86 - 68, .558 pct. 1st in Effa Manley Division Lost to New York Gothams in Wild Card Round
Overall
One of the storylines of the year was Cleveland’s winning their division over the much-hyped Black Yankees. They did it with excellent pitching and just enough offense, but will need to do some work in the offseason to maintain their edge: MVP candidate Ron Blomberg is likely to regress and it’s unlikely all of the pitchers who made good will do so again.
What Went Right
Ron Blomberg shocked the world.
The Spiders thought they had their CF issue solved when Kenny Lofton emerged as a speedy, solid presence at the top of the lineup. Then Tris Speaker returned from injury and exploded onto the scene, essentially hitting like Blomberg, but with speed and defense over his first 100 PA’s.
Jake Stahl and John Ellis were far better than anticipated, each posting an OPS safely over .800.
Louis Santop was solid at C as a teenager.
The Spiders had seven–seven–pitchers who were strong enough to be front half of rotation starters. The top three (Pat Malone, Bill Steen, and Cy Young) were magnificent; Mel Harder was as good in limited appearances; and Whit Wyatt (injured and likely to miss the start of next season), Stan Coveleski, and Stan Bahnsen all were better than many team’s #3 arms.
Terry Adams was excellent, ending the season tied for the WBL lead in saves and Chuck Porter and Cory Gearrin were among the better setup units in the league.
ALL STARS RP Terry Adams; OF Ron Blomberg; 2B Chuck Knoblauch; P Cy Young
What Went Wrong
The 3rd OF slot was a struggle all season: Peanuts Lowrey was decent enough, and Lance Berkman hit better for Cleveland than he did for Houston, but Lofton faded badly and both Larry Doby and Rowland Office were pretty miserable out there.
3B was an issue all year: Sammy Strang gets on base, but offers little else, but neither Evan Longoria nor Jim Gantner did even that.
Arky Vaughan was acquired at some cost to solidify the SS position, but while he was better than Bill Dahlen, Bill Knickerbocker, or Mickey Doolin, he still struggled.
On the mound, not much: Bob Feller was inconsistent but he’s 20. Ron Reed was OK, but not the world-beater he was with Philadelphia. That’s really not a lot to complain about.
Transactions
March
IF Jim Thome & OF Gus Bell to Miami for IF Evan Longoria
Looks like a loss: Thome struggled but Longoria was miserable.
June
OF Andrew Payne, P Hardie Henderson, OF Darrell Miller & OF Gibby Brack for RP Ron Reed
It seemed fine at the time, but unless Reed recovers his form, it may be a loss.
OF Harry Stovey, 1B Charlie Grimm, P Chad Qualls & 3rd Round Pick to Houston for OF Lance Berkman
At Berkman’s best, this is a good deal; during his slumps, though …
July
IF Nap Lajoie, P Arodys Vizcaíno & 1st Round Pick to Homestead for SS Arky Vaughan
Clearly overpaid. At the same time, the notion was to solidify the infield for a final playoff push, which it almost did.
Looking Forward
SP
The pitching is excellent right now, but only Bob Feller and Cy Young look to be around long term. As such, the Spiders are looking both for young arms and see this as a sign their window for championship competition may be small.
RP
Another strong group, with probably the most interesting arm behind the trio of Terry Adams, Cory Gearrin, and Ron Reed being Firpo Marberry at AAA.
C
Should be Louis Santop for a long, long time.
1B
Ron Blomberg is here, with Jake Stahl and Hal Trosky pushing for time should he stumble.
2B
Chuck Knoblauch looks solid for the time being.
3B
A bit of a mess: it would be great if someone between Sammy Strang, Ken Keltner, and Evan Longoria would step up and take control of this position.
SS
Arky Vaughan was brought in to solidify this position, and will be given at least a year to do that, although Joe Sewell may pressure him. Worst case, the trio of Bill Dahlen, Mickey Doolin, and Bill Knickerbocker have all shown the ability to field at an elite level, although none of them can hit.
LF
Johnny Bates for now, with Paul O’Neill looking decent in the minors.
CF
There is a real glut here. Tris Speaker has basically seized this spot, but the Spiders are looking at moving him to LF to take advantage of Kenny Lofton‘s speed and defense in CF. Larry Doby may also move to a corner spot, if he ever shows an ability to hit WBL pitching.
RF
See above: currently open, but Blomberg will play there some as well.
The Rookie Draft
Rounds 1-4
The Spiders didn’t have a 1st round pick, and then only have a single selection for the rest of the rounds of the draft: they need a lot of talent, so it may be a challenge to fill it all.
That starts with SP Howard Ehmke, a franchise selection who is a few years away from the WBL. Missing out on Carlos Baerga by a single selection may hurt–not only does he play positions the Spiders need, but he would have been a franchise selection. Instead, in round 3, Cleveland takes Justin Turner, perhaps anticipating that by the time the IF is ready for the WBL, their 3B situation will have clarified.
Rounds 5-8
Cleveland will focus on pitching, 2B, 3B, and OF depth.
That begins with Bill Drake in round 5 and 3B Aubrey Huff in round 6 and OF Bruce Campbell in round 7 and IF Johnny Hodapp in round 8.
Rounds 9-12
1B Bill Phillips; 3B Brandon Drury; P Al Smith; P Charlie Knepper.