Beware, the Ides of May
May 15, 1939
CHICAGO — Beware, the Ides of May!
To paraphrase or not to paraphrase Shakespeare, that is the question? And sometimes the resounding answer is, NO. Especially when a lowly sportswriter makes a weak attempt.
The calendar, and the weather outside, display that it is the middle of May. There is plenty of Major League baseball to recap and look forward to. However, there is plenty of bad news, not only out of Europe, but around the world.
On May 4, Japan’s Prime Minister Kiichiro Hiranuma declared his country’s military support for Germany and Italy if they are attacked. What?!? How and why are these countries now bedfellows? The simplest answer is that all three countries are led by fascist dictators with expansionist ideology. It is indeed a dark alliance.
A week later, on May 11, Japan attacked Outer Mongolia to further prove its expansionist intentions. It seems clear that Japan intends to control and dominate much of the Pacific Rim.
On May 7, Adolph Hitler and Benito Mussolini declared their military alliance to each other’s countries. Many are calling it the Rome-Berlin Axis.
Fears and concerns about another world war can no longer be laid at the feet of conspiracy theorists and doomsday warmongers. Similar signs were seen across Europe prior the so-called “Great War.” Have we forgotten the lessons of the “War to End all Wars” that ended just 20 short years ago?
The Bard’s words to Julius Caesar were words of warning of impending danger. Maybe it’s not such a stretch to paraphrase the Ides of March into the Ides of May when we are talking about the geopolitics of 1939. We can only pray that cooler heads (and silent guns) will prevail.
In related news, 937 Jewish refugees from Germany and other nearby countries decided not to wait for more bullets to fly. They have seen enough of the discriminatory ways of Mr. Hitler, and they are leaving. On May 13, they crammed aboard the SS St. Louis and sailed away from the port in Hamburg and headed toward the sunny shores of Havana. We wish them Godspeed for a safe voyage.
Despite getting swept in 3 games by the New York Yankees, the White Sox finished their homestand with a 6–6 mark. Granted, the rule of thumb is that you want to play .500 on the road and plus .500 at home. But when the homestand includes the 3-time Defending World Champions, plus a loaded Red Sox club, the 6–6 doesn’t look too bad.
The momentum is also trending upwards with wins in 3 of the last 4 games heading on the road to Boston, New York, Washington, Philadelphia, and Cleveland.
At Comiskey Park on May 11, the ChiSox put together their best and most comprehensive game with an 8–0 whitewashing of the Boston Red Sox. Ted Lyons (3–0) knuckler was at its dancing best. He struck out 7 and yielded just 5 base hits. So far in 1939, the veteran has surrendered just 2 earned runs in 27 IP for a microscopic 0.67 ERA.
The Sox bats were also in high gear, smacking 12 total hits with every batter getting at least 1 knock except for Mike Kreevich. Gee Walker and 2B Ollie Bejma led the parade with 3 hits and 2 RBI each. Walker scored 3 of the 8 runs.
The next day Johnny Rigney (2–3) pitched an almost carbon copy of Lyon’s gem. Rigney went the distance in a 5-hit whitewashing of the Cleveland Indians. The Pale Hose won 1–0. Marv Owen singled in C Mike Tresh in the 3rd inning and Rigney made it hold up.
On May 13, Eddie Smith (1–1) blanked the Tribe for 5 more innings, extending the Sox staff shutout string to 23 consecutive innings. It ended in the 6th when the AL’s leading hitter Hal Trosky singled in Oscar Grimes. But it was the only run scored by Cleveland in a 7–1 Sox victory. Bejma’s (1) 2-run home run highlighted a 3-run 1st inning for Chicago. The Sox tacked on 4 more in the 8th with RBI raps from Kreevich, Larry Rosenthal and Rip Radcliff.
The American League pennant race is so far showing a separation between the top 5 teams and the bottom 3. The White Sox (12–10) stand in 5th place, but just 3 games behind front-runner Boston. The ChiSox travel to Bean Town for a scheduled 3-game series beginning Tuesday night. New York, Detroit, and Cleveland are all crammed in between the pair of Sox.
The Senior Circuit standings are much more equitably distributed. The Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants sit on top with identical 15–7 marks. St. Louis is just a game behind at 13–7.
In other baseball news, former Yankees great Tony Lazzeri was on the move last week. On May 13 he was released by the Dodgers and on May 14, he was signed by the Giants.
The Detroit Tigers and St. Louis Browns made a large swap May 13. The Tigers traded Mark Christman, George Gill, Bob Harris, Vern Kennedy, Chet Laabs, and Roxie Lawson to the Browns for Beau Bell, Red Kress, Bobo Newsom, and Jim Walkup.
