That's a pretty darn good Birthday Team.

C: Gabby Hartnett
1B: Cecil Cooper
2B: Jimmy Williams
3B: David Wright
SS: Augie Ojeda
LF: Harry Stovey
CF: David DeJesus
RF: Aubrey Huff

SP: James Shields
SP: Jose DeLeon
SP: George Pipgras
SP: Bill Laskey
SP: Paul Moskau
RP/RF/1B: Jack Manning

Manager/GM: Branch Rickey
Cool names: Snooks Dowd and Ham Wade
Primate: Mike Emeigh

The Hobbit & Lord of the Rings All-Star Team:


2B Bilbo Baggins
SS Legolas
CF Ugluk the Uruk-Hai
1B a cave troll (may have trouble during day games)
LF Beorn
RF Quickbeam
C Gimli
3B Fili
SP Tom Bombadil

Manager: Gandalf
Bench Coach: Denethor (Palantir makes him great at stealing signs)
Trainer: Aragorn ("Blow out your rotator cuff again? Go rub some athelas on it!")
Announcer: Wormtongue
Head of Scouting: Radagast the Brown
Concessions: Barliman Butterburr

Aubrey Huff in RF? Oh nos...

That is a damn good b-day team. I've always loved saying Cecil Cooper's full name.

This team would improve measurably if Rickey were allowed to make trades. He could probably make Huff and Bill Laskey turn into Willie Mays, and get cash back in the deal as well.

Is it the fact that he spent a considerable amount of time in the American Assoc. the reason that Stovey's not in the HOF? His raw numbers are certainly deserving, given the low number of games teams played in that era.

Today is the 10th anniversary of a trade that got a lot of attention here at BTF when it happened - because few could believe how/why such a one-sided deal had taken place. Can you guess what it was before clicking on this link to see the answer?

edit: I'll hide the answer in case anyone else wants to guess.

If you don't count games that were allegedly lost on purpose, Ferdie Schupp is the last pitcher to shut out the White Sox in their long and glorious World Series history.

I'm guessing its a trade featured in the a major Oscar-nominated motion picture?

EDIT: No, no it is not.

I'm guessing its a trade featured in the a major Oscar-nominated motion picture?

Giambi was traded from Philly to Boston around ten years ago.

Schupp was my nemesis in the historical sim I played in high school (his 0.90 ERA season, not his better subsequent year). Not much after age 27 / the bulk of his career (heck, he only had 2 seasons with >15 starts), but a respectable peak.

That's a tremendous lineup (and exec).

Branch Rickey and I have a lot in common :) Well, at least a birthday. Both of us were catchers, too.

The birthday team has gotten a better over the last 10 years, with Shields, Huff, and Wright. If it were my team I'd probably put Oscar Gamble in right, move Huff to left and Stovey to center. We have a lot of catchers - in addition to Hartnett there's Spud Davis and Butch Henline, both of whom were decent enough with the bat and probably would have made some other birthday teams. Shortstop's the only really weak link - that and pitching (there's really no relief ace; Manning and Pipgras are the only guys with double-digit career save totals). Shields already has the second-highest number of pitching victories of any December 20 player, trailing Pipgras by 15; he could pass him in 2013.

-- MWE

Today is the 10th anniversary of a trade that got a lot of attention here at BTF when it happened - because few could believe how/why such a one-sided deal had taken place. Can you guess what it was before clicking on this link to see the answer?


The Kevin Millwood trade?

ding

Aubrey Huff in RF? Oh nos...

So long as it isn't 2B.....

SS Legolas

Wrong elf. Clearly it should be Benji Gil-Galad.

Johnny Estrada's career ended in July of 2008, after 1 great season, a bunch of okayness, and zero stolen base attempts. Kevin Millwood is still hanging on.

#17 - LOVE the new name! How'd you end up w/Group W? Did you have to pay $50 and pick up the garbage?

Re: Link of the Day:

If I'm not mistaken, it's Ferd Schupp -- not Walter Johnson, Bob Gibson or Dutch Leonard -- who holds the record for lowest ERA in a season of more than 100 innings. (Or maybe the distinction, since there's no such record, technically.)

Did you have to pay $50 and pick up the garbage?

AND creating a nuisance.

I looked further at that lineup - when DeJesus is your 2nd worst hitter... not too shabby. (Granted, active players should see their career #s drop)

By career OPS+: Hartnett 126, Cooper 121, Williams 115, Wright 135, Ojeda 65, Huff 114, Stovey 144, DeJesus 106
By 3-yr peak: Hartnett 140, Cooper 149, Williams 135, Wright 142, Ojeda 74, Huff 135, Stovey 167, DeJesus 116

THere's a few GGers in there as well, though that overrates them. Most of the lineup either won Silver Slugger awards, or would've had such a thing been around in their day.

KID.....have you rehabilitated yourself???

I don't know if Misirlou is moral enough to join the army and burn women and kids villages and stuff after being a litterbug.

I MEAN KILLL!!!!!

I don't like your attitude.

And if Misirlou, BourbonSamurai and I do it, THREE, can you imagine, THREE people walking in
singin a bar of Alice's Restaurant and walking out. They may think it's an
organization.

So the Cubs have apparently signed Carlos Villanueva for 2/$10 million and Edwin Jackson for 4/$52 million.

I like the Villanueva signing but I would have preferred Anibal Sanchez at the price Detroit gave him over Edwin Jackson at this amount.

EDIT: So, to sum up, the Cub rotation will be pieced together from: Matt Garza, Jeff Samardzija, Travis Wood, Edwin Jackson, Scott Feldman, Scott Baker and Carlos Villanueva. They also added reliever Kyuji Fujikawa this offseason.

I would have liked to see them keep Randy Wells as starting pitcher insurance but that looks like a sizeable depth improvement to me. Hopefully McNutt can get un-tracked and be the eighth starter (or the seventh until Baker is healthy).

Now, about third base and the outfield...