Joe McCarthy has a change of heart/mind

Game 3 box score

Individual performances and summary

game 3 summary.jpg
 
From the Boston Globe...

Sox spot Braves Six; Rally falls short

Playing in the Fens for the first time with money on the line, the Braves were rude guests indeed--either that, or the Sox were hosts that were gracious to a fault. The Braves scored/were permitted to score six runs before the Sox decided to join in the fun in the bottom of the fifth inning. That rally lifted the hearts of the Fenway Faithful, anticipating that surely their heroes would close the gap in the innings to follow but alas, it was not to be. The Sox' attempted heroics only served to spur the Braves to further mischief as they added to their lead. Meanwhile, the Warriors' pitchers held Sox bats in check, permitting only harmless blows...
 
From the Washington Post

Boston once again hotly contested

by Shirley Povich

An epic struggle is under way in the Hub of the Universe these days. It's not a battle between patriots and redcoats, but between two equal and opposite factions in the world of the American game. On the one side, the Red Sox: a team with a wealthy, aristocratic owner and a heritage of championshps that, while lately a bit threadbare, has a rich fabric dating back to the days before the Great War. On the other side, the Braves: a consummate have-not team since the beginning of this century.

The faithful of both sides are about equally balanced in number, and are distributed about evenly throughout every Middlesex village and farm. The struggle, it is true, will determine the year's world champion of baseball--that is true. What is not so evident is the implications of this series.

Of all of the cities in the major leagues these days, five have teams in each league. Of those five, three--New York, Chicago, and Philadelphia--genuinely warrant dual representation. They are, according to Uncle Sam's Census Bureau, the largest three cities at last count. One of the five, St. Louis, clearly is not of the same ilk: it can't--or perhaps better, won't--support both the Browns and the Cardinals. This writer would be greatly surprised if, in ten years' time, the Browns were still in St. Louis instead of Los Angeles, Milwaukee, or Baltimore--three cities that have been rumored destinations for the Browns (for the record, my bet is on Los Angeles).

Then there is Boston. The Hub typically doesn't have enough chops to support two teams, but it can certainly support more than one, given the overflow crowds in both the Fens and the Wigwam in the best of times. It is this humble scribe's considered opinion, though, that ultimately, one of the two teams will wind up deciding to decamp for parts now unknown. And this Series will have a lot to say about which team gets the lion's share of Beantown fans, and about which of the two move...
 
From the Baltimore Sun

Baseball, televison, and bars
by H. L. Mencken

It used to be in the halcyon days before that excrescence on the national conscience known as the Volstead Act was promulgated that saloons, bars, and similar establishments were the province of the lower sorts while the sun shone. Only after sunset did any of these emporia gain even a modicum of respectability. During sunlit hours, places that provided strong drink were commonly inhabited by idlers, hangers-on, and inks-tained wretches toiling for the local broadsheet.

All of that, regrettably, has changed with the advent of television. Receiving sets are still beyond the reach economically of the common man, but are often within the purview of the till of most watering holes. And what better way for an owner of such a den of iniquity to attract customers with an affinity for John Barleycorn and a few hours to kill during the day than to install a receiver at this time of the year?

The taproom of the Emerson Hotel used to be something of a club, noted for its rough sort of decorum, into which the crassness of the everyday world dared not intrude. Yesterday, the author had occasion to visit these premises, and was deeply distressed to note the presence of an oversized receiver, with several dozen types in suits clustered around, gawking unabashedly. Not a single idler or ink-stained wretch in sight! An certainly none of the genteel scruffiness to which long-term patrons have become accustomed...
 
From the New York Daily News

by Dick Young

Marse Joe McCarthy is not one to stand pat with a losing hand. Ask any of his poker buddies from road trips and they'll tell you that. So it comes as no surprise to this writer to hear the rumors swirling around the Fens that Jack Kramer, the erstwhile rarity of rarities--a winning pitcher for the St. Louis Browns--will ride the pine tomorrow in the pivotal fifth game of this Fall Classic.

Kramer, as you may remember, was the victim of the Sox' laryngitis of the bats in the second game, as Warren Spahn spun a masterful 3-0 shutout in Braves Field. Since the average ballplayer has a set of superstitions that would make a Balkan peasant look positively enlightened, McCarthy is rumored to be making a move not only to remove a losing pitcher from the rotation but to generate some magic for his charges.

The object of these rumors varies, but the consensus school of thought indicates that Joe Dobson will be the beneficiary of McCarthy's maneuverings...
 
OOC

Sorry it's been so long between updates. However, when one has two delightful grandchildren (granddaughter is nearly four; grandson is six months) visiting, priorities change. We will now return to Boston in October 1948 imminently.

By the way, please excuse the typo in the game 5 summary below: the date should read 10 October. Thanks.
 
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From the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin

Different leagues, different styles

by Ray Kelly

You could put together all the brainpower at Harvard and MIT, plus the good holy teaching fathers at Boston College, and still not figure out what Billy Southworth and Joe McCarthy will come up with next. But then again, logic often has little to do with it.

Marse Joe admits that he relies on faith (and in no small part in the luck of the Irish) in making decisions. Did he do the right thing in benching strong man Jack Kramer in favor of Joe Dobson for game five? You tell me, after looking at the box scores.

At the same time, veteran manager Southworth knows on which side his bread is buttered. "I know the guys who got us here", he averred. "You dance with the one you brung."

Still, pundits around the diamond are conjecturing if just a wee bit of Marse Joe's prestidigitation hasn't worn off a bit, and has Mr. Southworth thinking a bit more about his choice of starter for game six. The rumor mill is going full blast on all three shifts, and what's coming off the line? Just this: Mickey Harris, unseen so far in this Series, may just get the call for the Sox in game six, while Valiant Vern Bickford will have a chance to save the day for the Tribe. One thing is sure: McCarthy and the Sox have some wiggle room. The Braves don't…
 
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From the Associated Press wires

For publication on 11 October 1948:



Two veteran right-handers, Johnny Sain (L) of the Braves and Tex Hughson (R) of the Red Sox, share some time before Game Six at Braves Field.

sain hughson pregame.jpg
 
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OOC: a correction

I discovered there were a few mistakes in the box score for game 2 that got by me. Here's the correct box (note that the play-by-play given is correct):







I'd hoped to be able to go back and edit the original post from about two weeks ago but apparently I can't do that (if I have that wrong, would a moderator please step in and tell me how I can do it? Thanks.

game2_cr.jpg
 
From the Boston Globe

Thirty years ago, after a season shortened to Labor Day by the War to make the World safe for Democracy, the Red Sox won a World Championship led by a young guy named Ruth. Just a few months ago, the Babe passed away, taken by throat cancer. Perhaps he might have spared a thought or two for his original team in his last days, maybe even wishing them well. But once again, for the first time in a generation, the Red Sox are champions of the world.

Pause. Take a deep breath. Say it again slowly: the Boston Red Sox are the champions of the world.

This was a series for the ages. True, it did not come down to a winner-take-all seventh game, replete with late inning heroics. But the games were well played contests between two teams with every right to be there. As Bobby Doerr pointed out graciously, "A bounce or two here and there...and the guys in the other clubhouse might be celebrating now."

Well, that's not the case. For the time being, at least, Boston belongs to the Red Sox. In fact, it's probably not overstating the case to say that New England belongs to the Red Sox (overlooking some centers of apostasy and heresy in western Connecticut). For now, the Red Sox will bask in their first championship in a generation--at least, that is, until pitchers and catchers report in February.

And what of the Braves? This was their opportunity to seize back the affections of the Hub's baseball faithful. To an extent, they did so simply by making it to the Fall Classic. But was that--or better, would that be--enough to ensure further success on Commonwealth Avenue?
 
Afterward: winter 1948-1949, I

The winter meetings had the usual swirl of rumors and trial balloons, along with a few trades that got mention, and one blockbuster that stood out: smarting from finishing behind both the Red Sox and the Indians, the Yankees deemed more mature pitching help was warranted. They dealt young righthander Allie Reynolds to the Red Sox for veteran strongman Jack Kramer.

Yankee fans howled bloody murder over the deal, while Sox fans rubbed their hands in glee. It was generally recognized that the Sox got the long end of the deal by far. Perhaps rookie general manager George Weiss was seduced by Kramer's gaudy statistics, believing he could do likewise in pinstripes in the Bronx.
 
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