The Sporting News Presents MLB Rosters: A CIE Supplement

[SelzShoes]

The Indians inquire about the availability of rookie pitcher Robin Roberts from the Phillies. Despite some ugly numbers (11.57 ERA, .359 OAVE, 7 BB in 9.1 IP) Phils' President Cox listens to his "baseball" people and will not give up on the kid yet.

San Diego again makes noise about trading for Vern Stephens, but the Blues want to hold on to him to get more value. The Padres also ask the Yankees about recently hot Tommy Henrich which could work out later in the year if the Yanks need another arm.

The Seals go looking for another bat and can't find one that anyone wants to deal. Willard Marshall, a Giants farmhand killing the ball at Jersey City, attracts the most interest from us.

[SelzShoes]

Red Sox
The BoSox have a potent offense and mostly decent starting pitching. The Sox are in last place because of the bullpen's inability to get anyone out. Two career minor leaguers, Don Fisher and Bob Ferguson, will get the chance to shore up the late innings. Both men were throwing very well at Louisville; if GM Eddie Collins and Manager Joe Cronin find the right combination Boston can start to crawl back into the race.

Dodgers
Brooklyn has been rolling and makes no changes at this time. The catching position is a real weakness offensively but they can afford a dead spot in the line up.

Bison
The Bison seriously considered sending down Negro Achilles Brown but decided against it. GM Leslie O'Connor just could not bring himself to send the young man to Atlanta, Charleston, SC or El Paso and have any hope the kid will succeed.

As bad as the Bison pitching has been, the offense has been worse. Rookies Dee Fondy and Charlie Fox (.188 and .102 batting averages respectively) are farmed out along with veteran shortstop Pet Coscarart (.103 batting average). There are too many ugly averages for the new faces to make a serious difference, but you have to try something, anything, when the team is down to .227.

Veteran Lloyd Waner is also benched in favor of rookie Graham Walker. With Chuck Harmon, Wally Flager, Gus Zernial and Walker four rookies will be part of the starting line up. If Buddy Blattner hits like he did in spring training (7 exhibition home runs) they could be on the way of building a winner in a few years.

Cubs
The Cubs make a minor change with the bullpen, sending Paul Erickson to AAA to work back from his injury. Vallie Eaves gets the call to fill his spot.

Indians
Rookie centerfielder Dale Mitchell is shipped to Oklahoma City; defensively he was doing the job, but the hitting was not major league quality. Hank Edwards, who briefly played for Cleveland in 1941, gets the call to fill the roster.

[fantastic flying froggies]

Graham Walker is a starter! Woot!

[SelzShoes]

Originally Posted by fantastic flying froggies

Graham Walker is a starter! Woot!

And he'll be the starter for years to come. There is a good group of young hitters in Buffalo; the pitching will really have to be overhauled to contend.

[SelzShoes]

Tigers
The Tigers pitching staff was in a groove, so they won enough to pull to a second place tie with San Francisco. The offense has just been too ordinary to compensate for when the pitching is off. Rookie shortstop Johnny Lipon and outfielder Ned Harris are the fall guys for the offenses failures. Vic Wertz, recovered from his injury, and infielder Red Roberts will fill the roster slots. Wertz will probably be one of the key pinch hitters, while Roberts is the fifth infielder.

Blues
With Paige and Day coming around to complement Auker, Branch Rickey makes some minor adjustments. The most consequential move is shipping Vern Stephens to AAA. Stephens has struggled and with Jackie Robinson all-around terrific season, he hasn't had many chances to hit out of his month long slump.

Lancers
This has been an up and down club during the first month, jumping out to a good start before a 4-13 stretch pushed them near last place. GM Bavasi makes some minor changes, but they really just need consistent play from the players they do have. Bob Kennedy will get a shot to win the everyday third base job.

Millers
One thing we've learned about GM Mike Kelley is he is very reluctant to make moves with this roster. Tommy Giordano 0-22? Stays. That is why the move he did make today finally shows me might be willing to make some moves to keep the Millers on the outskirts of contention.

With the Lou Limmer and Babe Dahlgren combination slugging a combined .286, Kelley picked Johnny Sturm up off his couch in St. Louis to see what he can do with AAA Portland (MA) Gulls. Sturm was the starter for the 1941 Champion Yankees but has had some injury problems since then. He lost part of his right index finger in a tractor accident while in service, and suffered a broken wrist in early 1941 to which the Yankees released him. Some thought his career might be over, but he is getting a shot with the Millers.

With Maglie and Humphries the Millers have a good chance to finish 4th and above .500. However, it can't happen if the other two slots have ERAs near 6.00. At some point the options at Portland, notably Preacher Roe and Junior Thompson, need a chance to reach those goals. There are also four Negro League pitchers the Millers on the rights to, but the uninspiring efforts of Dave Barnhill might sour Kelley on giving another Negro a chance on the hill.

Giants
The G-Men have had problems with the outfield, both offensively and defensively, so GM Chub Feeney shakes up the roster in that area. Buster Maynard and Johnny Dickshot take the short trip to Jersey City. Kid OFer Willard Marshall, an offensive force (and decent defensively), is the unsurprising call up. The other is veteran Frank Doljack, who has not played a major league game since 1934. The crew at Jersey City is almost as bad as those already in New York.

[SelzShoes]

Oaks
Five new faces graces the Oaks' roster to try and pump some life into the team. If they hit, then the Oaks might not finish last.

Phillies
Other than listening to an offer for Robin Roberts, the Phillies do nothing with their roster.

Cowboys
A bad team going nowhere. The two best hitters are 36-year old Negroes who might not be with the club next year. The kid first baseman has no power, inspiring GM Jigger Statz to see if Phil Weintraub would reconsider retirement. (Phil Weintraub! No major league AB's since 1938 Phil Weintraub! He could be the difference between 7th and 8th!) Not a lot of power and impatient hitters equals a stagnant offense.

The most interesting thing about the Cowboys is the shortstop position. The Portland Beavers, whose only real flaw is the middle infield, asked about rookie Rabbit Donovan. Coincidentally, or not, Donovan is given the starting job over fellow rookie Clem Koshorek. Koshorek has not been awful, but his weaknesses-no power/patience-are the same weaknesses as the rest of the line up. Donovan will actually take a walk every once and awhile, with a little more power. The jump in speed will also help the offense while Koshorek is the better glove. Now both are well regarded by the Cowboys' baseball people (Donovan is rated the organization's #1 prospect, Koshorek is #9) so it is uncertain if they will keep both, moving Donovan to second, or trade one for more parts. If they go trade, these are the problems: if they trade Koshorek, they don't get as much as they would for Donovan; if they trade Donovan, they'll end up underselling him because the track record isn't established.

Cardinals
The Redbirds entered the season as the favorites in the West and their start did nothing to dispel that thinking. Then a 7 game losing streak, all at home, had the team in a daze. A good weekend against the Giants has Cardinal Nation breathing easier. They shuffle the back end of the roster; they are confidant the team as constructed can win.

That said-why isn't Musial playing more. They need to move Musial or Hopp to left so they both can be in the line up.

[SelzShoes]

Saints
The people of Salt Lake City don't care about this team, why should we? Well, the formula-line drive hitters slapping the ball all over the park is kind of working. After a horrid first two weeks (2-10), the Saints have won 8 of 13 with a 3 game sweep of the Beavers. Player/Manger Paul Waner has found a couple starters to go behind Harry Brecheen so I could see a near .500 finish for this club. But again, with this club drawing less than 10,000 a game (even lower if I was willing to do the math to make it era appropriate), who really cares. . . other than Dash Spivey's creator?

Padres
Before the season started, I thought the Pads would have outstanding pitching, but a weak offense. Well, the offense has been slightly better than I anticipated, but the pitching has been lacking. They have been simply average when they need to be outstanding to win with this line up. After making some changes in the last week, the Padres tweak again, recalling Sam Narron (0-7 in very limited duty in April) to give them a veteran presence behind the plate.

Seals
After our brief ascendancy into first the team has started to cool off. Our GM, Ed Walsh Jr., thinks we might have a shot in a weak Western division. He addresses our infield problems with a couple good players from Saint Paul. We also pick up another good arm in Tom Seats from the same squad. A deeper bench and bullpen might give us a better shot a staying with the Cubs.

Senators
They have been brutal at home-any club playing its at Griffith Stadium should not have a team ERA over 5.00. Owner/President Clark Griffith had hoped a mix of veterans and kids could win enough to put people in the stands; they aren't. Two of the kids in the bullpen and 19-year-old third baseman Ed Yost (overmatched at bat and glove) are shipped to Chattanooga. I don't think there will be much change in the Senators' near future.

[SelzShoes]

The Yankees are looking for a back up infielder that could take over the everyday job at third base. There are organizational concerns about Red Rolfe's ability to make it through the season with out a severe drop off in production. Bobby Brown was supposed to fill that role, but with the Rizzuto trade Brown has had to fill those shoes. Probably the most developed third baseman in the minors is Billy Johnson, and he is barely doing it at AA. There are a couple PCL players that could fit the bill; however, GM Larry MacPhail has pitching to spare and decides to wait until there are more teams in a dealing mood.

In a much different situation is the Pittsburgh Pirates. They have some of the best pitching and hitting in baseball (outscoring the opposition 147-110), and yet they can't win at home and play overall .500 ball. Yeah, they've got a three-headed mess at third and probably could upgrade at first, but are those the real problems for this club? I don't know what is missing with this club and a pending sale makes things even messier. Club President Benswanger wants to add power, but almost to the exclusion of everything. It is probably better they did not make a deal because I'm not sure they really could upgrade with such confusion.

[SelzShoes]

Clippers
Just when I think I know what the Clippers plan is, they go and make a very puzzling roster move. The Rizzuto trade was about building a foundation. I thought that is what acquiring Ralph Branca (with Harry Walker prior to him being spun off to the Yanks) was all about. Well after one wild, but competent outing, Branca found himself sitting in the bullpen unused. Yes, Branca will take a regular turn at Memphis-which might be better for the 20 year old, but why commit to youth if you aren't going to use your youngsters. The fact he was replaced on the roster by George Caster, a 20 game loser in 1938 and a two time 19 game loser, just makes an old pitching staff older. I know most of the pitchers are either going to be traded or not resigned next year, but why not find an inning a week for one of their promising arms?

Braves
The Braves have finally put together a decent rotation but the bullpen is a disaster. Manny Salvo wasn't good in his first go-round with Milwaukee probably won't be good this time either. There are a few pieces in place, but man, there wasn't much for Perini at the major or minor league level. There is going to have to be some major deals and astute drafting this club wants to contend. I think the novelty of being a "Major League City" can only carry you a season and a half; after that there needs to be some winning.

Yankees
When the worst thing you can say about a team is that the second lefty in the bullpen has not been effective, they are doing pretty good. The Yanks have jumped ahead of the Dodgers in the standings, but the lead is not big. It figures to be a two-team race all year long, but the Monarchs and Blues (and to a lesser degree Minneapolis) are not showing signs of dropping out of the race yet.

[SelzShoes]

Pirates
The bullpen has blown some leads, keeping the Bucs at .500. I would rate Pittsburgh and better hitting and pitching club than division leading Cleveland they just haven’t been able to turn the stats into wins. They do seem to win big (9 of the 15 wins by more than 4 runs—I don’t know if that is unusually high or low) and lose close ones (7 of 15 by 1 run—second only to Boston and tied with Detroit). I know it is early, but I get worried whenever my club is nearer to last than first; which is were Pittsburgh sits now. Is there something in Frisch’s managerial style that fails in the clutch? Anyway, the Benswanger family is looking to sell the team, so they would like to see the team improve the record. Both William Benswanger and Frisch think the players are already on the rosters, so they stay the course for now.

Solons
General Manager Ossie Vitt cleans house, sending four players—three infielders—to AAA Spokane. The lack of organizational depth on the infield is laid bare, as Vitt has to dip to Class A Kinston to pluck Alex Grammas for the bench. The Solons have nothing in the organization outside of the current second baseman and third baseman (Gogolak and Jorgensen). For this team to keep up with Portland and Seattle, a deal for a shortstop or quality backup infielder is needed. This team just gives away too many outs in the everyday line up to really put up a fight for anything other than 3rd.

Rainiers
Just as the Beavers looked to be turning the PCL into a runaway, they hit a slump just as the Rainiers go on a streak. With a narrow edge in the PCL, Seattle makes no moves.

[SelzShoes]

Indians
Cleveland GM Roger Peckinpaugh asks about Detroit farmhand Rugger Ardizoia. The 26-year-old Williamsport pitcher has put together a good first month; I don't know if he would have an impact for either team this year. The Tigers rebuff this first inquiry.

Cardinals
Everyone wants Bill Howerton! The AAA Rochester outfielder was asked by every team the Cardinals approached. Sid Gordon of the Giants attracted a lot of attention from the Cards, but a struggling pitcher at AAA Chattanooga was the player they really made a play for. The sadly struggling Senators could use another bat in the infield, but wanted to move .163 hitting Cecil Travis in any package. The vet has been all around awful and Cards had no interest in that. The Redbirds do sign recently released Cub farmhand Cliff Dapper and assign him to AA Houston.

Padres
San Diego makes another attempt to get Vern Stephens; the Blues still don't go for it, but with their struggles (6 game losing streak) Eddie Stanky as the everyday second baseman is starting to sound better and better. The Padres might be able to deal oft asked about Steve Souchock if they follow through on signing recently retired Phil Weintraub. Babe Herman (?) gets an offer to play at AAA Salem. The Pads also had interest in the above-mentioned Dapper; the Cardinals could guarantee more playing time than San Diego could at AA.

[SelzShoes]

Red Sox
Eddie Collins and Joe Cronin seemingly have bet their careers on the current roster. With the club still slogging along in 5th and not able to put together a solid week of play the Red Sox make no changes to the roster. Even with Johnny Pesky hobbled with a leg injury doesn't compel them to make a move. I think this is the best squad the Sox can field right now but do not have the confidence that Collins and Cronin have. Joe Dobson might be able to stabilize the bullpen, but he has to be in the rotation, his innings are too valuable.

Indians
With Ken Keltner's back feeling better Bert Hodge had become somewhat superfluous on the bench. Dale Mitchell, the young slap hitting outfielder who had an April run with the Tribe, is recalled after hitting near .400 back at Oklahoma City. Jim Bagby finds himself moved to the bullpen for Chubby Dean. Bagby has given up 10+ hits in 3 of his last 4 starts. He needs to get back to making them miss.

Lancers
This hot and cold team has been hard to get a read on. Right now, they are trying to get more men on base in front of DiMaggio. Joe might be getting the business about his .266 average but he is on a pace for 40+ home runs and 120+ RBI. The Lancers hope the combo of Michaels and Appling can edge that RBI number up for Joe. Los Angeles might be able to make a run at first if the pitching staff can stop walking so many men. A small move is made with the back up catcher; I think the Lancer brain trust does not know what to make of this club either.

Millers
After holding fast through offensive struggles of his team, GM Mike Kelley finally pulls some strings. Lou Limmer, a game kid who was overwhelmed to the tune of a .136 average is shipped to Single A Troy. Versatile Bill Rigney goes to AAA, but not 0-23 Tommy Giordano. Recently signed Johnny Strum and Negro Leaguer Buzz Clarkson [NOTE: Most Negro League sources list him as Bus Clarkson; MLB as Buzz] are brought to Minneapolis to fill the spots. There is not a lot of organizational depth here, so if these guys don't do it, then the dream of a .500 season may be over. Johnny Humphries is also slotted back as the relief ace, where is lack of stamina will not hurt the Millers as much. On a minor league note, AA shortstop Tod Davis has been placed on waivers.

Phillies
William Cox makes no adjustments with his surprising Phillies.

Cardinals
With failing starting pitching bearing the blame for the current woes of the Redbirds, Saint Louis recalls Howie Pollet and Johnny Beazley. Pollet had some adventures in the bullpen, but a wonderful start for Rochester seems to show he has his head back on. Beazley put in some good inning for the Red Wings as well. Neither man will start yet, but this does give Luke Sewell some more options than he had before.

Padres
With Steve Souchock hitting so well, the signing of Phil Weintraub does not make a whole lot of sense. Weintraub, 'retired' to Palm Springs in the spring, but a sufficient offer enticed him to sign with the Padres. Weintraub will provide a quality pinch hitter and back up to Souchock until he is ready to go full time. Souchock might be moved to the outfield for the remainder of the year as manager Frank Shellenback looks for a way to extend the offense. San Diego was expected to ride their pitching to contention; outside of Rod Lockheart the pitching has been a major disappointment. Ed Wright should be back in a week, it would be interesting to see what the staff can do with everyone in their best slot.

Seals
San Francisco continues to win with just enough offense and great pitching. Shemo, Lang and Renna-all regulars, plus back up catcher Schultz-are sent out for a fresh group of bodies. LaPointe, Rackley and Northey were up earlier but will hopefully hit better this time around. I keep waiting for the other shoe, but as long as the pitching holds, we've got just as good a chance as the other Western contenders.