Week 14 Summary (July 18, 1938 - July 24, 1938)

Week Fourteen of the 1938 BBW Replay is in the books, and it was an interesting week. The AL Midwestern teams were in the middle of a swing through the East Coast, but weather issues severely disrupted the AL schedule this week. Chicago and Philadelphia didn’t play any games at all this week until Sunday, while Cleveland and St. Louis didn’t play any until Friday. Washington was spared the worst of the East Coast weather-related issues, so they and Detroit were able to play a few mid-week games.

Cincinnati Manager
Bill McKechnie

All the NL teams passed the 80-games-played mark. Chicago (AL) has completed 73 games, meaning they still haven’t reached the midpoint of the season for games played. On the other hand, Washington has played 88 games, meaning they have played 15 more games than the White Sox. There are ten weeks remaining in the schedule, so Chicago is going to have to squeeze in 81 games in their ten remaining weeks to get to a full set of 154 games.

1938 is still in the throes of the Great Depression, so teams have limited their rosters to ~22 players. There are injuries that impact how many players are actually available, plus players do come and go, so rosters can get pretty slim occasionally. Pittsburgh spent most of the month of July with only 16 players actually taking to the field during the month. Each team has a backup catcher (or two), an infielder, and an outfielder (or two), and even the teams that have a full-time pinch-hitter need that pinch-hitter to grab a glove when needed. Many teams have a pitcher or two that can be used as a pinch-hitter. What teams don’t have is a myriad of pitchers that they can rotate through as soon as someone gets on base. Sometimes (too often) pitchers are required to "take one for the team" once they get lit up.

 

Some teams have a good relief pitcher or two, but for most teams … if the starter gets knocked out, then it is worse pitchers that will come in behind them. Washington has really been able to take advantage of this so far. Once they knock out the opponent's starter, then they can feast on some poor reliever coming in out of the bullpen. Washington is hitting .336 as a team … why they do this so well as opposed to other teams … who knows. Other teams have the same advantage and do take advantage of it, but Washington has been taking it to another level.

 

In the AL, the Yankees aren’t running away with it, but they have a solid lead, and no one has been able to further dent it. Many of the teams following them in the league take turns knocking each other down, thus keeping New York on top. Boston is hitting .321 as a team and has snuggled into second place, but with Lefty Grove experiencing arm issues, their chances for advancement are going to be limited. Washington has been able to climb past Detroit into third place, but they can't keep their insane hitting streak going on forever … can they? Their pitching benefits from their hitting abilities, but otherwise they really doesn’t have the strength to carry them if needed.

 

Fourth-place Detroit has similar pitching problems to Washington. Schoolboy Rowe went down for the season early in the year, and the backend of the Tigers' rotation has been a mess since, and the front end has struggled as well. Vern Kennedy (13-7, 6.09) has been a godsend, but with that ERA, he really isn’t fooling anybody. Cleveland was fighting with New York for the top spot in the 1938 pennant race, but in the replay, they had just been able to reach the one-game-below-.500 mark. The Indians could be a real nuisance here in the second half of the season, but they are currently 13.0 games out of first and not really a threat to New York.

 

In the NL, the Pirates still sit atop the standings, and they are currently working on a six-game winning streak. There is a new hero every day in Pittsburgh, either with a clutch hit or a clutch pitching performance. The Pirates lead the NL in hitting, pitching, and fielding. They had a few lineup switches early in the season, but they have been largely injury-free and have been able to use a set lineup almost every day for the past few months.

 

A new team is in the Pirates' rear view mirror, as Cincinnati has spent most of the season climbing out of last place and now sits in second place, just 4.0 games behind Pittsburgh, plus the Reds are currently working on a five-game winning streak. Cincinnati's pitching staff has come together well, plus they are getting key hits when they need them. There are still a few Cincinnati players who are scuffling, so they could even be better.

 

Chicago replaced Manager Charley Grimm with Gabby Hartnett at the beginning of this past week, but so far the Cubs have been unable to shrug off their mid-season doldrums. Dizzy Dean has returned to the mound following his arm troubles earlier in the season, so maybe that is a good omen. New York started off the season hot, went on a long cold streak, came back with an eight-game winning streak, and then followed that up with a five-game losing streak. Through it all, the Giants have truly never dropped out of contention, and as long as their top two pitchers (Carl Hubbell and Hal Schumacher) are healthy, the other teams can't afford to overlook New York.

 

St. Louis sits alone in fifth place, even though they are seven games over .500 and remain an occasionally dangerous team. However, you never hear any 1938 sports talk radio host say "Let's not forget about the Cardinals" when talking about the NL pennant race. Enos Slaughter got off to a really hot start but has recently lost his spot in the Cardinals' starting lineup.

 

After a full week of respite, full-time play will return in the AL this coming week, so let's go play!