Thursday, February 25, 2010

End of Series 4

The standings

Division A
Ikes 6 3 .667 --
Franklins 6 4 .556 .5
Obamas 5 4 .556 1
Teddys 5 5 .500 1.5
Kennedys 3 7 .333 3

Division B
Homestead 8 2 .800 ---
Crawfords 5 4 .556 2.5
X-Giants 4 6 .400 4
Hilldale 3 6 .333 4.5
Garfields 3 7 .375 5

Series 5
Teddys at Garfields (2)
X-Giants at Homestead (3)
Hilldale at Crawfords (3)
Franklins at Kennedys (3)
Obamas at Ikes (3)

Player of series: Babe Ruth, Franklins
Pitcher of series: Lefty Grove, Franklins

Series 4: Homestead sweeps Teddys

Teddys 5-5, Homestead 8-2

Pitching use: D. Brown, Mathewson need three games; Paige and Alexander need two games. McGinnity pitched two innings in finale, Wickware .3 inning, Matlock 1.3 inning.

Game 1: Homestead 9, Teddys 4
WP: Paige (1-1)
LP: Alexander (1-2)
HR: Baker (1), C. Smith (3), J. Gibson (4), Suttles (2), W. Brown (3), Lyons (1)
Game 2: Homestead 5, Teddys 2
WP: D. Brown (2-0)
LP: Mathewson (0-2)
Sv: Matlock (2)
HR: Suttles (3)

---

Homestead took control of the Division B race — and helped turn the Divison A race into a mess — by sweeping the Teddys.
The deadball era aces — Pete Alexander and Christy Mathewson — were no match for the bit bats of the Homestead lineup. Alex went the distance, but surrendered five homers and was roughed up for five runs in the eighth, and Matty allowed five runs before recording an out. He got through six innings to preserve the Teddys bullpen.
Satchel Paige was perfect through four innings in the opener and got the win. Dave Brown was even better in the night cap, although the bullpen had to pull him out of an eighth inning jam that resulted in two runs. Frank Wickware and Leroy Matlock got the last five outs without allowing a hit.
The biggest bat belonged to Mule Suttles, who homered in each game and piled up four RBIs.

Series 4: Franklins sweep Crawfords

Franklins 6-4, Crawfords 5-4

Pitcher use: B. Foster, Hubbell need three games, Brewer, Grove two. Davis pitched one inning in finale

Game 1: Franklins 9, Crawfords 1
WP: Grove (1-2)
LP: Brewer (0-1)
HR: HR Johnson (1), Ruth (6), Hornsby 2 (2), Frisch (1), Grove (1)

Game 2: Franklins 9, Crawfords 3
WP: Hubbell (2-0)
LP: B. Foster (1-2)
HR: Ruth 2 (8), DiMaggio (2)

---

Too much power. Too much pitching. Too much Ruth.
That was the way this series went for the Crawfords, who entered the series with the second best record in the league and left embarrassed and limping.
Lefty Grove not only handcuffed the Crawfords in the opener — five hits, two walks and seven strikeouts), he bopped a grand slam off Chet Brewer in the second inning. Babe Ruth, Frankie Frisch and Rogers Hornsby continued the long-ball assault on Brewer.
In the second game, Ruth homered in his first two at-bates — five RBIs worth — and just missed another dinger in his third AB, settling for a two-bagger. Joe DiMaggio had three walks, a single and a homer, scoring three runs and driving in two. Carl Hubbell gave up two runs in the first inning but just one the rest of the way.
Three Crawfords left the contest with injuries — Alejandro Oms, Ray Dandridge and John Beckwith.

Series 4: Obamas sweep Hilldale

Obamas 5-4, Hilldale 3-6

Pitcher use: Plank, Byrd need two games, W. Johnson and Redding need three. Powell pitched one inning in each game, Dismukes pitched two innings in finale, Walsh pitched one inning in finale.

Game One: Obamas 9, Hilldale 4
WP: Plank (2-0)
LP: Byrd (0-2)
HR: Foxx (2), Schmidt (3), Hamilton (1)
Game Two: Obamas 8, Hilldale 7
WP: W. Johnson (2-0)
LP: Redding (0-1)
Sv: Walsh (1)
HR: Hamilton (2), F. Robinson (3), Schmidt (4), Leonard (2)

---

Lots of offense in this series.

Jimmie Foxx emerged from his slump with a homer in his first at-bat. He drew four walks in the two-game series and had three RBIs. Billy Hamilton scored five runs and even went yard twice — and had a triple to boot.

Buck Leonard's three-run homer off Walter Johnson accounted for half the six runs Hilldale scored off the Big Train. Hilldale appeared to have him on the ropes in the seventh, when they had the bases loaded with a run already in and just one out, but Judy Johnson rapped into a double play.

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Series 4: X-Giants sweep Kennedys

X-Giants 4-6, Kennedys 3-7

Pitcher use update: Mendez needs four games; Carlton and S. Jones 3 games, Seaver 2 games. Koufax worked two innings in finale, H. Smith one.

Game One: X-Giants 2, Kennedys 1
WP: S. Jones (1-1)
LP: Seaver (0-1)
HR: Monroe (2)
Game Two: X-Giants 5, Kennedys 3
WP: Mendez (2-0)
LP: Carlton (0-2)
Sv: H. Smith (3)
HR: McCovey (2)

---

The X-factor for the X-Giants was its pitching's ability to strand baserunners.

Slim Jones fanned 12 in his complete game win in the opener; he scattered eight hits and four walks. Three times the Kennedys left multiple men on base against the skinny southpaw.

Tom Seaver, meanwhile, was arguably better — he and Don Drysdale combined to allowed just four hits and no walks. Seaver fanned five in his six innings of work and Drysdale three more in two innings. But Bill Monroe reached Seaver for a solo homer, and the X-Giants parlayed a double by Rap Dixon and a single by Ben Taylor into another run.

In the nightcap, the Kennedys scored two unearned runs in the first off Jose Mendez. But the Cuban kept the Kennedys off the board until the eighth despite never getting a 1-2-3 inning.

Meanwhile, the X-Giants chipped away at Steve Carlton and Sandy Koufax. The latter, who entered the game with a 15.75 ERA, allowed two runs in two innings.

A pivotal moment come in the top of the sixth, when X-Giants center fielder Pete Hill threw out Reggie Jackson trying to score from first base on a Johnny Bench double. Hill's throw kept the X-Giants within one, and they promptly scored twice on a double by Taylor.

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Series 4: Ikes sweep Garfields

Ikes 6-3, Garfields 3-7

Pitcher use update: Spahn, Welch need three games; Ford, Young 2. Radbourne pitched two innings in finale, Spalding 1.

Game 1: Ikes 3, Garfields 2
WP: Ford (2-0)
LP: Young (1-2)
Save: Wilhelm (3)
HR: T. Williams (2)
Game 2: Ikes 6, Garfields 4
WP: Spahn (2-0)
LP: Welch (1-1)
HR: Kelly (1)

---

Special guest manager Jim Rueda skippered the Ikes in this series. Among his moves:
1) He benched Yogi Berra and went with Roy Campanella as his catcher in both games. (Campy was 0-for-4 in the opener, 2-for-5 with three RBIs in the second.)
2) In the first game he used Ernie Banks as his leadoff man, but went back to Willie Mays in the second game. (Banks was 2-for-5 in the leadoff spot, opening the game with a triple and run scored, and later driving in a run with a single.)
3) Duke Snider sat throughout. Enos Slaughter played right field in one game — he went 3-for-4 with a run scored — and Al Kaline played right in the second (1-for-3 with two walks and a run).
Mays, who entered the series 3-for-30 on the season, was 2-for-9 against the Garfields.


State update: Homestead

Batting

Name AB R H RBI 2B 3B HR SB BB BA
W. Brown 31 4 12 3 5 0 2 0 3 .387
Cannady 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Gibson 32 8 12 7 5 1 3 0 3 .375
H Johnson 25 3 9 6 0 0 2 0 2 .360
Lyons 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
McNair 2 1 2 4 0 0 1 0 1 1.000
Moore 31 2 7 2 0 0 0 0 2 .226
Scales 36 7 10 3 3 0 3 0 3 .278
C Smith 34 7 11 5 3 0 2 0 2 .324
Suttles 31 4 7 3 2 0 1 0 3 .226
Wilson 28 5 10 2 1 0 1 0 1 .357
Young 6 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 12 .333

Pitching

Name IP H R ER BB SO W L S ERA
Bell 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0.00
D Brown 17 17 5 5 9 3 1 0 0 2.65
R Brown 18 30 11 10 6 4 2 0 0 5.00
Manning 14 10 3 3 2 9 1 1 0 1.93
Matlock 3.6 2 1 0 0 1 1 0 1 0.00
Paige 16 21 9 8 6 13 0 1 0 4.50
Salmon 2 1 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0.00
Wickware .3 3 3 3 1 0 0 0 0 81.82

Saturday, February 13, 2010

Stat update: Teddys

Batting

Name AB R H RBI 2B 3B HR SB BB BA
Baker 30 4 8 3 1 1 0 0 4 .267
Bresnahan 26 4 10 4 2 0 0 0 0 .385
Cobb 39 5 11 5 1 1 0 0 2 .282
Collins 32 11 10 1 0 0 0 1 6 .313
Crawford 30 4 9 3 2 2 0 0 2 .300
SJ Jackson 3 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 .333
Lajoie 35 6 9 9 3 1 2 0 0 .257
Schalk 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Sisler 4 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 .250
Speaker 31 6 12 8 5 0 1 0 5 .387
Wagner 36 8 14 8 4 3 0 1 0 .389
Wallace 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Pitching

Name IP H R ER BB SO W L S ERA
Alexander 17 19 6 6 4 6 1 1 0 3.18
Bender 2 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 0.00
Brown 17 6 3 2 6 11 2 0 0 1.06
Joss 3 3 0 0 2 2 1 0 0 0.00
Mathewson 12 16 11 10 6 4 0 1 0 7.50
McGinnity 3 6 3 3 2 0 0 0 0 9.00
Rixey 4 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 1 0.00
Waddell 12 13 9 8 5 12 0 1 0 6.00

Stat update: Crawfords

Batting

Name AB R H RBI 2B 3B HR SB BB BA
Beckwith 31 7 9 6 1 0 1 0 0 .290
Charleston 29 5 4 3 1 0 1 0 4 .138
Dandridge 28 0 7 3 1 0 0 0 0 .250
Duncan 9 3 2 1 0 1 0 0 0 .222
Hughes 21 3 4 3 1 0 1 0 3 .190
Jenkins 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
HR Johnson 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Lundy 23 2 6 1 1 1 0 0 3 .261
Oms 29 5 7 2 3 0 0 1 1 .241
Rogan* 5 1 1 2 0 1 0 0 0 .200
Santop 19 1 4 2 1 1 0 0 0 .211
Warfield 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Wright 30 4 9 10 1 1 3 0 1 .300

*excludes plate appearances while in game as pitcher

Pitching

Name IP H R ER BB SO W L S ERA
Brewer 7 7 2 2 4 4 0 0 0 2.57
Davis 7 4 1 1 3 2 1 0 0 1.29
Day 15 13 5 5 7 7 1 1 0 3.00
B Foster 12 9 8 7 5 4 1 1 0 5.25
Mathis 4.3 13 8 8 1 4 0 1 0 16.63
Rogan 9 8 4 4 5 6 1 0 0 4.00
Streeter 4 5 3 3 1 1 1 0 0 6.75
Trent 6.6 6 3 3 3 2 0 0 0 4.05

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Stat update: Franklins

Batting

Name AB R H RBI 2B 3B HR SB BB BA
Cronin 12 2 3 3 2 0 1 0 1 .250
Dickey 22 3 7 2 3 0 0 0 2 .318
DiMaggio 32 6 7 2 2 0 1 0 4 .219
Frisch 20 2 4 1 0 0 0 1 1 .200
Gehrig 29 6 10 4 1 0 3 0 4 .385
Hartnett 6 1 3 1 1 0 1 0 0 .500
Hornsby 31 4 9 8 1 0 0 0 1 .290
Ott 27 4 8 2 2 0 0 0 2 .296
Ruth 26 10 8 6 0 0 5 0 9 .308
Traynor 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Vaughn 15 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000
Waner 7 1 2 1 0 0 1 0 1 .286


Pitching

Name IP H R ER BB SO W L S ERA
Covaleski 5 5 2 2 2 0 1 0 0 3.60
Dean 3.6 1 0 0 1 2 0 0 2 0.00
Feller 13 10 6 6 9 11 1 0 0 4.15
Grove 10.3 15 11 11 8 4 0 2 0 9.58
Hoyt 4.6 6 2 2 2 1 0 0 0 3.85
Hubbell 16.3 13 6 6 5 16 1 0 0 3.31
Pennock 4.3 9 8 8 6 0 0 1 0 16.63
Vance 14 19 10 10 6 10 1 1 0 6.43

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Stat update: X-Giants

Batting

Name AB R H RBI 2B 3B HR SB BB BA
Baro 4 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 .500
Bell 32 3 8 3 2 0 0 0 2 .250
DeMoss 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000
Dihigo* 17 1 1 2 0 0 1 0 0 .059
Dixon 28 4 10 3 3 1 0 0 5 .357
Donaldson* 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Hill 29 0 5 1 0 0 0 0 2 .172
Lloyd 30 2 6 0 4 0 0 0 3 .200
Mackey 21 1 5 2 1 0 0 0 1 .238
Monroe 27 4 6 3 1 0 1 0 1 .222
Petway 8 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .125
Radcliffe* 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.000
B Taylor 29 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 2 .103
CJ Taylor 4 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .250

*excludes plate appearance while in game as pitcher

Pitching

Name IP H R ER BB SO W L S ERA
Dihigo 17.3 12 7 7 4 7 1 1 0 3.64
Donaldson 14 17 8 4 0 6 0 1 0 2.57
R Foster 14 21 10 10 6 3 0 1 0 6.43
Jones 7 6 4 4 0 6 0 1 0 5.14
Mendez 7.6 5 2 2 1 6 1 0 0 2.35
McDonald 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00
Radcliffe 6 12 8 4 1 0 0 0 0 6.00
Smith 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0.00
T Williams 2 3 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 4.50

Stat update: Kennedys

Batting

Name AB R H RBI 2B 3B HR SB BB BA
Aaron 33 9 13 7 1 0 5 0 4 .394
Aparicio 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Bench 23 6 6 2 0 0 1 0 3 .261
Brett 36 5 11 2 3 0 0 0 4 .306
Fisk 10 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 1 .200
R Jackson 26 4 6 4 2 1 0 0 8 .231
Killebrew 10 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 2 .200
McCovey 24 3 4 6 0 0 1 0 3 .167
Morgan 34 6 9 1 1 0 0 1 6 .250
Rose 10 2 3 2 1 0 0 0 1 .300
Yastremski 29 3 6 7 1 0 1 0 3 .207
Yount 35 5 11 4 1 1 1 0 2 .314

Pitching

Name IP H R ER BB SO W L S ERA
Carlton 15.3 24 14 14 5 9 0 1 0 8.22
Drysdale 3.6 4 1 1 0 1 1 1 0 2.45
Fingers 1 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 9.00
Gibson 17 18 7 7 9 12 2 0 0 3.71
Koufax 4 9 7 7 3 4 0 1 0 15.75
Marichal 8.3 17 14 14 7 4 0 2 0 15.13
Niekro 10.6 9 6 6 5 3 0 0 0 5.06
Seaver 17 16 9 9 3 11 0 0 0 4.76

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Stat update: Hilldale

Batting

Name AB R H RBI 2B 3B HR SB BB BA
Allen 26 1 5 1 0 0 0 0 2 .192
Bankhead 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
L Brown 7 2 2 1 0 0 0 0 3 .286
Carr 6 1 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 .500
Gardner 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000
J Johnson 33 2 5 1 0 0 0 0 2 .152
Leonard 28 7 8 11 4 1 1 0 5 .286
Poles 28 4 9 5 0 1 0 0 2 3 .321
Stearnes 29 7 11 3 3 0 1 0 2 .379
Torriente 22 3 6 2 2 1 0 0 3 .273
Trouppe 18 1 5 1 2 0 0 0 4 .278
Wells 32 8 12 7 1 0 2 0 1 .375

Pitching

Name IP H R ER BB SO W L S ERA
Byrd 7 11 6 4 0 1 0 1 0 5.14
Cooper 3 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 2 0.00
Dismukes 5 6 4 4 2 0 1 1 0 7.20
Hensley 4 4 5 5 2 0 0 0 0 11.25
Powell 3 9 6 6 0 1 0 1 0 18.00
Redding 14 12 9 9 11 10 0 0 0 5.79
SJ Williams 14 9 6 6 7 12 1 1 0 3.86
Winters 11 17 10 10 8 3 0 1 0 8.18

Monday, February 8, 2010

Stat update: Obamas

Batting

Name AB R H RBI 2B 3B HR SB BB BA
Boudreau 24 2 7 0 2 1 0 0 3 .292
Cochrane 18 1 6 1 1 0 0 0 1 .333
Foxx 25 2 2 3 0 0 1 0 5 .080
Gehringer 28 4 8 1 1 1 0 0 3 .286
Hamilton 19 2 6 0 0 0 0 1 3 .316
Kelley 11 2 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 .182
Lazzeri 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .333
Lombardi 8 2 3 4 0 0 2 0 2 .375
Mantle 23 4 5 4 1 0 3 0 5 .217
F Robinson 27 6 5 7 1 1 2 0 2 .185
J Robinson 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000
Schmidt 23 5 8 7 0 0 2 1 5 .348

Pitching

Name IP H R ER BB SO W L S ERA
Chesbro 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00
Gomez 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 INF
W Johnson 17 5 4 4 4 9 1 0 0 2.12
Nichols 13 12 6 6 2 4 1 1 0 4.15
Plank 9 9 2 2 1 5 1 0 0 2.00
Ryan 13 11 6 4 7 10 0 1 0 2.75
Walsh 3 7 5 5 2 2 0 1 0 15.00
Willis 2 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0.00

Stat update: Garfields

Batting

Name AB R H RBI 2B 3B HR SB BB BA
Anson 12 1 3 2 1 0 0 0 2 .250
Burkett 13 4 9 2 2 0 0 1 3 .692
JCollins 23 3 6 2 0 0 1 0 1 .261
Connor 21 3 4 3 0 0 0 0 1 .190
Davis 24 1 5 0 2 0 0 0 0 .208
Delahanty 33 5 13 3 3 1 0 0 1 .394
Duffy 22 5 8 0 2 0 0 0 0 .364
Ewing 22 1 5 2 0 0 0 0 2 .227
Jennings 22 3 5 1 1 0 0 0 2 .227
Kelly 13 1 3 1 1 0 0 0 0 .231
Thompson 30 1 8 6 1 0 0 0 2 .267
Ward 29 5 10 3 0 0 0 1 1 .345

Pitching

Name IP H R ER BB SO W L S ERA
Clarkson 1.6 1 1 1 0 1 0 1 0 5.63
Galvin 17 11 4 4 2 5 1 1 0 2.12
Keefe 16 19 11 11 4 10 0 2 0 6.19
Radourne 2 2 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0.00
Welch 18 19 3 3 5 4 1 0 0 1.50
Young 15 16 8 8 0 5 1 1 0 4.80

Sunday, February 7, 2010

Stat update: Ikes

I'm going to take a break for while on the games and start compiling stats. The drudgery of accounting ... I'd rather not do it, but the league will be more fun, and meaningful, if I can say Ty Cobb led in batting average and Babe Ruth in home runs and Josh Gibson in RBIs and Satchel Paige in strikeouts.

I suppose I could say those things anyway, but you get the idea.

So we'll stat here with the Ikes.

Batting

Name AB R H RBI 2B 3B HR SB BB BA
Banks 29 4 6 5 1 0 3 0 1 .207
Berra 20 1 4 2 1 0 0 0 1 .200
Campanella 9 2 3 3 1 0 1 0 0 .333
Doerr 10 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .100
Kaline 11 1 3 1 1 0 0 0 1 .273
Mathews 20 3 5 3 1 1 1 0 5 .250
Mays 30 5 3 4 2 0 0 1 4 .100
Musial 31 3 9 5 1 3 1 0 1 .290
Schoendienst 17 2 4 1 1 1 0 0 2 .235
Slaughter 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 .200
Snider 22 4 4 5 0 1 3 0 2 .182
T Williams 28 4 10 2 3 0 1 0 5 .357

Pitching

Name IP H R ER BB SO W L S ERA
Bunning 4 2 0 0 2 2 2 0 0 0.00
Ford 9 8 0 0 2 6 1 0 0 0.00
Lemon 3 3 4 4 1 0 0 1 0 12.00
Newhouser 2 3 3 2 2 1 0 0 0 9.00
Roberts 14 18 12 12 5 7 0 1 0 7.71
Spahn 16 15 6 6 7 7 1 0 0 3.38
Wilhelm 2 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 0.00
Wynn 13 9 7 4 5 6 0 1 0 2.77

End of Series 3

The standings:

Division A
Teddys 5 3 .625 ---
Ikes 4 3 .571 .5
Franklins 4 4 .429 1
Obamas 3 4 .429 1.5
Kennedys 3 5 .429 2

Division B
Homestead 6 2 .750 ---
Crawfords 5 2 .714 .5
Hilldale 3 4 .429 2.5
Garfields 3 5 .375 3
X-Giants 2 6 .333 4

Series 4:
Ikes at Garfields(2)
Kennedys at X-Giants(2)
Obamas at Hilldale(2)
Teddys at Homestead(2)
Franklins at Crawfords (2)

Player of the series: Babe Ruth, Franklins
Pitcher of the series: Smokey Joe Williams, Hilldale

Series 3: Ikes, Hilldale split

Ikes 4-3, Hilldale 3-4

Pitcher update: Roberts, Winters need three games, SJ Williams and Wynn one game. Hensley and Bunning each pitched two innings in finale, Dismukes one.

Game 1: Hilldale 4, Ikes 2
WP: SJ Williams (1-1)
LP: Wynn (0-1)
HR: T. Williams (1), Leonard (1), Wells (2)
Game 2: Ikes 7, Hilldale 4, 10 innings
WP: Bunning (2-0)
LP: Dismukes (1-1)
HR: Mathews (2), Campanella (1)

---

For six batters, Smokey Joe Williams was ineffective.

For the next 27, he was superb.

The Hilldale righty fave up two run in the first inning on a homer by Ted Williams, but fired a complete-game win, fanning 10 Ikes and allowing just four hits.

Buck Leonard hit a three-run shot off Early Wynn in the third — a rally started with two outs when Duke Snider dropped Cristobal Torriente's fly ball in right field.

In the finale, the Ikes opened a three-run lead on Nip Winters only to see that vanish in the seventh, when Hilldale put together a three-run rally against Robin Roberts for a 4-3 lead.

But Eggie Hensley gave up a tying homer to Eddie Mathews in the eighth, and in the 10th the Ikes racked Dizzy Dismukes for a double, triple and homer (by Roy Campanella) in succession to make a winner of Jim Bunning, who had two hitless innings of relief.

Friday, February 5, 2010

Series 3: Teddys take two of three from Kennedys

Teddys 5-3, Kennedys 3-5

Pitcher use: Marichal, TF Brown, Niekro need three games; Waddell, Gibson need two; Mathewson, Carlton need one. Koufax worked one inning in the final game.

Game 1: Teddys 9, Kennedys 8
WP: Joss (1-0)
LP: Carlton (0-1)
Save: Bender (2)
HR: Lajoie 2 (2), Speaker (1), Aaron (3), McCovey (2)
Game 2: Kennedys 5, Teddys 2
WP: Gibson (2-0)
LP: Waddell
HR: Aaron 2 (5)
Game 3: Teddys 11, Kennedys 1
WP: TF Brown (2-0)
LP: Marichal (0-2)
HR: None

---

The Teddys bashed their first home runs of the season in the first game, but that was hardly the limit of the power the deadballers displayed against the Kennedys.
The Teddys had 12 doubles and three triples — 18 extra base hits in all — for the series. They had 18 hits in the first game, 11 in the second and 15 in the finale. Only the ability of Bob Gibson to get outs with men on base in game two held the Teddys at bay.
And that was with Ty Cobb going 0-for-6, 1-for-5 and 2-for-5 — a 3 for 16 performance only slightly redeemed with a pair of singles in his final two at-bats in a blowout.
Nap Lajoie went 4-for-5 in the opener, with two doubles and two homers. The second homer was part of a three-run ninth inning against Steve Carlton and Sandy Koufax in which the Teddys hit for the cycle and turned a 8-6 deficit into a 9-8 victory.
Tris Speaker had a pair of two-baggers to go with his homer, and Sam Crawford hammered two doubles and a triple.
In the second game, Gibson bent but did not break. Hank Aaron hit a pair of homers, and a revamped lineup — Pete Rose and Luis Aparicio got their first starts of the season — did enough damage against Rube Waddell. The Teddys southpaw did fan eight in seven innings of work.
But the Kennedys reverted to their standard lineup in the finale and were never really in the contest. Three-Finger Brown allowed just two hits, and Juan Marichal gave up four runs in the third and two more in the fourth, when he was pulled. Phil Niekro knuckleballed his way through 4.6 innings of one-run ball before exiting for a pinch hitter — and Koufax promptly surrendered another four runs in his inning of mop-up work.

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Series 3: Franklins sweep Obamas

Franklins 4-4, Obamas 3-4

Pitcher use updates: Hubbell, Johnson need one game; Ryan, Feller need two games; Nichols, Vance need three games. Dean threw one inning in final game, Chesbro two.

Game 1: Franklins 5, Obamas 4
WP: Covaleski (1-0)
LP: Gomez (0-1)
HR: Ruth 2 (3), Gehrig 2 (2), Lombardi (2), Mantle (3)
Game 2: Franklins 6, Obamas 4
WP: Feller (1-0)
LP: Walsh (0-1)
HR: Ruth (4), Gehrig(3), Foxx (1)
Game 3: Franklins 6, Obamas 3
WP: Vance (1-1)
LP: Nichols (1-1)
Save: Dean (2)
HR: Ruth (5), Schmidt (3)

---

One-sided in results, but close on the field.

Obamas starter Walter Johnson, in his first outing since he opened the season by no-hitting the X-Giants, allowed just five hits in the opener. Three of them were solo homers — by by Lou Gehrig, one by Babe Ruth — and the other two resulted in a fourth run.

The Obamas hit two dingers of their own off Carl Hubbell in a four-run fourth. In the top of the ninth, the Obamas pinch-hit for Johnson with the go-ahead run in scoring position, but Stan Covaleski choked off the budding rally — and Ruth led off the bottom of the ninth with his second homer of the game, this one off Lefty Gomez.

The Obamas led the second game 4-3 going into the bottom of the eighth, but Ruth led off that frame with a home run off Ed Walsh, and the Franklins tacked on two more runs. Bob Feller went the distance in a fastball duel with Nolan Ryan — Feller fanned 10 and walked seven. Seven of the strikeouts came in the final three innings.

The third game went to the Franklins also, but not without a ninth inning scare. Dazzy Vance allowed the first three men to reach, which brought on Dizzy Dean. Dean popped up pinch-hitter Jackie Robinson, then got a double play grounder from Billy Hamilton.

Perhaps the highlight of the series for the Obamas was Charlie Gehringer pulling the hidden ball trick on Joe DiMaggio after the Clipper's seventh-inning leadoff double. Ruth hit his fourth home of the series in the first inning off Kid Nichols.

Monday, February 1, 2010

Series 3: Homestead sweeps Garfields

Homestead 6-2, Garfields 3-5

Pitcher status: Welch and D. Brown need one game each, Galvin and R. Brown two games, Keefe and Manning three games. Wickware and Matlock each pitched less than an inning in the final game.

Game 1: Homestead 3, Garfields 2, 11 innings.
WP: Salmon 1-0
LP: Clackson 0-1
HR: O.H. Johnson (2)
Game 2: Homestead 4, Garfields 3
WP: R. Brown (2-0)
LP: Galvin (1-1)
HR: Scales (2), C. Smith (2)
Game 3: Homestead 7, Garfields 6
WP: Manning (1-1)
LP: Keefe (1-1)
Save: Matlock (1)
HR: Scales (3), McNair (1), W. Brown (2)

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Three one-run wins for Homestead, who got some help from their power-friendly home park.
The first game was taut all the way, with each team scoring twice in the sixth innings and then getting nothing until the 11th, when Cap Anson was thrown out at the plate in the top of the frame and Heavy Johnson hit a two-out homer off John Clarkson in the bottom half.
Dave Brown threw four hitless innings to open the game for Homestead and allowed just six hits in nine innings. He walked two and fanned three. Mickey Welch scattered 13 hits in his nine innings, getting three double plays in the process.
In the second game, the Garfields tallied three times off Ray Brown in the second inning, but Brown held them off the rest of the way, throwing an 11-hit complete game. Tubby Scale's solo homer in the eight provided the winning margin.
The third game was also a pitchers duel pitting Max manning and Tim Keefe, at least until the final frames. Each team scored in the seventh to make it a 3-2 Homestead lead,. Homestead then got a pinch-hit grand slam from Hurley McNair in the eighth to make it 7-2. But Frank Wickware and Leroy Matlock gave all four runs back in the ninth, with help from Willard Brown's two-out error in center, before Matlock finally got George Davis out to end it.
Willard Brown was four-for-four in the finale, with a homer and two doubles.