August 1, 1963...Our play continues to amaze even me at times, as we
enter August with a record of 52-56, and in eighth place in the National
League.  Our success is due mostly to a record of 28-18 in one-run games.
Our bullpen has certainly been one of the strong points of our team.
     As we continue to build for the future, we have found some long-range answers, while at the same time realizing that we are far from a
contending team.  At first base, Pete Runnels has done a good job,
hitting .269.  Johnny Temple has also provided some steady play at
second, hitting .265 and leading the team in steals with 6.  However, in
light of the fact that Runnels is 35 and Temple 34, we realize that we
are in a race against time to find younger players to handle these
positions.  We have tried Ernie Fazio more at second, but so far he
hasn't shown he is capable, hitting only .173.  Elio Chacon has been
splitting time at shortstop with Bob Lillis, but this position continues
to be a real question mark, as both of them are hitting in the .210
neighborhood.  Bob Aspromonte has taken a real step backwards this
season, playing poor defense and hitting only .207.
     Our outfield, on the other hand, is becoming a real team strength.
Al Spangler in left is putting together another solid season, leading the
team at .289, in doubles with 26, and runs scored with 56.  Carl Warwick
in center has taken a backward turn, hitting only .230, but he does lead
the team with 10 HR and 56 RBI.  Rusty Staub in right field is finally
showing why we think he will be a major star in years to come, as he has
raised his average to .231 by hitting .371 in the month of July.  Also
Jimmy Wynn has been showing flashes in his rookie season by hitting .259
with 17 extra base hits in only 170 AB, while another rookie, Manny Mota,
is hitting .282 mostly filling in for Spangler against left handed
pitching.  John Bateman is back behind the plate after missing a month of
the season, and continues to exhibit potential by hitting 7 HR to go with
a .235 average.
     Our pitching is certainly the strength of our team, with Dick
Farrell, Don Nottebart, Ken Johnson, Bob Bruce, and Hal Brown giving us
five solid starters that we know we can depend on, with everyone except
Bruce having an ERA below 3.  Bruce comes in at 3.41.  In the bullpen,
Jim Umbricht has come back after cancer surgery to post a 1.45 ERA with 8
saves, while Hal Woodeshick and Russ Kemmerer have also had solid
seasons.  Don Mc Mahon continues to be a major disappointment, but Dick
Drott has been consistently good since being recalled from the minors.
     Our team weaknesses continue to be a lack of offense, we still badly
need more power and speed.  We really need to attack our problem areas
after the season is over, our infield in particular needs to be
overhauled and that will not be easy to do successfully.  The thing we
have going in our favor is that we are finally healthy, and hopefully we
can stay that way and continue to play competitive baseball.

May 1, 1963...We survived April, and that may be about the best that can
be said!  We knew we were facing an uphill battle starting off the season
with 15 games against the Dodgers, Giants, and Cardinals, so maybe going 
8-12 isn't all that bad.  Our weaknesses as a team were laid bare for all
to see, and the solutions seem almost impossible to find right now.  I
have to say that none of our problems come as any surprise, we knew going
into the season what they would be.  Looking at our team position by
position, we see this: At first base, Pete Runnels is playing about as
well as could be expected at .278 but with only 2 RBI.  Obviously that
isn't enough production for a first baseman.  Johnny Temple at second is
playing well, hitting .286 with a .375 OBP, he is a good stop-gap measure
for the moment, but isn't someone we can count on for very long.  Elio
Chacon has taken a step backwards at shortstop, hitting only .214 so far,
he is going to have to get it in gear if he expects to remain the
starter. At third base Bob Aspromonte has been streaky so far, starting
off slowly and then catching fire before dropping back again.  He does
lead the team with 12 RBI.
     In the outfield Al Spangler in left is also off to a slow start at
.234, however I expect that is only temporary and that he will come on. 
Carl Warwick in center is playing good ball for us again in 1963, hitting
.260 with a pair of homers.  Rusty Staub in right is struggling, going 
7-63, we are going to have to make a decision soon about whether or not
to send him back to the minors.  Whatever we do, he needs to play every
day, we cant afford to let him sit on the bench, he is going to be a fine
ballplayer some day.
     At catcher John Bateman has really stepped forward and shone. 
Although he is only hitting .257, he has four of our 10 home runs.
He has shown enough that we have made him the starting catcher over Hal
Smith, he is just another player that needs more experience.
     Our pitching has been spotty at best.  Bob Bruce has been great with
a 1.38 ERA, and Early Wynn has proven to be a valuable spot starter with
a 2.05 ERA so far.  Don Nottebart is also pitching winning ball, going
2-0 with a 2.29 ERA.  Dick Farrell and Ken Johnson are off to slow
starts,and we really need better performances from both of them.  Jim
Golden has been a bust, and we have sent him down to AAA, hopefully he
will find the stuff that made him such a valuable pitcher to us in the
second half of 1962. 
In the bullpen we are really missing Jim Umbricht, who has been out since
the beginning of spring training due to cancer surgery.  He has been
working out and pitching batting practice, and we expect him to return
sometime in the next couple of weeks.  Hal Woodeshick has been carrying
most of our bullpen duties, one problem we have is that he is the only
lefthander on the staff, and there is always that temptation to overwork
him.  Also we have given up 27 unearned runs in 20 games, and obviously
we aren't going to win many games playing like that.
     The big problems we have though are mainly hitting, the best thing
you can say for our offense is that we have been offensive.  We have no
ability to get on base, no power, and no speed, and this adds up to no
runs.  We have already been one-hit twice this year, I am always relieved
when we get that first hit.  All we can do is hope that some of our
pitching will come around, and we can steal some 2-1 and 3-2 wins,
fortunately the Mets don't seem a lot better than last year, so maybe we
can avoid last place.

April 8, 1963...Well we are about to begin our second season as a
full-fledged member of the National League, pressing onward towards our
goal of
reaching the World Series by the end of the decade.  1962 was an exciting
year for the entire organization.  Everyone and their brother picked us
to
finish last, but shrewd moves by Paul Richards and his staff enabled us
to
field a most competitive team, one that Alvin Dark, manager of the
Giants,
called "the best eighth place team in history."  I think everyone on the
team would agree with me when I say that we never took the field thinking
we wouldn't win the game that day.  We also finished third in home
attendance, the fans of Houston and Texas took to us and made us feel
right at home.
     However, 1963 is a new year, with new challenges.  We decided as an
organization that we needed to pursue our future.  It was my feeling that
if we kept the 1962 team intact we would probably again be competitive,
but not any better.  So we felt the best thing to do was to start giving
some of our young talent a chance to play.  Three of our eight regulars
from 1962 are now elsewhere.  We traded our right fielder, Roman Mejias,
to Boston for American League batting champ Pete Runnels, a native Texan.
Our second baseman, Joey Amalfitano, went to San Francisco and in
exchange
we got a young outfielder that we are high on, Manny Mota.  The brightest
young star of our organization, Rusty Staub, is going to be our right
fielder this year. I know many people feel that at 19 he is too young to
be playing big league ball, but Rusty has a poise that belies his years. 
Johnny Temple, who we acquired late last season, will replace Amalfitano
at second.  Another one of our kiddie korps who will be seeing lots of
playing time in 1963 is John Bateman, a young power hitting catcher. 
Ernie Fazio is back to provide back up help at second, and Elio Chacon
and
Bob Lillis are both steady at short.  Bob Aspromonte did a great job at
third base in 1962, we feel like our infield will be a strength this
season.
     In the outfield, Al Spangler, who hit .321, will again be playing
left and Carl Warwick will be back in center after hitting 21 homers in
1962.  We expect Hal Smith to handle the bulk of our catching again, and
we will give Bateman plenty of opportunities as well.  
     My goal is to eventually find long-term solutions at each of the
eight every day positions.  I would say we have managed that at third
base
with Aspromonte, and in center field with Warwick.  We are banking on
Staub and Bateman taking care of right and catcher, respectively. 
Spangler should be good for another 3 to 4 years in left, and hopefully
Chacon will step up his play just a notch, which would make him a good
serviceable shortstop.  We are going to have to find solutions at second
and first in the near future, with Temple and Runnels we are just buying
time until we can do so.  I do wish we had more team speed, it is a big
weakness because we certainly cannot overpower anybody.
     Our pitching was a strong point in 1962 and we hope it will be
again.
With Dick Farrell, Ken Johnson, Jim Golden, and Bob Bruce, we feel like
we
will again have an effective staff.  Golden and Bruce pitched well in
their first real opportunities in the majors, while there was no finer
pitcher in the NL than Farrell last year.  Johnson also gave us a good
season until he tailed off at the end of the year.  This season we have
just signed the old vet Early Wynn, who has 299 wins.  We will be
reviving
the old Ted Lyons tradition of the Sunday pitcher, hopefully Wynn will be
able to stay strong pitching once a week.  We also expect him to have a
very positive influence on our younger pitchers.
     The bullpen was the best part of our staff in 1962.  We received a
huge blow when Jim Umbricht had surgery to remove three cancerous growths
during spring training, we are concerned about his health, if he can come
back to pitch for us that will be a plus, we are not counting on him. 
Don
Mc Mahon has to be said to have been a disappointment, but we are
expecting a strong rebound from him in 1963.  Don Nottebart, who came
over
from Milwaukee, has a good live arm and I am very high on him.  Dave
Giusti pitched well at times during his rookie season, we think he has a
bright future as well.  Our staff overall isn't all that young, I doubt
that many of the men that pitched for us in 1962 will still be here by
1966.  I do think Golden and Giusti have a chance to be solid pitchers
for
us for years to come, and we have several young pitchers that we will be
giving a chance to in 1963.
     Overall, it is my feeling that we will be down somewhat from our 
68-92 mark of 1962.  I am not worried about the Mets overtaking us, but I
do wonder if we can stay ahead of the Cubs.  The thing I will be looking
for this year is to see if our young talent shows major league ability,
and if they continue to improve throughout the year.  1962 really had
nothing to do with building the long term strengths of our ball club, it
was strictly a stop-gap measure.  If we can just make it through 1963 and
show improvement, we can hopefully add a couple more young regulars in
1964 and maybe one or two more in 1965.  If we can do that, I would
really
expect to see major improvement by 1966, and for us to be in contention
by
1968.  However, 1968 is a long ways away, in the meantime, we will be
doing all we can to field a competitive team.  It should be exciting to
watch!