January 13th, The 1934 Chicago Cubs

The 1934 Chicago Cubs finished third in the NL with a 86-65 record. Outfielders Babe Herman, Kiki Cuyler and Chuck Klein, along with Catcher Gabby Hartnett, provided plenty of offense. Lon Warneke and Bill Lee anchored a strong starting rotation. Bud Tinning provided strong relief, but was the only real Chicago reliever. Charlie Grimm's Cubs had won the pennant only two years before, and would win again the next year (1935) and in 1938.

January 12th, 1934 - The 1934 Chicago White Sox

The 1934 Chicago White Sox finished in the cellar with an abysmal record of 53-99 despite a lineup that includes Hall of Famers Al Simmons, Luke Appling and Zeke Bonura. One the primary reasons was their poor starting rotation. George Earnshaw is the only starter who had a good year. Even worse was their bullpen. Only Harry Kinzy can be called "adequate" in 1934. The Sox changed managers in the middle of the year, replacing Lew Fonseca with Jimmie Dykes. Dykes partially turned things around, and the Sox finished mostly third and fourth for the rest of the 30s.

January 11th, 1934 - St. Louis sends O'Farrell, Johnson to Cinci

Cards Trade O'Farrell and Johnson to Reds

The Cardinals announced today that they have traded veteran catcher Bob O'Farrell (pictured) and Pitcher Syl Johnson to the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for Glenn Spencer.

O'Farrell has played most of his career for the Chicago Cubs, but has also spend a few seasons with the Cards and the Giants. The Reds will be his fourth NL team. He played on both the Cubs 1918 pennant winner and the Cards 1926 World Series championship team. O'Farrell also managed the Cards in 1927. Cincinnati announced that O'Farrell would manage the Reds in the 1934 season.

Johnson started off in the American League with the Detroit Tigers in 1922, but joined the Cardinals after the 1925 season. Last year, he was 3-3 with a 4.29 ERA in 84 innings pitched, nearly all in relief.

Spencer has pitched 5 seasons, mostly for Pittsburgh. Last year in NY (NL) he saw limited action, pitching only 47 innings with an 0-2 record and 5.13 ERA.