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I have always been fascinated by teams which are able to piece together unlike talents into a coherent whole better than the sum of its parts. The October 10 birthday boys have the potential to be one such team.


Say it loud, say it proud...as long as you say it on the radio, this team...

CAN FINALLY RUN BASES
-ok, you have to live here for this to mean anything..

MANAGER- Bill Killefer

** indicates Hall of Famer (none)
* indicates All-Star

LINEUP
C Gene Tenace* (.241/.388/.429, 1969-83, World Series hero)
1B Francisco Cabrera (.254/.294/.453, 1989-1993, NLCS hero)
2B Placido Polanco* (.305/.350/.416, 1998-2007)
SS Troy Tulowitzki (.284/.353/.454, 2006-07)
3B Floyd Baker (.251/.360/.297, 1943-55)
LF Pat Burrell* (.258/.367/.482, 2000-07)
CF Wally Berger* (.300/.352/.522, 1930-40)
RF John Stone (.310/.376/.467, 1928-38)


BENCH
C Hank Riebe (.212/.229/.241, OPS+ 25, 1942-49)
IF Larry Lintz (128-38 SB/CS, 1973-1980)
IF Roger Metzger (GG, 1973, 1970-1980)
OF Ad Gumbert (.273/.337/.395 1888-1896)
OF Otto "Pep" Deininger (.263/.310/.331, 1902 and 08-09)
UTIL Ramon Martinez (.265/.324/.370, 1998-2007)

ROTATION
LHSP Noah Lowry (40-31, 108 ERA+, 2003-2007)
RHSP- Saul Rogovin (48-48, 96 ERA+, 1949-57)
LHSP Otto Hess (70-90, 98 ERA+, 20 wins, 333 innings in 1906, 1902-15)
RHSP Les Straker (10-15, 106 ERA+, 1987-88)
LHSP Homer Hillenbrand (8-4, 113 ERA+, 1906-08)


BULLPEN
RHP Bobby Tiefnauer (23 saves, 1952, 1955, 1960-68)
LHP Mike Holtz (generic LOOGY, 1996-2002, 2006)
RHP Don Gordon (1986-88, 3 saves, 91 ERA+)
LHP Harry Eisenstat (1935-42, career cut short by war at age 26, 114 ERA+)
RHP-Brian Powell (1998-2004)
LHP- Italo Chelini (4-4, 1935-37)

middle of the road news...is it any wonder that a club with a "double" date, would feature members of the double-initial club down the middle of the diamond...Ad Gumbert was mostly a pitcher...would his nickname be "Gumby" now?...it would be better than Pokey, I suppose...Tenace better keep up with his echinacea and St. John's wort...the club cannot afford to have Riebe in there except in blowouts...we went with a six-man pen...I liked the name "Italo Chelini", more than "Shorty Fuller", who was a utility man, and the fact that Fuller hit barely better than Riebe didn't help his cause...Berger had one of the great rookie years ever, posting a .310/.375/.614 in the hitter's feast that was the National League of 1930...can you say Hack Wilson?...Les Straker got 2 starts in the 1987 Series, both times facing off against Cardinals' ace John Tudor...the Twins split the games although Straker was not involved in either decision...still a victory, I say...Otto Hess is the only major leaguer born in Switzerland...and died in a veteran's hospital in Tucson after contracting tuberculosis in World War 1...Floyd Baker started and ended his career on May 4...good planning...Roger Metzger attempted a comeback in 1980 after losing tips of several fingers in a saw accident, but he could not hit...somehow "E for effort" doesn't seem appropriate when one is talking about a shortstop, but he did earn a place in the Texas Baseball Hall of Fame...Larry Lintz brings back memories of the 1974 Expos...Barry Foote, Mike Jorgensen, Ron Hunt, Ken Singleton, Steve Rogers...and Dave Van Horne and Duke Snider calling the games...good times...Polanco is an unrecognized excellent player, which is strange because he's a career .300 hitter with 2007's .341 a career best...he has yet to win a Gold Glove..hmph...

the bottom line...so, Bauxites... would this collection of talents find their way to the top of the NL Central in 2007?
10-10 | 5 comments | Create New Account
The following comments are owned by whomever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.
Mick Doherty - Wednesday, October 10 2007 @ 09:29 AM EDT (#175166) #

Gene Tenace was born on 10-10?
That's too good. A "Perfect Ten" you might say.

Mick Doherty - Wednesday, October 10 2007 @ 09:31 AM EDT (#175168) #
By the way, unless I'm counting wrong, you only have 24 on your roster. Add a DH?
Mike Green - Wednesday, October 10 2007 @ 09:39 AM EDT (#175170) #
Thanks, Mick.  I added Deininger.  This team would play best in the National League, as there is no real DH available.  Gumbert would probably be the best DH of the lot, and could take the odd turn in the rotation or from the pen in the Brooks Kieschnick style. 
jgadfly - Wednesday, October 10 2007 @ 05:23 PM EDT (#175196) #
 Bob Tiefenauer ... a great name from the past ... probably the best relief pitcher Toronto had ever seen before Tom Henke. In the 1958 season when Rocky Nelson was hitting 57 HR's ( or was it 58 in 57) for the Maple Leafs, knuckleballer Tiefenauer was 17-5, 1.89 ERA with 18 saves. I can't find any more stats than those listed but it would be interesting to see how many innings he pitched that year. I seem to remember that Toronto would regularly bring him in when they were trailing in about the 7th inning and they would then rally for the win.
Mick Doherty - Thursday, June 04 2009 @ 02:20 PM EDT (#200868) #
Sure, it only took me two years to reply -- but here's Teifenauer's career minor league record. Saves were not officially totaled, apparently, as that space is blank. In '58, he threw in 64 games and logged 157 IP.
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The following comments are owned by whomever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.