Joyless in Mudville
Senators at Red Sox, April 25, 1949
Joyless in Mudville
Man, the Senators just can’t buy a break.
No matter how well they play, no matter how valiantly they try, they just can’t seem to win a game.
Today was yet another example of futility.
Breaking the Silence
This game was eerily quiet until the bottom of the 6th.
Dom DiMaggio led off with a single to center field.
That brought up Birdie Tebbetts. Now, we know from our research all about Tebbetts the veteran all star. Still, I figured it was time for a bunt, what with the score knotted at 0 and all, and so I had him bunt:
Johnny Pesky grounded DiMaggio to third, which brought up Tommy O’Brien with two out:
And now, once again, I felt like a genius.
The Senators Strike Back
That feeling didn’t last long.
Washington rallied in the top of the 7th. Eddie Robinson singled with one out, bringing up Bud Stewart:
That set the stage for Al Evans, who delivered the big blow:
And, just like that, it was 2-1 Washington.
Wildness
Something strange happened, though, in the bottom of the 8th.
Washington reliever Mickey Haefner completely lost sight of the strike zone.
I mean, it was a bloodbath out there. I know all about walks in the 1949 American League, but this was just brutal. It was hard to watch.
Vern Stephens, always dangerous, led things off:
April 1949 has really given me a lot of respect for Stephens, an excellent hitter who time has forgotten. He always seems to come through in the clutch.
That brought up DiMaggio. Remember, Washington was still ahead, 2-1.
I can only excuse my poor baserunning instructions by the fact that we were down a run. I felt that we had to take chances.
That brought up Tebbetts, and the all-star veteran proceeded to fly out to center field. Two away.
Pesky walked on four straight pitches. Up came O’Brien.
O’Brien then walked on four straight pitches, and now came Bobby Doerr:
Didn’t I tell you it was brutal?
Haefner managed to get Billy Hitchcock to pop one out to right to end the inning, but it was too little, too late. The game was now tied at 2.
9th Inning Rally
Washington has a pitching problem. The problem is that Washington’s pitching stinks.
The computer manager put Dick Welteroth out there in the bottom of the 9th, mostly because he was a warm body. Up came our old friend, Matt Batts, as a pinch hitter for the pitcher. Welteroth proceeded to do his best Haefner impression:
That brought up Ted Williams:
Somebody needs to have a word with Mr. Williams about working deeper into the count. ;-)
Stephens, another dangerous hitter, popped out to left, which brought DiMaggio back up there:
Now it was getting ridiculous.
Fortunately for Washington, however, Tebbetts the all-star struck out to end the inning.
Doerr
Pesky started off the bottom of the 10th with a walk for the Red Sox. Welteroth was still in there, despite having given up 3 walks in less than two innings. Washington simply had nobody else to use.
O’Brien bunted Pesky to second. If you haven’t figured it out by now, I’ll go right out and tell you: I love playing for one run in these kinds of situations.
And that brought up Doerr again:
It wasn’t a pretty win, but it was a win.
Washington had an amazing 13 hits and 2 walks in this game, and yet only managed to score 2 runs. Senators pitchers also gave up 9 walks, which is incredible, and yet the Red Sox couldn’t capitalize.
Washington is now 0-8, and I’m not sure where their next win is coming from. They’ve got one more at Boston, and then they host the Yankees for two straight before going to Philadelphia.
You probably know this already, by the way, but if you didn’t — the real life Senators were just as bad:
