the starting spot, with only Jack Warner being sent to the minors. That leaves only 3 full-time backstops in camp, which may mean that San Francisco continues to want to give John Beckwith a longer look. IF Bobby Bragan can also fill in at C if necessary.

With the Sea Lions committed to both John Beckwith and Jimmie Foxx, Don Money, Sid Bream, Bill Sweeney, and Wayne Gross found themselves with tickets to minor league camp, despite performances no worse than Beckwith’s or Foxx’s.

Denny Hocking and Ted Sizemore head to the minors, but that’s not really enough to sort out the middle infield, where Dick Lundy, Ron Hunt, and Roy Hartzell have been quite strong.

The OF is a little clearer as Turkey Stearnes has absolutely blown the cover off the ball, justifying his draft position. Eddie Murphy, Mookie Wilson, Del Unser, Jules Thomas, Darrell Brown, and Patsy Donovan were all sent to the minors while Bob Cerv remains, despite early struggles.

Second Cuts

Dave LaRoche is in danger of being sent to the minors, but for now the Sea Lions staff stays stable.

Just about the only clear message from camp so far is that Turkey Stearnes is for real and, at this point, the 22 year old rookie looks likely to start the season in CF for the Sea Lions. Aside from that … it’s all muddled. Reggie Jackson, Bobby Bonds, and Pedro Guerrero can’t hit a lick; neither Bobby Bragan nor Royce Clayton deserve to stay in camp, but with the team very thin in the MI, both do; Mickey Cochrane is making a play for the starting C spot, but both Brian Downing and Gene Oliver are refusing to claim the backup slot. So it goes.

Teenager John Beckwith heads to AAA for a bit more seasoning, and IF Jack Farrell heads down as well.

Third Cuts

Mickey Cochrane has edged ahead of the struggling Gene Oliver and even more struggling Brian Downing as the likely opening day C for the Sea Lions.

IFs Bobby Bragan and Royce Clayton were sent to AAA, but San Francisco still has some issues to sort out on the infield: too many 1B are mashing the ball (Jimmie Foxx, Jack Clark, Jason Giambi), Roy Hartzell, who finished last season as the presumptive starter at SS, has struggled, and both Phil Garner and Dick Lundy are playing well enough to demand more time.

Walt Williams has hit well, but the Sea Lions OF is pretty crowded and the trio of Frank Howard, Bob Cerv, and Josh Reddick have all hit better, so Williams is off to AAA.

It’s not clear what San Francisco does here: rookie phenom Turkey Stearnes has exceeded all expectations and looks set to play CF, leaving Rickey Henderson, Pedro Guerrero, Bobby Bonds, and Reggie Jackson competing for the corner OF and DH spots.

Final Cuts

Jair Jurrjens had raised some eyebrows in an attempt to make the roster as a swing starter, but it was always unlikely, and a couple late rough outings sealed his fate as Jurrjens heads to AAA. Josh Reddick was sent down along with slick fielding SS Eddie Miller. Miller’s demotion answers several other questions: Dick Lundy looks to be the everyday SS, with Roy Hartzell his backup, clearing the way for Sal Bando at 3B.

RP Dave LaRoche was sent to AAA along with Carl Erskine, which may virtually solidify the pitching staff for the Sea Lions, leaving only 13 arms in camp. Brian Downing continues to look good enough for the WBL until he’s actually given a chance: he’ll head to AAA, with catching duties for San Francisco falling to Mickey Cochrane and Gene Oliver in a likely platoon. Ron Hunt does have a knack for getting clipped by pitches, but that’s just not enough to justify a roster spot: he’ll start the year in AAA as well.

Jim Devlin was the final arm moved out of camp.

Jason Giambi was sent down despite his obvious power, as were Bob Cerv and Matt Holliday. Cerv refused his demotion, and was made a free agent.

That made the final cut a choice between OF Frank Howard, incumbent 2B Jimmy Bloodworth (who has struggled all Spring), and light hitting IF Roy Hartzell (which would leave the Sea Lions without a real reserve at SS). Given the OF depth on the roster, it wasn’t terribly surprising that Howard was the final cut from camp.

This is being posted after the draft–meaning after a huge influx of unproven young talent. More on that shortly–much more. For the award winners listed here, I’ve included rankings on the top prospect list, but those numbers would, of course, been higher when these awards were bestowed (that is, before the draft).

And, of course, many of the award winners are too old to be considered prospects.

I’ve also included some notes about some of the winners, hopefully setting up some future storylines.

AAA

AAA Gold Gloves

P – Blondie Purcell (Seattle / Portland)
C – Hal King (Milwaukee / Chicago)
1B – Eddie Murray (Washington / Baltimore) [#26]
2B – Bobby Knoop (Buffalo / Cleveland)
3B – Tim Wallach (Las Vegas / Los Angeles)
SS – George McBride (Atlanta / Birmingham)
LF – Joe Rudi (Atlanta / Birmingham) [#200]
CF – Lance Johnson (Milwaukee / Chicago)
RF – Paul Waner (Louisville / Homestead) [#47]

AAA Reliever of the Year

Adam Russell (St. Louis / Kansas City) swept all 20 first place votes after posting 25 saves and a 1.42 ERA for St. Louis. Russell was passable in Kansas City, and should find a spot in their bullpen next season.

AAA Platinum Sticks

C – Cliff Lee (Seattle / Portland)
1B – Kevin Young (Louisville / Homestead)
2B – Juan Samuel (Norfolk / Philadelphia)
3B – Jung Ho Kang (Columbus / House of David)
SS – Cal Ripken, Jr. (Washington / Baltimore) [#29]
LF – Merv Rettenmund (St. Louis / Kansas City) [#71]
CF – Benny Kauff (Hartford / New York Gothams)
RF – Al Kaline (Toronto / Detroit) [#15]
DH – Chick Stahl (Washington / Baltimore)

An interesting list. Kaline has established himself at the WBL level and both Kauff and Samuel excelled in limited opportunities, making them likely to receive roster spots for the coming season.

Kang, on the other hand, struggled at the WBL over several opportunities.

Of the rest, Ripken is probably the most likely to see WBL time, although he is blocked at Baltimore at both SS and 3B.

AAA Pitcher of the Year

Virgil Trucks (Cincinnati / Indianapolis) swept the first place votes and dominated the award after going 10-8 with a 2.72 ERA at AAA. Unfortunately, he was hit pretty hard, with an ERA over 5.00, in 17 games for Indianapolis. Still, the talent is clearly there for the 26 year old.

AAA MVP

The MVP Award was a bit closer, with St. Louis’ Rettenmund and Montréal (Ottawa)’s Bob Watson [#52] having strong showings in the voting. But both were well out-distanced by Hartford’s Benny Kauff who slammed 39 homeruns and slashed 303/370/600 to take home the honor. Kauff is 28, clearly no longer a prospect, but he hit so well both over the final 2 weeks of the season and into the postseason that the Gothams are pretty much forced to find time for him.

AA

AA Gold Gloves

P – Ricky Bones (Tulsa/ Memphis)
C – Tucker Barnhart (Rochester / Cleveland) [#358]
1B – Mike Squires (Madison / Chicago)
2B – Dick Green (Sacramento / San Francisco)
3B – Lee Tannehill (Vancouver / Portland)
SS – Eddie Miller (Sacramento / San Francisco)
LF – Hub Collins (Fort Wayne / Detroit) [#451]
CF – Kirby Puckett (Vancouver / Portland) [#126]
RF – Darrell Miller (Madison/ Chicago)

AA Reliever of the Year

Bill Harper (Austin / Houston) [#202] had 14 saves and a 0.97 ERA at AA, earning the award as the league’s top reliever. He struggled a bit at AAA later in the season, but still did enough to dominate the lower level. At only 22, Harper probably has another year or two of minor league time ahead of him.

AA Platinum Sticks

C – Frankie Hayes (Vancouver / Portland)
1B – Prince Fielder (Atlantic City / Philadelphia) [#127]
2B – Dave Cash (Oklahoma City / Kansas City) [#101]
3B – Jimmie Foxx (Sacramento / San Francisco) [#211]
SS – Joe Sewell (Rochester / Cleveland) [#88]
LF – George Burns (Troy / New York Gothams)
CF – John Briggs (Jersey City / Brooklyn) [#80]
RF – Willie Crawford (Tulsa / Memphis) [#311]
DH – Billy Nash (Fort Wayne / Detroit) [#201]

Briggs shocked observers, excelling in Brooklyn after making the jump directly from AA. Of the rest of these, Foxx looks set to be a bench player for San Francisco and Burns may see time in the OF for Ottawa (he was traded to them mid season).

AA Pitcher of the Year

Jeremy Sowers [#271] of Fort Wayne was named the AA Pitcher of the Year after his 13-4, 3.05 season. He looks fine, but doesn’t project as much more than a back of rotation arm eventually.

AA MVP

Tulsa’s teenage sensation Willie Crawford (334/440/556) and Jersey City’s John Briggs, who basically matched his AA production of 315/437/518 after being recalled to Brooklyn, received more attention this season, but the MVP award for AA goes to Fort Wayne’s Billy Nash, who slashed 315/383/595 on the season.

Nash is only 20, so look for another year in the minors, perhaps on the fringes of Detroit’s WBL roster.

Troy’s George Burns and Nashville (Indianapolis)’s George Foster [#98] also received first place votes.

Jim Whitney replaced Sam Streeter at the back end of the Black Barons’ rotation.

#Brooklyn Royal Giants

Make no mistake, Germany Smith is on a WBL roster because of his glove at SS. But once in a while, he can do somethings with the bat, like drive in 4 runs with 3 hits in a 5-3 victory over Homestead. Jackie Robinson had 3 hits as well in a game that saw Watty Clark earn his 22nd save.

Smith really is trying to prove he belongs with another 3 hits and 3 RBIs in the series finale. Duke Farrell and Beals Becker also had 3 hits, with Becker pounding out his 23rd homerun of the year in an easy 8-2 win behind a solid 7 innings from Tommy Hanson, who improved to 3-4 on the year.

#Portland Sea Dogs

Walter Johnson‘s return from the DL forced Frank Williams back to AAA. Mike Cuellar takes Atlee Hammaker‘s place in the Sea Dogs’ rotation. After a few shaky outings, Elmer Brown was replaced by Bob Porterfield as Portland’s closer.

Johnson picked right back up, allowing 1 run in 7 innings to improve to 11-4 on the year. Joe Mauer had 3 hits including his 12th homerun on the year in the 6-2 victory over the House of David.

#San Francisco Sea Lions

Dick Lundy‘s season is over, with the young infielder hitting the DL with a sprained shoulder. Glove man extraordinaire Eddie Miller was recalled from AAA to take Lundy’s spot, meaning Roy Hartzell will finish out the year as the Sea Lions’ everyday SS.

Bill Byrd was moved from the DL to the 5th rotation spot as expected–we’ll see if the risk pays off for the Black Sox. Miller Huggins, acquired from Indianapolis, steps into most of the playing time at 2B (Larry Gardner will play there some as well). Huggins cost Baltimore Rube Foster in a league where pitching is at a premium, so there’s some risk there.

Rick Ferrell, Don Aase, Jesse Burkett, and Bill Sweeney were all designated for assignment to make space on the 40 man roster.

#BBB

Birmingham has had to rejuggle some key parts of their roster as DH Emil Frisk, one of their standout Spring performers, will miss about 5 weeks with a concussion. The Black Barons have recalled Billy Southworth from AAA Atlanta.

#BRK

Tommy Corcoran showed enough to play at the WBL, but he still has minor league options, so along with Pee Wee Reese, untested Dickie Thon breaks camp at SS for Brooklyn.

#CAG

Julio Gotay went from competing for a WBL role at SS to being waived, as Chicago broke camp with Damian Jackson as a reserve IF instead.

#CLE

The Spiders picked up 3B Evan Longoria from Miami. Longoria will pair with Ken Keltner, sending Bob Elliott to AAA. Whit Wyatt will likely miss his first start of the season, with Stan Coveleski most likely to take his place.

#DET

The Wolverines made a minor deal coming out of Spring Training, picking up RP Ron Perranoski and 3B Billy Nash. Perranoski may see the big leagues this season; Nash is several years away. Si Johnson has some elbow tenderness, putting his first start in doubt: Detroit has 4 SP in their bullpen, so there are plenty of candidates to take his place.

#HOD

House of David RP Lee Smith was sent to AAA after he came off the DL. In a smaller deal, they obtained CF Jim Edmonds, who will start the year in the minors.

In a much bigger deal, the HoD picked up CF Pete Browning, Ps Rollie Fingers and Eddie Rommel, SS Bert Campenaris, and 1B Mark McGwire. All but

#IND

15 year old Piggy Ward was waived. The ABC’s added Rube Foster to their pitching staff from Baltimore, pushing Virgil Trucks to the bullpen to open the season.

#MIA

With 2 separate deals, Miami welcomed 1B/3B Jim Thome, CF Gus Bell, 1B Will Clark, C Harry Danning, and OF Carlos Moran to the club. It’s a little bit of a confusing haul, but a couple of things are clear from it: first, the club’s commitment to Martin Dihigo is solidified by clearing the way for the versatile 17 year old; secondly, Paul Molitor was recalled to Miami, presumably to play 2B while Dihigo develops.

Moran makes the roster as well, but Danning and Bell are both players for the future at this point.

#NYA

A bit of a blockbuster brought 27 year old Mike Schmidt–who had a historically bad Spring–over from Philadelphia. Schmidt steps into a lineup with no pressure, moving ahead of Doug DeCinces in the pecking order.

#NYG

The Gothams gained a starting 2B in Cookie Rojas and some veteran offense at 1B in Joe Adcock in a a trade with Miami. OF Yasiel Puig and P Livan Hernandez were also acquired in the deal, and moved to the minors.

#OTT

The most surprising news to come out of Ottawa is that SS Freddy Parent–considered one of the prizes on the market–remains with the team. Despite talent to offer at 1B as well, the Mounties were quiet on the preseason trading front.

#PHI

Moving Schmidt not only cleared the way for Scott Rolen at 3B, it also netted Philadelphia 2 big league talents in C Bill Dickey and OF Aaron Judge, as well as prospect 1B Prince Fielder. Dickey steps into a platoon with Sherm Lollar while Judge will begin the season in the minors.

3 P’s were released: Bob Moose, Edwin Jackson, and Hal Kelleher.

#SFS

The Seals made a deal that left their fan base scratching their head. But they’re confident that 20 year old SS Dick Lundy has a great future, OF Bobby Bonds will step right in at the WBL level, and Nick Altrock will prove a useful arm to have around. All 3 made the roster, sending Eddie Miller to the minors.