Only 6 players are officially full time (that is, they qualify for the batting stats): IF Jimmie Foxx, OFs Turkey Stearnes, John Briggs, Adam Dunn, and Ichiro Suzuki, and everywhere playing Charles Rogan. That group probably forms the core of the shortlist for the final Rookie of the Year Award: if you’re able to hold down a fulltime starting spot as a rookie in the WBL …

#C

Perhaps unsurprisingly, there are no fulltime rookie catchers, although 2–Philadelphia’s Bill Dickey and the House of David’s Frank Chance–have seen more and more time as the season has worn on.

Really, that’s it. Chance has played about 3/4 of the time behind the plate, so the playing time is pretty consistent. So … Tom Haller (who is likely to not have a very long career, although he’ll be retained as the backup in Baltimore next season for sure) in the AL and Dickey in the NL.

#1B/3B

The corner IF spots are a bit rough, given the high end talent in the AL and the lack of presence in the NL.

Foxx’s being the only rookie infielder to qualify for the batting championship gives him the lead, despite Ortiz’ remarkable production. Foxx played a little more at 1B than 3B, but given the paucity of hot corner candidates, may get the recognition there, clearing the way for Ortiz.

Pafko played as much in RF as 3B, but we needed more 3B here. Harris is a nice feel-good story–nothing like a 36 year old rookie come good.

#2B/SS

2 of the best here–Cal Ripken, Jr. and Judy Johnson–played regularly elsewhere (including 3B), but logged the majority of their innings in the middle infield.

Interesting list, with Gehringer being the only truly full time player for the entire season, although both Moore and Ripken are close enough to count. The lack of talent at 2B and in the NL is striking.

#OF

Here we have the clear overall RoY from the field players, but there’s more to chew on here than Turkey. Sorry.

We’re not going to be too picky about positions here, going with Stearnes, Kaline, and J-Rod in the AL and Briggs, Rogan, and Foster in the NL; or perhaps Monday, if you want to recognize Rogan on the mound.

The surprises here are probably Briggs (who had an army of doubters, but is 2nd here in WAR) and Monday, whose offense just kept demanding more and more playing time. And mention has to be made of Beníquez–35 years old and a dominant year. He played 1B and 3B as well, so may see recognition there.

#SP

A dozen rookies made 10 or more starts; of those, a half-dozen are worth taking a closer look at.

Foster is the clear class of this group, but Smokey Joe is a very close 2nd. I would add Whitney and Valenzuela to the award list, giving Brooklyn 2 of the 4 slots.

#RP

There aren’t a ton of relievers who are impactful enough to really warrant discussion here, but there are some.

Marberry, McGraw, Forster, and Guardado look pretty solid.

#Baltimore Black Sox

John Tudor was recalled from his rehab assignment, with Mark Baldwin heading back to AAA.

Sean Marshall will miss about a month with a strained bicep with the Black Sox recalling Rafael Betancourt from his rehab assignment.

The Black Sox recalled Ps Baldwin, Joe Cascarella, Kevin Tapani, and Emil Yde, IF Asdrúbal Cabrera, and OFs Phil Bradley and Earl Averill. With the season basically over, the Black Sox moved Mike Mussina out of the rotation, hoping to get a look at some arms for the future.

Dennis Martínez put in one of his best starts of the year, blanking Los Angeles 8-0 with a 4 hitter, striking out 10 and walking none. Ken Singleton, Manny Machado, Tom Haller, and Averill (in his first WBL game) went deep for Baltimore.

#Cleveland Spiders

Bob Feller‘s outing was shortened by a rain delay, but he still earned the victory with 5 scoreless innings, combining with Whit Wyatt, Al Smith, and Ron Reed on a 4 hit shutout of Baltimore. Ed Bailey drove in 5 and Lance Berkman had 3 hits in the 9-0 win for the Spiders.

Ron Blomberg started a rehab assignment for the Spiders.

Evan Longoria hit 2 homeruns to give him 30 on the season as the Spiders beat Detroit, 13-8.

#Detroit Wolverines

Hank Greenberg‘s second homer of the day was a walkoff shot as the Wolverines came from behind to beat San Francisco, 9-7.

Joakim Soria was recalled from a rehab assignment.

Ty Cobb had himself a day–5 hits, 3 homeruns–and the Wolverines topped San Francisco, 9-5.

#Memphis Red Sox

Bad news for Memphis, as Jameson Taillon will be out for over a year as he faces elbow reconstruction surgery. The Red Sox recalled Dean Chance from AAA.

As roster expansion hit, the Red Sox recalled Bob Stanley, Bucky Walters, Armando Benitez, Lefty O’Doul, Dustin Pedroia, Joe Rudi, and Hack Wilson.

Billy Bryan hit 2 homers and the Red Sox topped the Black Yankees, 8-6.

Len Barker ran out of gas in the 9th, but still had enough to fan 11 Black Yankees in a 13-1 pounding of New York. Barker improved his record to 9-10, supported by the first 2 homeruns of Pedroia’s WBL career and 3 hits each from DJ LeMahieu and Ted Williams.

#New York Black Yankees

The Black Yankees recalled Ps Ryne Duren, Jim Corsi, Anthony Varvaro, Noah Syndergaard, and Ron Bryant along with position players Roger Maris and Jorge Orta.

Orta had a debut for the ages, hitting 4 doubles in 5 at bats in his first WBL game as the Black Yankees pummeled Memphis, 15-7. Orta has been somewhat underrated as a prospect historically, but this was quite a showing.

Best team in the league adds the best free agent? Anything short of competing for a second consecutive championship would be a disappointment.

Best Case

The pitching is even better, supported by the return of the injured arms (most of all, Ned Garvin and Sean Marshall) and the offense runs even deeper with the addition of Gavvy Cravath.

Worst Case

The pitching reverts to mediocre and both Cravath and Dan McGann show their age while other key parts of the offense–Curt Blefary especially–regress.

Key Changes

• Cravath, clearly.
• Closer Joe Beggs may be converted into a starter, with Buddy Groom and John Wetteland taking over the end of games. At the end of Spring Training, he was still in the bullpen, but the move looms.

This is part of why they start the season as the favorites: the only changes have been a clear improvement in talent with Cravath and a few changes at the end of the roster (Tom Haller beating out Ramón Hernández behind Blefary, Miller Huggins beating out Brian Roberts as a reserve infielder, John Tudor making the team, stuff like that). The team has some flaws, but those same flaws existed last season, and that ended with a championship.

Trade Bait

Not a lot. There is a little excess in the OF and some spare SP, but the team also doesn’t have a lot of glaring need.

Roster Evaluation

Seems about right: most of the roster is firmly towards the left side of the scale, with more unknowns with upside than actual weaknesses.

Talent Ratings

Best In The Minors

Chino Smith was drafted in the 8th round by Memphis, then inexplicably released. The Black Sox snapped him up, hoping he may be part of the answer to what comes after Wallace and Gardner in the middle infield. Murray and Ripken are expected in the WBL this season, although when Murray takes over for McGann remains unclear.

Not many: the twelve arms are–pending injury or spring training collapse–pretty much set, as is most of the lineup with only a single roster spot currently available, which would be filled by a reserve 2B.

First Cuts

This is hard. Other than Dick Ellsworth, all of the competitors for the final rosters spots impressed–even Frank Fancisco, who joined Ellsworth in being sent down, didn’t pitch badly.

The same can’t be said for the mainstays: Bob Miller and Buddy Groom both struggled, and pricey FA pickup Aaron Heilman was hit very hard. Baltimore’s assumption is that their core rotation–Bill Byrd, Dennis Martínez, Connie Johnson, and Mike Mussina–will all come around.

Offensively, some moves were more clear.

Nobody other than Curt Blefary has done anything behind the plate, leading to Brook Fordyce and Joe Holden being returned to the minors, as were Bruce Bochte, Paul Hines, Roy Smalley Jr., and Julian Javier. Both Billy Hulen and Paul Blair are hitless so far, but Blair is an established starter and a gold glove winner, so it’s Hulen who is sent to the minors, along with Ron Northey.

Neither Jim Bottomley nor Dave Altizer have shown much, but they were kept in camp for the time being.

It was assumed that 16 year old Piggy Ward was only in camp as a publicity stunt, but the young man has shown great control of the strike zone and enough defensive skill to stick around a bit longer.

Ramón Hernández, Manny Machado, Blair, and Larry Gardner have all struggled mightily, but aren’t yet in danger of any change to their status. Miller Huggins has also been poor, but retains his spot in camp due to the uncertainty at the reserve 2B position.

The focus for Baltimore will be on sorting out the pitching question: look for extended innings to be given to those guys over the next week. There are some questions to settle in the OF as well, as Steve Brodie‘s impressive start, combined with the struggles of Chick Stahl, Altizer, and Phil Bradley are muddying the waters for what may be the final roster spot.

Second Cuts

In the bullpen, Bob Miller–who started last year as the co-closer for the Black Sox but struggled since around the all-star break, and has been absolutely hammered in Spring Training–will start this season in the minors. Rafael Betancourt was also sent down, but other than that the pitching remains muddled: the starting quartet continues to struggle and the pretenders–Blake Hawksworth, Jack Kramer, Milt Pappas, and John Tudor–have combined to allow 1 run in in just over 26 innings.

Ramón Hernández and Phil Masi have each managed only a single hit, but Hernández’ WBL track record keeps him in camp. George Gibson was recalled to get some fill in at bats.

Jim Bottomley and Dave Altizer were sent down, loosening some of the crowd at 1B. Bottomley was given his release, allowing the veteran to try to catch on elsewhere. Teenage phenom Piggy Ward headed to minor league camp as well.

In the OF, veteran Chick Stahl‘s miserable spring earned him a ticket to AAA, while Steve Brodie and Phil Bradley continued to argue for a roster spot.

Third Cuts

C George Gibson, SS Mark Belanger, and Ps Jack Kramer and Mark Baldwin were the easy demotions. They were joined by Blake Hawksworth, whose wildness raised too many questions.

FA signing Aaron Heilman had been assumed to be a lock for the roster, but instead pitched poorly enough to be released, despite the economic commitment of his contract.

OF Steve Brodie was making a decent case to stick around, but a strained oblique will keep him out for about a month, sending him to AAA. He’s joined there by Brian Roberts, meaning Miller Huggins has beat out Roberts for the reserve 2B slot.

Joe Dobson and Milt Pappas have both pitched well in camp, but move to AAA for more development given their youth. Both Eddie Murray and Willie Montañez have hit well enough to stay in camp, and there is a bit of a logjam at SS and 3B: Bobby Wallace and Manny Machado are the presumed starters, leaving Brooks Robinson likely as the odd man out despite a strong Spring.

Phil Bradley finds himself in a similar position, likely the victim of a numbers game by the end of camp.

Last Cuts

Teenage phenom Willie Montañez‘ time in camp came to an end. OF Phil Bradley was going to need a stunning Spring to break camp with the Black Sox, and while he certainly tried, there was just no way he was breaking through the established OFers–plus Gavvy Cravath.

In a bit of a surprise, Tom Haller beat out incumbent Ramón Hernández to backup Curt Blefary with Hernández heading to AAA. That makes the Black Sox one of the first teams to reduce to only 2 Cs, partially out of a desire to get Blefary as much work behind the plate as possible before opening day.

Brooks Robinson had a nice Spring, but there just wasn’t any room for him on the left side of the infield behind incumbents Bobby Wallace and Larry Gardner, World Series hero Manny Machado, and the emerging talents of Cal Ripken, Jr. Robinson is off to AAA, with hopes that a good showing may make him desirable for a contender come the next trading period.

Being Whirled Champions should mean your roster is strong. It should also mean your choices the next Spring are rough, and here we are. Scott Williamson, Armando Benitez, John Tudor, and Kevin Tapani all pitched well this Spring. Tapani and Benitez were slightly worse, so they are the first two heading to AAA.

Benitez refused to be demoted, so he was waived, which puts a decent arm on the free market.

Eddie Murray was fantastic all Spring. But the Black Sox are going to continue with 37 year old Dan McGann for one more year, sending Murray to AAA to get regular AB.

The Cravath acquisition makes things complicated as the Black Sox have 6 quality bats in the OF (or 5 quality bats plus Paul Blair‘s glove). They also have a glut on the left side of the IF, where Cal Ripken, Jr is pushing both Bobby Wallace and Manny Machado at SS and 3B.

In the end, the hard decision came down to Ripken and Williamson being sent down, with Tudor being the surprise arm making the roster out of Spring Training.

Summary

Overall, Baltimore is one of the big surprises in the league, heading into the midpoint of the season with a league-best 45-29 record, giving them a 2 game lead in the Cum Posey Division.

What’s Gone Right

The Pitching. The trio of Dennis Martínez, Ned Garvin, and Bill Byrd is easily the best in the league, with a combined record of 20-8 and ERA’s all within 10 points of 3.00. But it doesn’t stop there. Sean Marshall, Bob Welch, and Mike Mussina are all pushing hard to replace either Johnny Sain or Jim Palmer (who have struggled fairly equally) as starters, with all three of them posting eye-popping numbers, albeit in limited innings.

No Closer, No Cry. The Black Sox were ridiculed for splitting the duties between Don Bessent and Bob Miller. Bessent has 9 saves to Miller’s 3, but that’s been more accidental than intentional, and both have been highly effective.

Top of the Order. Three players with OBPs over .400 (Bobby Wallace, Dan McGann, and Larry Gardner) followed by as destructive a duo as you’ll find anywhere in Frank Robinson and Curt Blefary is enough to build an offense around.

What’s Gone Wrong

The Blair Project. Paul Blair‘s continued struggles certainly stand out. Blair’s been good defensively, but can’t get his OPS over .650.

Infield Woes. Third base and the backup infielder roles have been pretty poor: both Miller Huggins and Brooks Robinson were moved down to AAA, but neither Brian Roberts nor Cal Ripken, Jr. have really done much, either. Harlond Clift has been the de facto starter at 3B, but is hitting under .200 with an OPS barely over .600.

The AAA Gap. Baby Doll Jacobson might have been the best hitter in AAA when he was called up. Roberts and Ripken, Jr. were smacking the ball there. All have struggled since their WBL debuts. The gap between AAA and the WBL is significant.

Key Storylines

Moving Garvin into the starting lineup has paid massive dividends, and with Welch and Mussina’s performance, the Black Sox haven’t lost anything from the middle of the bullpen.

Sticking with Bryce Harper through his early season struggles is proving smart as well, with the 19 year-old now sporting an OPS just over .700 with a great batting eye.

Trading Outlook

HOLDING.

They would like to buy, but there aren’t a lot of obvious possibilities. They need a solution at 3B. Alex Johnson and Merv Rettenmund seem the most obvious pieces. There are some live arms in the minors as well.

AAA Shuttle

Not a lot. Ripken, Jr. and Jacobson will stay in the majors for at least a few more weeks, although both are struggling to adapt to big league pitching. Chick Stahl would be next in line to try his hand at unseating Blair if it comes to that.

Midseason Changes

Mussina has just been too good, and will start the second half as the fifth starter ahead of Palmer. Sain only has a few starts before his spot is under consideration as well.

Brooks Robinson has recovered his batting eye at AAA, and with Clift struggling so mightily, he will be recalled with Clift heading to Washington. Worst case, Robinson is a better glove.

Awards

Player of the Week: Frank Robinson (5/15); Dan McGann (5/22)

All Stars: Bill Byrd (P); Curt Blefary (C); Ned Garvin (P); Sean Marshall (P); Dennis Martínez (P); Dan McGann (1B); Bobby Wallace (SS).

Offensive MVP: Curt Blefary (C)
Pitching MVP: Ned Garvin (SP)

Down on the Farm

AAA: Washington Senators

Next to the Show: OF Merv Rettenmund (25), Chick Stahl (31); P BJ Ryan (27)

Prospects: 1B Eddie Murray (21).

Projects: SS Mark Belanger (24), OF Merv Rettenmund (25), P Milt Pappas (22).

Suspects: P Mike Flanagan (31), OF Ken Griffey, Sr. (33), C Tom Haller (31).

AA: Charlotte Hornets

Prospects: 2B Asdrúbal Cabrera (21) and OF Larry Sheets (24).

Projects: 3B Joe Dugan (26), 1B Willie Montañez (18), RPs Dave Smith (26) and Jeff Karstens (23).

Suspects: OF Corey Patterson (26), SP Willie Sudhoff (30).

Final Roster

SP: Johnny Sain, Mark Baldwin, Dennis Martinez, Jim Palmer, Rube Foster.
RP: Bill Byrd & Ned Garvin; Buddy Groom, Lindy McDaniel & Gregg Olson; Don Bessant & Bob Miller.

C: Ramon Hernandez & Curt Blefary
1B: Dan McGann
2B: Brian Roberts & Larry Gadner
3B: Harlond Clift; Brooks Robinson
SS: Bobby Wallce; Mark Belanger
LF:Frank Robinson
CF: Paul Blair
RF: Bryce Harper
DH: Ken Singleton

Notes

All Milt Pappas had to do was be mediocre, and he would have a roster spot sewn up. Instead, he was pounded, as was Don Aase, leaving the Black Sox with only 10 pitchers deserving of WBL slots … Bill Byrd looks to be back from injury before opening day, so he’ll claim a spot. The other goes to veteran Buddy Groom, recalled from AAA to add some depth to the bullpen … Don Bessent and Bob Miller look to split the closer duties, with Bessant being slightly more effective at the moment … a few of the final cuts were determined more by age than performance: 21 year old Cal Ripken, Jr. and 22 year old Bill Sweeney each performed well enough to earn a roster spot, but will start the season in AAA … 19 year old Bryce Harper was just brought to camp to get a taste of it. Instead he hit 375/432/775 and will start the season in RF … Harper’s success prevents the Black Sox from keeping 3 Cs, leaving Tom Haller–who hit .412 in Spring Training–on the outside looking in behind both Ramon Hernandez and Curt Blefary on the depth chart … Harlond Clift edges out Brooks Robinson for the starting job at 3B

36 year old 1B Dan McGann is the oldest player on the opening day roster, with 19 year old OF Bryce Harper the youngest (Frank Robinson is 20).

Eddie Murray and Mike Mussina were both expected to make the opening day roster: the pair of 21 year olds are still expected to return to Baltimore quickly after starting the season at AAA. There’s not a lot of talent at AA: perhaps the best is 2B Asdrubal Cabrera.