One-third through 1918

 

I feel like I'm flying through the season--I guess that's what happens when you play 3-4 games a day. The Yankees are 1/3 of the way through their schedule, with other teams within 1-2 games of that. Since the last post, the three AL leaders have cooled off a bit, with the 4th-place Browns almost having caught the 3rd-place Spiders. The Yankees are actually in 1st place, with a slim lead over Boston and Cleveland just a bit further back. The Yanks dropped the most recent series they played (against the Spiders), but obviously have been playing well before then. 

The Yankees have been getting it done on offense, but their pitching has also been surprisingly (to me) excellent, with a league-leading ERA. I'm not sure if it's smoke and mirrors, but Pennock and Caldwell in particular are pitching very well. What concerns me right now is injuries--Reuther, Barnes, and Thomas have all spent time on the IL, and Pennock had to pulled from a game due to injury (though he was back the next day). The hitters have continued as in 1917, with Zimmerman serving as a great addition. The infield defense has been great, and the Yankees are averaging more than a double play per game, which is an amazing contrast to 1916 and certainly is much less frustrating. 

The other recent news is the signing of Louis Santop. This was driven by Pat Collins just not hitting at all. He started something like 1-for-30, and after something like 50-60 at-bats still only had maybe 5 hits. I started getting concerned that it might affect his development, but the team only has 3 catchers in the entire organization. So I cast around and realized a few Negro Leaguers weren't in the simulation, so I added them. Santop is a catcher, who I made an offer to (and who signed), and I also added Cristobal Torriente, who's a monster hitter and who I also made an offer to. Torriente knows he's a monster hitter, though, and wants to be the best-paid player in the game. So he's had offers but is still unsigned...

Over in the NL, the Phillies seem to be settling into spending the most time in first place, with a few teams (mostly the Rustlers) giving chase.