1916 BBW Replay Week 14 Summary - July 10-July 16, 1916

Week Fourteen of the 1916 BBW Replay is in the books, and it was another interesting week. Minimal changes in the standings, but as we move into the second half of the season … is this it? What changes, if any, will we see? Just last week, Cincinnati had pulled to within 3.5 games of first-place Brooklyn, but then the Reds took a step backwards, while the Robins are currently working on a seven-game winning streak. Detroit moves to Boston in the middle of the upcoming week for five games - can they make a serious dent in the Red Sox's 7.0 games lead? You can bet the Tigers have these games circled on their calendars!

As has been stated several times in the past few weeks, pitching continues to dominate. In this past week, there were twenty shutouts and five 1-0 games. There was also a fourteen-, a sixteen-, and a seventeen-inning game, with the seventeen-inning game ending in a 7-7 tie. Games remain close, with teams managing to get runners on, and then maybe someone will come through with a key hit (or not), or perhaps a team will make a key defensive blunder (or not). There are a few blowouts, but most games come down to the end before any final decision is reached.

 

1916 Pittsburgh Pirates Team
In the AL, Boston remains atop, currently with a 7.0-game lead over Detroit. The Red Sox started the week with three consecutive doubleheaders versus the visiting White Sox. Chicago threw shutouts in both games on Tuesday, but the Red Sox still pulled out a 3-3 split for the six games. Detroit ended the week on a four-game losing streak, thanks to third-place New York, who currently sits 8.5 games behind Boston, but only 1.5 games behind Detroit. Washington sits in fourth place, as they seemingly yo-yo between winning streaks and losing streaks.

St. Louis and Chicago have been playing better lately, but finishing in the upper half of the AL is their only reasonable goal. Cleveland occasionally looks like they are going to make a charge up the standings, but just as quickly they revert back to their previous levels of poor performance. Cleveland and Philadelphia have the same number of losses … Cleveland's lineup seems to have stabilized, so maybe they can make a move here late.

 

1916 Pittsburgh Pirates
Players
Brooklyn has dominated the NL almost all seasons, and it doesn't look like anything can hold them back. They have a strong defense, great pitching, and they are happy to take turns with different hitters stepping up to deliver key hits. Cincinnati sits in second place, but their bubble may have burst. Maybe they used up all their magic in the first half of the season? Time will tell.

Philadelphia is the one team that is making a charge. After a poor start to the season, they currently sit 2.5 games behind Cincinnati. If the Reds team should be taking a step backwards, the Phillies are ready to replace them in the two spot. New York and Boston are in fourth and fifth place, with both teams sitting at .500. New York had gotten off to a poor start, went on a hot streak for a while, but that now seems to have cooled. Boston's good pitching has carried them so far, but their lack of hitting has limited their ability to seriously challenge the other NL teams.

 

Philadelphia is the only AL team to reach the halfway point of seventy-seven games played, while the NL has five such teams. Boston (NL) has only seventy games played, so they have a long way to go yet. Boston will get to seventy-seven games played this coming week, but not until Sunday.

 

It's the middle of July, it's hot, and no relief is in sight, and August is on the way yet. It doesn't do any good to complain about it, so let's go play!





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