Cardinals Passings: Frank Bertaina To Bill Werle

Remembering the former Cardinals players who died in 2010:

Retro Simba

The Branch Rickey Pirates (Part Four: 1952-53)

So far, we've brought The Mahatma to Pittsburgh, then we've followed him through his first, reasonably successful year. Then, alas, we've also examined his second, terrible, year.

The Hardball Times

The Branch Rickey Pirates (Part Three: 1951-52)

In our first installment, we joined the legendary Branch Rickey as he took over the general managership of the Pittsburgh Pirates in the autumn of 1950. Last time, we examined Rickey’s range of actions in his first year in the new job, a period in which he didn't find immediate success, but executed generally sound decisions and appeared to have made progress.

The Hardball Times

The Branch Rickey Pirates (Part 2:1950-51)

As we recall from last time, Branch Rickey was hired as the general manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates in November 1950. We summarized the state of the ball club he inherited, both at the level of the big league roster and in the minor leagues.

The Hardball Times