Tag: Miller Huggins

TWIWBL 1.0: Final Preseason Notes

On August 23, 2020

#BAL

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.

Season Preview: Indianapolis ABC’s

By mknn

On August 23, 2020

In Team News

The ABC’s are a littler hard to figure: Red Faber, Dolf Luque, and Johnny Cueto have been dominant at the front of the rotation, and Rob Dibble looks excellent as the closer. But there are question marks between them, cushioned by a plethora of talent at AAA. Offensively, there is some high-end talent here, especially in the form of Johnny Bench, but the lineup fizzles out towards the bottom end.

Final Roster

SP: Red Faber, Dolf Luque, Johnny Cueto, David Price, Virgil Trucks.
RP: Bronson Arroyo & Paul Derringer; Lefty James; Rob Murphy & Clay Carroll; Rob Dibble.

C: Johnny Bench; Ernie Lombardi
1B: Hal Morris
2B: Joe Morgan
3B: Chase Headley & Ed Charles
SS: Davey Concepcion; Dennis Menke
LF: Danny Hoffman & Bob Bescher
CF: Dave Henderson; Oscar Charleston
RF: Pete Rose
DH: Jake Stenzel

Notes

Virgil Trucks displaced Paul Derringer in the rotation and David Price earned the final starting slot … Indianapolis’ desire to keep all 3 of Johnny Bench, Jake Stenzel, and Ernie Lombardi complicates things, clearly costing Miller Huggins a spot despite a decent Spring …21 year old George Foster will start at AAA … Joey Votto looked a lock early in the Spring, but he lost the starting 1B job to Hal Morris … ultimately, carrying all 3 C meant only 11 arms in the bullpen, with Francisco Cordero‘s poor final outings sending him to the minors … there is a lot of rotation in the lineups as the ABC’s try to get playing time for the 3 Cs, as well as teenage phenom Oscar Charleston … that’s in addition to a traditional platoon of Ed Charles and Chase Headley at 3B and Danny Hoffman and Bob Bescher in LF.

35 year old ace SP Red Faber is the oldest player on the roster, and 19 year old Oscar Charleston the youngest.

21 year old Barry Larkin may be the future at SS for Indianapolis, but Joey Votto and Ps Willie Mitchell and Eppa Rixey are most likely to help in the near term from AAA. At AA, 17 year old Willie Montanez is turning heads and both he and 21 year old Rick Manning may move up soon.

This Week In Whirled Baseball: Spring Training Update I

By mknn

On June 30, 2020

In TWIWBL

Welcome to the very first installment of TWIWBL, 10 days into Spring Training. Each team’s individual Spring Training Preview page has been updated, and here are some highlights from around the league, focusing on injuries and performances that have shuffled depth charts.

#BALTIMORE BLACK SOX

When Bill Byrd went down, Mike Mussina was called up and his early performances have moved the 23 year old into the competition for the end of the rotation spots.

#BROOKLYN ROYAL GIANTS

Closer Watty Clark has been nearly unhittable with 3 saves in 3 chances in the Spring.

#CLEVELAND SPIDERS

CF Tris Speaker is out for several months with a torn calf muscle, throwing the Spiders OF into some chaos, and opening the door for both Larry Doby and Kenny Lofton to see more playing time.

#HOMESTEAD GRAYS

C Josh Gibson will miss most of Spring Training, but should be back for Opening Day. His absence, however, has revealed a paucity of talent at C, both at the WBL level and throughout the organization. Hobie Landrith and Blake Swihart will see some time during the Spring in support of Peaches Graham and the GM has begun scouring the land to help fill up the Grays’ roster of minor league backstops.

#INDIANAPOLIS ABC’S

Some of the best battles of the Spring are in the infield in Indianapolis, where Jake Stenzel and Johnny Bench are both hitting incredibly well at C, and there’s barely a hair’s width difference between Joe Morgan and Miller Huggins at 2B and Piggy Ward and Ed Charles at 3B.

#MEMPHIS RED SOX

With projected front of rotation SPs Sadie McMahon, Roger Clemens, and Nixey Callahan all posting ERA’s over 8, and Jon Lester‘s 7.00 ERA the best of other options, the starting rotation is a mess in Kansas City. Luckily, they’re only 10 games in.

#NEW YORK BLACK YANKEES

One thing is constant in the WBL: Babe Ruth leads the league in HR, with 5 in 9 games. He, Mickey Mantle, Eric Davis, and Aaron Judge may be the best 4 man OF in the league.

#NEW YORK GOTHAMS

The trio of Christy Mathewson, Gaylord Perry, and Mickey Welch are having a remarkable Spring, with 5 wins and only 5 ER in over 30 IP between them.

#SAN FRANCISCO SEA LIONS

The Sea Lions are committed to the running game, with Pete Browning and Rickey Henderson tied for the Spring league with 5.

Spring Training Preview: Indianapolis

By mknn

On June 19, 2020

In 2000 Spring Training, Team News

Barring injury, the starting rotation is set, but there are some unknowns in the bullpen where Norm Charlton, Francisco Cordero, and Lefty James are in contention to make the roster.
- The pitching has been strong, but Tony Mullane has struggled a bit allowing the possibility for one of several contenders to lay claim to the #5 slot. Johnny Cueto, Dolf Luque, and David Price are all yet to allow a run, so we’ll start with those 3.
  - Mullane has been sent to AAA, and Eppa Rixey is now questionable to make the rotation, with Bronson Arroyo, Paul Derringer, Dixie Leveret and Luque joining Cueto and Price in the running.
- Charlton, Octavio Dotel, and Cordero have all struggled in relief, while Clay Carroll has excelled.
  - Cordero and continues to be on the bubble, and the desire to reduce roster size has sent Charlton to AAA.
It’s clear that Johnny Bench and Jake Stenzel will both make the roster, but it’s not clear who will be the starter at C.
- Both have excelled, so still not clear. Ernie Lombardi has been recalled for depth.
  - Lombardi is also hitting very well: at this point, they’d like to keep all 3 on the opening day roster.
Joe Morgan and Miller Huggins are in competition at 2B, as are Piggy Ward and Ed Charles at 3B.
- Huggins and Morgan are still neck and neck. Given Menke’s ability to fill in at 2B, Lonny Frey is heading back to AAA.
SS is a mess: Dennis Menke and Jhonny Peralta have the edge to start, but a great Spring by either Barry Larkin or Dave Concepcion could leapfrog them.
- Menke and Concepcion lead this race, but nothing is settled yet.
Oscar Charleston looks like the real deal, but the OF is crowded. Performances this Spring should shed some light on how the team differentiates between Charlie Hemphill, Edd Roush, Pete Rose, Bob Bescher, George Foster, and Willie Montanez.
- Charleston has yet to show much of anything, and only Edd Roush is performing worse of the OFers. But only Rose has made enough noise to join Dave Henderson as a likely starter.
  - Charleston has improved dramatically, but other than Roush continuing to struggle and Rose leading the way, little is clear here.
- Montanez has been moved to AAA to clear some OF room (especially with Hemphill about to return from a few days off), and Chase Headley has been recalled to add some depth at 3B.
  - Headley has been very impressive, and is arguing for a roster spot.

	Near Definite	Likely	Possible	Long Shot
Starting Pitchers	Virgil Trucks Red Faber Willie Mitchell		Eppa Rixey Johnny Cueto Dolf Luque Paul Derringer David Price Dixie Leveret Bronson Arroyo
Middle Relievers			Octavio Dotel Lefty James Francisco Cordero
Setup		Rob Murphy Clay Carroll
Closer	Rob Dibble
C		Johnny Bench Jake Stenzel	Ernie Lombardi
1B		Joey Votto Hal Morris
2B		Joe Morgan Miller Huggins
3B		Piggy Ward Ed Charles	Chase Headley
SS		Dennis Menke Dave Concepcion		Barry Larkin Jhonny Peralta
OF	Pete Rose	Dave Henderson Bob Bescher Oscar Charleston	Edd Roush George Foster Charlie Hemphill Danny Hoffman