This group is totally dominated by the AL, with no NL first baseman showing up until the B Tier.

We have our standard defensive stats here, with the leaders in bold and the worst performers in italics. Range Factor (RF) measures the number of plays made per game–the higher the better. Zone Rating (ZR) attempts to credit players for plays other fielders missed and ding them for plays other fielders made–the higher the better, and it has the benefit of being comparative across the position. Defensive Efficiency (dEff) measures the rate at which an individual fielder contributes to outs being made on balls put into play, with any score over 1.000 being a net positive impact. Finally, Fielding Percentage (fPct) reflects the percentage of times a chance was handled without a mistake–if someone made no errors, their fPct would be 1.000.

Of these, Range Factor is the most susceptible to the impact of the pitching staff and the ballpark, although none of these defensive ratings are perfect.

#S Tier

That’s right, none. Maybe Jim Thome belongs here? Lou Gehrig certainly does, but he played primarily as a DH this season. S Tier is supposed to be hard, and a simple 1.000 OPS doesn’t automatically grant entry.

#A Tier

This comes down to the choice between Thome and Hank Greenberg, and there’s not much to choose from between them. Note how bad this group is defensively–it just doesn’t matter much when you’re mashing the ball like this.

Frank Thomas‘ injury must be noted, with the Big Hurt expected to be out well into next season.

#B Tier

Paul Konerko‘s defense may actually move him up into the group above, but in general the gap between this group and, say, Jack Clark, remains significant. Additionally, Konerko barely played enough in the field to qualify here–as a DH, there’s no chance he moves up a tier.

David Ortiz‘ performance probably shifts him up a level, but limited appearances and a fair bit of time at DH keeps him here for now. The same argument could be made for Anthony Rizzo and Dan Brouthers. For both, we have erred on the side of caution.

#C Tier

Mirroring the top group, all of this great defense leaves this trio as solid, respectable starters, but not much better than that. Dan McGann is actually pretty much done, with Baltimore already declaring Eddie Murray next year’s starter, but Boog Powell and Joey Votto should keep seeing action for a few more seasons at least.

#D Tier

Homestead may be looking to move on from Mike Epstein given this season’s struggles, while Ottawa believes Rusty Staub will improve dramatically. Memphis has already indicated that Bill White has lost his job to Ortiz (see above). Don Mattingly and Adrián González are both conundrums: the swing is sweet, but the production is not, and both are preventing higher output players from time in the field.

#F Tier

Pedro Guerrero played most at 1B, but also saw action at 3B and the OF. Regardless, this is not the offensive performance the Royal Giants were looking for when they obtained him. Ted Kluszewski is likely to lose his starting job next season.

#Rookies

David Ortiz (B-Tier).

Cy Young of the Spiders will take on Andy Pettitte of the Black Yankees in the opening game of the series.

Johnny Bates greeted Pettitte’s 2nd pitch with a drive into the left field bleachers for a 1-0 lead for Cleveland. An RBI double from John Ellis in the 2nd doubled the lead, and a sacrifice fly from Chuck Knoblauch made it 3-0.

But it’s hard to get separation from New York: a homerun from Lou Gehrig put the Black Yankees on the board, and then Mike Schmidt doubled, Rogers Hornsby singled, and Thurman Munson walked to load the bases. Singles from Don Mattingly, HR Johnson, and Eric Davis put New York on top, 4-3, with the bases still loaded and nobody out. Young proceeded to walk Mickey Mantle and Babe Ruth before being lifted from the game with the score 6-3. Whit Wyatt allowed a 2 run single to Schmidt, and by the time the inning was over, the Black Yankees led 8-3.

Ruth hit a 3 run shot in the 6th, making it 11-3.

Having the lead seemed to settle Pettitte down, with the lefty twirling 4 scoreless before Evan Longoria took him out of the park in the 7th. Larry Doby followed with a longball of his own, chasing Pettitte. Cleveland roughed up Herm Wehmeier and Rheal Cormier and by the time the inning was over, they had batted around, scoring 4 times and closing the gap to 11-7. Bates and Lance Berkman drove in runs and Ron Blomberg was walked with the bases loaded for the final tally.

Johnson reinstated New York’s cushion with a 2 run shot in the 7th, and the Black Yankees took the 13-7 lead into the top of the 9th.

Arky Vaughn walked and Tris Speaker singled, which brought Goose Gossage in from New York’s bullpen. The Goose was good, and New York rode that big inning early in the game to a victory and a 1-0 series lead.

Schmidt and Johnson had 3 hits each for New York; Doby had 3 for Cleveland.

CLE 7 (Young 0-1) @ NYY 13 (Pettitte 1-0)
HRs: CLE – Bates (1), Longoria (1), Doby (1); NYY – Gehrig (1), Ruth (1), Johnson (1).
Box Score

#Game 2, Fri Oct 5

Cleveland will turn to young Bob Feller, coming off a 13-3 season, to try to even the series. Feller will be opposed by the Black Yankees’ stalwart, Ron Guidry.

Cleveland’s John Ellis has had a bit of a disappointing season, but he can atone for that with a strong postseason performance. Today, that meant a 2 run shot off Guidry in the 2nd. Lance Berkman added an RBI single in the 3rd, but in the bottom of the frame, Eric Davis took Feller deep, making the score 3-1. Chuck Knoblauch would regain the 3 run advantage for Cleveland in the 4th with a shot to right that barely cleared the wall, but they all count the same. 4-1, Spiders.

Guidry fanned 10 in 6 innings of work, but the 4 runs loomed larger. The Black Yankees turned to Red Ruffing–an all-star last year, but pretty rough this–and it did not go well: Ruffing walked the first 2 batters he faced, and then gave up a 2-run double to Arky Vaughan. Dave Righetti relieved Ruffing, and got out of the inning without further damage, leaving the score 6-1 in favor of Cleveland.

Feller was gassed at this point, but he was also overpowering the impressive Black Yankees lineup. He was left in the game until Grant Johnson‘s 2 out single in the bottom of the 7th. Feller left with 11 strikeouts, having allowed only 5 hits and the single run. His relief, Yordano Ventura, walked Eric Davis and gave up an RBI single to Mickey Mantle.

That brought in Al Smith to face Babe Ruth, lefty on lefty. Smith got the Babe to pop out to left, leaving the score 6-2.

Terry Adams came in to close it out for Cleveland, but gave up Davis’ 2nd homer of the game, a 2 run shot to left. Then, with 2 outs, Ruth singled, bringing up Gehrig as the tying run. But Adams induced a weak groundout to second, ending the game and tying up the series.

Davis had 3 hits for New York, but didn’t get enough support, with Ruth and Thurman Munson leaving 4 on base each. Vaughan and Knoblauch each had 2 hits for the Spiders, but this was really Feller’s game.

CLE 6 (Feller 1-0; Smith 1 H) @ NYY 4 (Guidry 0-1)
HRs: CLE – Ellis (1), Knoblauch (1); NYY – Davis 2 (2).
Box Score

#Game 3, Sun Oct 7

With the series tied at 1, the Black Yankees would call on the unproven Tony Brizzolara, certainly impressive, but only over 50 innings of work. Detroit would counter with Bill Steen, 13-10 on the year with solid supporting numbers to go along with a 4.71 ERA.

Both teams generated some traffic, but nobody could push a run across the plate. In the bottom of the third, Johnny Bates led off with a triple, and then the skies opened up, creating a rain delay of over an hour. That would mark the end of the day for both starters, with Pascual Pérez coming in for New York. Pérez stranded Bates at third, keeping the game scoreless.

Cleveland turned it over to Pat Malone to start the 4th.

Both Pérez and Malone were fantastic, and we remained scoreless into the 7th, when a single by Evan Longoria chased Pérez. Larry Doby greeted Rheal Cormier with a homerun to right, putting the Spders on top, 2-0.

And that’s how it ended, with 4 Spiders hurlers combining on the 4-hit shutout. Malone got the deserved win, but Al Smith and Terry Adams deserve credit for a hitless inning each. You can’t really fault Pérez: he only gave up 1 hit in his four plus innings.

The Black Yankees now trail in the series, 2-1, and desperately need Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig to wake up (Ruth is hitting .167 in the series so far, Gehrig .083).

NYY 0 (Pérez 0-1) @ CLE 2 (Malone 1-0; Adams 1 Sv; Smith 2 H)
HRs: NYY – none; CLE – Doby (2).
Box Score

#Game 3, Mon Oct 8

This may not technically be a must win for New York, but, you know, it’s a must win for New York, who really need their superstars to step up. More importantly, the prior games dug into the Black Yankees bullpen, leaving them with a choice of Herm Wehmeier–decent this year, but having faded a bit down the stretch–or Red Ruffing, who was stellar last season and horrid this one.

They opted for Ruffing, with Cleveland bringing back Cy Young after his ugly Game 1 start. The Spiders will also give Willie McCovey the start at DH in place of the struggling Ron Blomberg.

Ruffing gave up a homerun to Arky Vaughan in the first and third and Larry Doby in the second, making it 3-0 after 3 innings. Not insurmountable, but not what the Black Yankees needed. A single by Johnny Bates chased Ruffing in the bottom of the 5th, bringing in Hoyt Wilhelm, who gave up a 3-run shot to Lance Berkman in the 5th and an RBI single to Bates in the 7th, increasing the lead to 7-1.

Lou Gehrig had gotten one back in the top of the 4th, but Young was (finally, from the Spiders’ perspective) pitching well, lasting 6 innings and even getting Gehrig ejected for arguing a strike call. Hank Gastright and Firpo Marberry finished it off for Cleveland, giving the Spiders a commanding 3-1 lead in the series.

Offensively, Vaughan had 3 hits and Bates and Berkman added 2 each for Cleveland.

Yeah, their pitching could have been better, but only Eric Davis, Mike Schmidt, and Grant Johnson have batting averages above .200 so far in the series for New York.

NYY 1 (Ruffing 0-1) @ CLE 8 (Young 1-1)
HRs: NYY – Gehrig (2); CLE – Vaughan 2 (2), Doby (3), Berkman (1).
Box Score

#Game 5, Tue Oct 9

The Black Yankees find themselves needing to reel off 3 consecutive wins, so everyone in the bullpen is available today. And tomorrow. And the next day. Andy Pettitte who struggled a bit in the opening game, will take the ball for New York, opposed by Cleveland’s Yordano Ventura.

Pettitte continued to struggle: 3 hits and a walk led to 2 runs for Cleveland in the bottom of the first, with RBIs from Lance Berkman and Evan Longoria. Don Mattingly got 1 back with a solo shot in the top of the 3rd. Pettitte gave up 3 more hits and another walk in the bottom of the frame, this time only surrendering a single run. A 2 out double by Johnny Bates marked the end of Pettitte’s day, with the Black Yankees turning to Dave Righetti.

Meanwhile, Ventura was in total control through 5, keeping the Yankees to the lone run, preserving the 3-1 edge for the Spiders.

Eric Davis took Ventura deep in the 6th, cutting the deficit to 3-2 and chasing Ventura. Whit Wyatt entered and walked Mickey Mantle, but fanned Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig.

Chuck Knoblauch tripled in a run in the bottom of the 6th; an important moment as, in the top of the 8th, Mantle doubled home Davis. That once again gave Ruth–hitting .211 in the series–a chance to deliver for the Black Yankees, facing Al Smith. Smith induced a groundout to 2B, ending the threat, and continuing Ruth’s struggles.

That brought us to the top of the 9th, with Cleveland’s closer, Terry Adams, in to try to win the series. Gehrig whiffed and Mike Schmidt grounded out, but Rogers Hornsby lined a double into left, bringing up Mattingly … who grounded out to short, ending the Black Yankees’ season.

The star of the series was the Spiders’ pitching–the question mark coming in, who held the vaunted Black Yankees offense firmly in check.

NYY 3 (Pettitte 1-1) @ CLE 4 (Ventura 1-0; Adams 2 Sv; Smith 3 H; Gearrin 1 H; Wyatt 1 H)
HRs: NYY – Mattingly (1), Davis (3); CLE – none.
Box Score

Arky Vaughan (.400 average, 2 homers, 5 RBIs) took home the MVP award, with consideration being given to both Larry Doby‘s 3 homeruns and Al Smith‘s impressive 3 appearances.

#Baltimore Black Sox

Justin Hampson and, perhaps more importantly, Gavvy Cravath have been recalled from rehab assignments. Without much to play for, Baltimore may limit Cravath’s appearances as they look to next season. Rafael Betancourt and Ken Griffey Sr were returned to the minors.

With RA Dickey‘s retirement, Baltimore decided to take a look at Dick Ellsworth, removing Dickey from the roster, although they have allowed him to remain with the team as he decides whether or not he has a career in coaching.

Dennis Martínez will get 2 more starts over the final 2 weeks of the season, and Ned Garvin will, as he continues his return from injury, take his regular turn: aside from that, it’s a bit of a free for all, although Kevin Tapani‘s strong debut guarantees him a few starts as well.

Ellsworth’s debut was fantastic: 6 plus innings and only a single run in a 4-2 victory over Los Angeles. Hampson also made his return with a scoreless 8th inning.

Sean Marshall was recalled from the DL with Joe Cascarella heading back to AAA.

#Cleveland Spiders

Lance Berkman and Ron Blomberg each went deep twice as the Spiders dominated Chicago, 13-6. The win (along with a victory in the resumption of a suspended game) pulled Cleveland, at least temporarily, 1/2 game ahead of New York.

#Detroit Wolverines

Wes Covington–coming off a 50 HR season at AAA–was recalled, along with IF Damion Easley and lefty Wilson Álvarez. Logan Hensley was returned, clearing room for Hank Aguirre‘s return from the DL.

JD Martinez went deep twice and the Wolverines edged in front of Miami for the final Wild Card spot with a 5-4 win over San Francisco.

#New York Black Yankees

Jorge Orta did nothing wrong to be sure, but with Grant Johnson due back from a rehab assignment, he was the odd man out, heading back to AAA. Ultimately, Johnson’s return means a reduction in time for quite a few players, most notably Derek Jeter, Don Mattingly, and Nick Etten.

Mattingly and Lou Gehrig had 2 homers each, and Johnson had 4 hits, including 3 doubles, as the Black Yankees overcame a poor start from Ron Guidry to beat Detroit, 11-8 in 10 innings.

The Black Yankees clinched their expected playoff spot in dramatic fashion, scoring 6 in the top of the 9th to top Detroit, 9-6. The win puts New York in a dead heat with Cleveland atop the Bill James Division and, as importantly, drops Detroit into a tie with Miami for the final AL Wild Card spot.

Gehrig hit 2 more out, reaching 62 for the season, and Babe Ruth added his WBL record 70th, as the Black Yankees beat Cleveland, 7-2. The win means New York will go into the final week of the season with a 1.5 game lead over the Spiders.

We’re going to do this position by position, mixing the leagues, with the candidates listed alphabetically. 600 IP minimum, unless otherwise noted.

Last year, only 1 set of awards were given; this year, with the creation of the NL, there will be 2 at each position.

Some of the positions have their own things, but a note about some of the standard fielding statistics. Range Factor measures the number of plays made per game–the higher the better. Zone Rating attempts to credit players for plays other fielders missed and ding them for plays other fielders made–the higher the better, and it has the benefit of being comparative across the position. Defensive Efficiency measures the rate at which an individual fielder contributes to outs being made on balls put into play, with any score over 1.000 being a net positive impact.

Of these, Range Factor is the most susceptible to the impact of the pitching staff and the ballpark, although none of these defensive ratings are perfect.

#C

Catcher’s stats are just all over the place.

It’s hard to take cERA and FRM all that seriously when they fall so far outside the bounds of the rest of the information at our disposal–although, to be fair, cERA is clearly tied to the quality of the staff and, as such, perhaps is best viewed as a net difference from the overall team ERA. Perhaps I’ll look at that for the actual awards.

Regardless, it feels like, if you look at a catcher’s primary job of making plays and keeping the opposition running game under control, Carter in the NL and Pudge in the AL are the frontrunners. The argument against each, if there is one, would have to focus on their league-leading (in the wrong way) PB numbers.

But this one doesn’t really feel close at this point.

Last year’s winner, Cleveland’s Louis Santop, has struggled so much offensively this year that his playing time has really dropped him out of contention, although his defensive performance remains top-notch.

#1B

The 2 best defensive 1Bs in the league–Kansas City’s Boog Powell and Indianapolis’ Joey Votto–are both in the NL. So the competition there is clear, as is, ultimately, the current frontrunner in Powell. Votto’s edge in the digital measures–ZR and Efficiency–may make this a more challenging choice at the end of the year.

In the AL, it’s far more confusing, but it feels like the discussion is between Detroit’s Hank Greenberg and the Black Yankees’ Don Mattingly. Mattingly hasn’t played a ton, so perhaps Greenberg edges him? Portland’s Kent Hrbek could probably edge into the discussion as well.

Will Clark of the New York Gothams, who won it last year, has been fine, but falls just short of contention.

#2B

Five 2B had only 3 errors, but 2 of them–Brooklyn’s Jackie Robinson and Boston’s DJ LeMahieu–have under 700 innings at the position. LeMahieu is the leader in Defensive Efficiency, so he made the list, but Robinson did not.

Ryne Sandberg and Napoleon Lajoie have had fine years at 2B, but Philadelphia’s Chase Utley has been fairly spectacular, leading the world in Zone Rating with excellent numbers across the board.

The AL is more confusing, as the best fielders–Miller Huggins and DJ LeMahieu–have yet to hit 800 innings in the field. But there really aren’t a lot of other contenders: Eddie Collins, who won it last year, has amassed a ton of time at 2B, and hence is among the leaders in the counting stats, but his other numbers are surprisingly bad.

#SS

It feels like the choices here are pretty clear: Ozzie Smith in the NL and Freddy Parent in the AL. Smith should be uncontroversial, but Parent is subject to some discussion, as he is getting less and less playing time for the American Giants. If it’s not Parent, it is probably Arky Vaughan or Robin Yount, with the question being whether Yount’s surer hands outweigh Vaughan’s greater range.

George Davis, who won it last year, logged just under 50 games with Detroit before being sent to AAA and suffering a significant injury.

#3B

Portland’s Buddy Bell has probably been the best 3B in the WBL this season, so he should take the award in the AL. In the NL, it currently comes down to Scott Rolen and Ron Cey, whose numbers are pretty indistinguishable at this point, perhaps with a slight edge to Cey.

#LF

For the OF, DP is replaced by Outfield Kills, and we introduce ARM, a measurement of how many runs have resulted from runners taking extra bases on balls hit to the that fielder. Note that positive ARM ratings are relatively rare: runners do tag up.

It feels like Roy White has a shot at being the first repeat winner as he has once again proven incredibly dependable in LF for Brooklyn, while adding more Kills and excellent supporting numbers.

In the AL, It feels like it’s the range of Rickey Henderson against the overall dependability of Johnny Bates–who actually makes more plays the Rickey, but some of that is down to staff effects.

Have to call out the nutty ARM rating for Jim Wynn, which is as flukish as fluke can be.

#CF

Not a lot to pick from in the AL, which increases Paul Blair‘s chance at a repeat selection. It probably comes down to Blair’s overall excellence against the spectacular highlight reel nature of Chili Davis‘ year: Davis hasn’t made all the plays, but has thrown out 13 runners. Mike Trout is in the conversation, but Blair edges him across the board, and is the likely frontrunner.

In the NL, things are much deeper, and we run into the question of how to weigh playing time. Willie Mays has similar numbers to Willie Davis, but over 200 more innings in the field, which I think is enough to give him the edge. Some mention should be made of the steady Curtis Granderson and the surprising 10 kills from Kansas City’s Willie McGee.

#RF

This is very close in both leagues.

In the NL, you could make an argument for all 3 of the contenders: Brooklyn’s Beals Becker has been steady across the board; Stan Musial covers a huge amount of ground for Kansas City and has a higher ARM than Becker; and Roberto Clemente makes the most plays and has the most Kills. I think it’s Clemente or Musial, with Musial slightly in front, maybe?

Over in the AL, it’s between Mookie Betts and Ichiro Suzuki, neither of whom have made an error in RF this season. Betts has been slightly better with the glove, Suzuki slightly better with the arm. Perhaps Suzuki, partially because he has played more innings in RF than anyone.

Last year’s winner, Johnny Callison, has done well this season, but is just out of the conversation. Mention should be made of Ottawa’s Larry Walker as well: Walker doesn’t cover a ton of ground, but has only made a single error in RF this season.

#P

125 IP minimum.

A few additional stat for hurlers, including the number of steal attempts and the % thrown out as well as the number of runs gained through their catcher’s ability to frame strikes. Obviously, both of these are highly dependent on the quality of backstop, but they also do impact the evaluation of the pitcher.

We’ve also taking out E and DP as stats, as odd as that may seem, as there is just not enough variance to really make much of them.

Who knows? Small sample sizes are rough, although it is nice to see last year’s winner, Jack Taylor, make a return appearance.

Taylor makes a lot of plays, and is very hard to run on, both of which count for quite a bit. I think an argument could be made for Pud Galvin, as well as for Taylor’s teammate, Bob Rush, but I would expect a fair bit of this to change over the final month of the season.

#Baltimore Black Sox

Needing to shake things up, Baltimore has moved into full “let’s see what we have for next year” mode. Johnny Sain and Bill Byrd were sent to AAA with Mark Baldwin and Rafael Betancourt being recalled. Betancourt will hit the bullpen, with Joe Beggs being moved from closer to starter for the Black Sox. Buddy Groom–Baltimore’s best reliever this year–will move into the closer spot.

Perhaps more importantly, wunderkind Eddie Murray was recalled, with Baby Doll Jacobson, who has struggled all season, being sent down. This likely puts Dan McGann on the trade market, as Murray isn’t being recalled to ride the pines.

Gavvy Cravath went deep twice, and Baltimore held on to an impressive 6-5 win over San Francisco.

Betancourt’s stay was short, as a sore elbow will move him to the DL, with Gregg Olson being recalled to the Black Sox bullpen.

#Cleveland Spiders

Evan Longoria hit 2 out and drove in 5, leading the Spiders to a 12-4 win over Baltimore. It wasn’t all good news for Cleveland, though, as Ron Blomberg sprained his ankle in the game, earning Boomer a trip to the DL. Cleveland recalled 33 year old Willie McCovey, one of the dominant AAA power hitters of the season, to see if he can add to their power for the stretch run.

McCovey had a nice debut, homering in his first WBL at bat and adding a single as the Spiders topped Baltimore, 10-4.

#Detroit Wolverines

Hank Greenberg went deep twice and drove in 5 as Detroit rode a strong outing from Pete Conway in a 14-2 victory over the Black Yankees. It wasn’t all good news for Detroit: Tony Lazzeri, who had essentially laid claim to the SS job, had to leave the game with a yet-to-be diagnosed injury.

It got worse in the middle infield as the Wolverines, still waiting to hear about the severity of Lazzeri’s ailment, lost George Davis for a few weeks. Davis hits the DL with Ray Chapman earning the promotion to Detroit.

It turns out Lazzeri has a fractured rib and will miss about a month, so he heads to the DL with Robby Thompson being recalled.

#Memphis Red Sox

Ted Williams hit 2 homeruns, but the Red Sox bullpen couldn’t hold a lead, and Memphis fell to Chicago, 8-6 in 11 innings.

#New York Black Yankees

Dave Righetti was recalled from a rehab assignment, with David Robertson heading to AAA. For now, Righetti will work out of the Black Yankees’ bullpen. But the back end of their rotation is pretty unsettled, with Red Ruffing and Pascual Pérez far from solid in their roles.

Don Mattingly went deep twice and Babe Ruth added his league-leading 52nd of the year as the Black Yankees came from behind to trounce Miami, 14-7. Eric Davis, who also homered, had 4 hits, as did Mattingly and Ruth drove in 5 in the win.

The Black Yankees hit 6 homeruns, 2 from Lou Gehrig, as they topped Miami, 14-5.

Rogers Hornsby began a rehab assignment, which will most likely be quite brief.

The Black Yankees’ staff is in a bit of upheaval, as both Pérez and Rheal Cormier left games with injuries. Pérez will miss a couple weeks, while Cormier’s injury is still under investigation. Roy Evans was promoted to take Pérez’ place on the active roster.

#Baltimore Black Sox

A rough year gets rougher, as surprise all-star Justin Hampson will miss most of the rest of the season. RA Dickey, who was decently effective in an earlier run with the Black Sox, was recalled.

Manny Machado hit 2 out giving him 29 for the year, but the Black Sox bullpen couldn’t hold a lead and Baltimore fell to San Francisco, 11-9.

#Cleveland Spiders

Al Smith was recalled from a rehab assignment, with Claude Passeau heading back to AAA.

Bob Feller and Ron Reed combined on a 2-hit shutout of Baltimore, with the Spiders taking the contest 5-0. Feller, who improved to 5-3, allowed 2 hits (but 7 walks) in 7 innings, and Reed was perfect in relief.

Recent acquisition Ed Bailey went deep twice, giving him 4 in his short tenure with the Spiders, as Cleveland topped Detroit, 7-4. Bill Steen was solid, improving to 8-5, and Reed and Cory Gearrin did their job, getting the ball to Terry Adams who picked up his 16th save.

#Detroit Wolverines

George Bechtel hit the DL, with Detroit recalling Gene Conley, who may have gotten himself straightened out at AAA after a miserable start to the year.

#Memphis Red Sox

Dobie Moore will miss a couple of weeks, prompting the Red Sox to recall veteran IF Nomar Garciaparra. Garciaparra had 2 hits in his first game, but was overshadowed by Travis Shaw‘s 2 homeruns as the Red Sox beat the Black Yankees, 8-7 in 12 innings.

In need of a starter, the Red Sox moved Bill Doak to AAA, recalling Nixey Callahan.

#New York Black Yankees

Jack Scott was sent to AAA to make room for Dave Righetti‘s return from the DL. Righetti will move to the bullpen for the time being. It was expected that Nick Etten would head down when Don Mattingly returned, but Etten just continues to mash the ball, leaving Tom Herr the odd man out.

Righetti’s return lasted one appearance, as a strained back will put him on the shelf for up to 22 weeks. Needing a starter, the Black Yankees recalled Tony Brizzolara, the only rested arm at AAA.

It’s All-Star Week! That means that, not only do we cover those festivities, we have our first wave of midseason trades, followed by the usual divisional notes on a shorter slate of games.

#Awards

Brooklyn‘s Beals Becker picked up the NL Player of the Week, hitting .538 with 4 homers in the span. Over in the AL, perhaps peeved by his omission from the All Star Game, Cleveland‘s Lance Berkman hit .360 with 9–NINE–homeruns in the week, taking down the AL Player of the Week.

#Team Performance

No significant changes, but some teams are making moves. San Francisco remains the only team truly running away with their division, leading the Cum Posey Division by 11.5 games over Miami, who have taken over 2nd place from Chicago.

The New York Black Yankees have the 2nd best record in baseball and a 4.5 game lead over Cleveland in the Bill James Division.

That leaves the Effa Manley Division and Marvin Miller Division. In the former, Brooklyn leads Homestead by 3.5, with the New York Gothams fading a bit, sitting tied with Philadelphia at 8 games back. In the Marvin Miller, Kansas City still leads, but not only is Indianapolis only 2 games back, Houston, 8-2 over their last 10 games, has moved to within 5.5.

Last years champions, Baltimore, continue to have the worst record in the league, with a 38-52 record so far.

#Player Performance

With all the numbers and discussion surrounding the All Star Game, we’re going to skip the Performance section this time, instead revisiting last year’s mid-season trades.

#Looking Back: Last Year’s Mid-Season Trades

I’ve somewhat quickly and arbitrarily given weights to the trades. The winning team is in italics. Overall, here is how everyone ranked out from last year.

Clear Winners: Birmingham, Baltimore, Ottawa
Did OK: Philadelphia, Detroit
Meh: Cleveland, Homestead, Memphis, Los Angeles, Brooklyn, Gothams
Not Great: San Francisco, Indianapolis, Miami, Black Yankees
Clear Losers: Houston, Chicago

The details:

Big Wins

Birmingham sends Hoyt Wilhelm and Dick Rudolph to Chicago for Melky Cabrera, A. Rube Foster, Adrián González, & a 2nd (Trea Turner)

Foster is no longer with Birmingham, having been part of a later trade for Andy Pettitte, but that he had enough value to land the ERA champ alone makes this a win for the Black Barons. González has frustrated, but he’s still been a solid WBL 1B in the interim, and both Cabrera and Turner look to have some upside, especially Turner. Wilhelm has been average in Chicago’s pen and Rudolph has downright struggled.

Cleveland fleece Houston for Lance Berkman, sending Harry Stovey, Charlie Grimm, Chad Qualls and a 3rd (Garry Templeton) to the Colt 45's.

Berkman was struggling, but he has hit 39 homers and driven in 104 since the trade. Templeton refused to sign, and while the rest have some talent, it’s unclear they will ever push past the talent in front of them in Houston.

Baltimore sent Mike Morgan, Richie Sexson, Chris Hoiles and Joe Dugan to Miami for Manny Machado.

Machado was a World Series hero and remains the Black Sox’ starting 3B. Hoiles and Sexson both have some offensive pop, but both are pretty buried in Miami’s farm system.

Cleveland sent Andrew Payne, Hardie Henderson, Darrell Miller, and Gibby Brack to Philadelphia for Ron Reed.

This seemed to make sense at the time, as Reed looked like the missing piece for the Spiders’ bullpen. But Henderson has developed into an all-star with the Stars, and Reed, while not bad, hasn’t been great for Cleveland. Of the rest, only Payne is still with the Stars, and he may never see the WBL.

Small Wins

The Black Yankees send Sam Thompson, Dick Bartell, and a 4th (Mark Eichhorn) to Ottawa for Gary Lavelle and Jamie Moyer.

Lavelle and Moyer were both bad for New York. Lavelle is out with a long term injury, and Moyer was later traded to Chicago; given that the purpose of the trade was to shore up the Black Yankees for the post-season–which they missed–this has to be a win for Ottawa. Thompson is doing well for them, and Eichhorn has some future utility.

San Francisco sent Rube Melton, Derrick May, and a 3rd (Gary Matthews) to Birmingham for Tim Hudson.

Hudson was an all-star, then imploded, and now is on the DL for so long his career may be toast. Given that, the fact that all 3 prospects are doing alright make this a win for Birmingham.

The New York Gothams receive Don Sutton from Brooklyn in exchange for Ray Lamb, Gil Heredia, Lew Krause Jr, Don Mueller, a 1st (Al Simmons), and an 8th (Vic Lombardi).

Sutton’s been solid for New York, on the fringes of their rotation and providing good bullpen work. Krause and Simmons seem to have the highest ceiling of what they received (Mueller and Lombardi look fine, and neither Lamb nor Heredia are still with Brooklyn).

Ottawa sends Freddy Parent to Chicago for Sibby Sisti, Bob Watson, and Rickie Weeks.

Ottawa only wins this because it cleared room for Álex Rodríguez, who has blossomed this year. Watson–theoretically the centerpiece of the deal–was recently sent down to AAA, Sisti was released, and Weeks looks unlikely to make an impact. Still, the less said about Parent’s time in Chicago, the better.

Brooklyn sends Curt Flood, Manny Trillo, and a 6th (Steve Avery) to Birmingham for Frank Isbell.

Isbell is at AAA after a horrible start to the season. Flood and Avery each have some upside, so this is a small win for Birmingham.

Birmingham sends Tom Herr to the Black Yankees for Reddy Mack, Bill Buckner, Heathcliff Slocumb, Charlie Keller, Moose Skowron, & a 10th (Eddie Solomon)

Herr was sold at his absolute peak, and the Black Yankees are already casting around for a replacement. As importantly, the trade cleared the way for Cupid Childs to take over at 2B, a clear win for Birmingham. None of the prospects look like much (Buckner was traded on, Keller retired, and the rest look like filler at best).

Indianapolis sent Ernie Lombardi to Detroit for Donie Bush, Jorge Orta, Brandon League, Gene Martin and a 2nd (Matt Chapman).

Detroit wins this one, as Lombardi has been quite good for them, as only Chapman and Bush are still with the ABC’s, and neither looks like much at this point.

Miami got fixated on the potential of Minnie Miñoso, sending Don Newcombe, Clay Condrey, and a 4th (José Quintana) to Chicago for him.

Miñoso has finally begun to show some potential at AAA after some miserable time with the Cuban Giants, while none of the other players are with Chicago (Newcombe was traded, Condrey released, and Quintana refused to sign a rookie contract).

Ottawa sends Steve Garvey and Spud Johnson to Los Angeles for Rusty Staub.

Staub has outperformed Garvey, but both have held down WBL roster spots. Johnson is a free agent at this point.

Ottawa and Los Angeles made a second deal, with the Angels receiving Carlos Delgado in exchange for Dave Bennett, Carlos Beltrán, Jim Stephens, and Sean O'Sullivan.

This one also favors Ottawa. Delgado has been excellent for the Angels, hitting 28 homeruns since the trade. But Beltrán is a borderline all-star for the Mounties. Bennett and Stephens have a little potential, O’Sullivan is currently a free agent.

Here's much ado about nothing: Los Angeles sent Brian Downing, Kurt Stillwell, and Dave LaRoche to San Francisco for Wally Moon, Dwayne Murphy, a 4th (John Lackey) and a 6th (Omar Olivares).

Downing is young enough to do something, as are Moon, Murphy, and Lackey. The trade failed to help San Francisco in the immediate (its ostensible purpose). Slight edge to Los Angeles.

San Francisco picks up Tommy Bridges from Miami for Shawn Estes, Turk Wendell, and a 5th (Mark Kotsay).

Only Kotsay remains with Miami, as such, even though Bridges has been unable to hold down a WBL spot, he has been there, giving the Sea Lions the edge.

San Francisco sent Steve Hertz and a 2nd (Judy Johnson) to Homestead for Phil Garner.

Scrap Iron Garner has been fine as utility IF for the Sea Lions, especially recently, but Johnson may be something special, recently joining Homestead as a 19 year old.

Houston gives up Hack Wilson, Jim Kaat, DJ LeMahieu, Stubby Overmire and a 5th (Nathan Eovaldi) for Memphis' Roger Clemens.

Clemens is doing well in Houston, falling just short of an all star selection. But that’s quite a haul: LeMahieu is pushing for a full time role with Memphis, Overmire is at the front of their rotation, Wilson is doing well at AAA and both Kaat and Eovaldi have some long term potential. If Clemens does become an all-star, and none of the others develop, this would swing towards Houston, but right now it feels like an overall win for the Red Sox.

Memphis sent Joe Beggs to Baltimore for Willie Sudhoff, Alex Johnson, and a 4th (Bill "Spaceman" Lee).

Beggs did what Baltimore needed in their Whirled Series run, but has struggled this year. Sudhoff was released, and Johnson and Lee look marginal at best right now.

Even Steven

Portland send Smokey Joe Wood & Devin Mesoraco to Kansas City for Rogers Hornsby, Vince Coleman, and a 4th Round Pick (Lee May).

Wood is a borderline all-star for the Monarchs while Hornsby both fueled Portland’s playoff run last season and is an all-star this year. Portland released Coleman, neither Mesoraco nor May are doing much.

The House of David sent Sammy Sosa to Memphis for Tony Conigliaro, Fred Lynn, and a 2nd ("Big" Bill Lee).

An odd one to evaluate, as Sosa did well enough for Memphis for the House of David to trade for him back in the off season. Still, at this point, he was a black hole of a roster spot. Conigliaro and Lynn each show good power, so call it a wash.

#Injury Report

The Black Yankees’ Don Mattingly should begin his rehab assignment around the end of the week as should, perhaps, the House of David’s Jim Clinton.

#Baltimore Black Sox

Buddy Groom started a rehab assignment, and should be joined at AAA by Bobby Wallace later in the week. Once Groom is ready, look for him to replace the struggling John Wetteland in the Black Sox bullpen.

Connie Johnson and Justin Hampson combined on a 2-hit shutout, blanking Portland 7-0. Johnson’s record improved to 5-6 and, perhaps more importantly, he made a strong argument for some more opportunities as a starter.

As expected, Wallace was able to start a rehab assignment at AAA, joining Groom, who still needs some time there before being recalled.

#Cleveland Spiders

Hank Gastright was returned to AAA, with Firpo Marberry being recalled from his rehab assignment.

Tris Speaker went deep twice, but Cleveland couldn’t hold off Miami, falling 11-7 to the Cuban Giants.

Needing a starter, the Spiders returned Sergio Romo to AAA, recalling Wilbur Cooper. Faced in the same situation later in the week, Cooper went back down with Steve Gromek recalled to make his WBL debut.

The Spiders had themselves a day, battering Miami 21-0. Cy Young threw the complete game shutout, allowing 7 hits while fanning 9. But the story really was the offense, led by Ron Blomberg, who had 4 hits (including his 30th and 31st homeruns), drove in 6, and scored a WBL record 6 times. Evan Longoria drove in 7, and Longoria and Larry Doby each also had 4 hits. In addition to Blomberg’s 2, Longoria, Doby, and Louis Santop also hit homeruns.

Lance Berkman slammed 3 homeruns for the second time this season, but the Spiders couldn’t preserve a lead in the top of the 9th, losing to Los Angeles, 8-7.

Berkman may be the hottest hitter in the league right now, as he hit another 2 out in a game Cleveland won in the bottom of the 12th on a solo shot from Johnny Bates, triumphing over Los Angeles, 6-5.

#Detroit Wolverines

Pete Conway will miss over a month with a strained oblique muscle. Claude Passeau returned to the Wolverines’ bullpen from AAA.

Both Billy Hoeft and Mike Griffin began rehab assignments, looking to return next week. Later in the week, Buddy Napier returned to the injured list, expected to miss about a month, opening a spot for Hoeft’s return.

Justin Verlander closed the first half out strong, combining with Hoeft and Chad Bradford on a 3-hit shutout of Memphis. Al Kaline and Bob Bailey went deep for the Wolverines, and Ty Cobb had 2 hits to nudge his average back over .400 in the 7-0 victory.

#Memphis Red Sox

Derek Lowe returned to AAA with Skel Roach‘s recall from a rehab assignment.

Gabby Hartnett went deep twice, leading Memphis to a 10-5 victory over the Black Yankees. Manny Ramírez did the same, homering twice in a 7-3 win over New York with Len Barker improving to 6-9 with a solid outing.

#New York Black Yankees

That was fast. There was a lot of optimism around Roy Evans‘ promotion to the Black Yankees. 3 games, 4 IP, and a 27.00 ERA later, he’s back in AAA with AJ Burnett returning to the fold.

Could the answer to the back end of the Black Yankees’ rotation be … Herm Wehmeier? Wehmeier combined with Goose Gossage on a 4-hit shutout of Memphis, improving to 4-0 on the year with Gossage picking up his 10th save in the 9-0 whitewashing.

Eric Davis hit 2 out and Babe Ruth added his league-leading 41st as the Black Yankees rode a strong outing from Andy Pettitte to beat Baltimore, 12-2. Pettitte improved to 10-5 on the year. However, Ruth was plunked on the hip in the game, and will miss some time–thankfully, it looks like only a few days.

Mike Schmidt went deep twice and Thurman Munson and Derek Jeter joined Schmidt with 3 hits each as the Black Yankees defeated Baltimore in 10 innings.

Don Mattingly will miss about a week, prompting the Black Yankees to place him on the DL and recall Josh Harrison from AAA.

Bryce Harper went deep twice–one just over 500 ft.–as the Black Sox triumphed over Memphis, 12-2. As encouraging for the Black Sox was the effort from Connie Johnson, who pitched 6 scoreless innings in the victory.

The Black Sox pounded out 16 hits, including 2 homeruns from Manny Machado, in an easy 13-4 win over Cleveland.

#Cleveland Spiders

Jake Stahl–he of 26 homeruns last year–was sent to AAA to work out his swing, with the Spiders recalling C Victor Martinez, who is expected to pressure Louis Santop and John Ellis for playing time.

#Detroit Wolverines

With a staff beset by injuries, the Wolverines have moved Pete Conway into the rotation, while keeping the 5th slot undecided for the time being. They also sent George Bechtel and Ray Sadecki to the minors, recalling Mickey Lolich and Wilson Álvarez from AA.

Al Kaline went deep twice, but it was far from enough as the Wolverines fell to the Black Yankees, 15-9. Chili Davis did the same the next day, hitting 2 out in an 8-6 loss to New York.

#Memphis Red Sox

Vern Stephens‘ rough start to the year has cost him his starting job, ceding the SS role for Memphis to Dobie Moore. Dean Chance was returned to AAA in exchange for Nixey Callahan as the Red Sox found themselves short on rested starters.

#New York Black Yankees

Gary Lavelle was put on the DL, with Herm Wehmeier being recalled from AAA for a spot start.

Mickey Mantle drove in 6 and 5 Black Yankees went deep in a 15-9 win over Detroit. Hank Bauer, Tom Herr, Mike Schmidt, Don Mattingly, and Derek Jeter joined Mantle in hitting homeruns, with Herr and Bauer each scoring 3 times as New York pounded out 18 hits.

Mantle went deep twice and Babe Ruth hit his 20th of the year as the Black Yankees beat Detroit 8-6, with Andy Pettitte improving to 4-2.

Gavvy Cravath hit his 5th and 6th homerun of the year, driving in 4 and leading Baltimore to a 9-7 victory over San Francisco. Dennis Martínez pitched well to improve to 2-1, with Buddy Groom earning his first save of the year in relief of an injured Joe Beggs, who will be unavailable for a few days with an oblique strain.

Connie Johnson finally had a good start: 7 innings, 3 hits, 1 run, and 11 strikeouts. It resulted in his first win of the year, a 2-1 victory over Cleveland. Johnson had been so poor so far that his ERA only dropped to 9.50 with the superlative effort.

#Cleveland Spiders

With Whit Wyatt ready for recall from his rehab assignment, the Spiders had a choice between Bob Feller and Huston Street, both of whom have been absolutely battered in the early going. They opted to waive Street and retain Feller, but will ask the 20 year old to throw from the bullpen for a while, with his roster slot taken by either Wyatt or Mel Harder.

Jake Stahl had 4 hits and Tris Speaker drove in 3 as the Spiders beat Detroit, 9-6. Stan Coveleski got the victory with 6 solid innings and Terry Adams picked up his 3rd save.

Ron Blomberg had 3 hits and drove in 5 as Cleveland came from behind to beat Detroit in 11 innings. 7-5. Yordano Ventura got the win with 2 scoreless innings of relief and Cory Gearrin, filling in for the injured Adams, got his 2nd save with a perfect inning.

Speaker hit 2 homeruns–one in the 9th as Cleveland came from behind to tie the game and one in the 10th to go ahead–as the Spiders topped Baltimore 6-5.

Evan Longoria doubled his homerun total with 2 longballs in a 5-4 win over Baltimore.

#Detroit Wolverines

Buddy Napier was put on the DL (against his protests that he would be fine in a day or three), with Ray Sadecki being promoted to the big league club for the time being.

Sadecki was magnificent, allowing 1 hit in 7 innings. He walked a man to lead off the 8th and was relieved by Chad Bradford … who promptly, with a little help from Billy Hoeft, blew a 3-0 lead. Whatever else happens, Sadecki’s performance guarantees his time with the Wolverines for a little while at least.

Chili Davis went deep twice, but the Wolverines’ bullpen got hit hard, giving up a late lead in 7-5 loss in 11 innings. Ty Cobb had 3 hits and Tony Phillips led off the game with his 2nd homerun of the season.

Charlie Root fanned 13 in 7 innings, but it wasn’t enough as he gave up 5 earned runs in a 6-2 loss to the Black Yankees.

#Memphis Red Sox

Despite a better showing than 2000, Eddie Cicotte was the first to go when the Red Sox needed a starter with Jameson Taillon being recalled from AAA. Taillon was magnificent, clearly earning a chance to stick around, tossing 8 innings of 2 hit ball with 8 strikeouts in his WBL debut. Skel Roach and Andrew Miller combined for a 3-0 shutout win over Miami. Wade Boggs had 3 hits for the Red Sox.

Travis Shaw hit two homeruns as the Red Sox beat Miami 5-1. Len Barker got his first victory of the year with 8 strong innings.

#New York Black Yankees

The Black Yankees hit 5 solo homeruns and Dave Righetti moved to 2-0 with 6.2 solid innings as New York downed Miami 7-5. Derek Jeter, Babe Ruth, Don Mattingly, Mike Schmidt, and Eric Davis each went deep and, perhaps as important for New York, Sparky Lyle threw a perfect 2.1 in relief, whiffing 4.

Righetti tossed 7 innings of 2-hit relief in the completion of a suspended game, leading the Black Yankees to a 9-3 win. Righetti improved to 3-0 on the year, and Davis failed to homer, ending his consecutive game streak at 6 (four of his teammates did go yard: Jeter, Mattingly, Thurman Munson, and Mickey Mantle). Lou Gehrig went deep twice (including a 500+ ft moon shot) in the “regular” game, leading New York to an 8-6 victory.

Ruth went deep twice and, perhaps more importantly for New York, Ron Guidry threw 6 shutout innings, allowing only 2 hits, as the Black Yankees topped the Wolverines 6-2.