Los Angeles is the only team not represented (Bobby Grich is listed with the 2B, nobody else played enough at SS for the Angels).

#S Tier

WAR would put Carlos Correa and Arky Vaughan here, perhaps even above Ernie Banks. But WAR ain’t everything, and getting the kind of power Banks provides from a SS is very special, even if his defense is not. For me, it’s Banks, and then a cluster of quality in the A Tier.

#A Tier

These are all surprises: Carlos Correa to be here at all (and only a late season slump kept him from giving Banks a run for his money), Cal Ripken, Jr to be here this quickly, and Arky Vaughan to have blossomed both with the glove and the bat.

Of the three, I would expect Ripken to have the best shot at moving up.

#B Tier

This gets a little more complicated. Does Álex Rodríguez‘ offense warrant a nudge up? How about Dick Lundy‘s combination of speed and defense? In the end, they stay here with Robin Yount, who is just as solid as they come across the board. All three of these could move up merely by adding 25 walks a season, but they’re all pretty free swingers.

#C Tier

There is an argument that Dobie Moore and/or Judy Johnson should move up a level, given their offensive output and their age. At the same time, neither played a full season, so it seems prudent to leave them here.

Had Bobby Wallace been healthy all season, he certainly would have warranted a spot in the B Tier for his mix of OBP and defense, while Jim Fregosi seems to barely warrant a slot here, especially considering his shaky defense. But these are all legit starting SS’s in the league, so the C Tier seems about right (although Homestead’s decision about how to structure their infield may move Johnson away from SS).

#D Tier

Speaking of Homestead, Honus Wagner may in fact deserve to be knocked down. But he has power, a fair bit of speed, and just so much athleticism. But whether he ends up at 2B, SS, or 3B is yet to be seen.

Ozzie Smith is a hard one to evaluate, as it’s not clear if his defense and speed should move him here, or all the way up to C Tier. In the end, we decided to be conservative in our evaluation of defensive contributions.

#F Tier

Derek Jeter‘s offense is probably D Tier, but those defensive numbers are quite bad, nudging him down a category. Brandon Crawford may be done entirely, and Freddy Parent, even considering his glovework, is just a massive bust since being obtained by Chicago.

#Rookies

Cal Ripken, Jr. (A Tier), Judy Johnson (C Tier), and Dobie Moore (C Tier).

#Fielding Notes

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.

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.

Some notes on these:

• Needs reflect places where the minor league systems are thin on talent and the general shape of WBL level talent needed.
• The second three bullets (Prospects, AAA Help, WBL Help) are possible players that could be available in the right context..

#BUYERS

These are teams looking to solidify their talent or make a push for the post-season. In a perfect world, they have some young talent to spare as well.

#Birmingham Black Barons

Yeah, they’re in 5th place, but they’re also only 4 games back, so there’s hope. The Black Barons have been ingenious at past deadlines, we’ll see if they can continue the trend.

Needs: IF, P, Minor League SS/3B

Prospects: OF Melky Cabrera, Curt Flood, Gary Matthews; IF Nate Colbert, Hal Trosky
AAA Help: P Tommy Bond; IF Pie Traynor
MLB Help: OF Bob Nieman

#Cleveland Spiders

Could use another SP, as well as a help in the middle infield–Chuck Knoblauch is skating along on last year’s performance, and there isn’t any depth to speak of at 2B/SS despite Steve Sax‘s excellent first 50 PA’s.

Needs: Minor League 2B/SS.

Prospects: OF Paul O’Neill, Kenny Lofton; IF Johnny Hodapp
AAA Help: P Chuck Porter, Claude Passeau; IF Bob Elliott, Brook Jacoby
MLB Help: IF Willie McCovey

#Homestead Grays

A Wild Card spot is likely for the Grays, who have a powerhouse offense and a desperate need for pitching. With some young talent blocked, they may be able to make some moves.

Needs: Bullpen is aging

Prospects: OF Max Carey, Paul Waner; IF Freddie Lindstrom
AAA Help: OF Starling Marte; IF Jeff Kent, P Brickyard Kennedy
MLB Help: OF Goose Goslin

#Houston Colt 45’s

Another team caught between a wild card chase and building for the future, the Colt 45’s would love to address their one ongoing need, which is a catcher to take over from the aging Jorge Posada, as some in the organization are not yet sold on Will Smith as the longterm solve behind the plate. There is a crunch at 1B/DH as well, as there really aren’t enough AB’s to go around for both Paul Goldschmidt and the recently demoted Andrés Galaragga.

Needs: Minor League C, SS.

Prospects: IF Bucky Dent, Travis Jackson, Wes Helms; OF César Cedeño, Hunter Pence, Shin-Soo Choo
AAA Help: P Mike Sirotka, Óscar Tuero; IF Carney Lansford, Aramis Ramírez, OF Gorman Thomas, Johnny Damon
MLB Help: Various bullpen pieces may be possible

#Indianapolis ABC’s

Another team riding the wild card roller coaster. The ABC’s are solid offensively, but struggle some behind their top end starters. There are some blocked players–perhaps most notably Jake Stenzel–so there are some pieces available.

Needs: Minor League OF

Prospects: OF Jim Eisenreich, IF Pokey Reese, Sean Casey, Hal Morris
AAA Help: P Johnny Vandeer Meer; OF Jody Gerut, Dave Henderson, Ed Swartwood; IF Dan Driessen
MLB Help: OF Jake Stenzel, Bob Bescher, IF Ed Charles

#Kansas City Monarchs

This Monarchs team will make the playoffs a year or two ahead of schedule so the choice of how much to surrender for immediate success is a bit challenging. At some point, some of the positional logjams need to be sorted out (Albert Pujols, Dale Murphy, and Ducky Medwick; Willie McGee and Cool Papa Bell), but it’s not clear that now is that time.

Needs: Minor League C; WBL Offense

Prospects: OF Wade Johnston, Earl Averill; IF Keston Hiura, Pat Burrell
AAA Help: P Adam Wainwright, Jack Quinn; IF Ken Boyer, Andre Thornton; OF Merv Rettenmund, Jim King
MLB Help: P Matt Morris, Luke Hamlin

#New York Black Yankees

Once again the Black Yankees are trying to find the right piece to extend their postseason run. At some point, they’ll need to solve their post Derek Jeter needs at SS, but this is probably not that time.

Needs: Minor League OF; P; future SS.

Prospects: OF Rob Deer, Clyde Milan
AAA Help: OF Roger Maris; IF Tom Herr, Red Rolfe; P AJ Burnett
MLB Help: P Rheal Cormier, Red Ruffing, Waite Hoyt

#MEH

A mix of teams doing well enough not need anything (San Francisco) and those not willing to give up much because they like their current talent composition moving into Year 3. Never say never, as these teams do have some pieces, but they are far less motivated to get something done at the deadline.

#Brooklyn Royal Giants

This team is just beginning to gel, but they could use some offense and they are one of the few franchises with arms to spare.

Needs: SS if unconvinced by Vern Stephens; Minor League 1B

Prospects: OF Matty Alou, Raúl Mondesi, Don Mueller; IF Sonny Jackson, Ken McMullen, Maury Wills; P Doc Newton, Zach Britton
MLB Help: IF Germany Smith, Dick Bertell
AAA Help: IF Jim Gentile, Eric Karros; C Kelly Shoppach; P Ron Perranoski

#Detroit Wolverines

They’re in an odd spot: on the one hand, they are likely to be in the wild card chase; on the other, this is a team well positioned for the future, and eager to cement that status. There are a lot of pieces that are over 30, but none–other than perhaps Oscar Gamble–are key cogs in the Wolverines’ machine.

Needs: Minor League 3B; IF, esp SS; P.

Prospects: IF Wander Franco
MLB Help: OF Oscar Gamble
AAA Help: OF Brady Clark, Wes Covington; IF Jimmy Collins; P Dennis Rasmussen

#Miami Cuban Giants

The Cuban Giants have an outside shot at a wildcard slot, but this is a team building for the future. As such, I would expect them to stand pat, or perhaps move some end of roster pieces for minor league depth.

Needs: Minor League OF, 3B, 1B; WBL P.

Prospects: OF Roy Thomas, Carlos Morán
MLB Help: P Sandy Consuegra, Kenshin Kawakami; OF Andy Pafko
AAA Help: IF Nellie Fox

#Ottawa Mounties

Even though the Mounties have a shot at the playoffs, this is a team trying to position itself for the future, which basically means begging everyone and anyone for pitching.

Needs: Minor League SS, 3B, C. SP.

Prospects: OF Warren Cromartie, Willie Upshaw, Willie Keeler, Leon Roberts
MLB Help: P Bryn Smith; IF Roy Sievers; OF Rick Monday
AAA Help: IF John Olerud; OF Terry Puhl, Bob Allison; C Emil Gross; P Chris Bosio

#Philadelphia Stars

The Stars are on the fringe of the playoffs, but really this is a team aiming at cementing and building around its emerging nucleus. As such, some of its useful veterans may be available; at the same time, Philadelphia would love to add some pitching and address its issues in the middle infield.

Needs: MI, P, WBL Offense.

Prospects: ???
MLB Help: OF Rico Carty; P Bob Howry, Robin Roberts, Pedro Feliciano; IF Art Fletcher, Ted Kluszewski
AAA Help: OF Bobby Abreu; IF Jung Ho Kang, Dolph Camilli, Cecil Cooper; C Sherm Lollar

#San Francisco Sea Lions

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. That said, if an easy piece comes available, it’s unlikely the Sea Lions ignore the opportunity.

Needs: Minor League 1B

Prospects: OF Jules Thomas, Matt Holliday; IF Freddie Freeman; P Jair Jurrjens
MLB Help:
AAA Help: IF Dick Green, Denny Walling; OF Josh Reddick; P Rube Walberg

#Wandering House of David

Even the House of David isn’t convinced their playoff chances are real. Still … they might be. So it’s a bit of a quandary in terms of whether they should move some of their young talent or not. The challenge is the roster really doesn’t make a ton of sense: CF is overly crowded, 1B/DH as well, and there is an abundance of talent at 2B.

Needs: P

Prospects: OF Tony Conigliaro; IF Billy Herman
MLB Help: OF Jim Edmonds, George Gore; IF Mark McGwire, Richie Hebner
AAA Help: P Joaquín Andújar; IF Tom Hutton, Mark Grace; OF Tracy Jones

#SELLERS

Teams with either an excess of talent, or who have thrown in the towel on the season and have some veteran pieces that may be attractive.

#Baltimore Black Sox

Last year’s champs, this year’s dunces. Baltimore believes in its young core, a belief that may see them retain FA acquisition Gavvy Cravath, but even he may be had for the right price.

Needs: all P, Minor League OF.

MLB Help: IF Bobby Wallace, Dan McGann; P Buddy Groom, Connie Johnson, Joe Beggs
AAA Help: P Ken Johnson, Kevin Tapani, Christhian Martínez; OF Ken Griffey, Sr; IF Brian Roberts

#Chicago American Giants

The season cannot end soon enough. Chicago has talent to be a contender, but nothing has gone right for them this season. They are willing to blow up their pitching staff, from a how much worse could it be perspective.

Needs: Minor League OF, C; prime P

Prospects: IF Jorge Orta; OF Walter Davis, Lenny Dykstra
MLB Help: P Akinori Otsuka, Joe Lake, Mark Buehrle, Hoyt Wilhelm, David Price; IF Paul Konerko, Freddy Parent; OF Vernon Wells
AAA Help: OF Rocky Colavito, Magglio Ordóñez; C Michael McKenry

#Los Angeles Angels

It hasn’t been a bad year for the Angels, but they are still a player or three away. There is a lot of mound talent in the organization, but they could use some long term solutions at SS, 3B, and C.

Needs: Minor League OF, C, 2B; WBL Offense.

Prospects: OF Norm Miller
MLB Help: IF Eddie Joost
AAA Help: OF Elmer Valo; IF Mark Ellis; P Rich Hill

#Memphis Red Sox

There is hope in Beantown. Just not for this year. There also are some pieces that may hold attraction for contenders, most notably 1B Bill White (with the Red Sox happy to turn 1B over to David Ortiz) and closer Jonathan Papelbon. There is a lot of congestion at various positions that needs to clarify over time.

Needs: Minor League C, SS; SP; 2B/SS

Prospects: IF Dustin Pedroia, OF Joe Rudi, Dwight Evans, Lefty O’Doul, Candy Jim Taylor, P Jim Kaat
MLB Help: P Tommy de la Cruz, Jonathan Papelbon; IF Bill White, DJ LeMahieu, Iván De Jesús, Nomar Garciaparra
AAA Help: IF George Scott, Dustin Pedroia

#New York Gothams

With this season pretty much scrapped, the Gothams are looking to the future. Which puts them in an interesting spot, as they have a fair number of useful parts on the wrong side of 30. But it’s not a total fire sale, as the team isn’t that far away from competing.

Needs: Minor League SS, C, 2B; SS

Prospects: OF Rick Manning
MLB Help: P Mike Norris, Juan Marichal, Troy Percival, Gaylord Perry; IF Joe Adcock, Larry Doyle, Terry Turner
AAA Help: OF Carl Furillo, Steve Kemp, Charlie Hamburg; IF George Kell; P Liván Hernández, Wei-Yin Chen, Tony Mullane, Guy Hecker

#Portland Sea Dogs

In some sense, the Sea Dogs did their selling already, both during the offseason and the all star break. But this year is still a wash for Portland, so anything they can do to help build for the future will be worthwhile.

Needs: 2B/SS, overall WBL Offense.

Prospects: ???
MLB Help: OF Kiki Cuyler, Harry Hooper; IF Gil Hodges; P Mark Melancon
AAA Help: IF Don Baylor, Rafael Palmeiro; OF Walt Bond, Jerald Clark

But, it’s not enough: this team should be doing better.

HOME PAGE | ROSTER | POSITIONAL STRENGTH | LEADERS

The problems are clear: an offense that falls off dramatically after its top half, struggles on the mound, and issues at a couple key positions (CF and SS). The solutions aren’t so obvious, and if things aren’t better by mid-August, the American Giants are a candidate to mortgage their future to address those shortcomings.

THE OFFENSE

The top end–Frank Thomas, Joe Jackson, Eddie Collins, and the surprising Paul Konerko are all excellent and, especially if Dick Allen regains his stroke, may be enough to carry Chicago in a playoff run. But Chicago regularly trots out 5 starters with OPS’ below .750, leaving too many holes.

#What’s Going Right

The big 4 are stunning. Thomas and Shoeless Joe are virtually tied in OPS around .975, with Konerko not too far behind.

Carlton Fisk lags behind in OPS, but as a C, he’s well above average, and leads the American Giants with 21 homers. Thomas leads in RBIs and Jackson has an incredible 41 2Bs.

Collins isn’t the all around leader of last season, but 309/406/418 with 41 SBs from a middle infielder is nothing to sneeze at.

#What’s Not Going Right

The 2 obvious problems are SS and CF. Freddy Parent, picked up at last year’s All-Star break, has been thoroughly disappointing, with an OPS under .550 (although he has flashed some decent leather). Damian Jackson has been given some opportunities, but has fared even worse offensively.

In CF, 18 year old Cristóbal Torriente is clearly still a large part of Chicago’s future. But he may not be part of their present: 188/235/245 won’t cut it, no matter how fast you are or how good you are in the field. This issue has gotten better: Vernon Wells has taken over for Torriente, and is doing alright.

I have no idea how to evaluate Mike Fiore. He’s hitting .181, but his OBP is .340, and he has 12 homers. Is that going right? Going wrong? No idea, but I think going wrong.

Duffy Lewis was injured at the start of the year, and hasn’t clicked since, and is increasingly losing time to Kevin Mitchell in LF.

THE PITCHING

It’s not bad. And some of it–Ed Walsh, Akinori Otsuka–is downright excellent. But everything else needs to step forward.

#What’s Going Right

Last year’s Rookie of the Year, Ed Walsh, is pitching fantastically, despite a modest 6-4 record, sporting a 3.55 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP.

Akinori Otsuka, Tom Williams, and Hoyt Wilhelm are a very solid trio in the bullpen, especially Otsuka and Williams.

#What’s Not Going Right

Last year’s ace, Tricky Nichols, has struggled mightily, with an ERA approaching 7.00, and is in danger of losing his spot in the rotation.

The trio of Jamie Moyer, Ben Sheets, and Mark Buehrle have been … thoroughly meh. Just meh. Meh not’s good enough for the playoffs.

AJ Minter has a dozen saves, but also an ERA of roughly 6.50.

THE FARM SYSTEM

TOP PROSPECTS | MINOR LEAGUE SYSTEM

The jewel of the system is the much-traveled Chino Smith. What’s not clear is if Smith will be used as trade bait at the deadline or be asked to move to SS–he’s not going to unseat Collins at 2B.

There is some decent OF talent here: Lenny Dykstra, Walter Davis, Henry Cotto, and Jorge Orta has the bat, if not the glove, to help a WBL team.

On the mound, Jacob deGrom, Harry Buckner, Scott Radinsky, and Ted Lyons all have some ceiling.

So, yeah, some help here.

WHAT’S NEEDED

The bottom of the lineup to step forward, and the pitching overall to improve a shade across the board.

Storylines to Watch

Key Questions from Spring Training

• How is the rotation going to fall out? Can Ed Walsh handle a fulltime starting role, and can Mark Buehrle and Ben Sheets handle the back end of the rotation? Still a question, with Walsh, Buehrle, and Sheets now being asked to move up in the rotation.
• How long do the American Giants stick with Parent–he’s fine, but his level of play over the second half of the season (after the American Giants picked him up from Ottawa) was below championship. How long, indeed.

FEATURED SERIES

The American Giants start the week hosting Memphis for 4 games, so we’ll look at those.

Projected Starters

Memphis’ starter listed first.

David Bush (5-3, 5.98) @ Tricky Nichols (4-8, 6.89)
Jameson Taillon (2-3, 5.12) @ Ben Sheets (4-9, 5.69)
Stubby Overmire (8-6, 4.70) @ Ed Walsh (6-4, 3.55)
Jon Lester (5-4, 5.61) @ Mark Buehrle (6-8, 4.61)

So. Much. Mediocrity. Although the Overmire-Walsh tilt should be a good one. Both teams can score a lot of runs, so let’s say this one goes 2-2.

Before the first game, the American Giants made a move, promoting Rocky Colavito to the big leagues to take the place of Mike Fiore. Colavito and Mitchell will split time in LF, with Duffy Lewis taking on an unfamiliar bench role.

Game One

Carlton Fisk put the American Giants up 1-0 in the 2nd with a solo shot to left. Joe Jackson added to the lead the next inning with a sacrifice fly to deep center, scoring Freddy Parent. Fisk would add a 3rd run in the most unlikely of ways: a walk, a stolen base, and then crossing the plate on a single from Vernon Wells, and Dick Allen would go deep in the 4th, increasing the lead to 4-0.

Tricky Nichols recaptured some of his form from last year, holding the Red Sox scoreless until Gabby Hartnett hit a 2-run shot in the top of the 7th, closing gap to 4-2 and chasing Nichols from the mound in favor of Hoyt Wilhelm. Wilhelm got through the inning without further damage, other than a double from Dobie Moore.

A homer from Wells was offset by a sacrifice fly from Ted Williams, so the lead was still 2, at 5-3 in favor of Chicago.

The American Giants added a couple in the 8th with the key hits being a triple from Jackson and another RBI hit form Fisk. It turned out to matter, as David Ortiz took AJ Minter deep with 2 on and 2 out in the top of the 9th, bringing Memphis within 1 run at 7-6. Minter was able to induce a groundout from Wade Boggs, bringing home the victory for Chicago.

MEM 6 (Feliciano 0-1; Kennedy 6 BSv; Kilby 2 BSv) @ CAG 7 (Ryan 2-2)
HRs: MEM – Hartnett (18), Ortiz (20); CAG – Fisk (22), Allen (17), Wells (8).
Box Score

Game Two

Game 2 will pit Memphis’ Jameson Taillon against Chicago’s Ben Sheets in a matchup of end-of-rotation starters.

Memphis took the lead in the 3rd, scoring 1 on a Wade Boggs double and 2 more on a two-bagger from Bill White. Dobie Moore added a solo shot in the 4th, making it 4-0.

Taillon was sailing along, holding Chicago scoreless through 6. But Joe Jackson singled and Frank Thomas went deep, halving the deficit and chasing Taillon. Sheets, who calmed down after Moore’s shot, lasted until 1 out in the 7th, when a double from Reggie Smith sent him to the showers.

Joe Lake, Sheets’ replacement, gave up an RBI single to Ted Williams, increasing Memphis’ lead to 5-2, cut to 5-3 when Jackson tripled home Eddie Collins. Dave Nilsson singled in one in the 8th, but Andrew Miller got Collins to groundout with the bases loaded, keeping the Red Sox up by 1, 5-4.

An RBI from Smith sent us to the bottom of the 9th with the Red Sox up, 6-4, with their closer, Jonathan Papelbon, coming in from the bullpen.

Papelbon whiffed 2, and the series was tied at a game apiece.

Moore and Smith had 3 hits each for the Red Sox.

MEM 6 (Taillon 3-3; Papelbon 14 Sv; de la Cruz 1 H; Roach 9 H; Miller 8 H) @ CAG 4 (Sheets 4-10)
HRs: MEM – Moore (8); CAG – Thomas (20).
Box Score

Game Three

Tied at one, we get the premier pitching matchup of the series, with Memphis’ Stubby Overmire taking on Chicago’s Ed Walsh. It’s a bit of an odd game for the American Giants, with several regulars getting the day off, resulting in a bit of a patchwork lineup. So, we’ll see.

Walsh gave up 2 in the 2nd on 2-out RBI’s from DJ LeMahieu and Billy Bryan. Reggie Smith hit his 23rd homer of the year in the 5th, extending the lead to 3-0. Meanwhile, Overmire was dealing, holding Chicago scoreless through 5 on only 2 hits. despite loading the bases in the 2nd.

Overmire departed in the 7th after surrendering his 6th walk, to Rocky Colavito, and an infield hit to Freddy Parent. Heath Bell loaded the bases, but escaped without damage.

That was it, really: Bell pitched well in the 8th and Jonathan Papelbon shut the door in the 9th on a combined 3 hit shutout.

MEM 3 (Overmire 9-6; Papelbon 15 Sv; Bell 5 H) @ CAG 0 (Walsh 6-5)
HRs: MEM – Smith (23); CAG – none.
Box Score

Game Four

The American Giants will try to salvage a split behind Mark Buehrle who will be opposed by Memphis’ Jon Lester.

The full strength lineup for the American Giants came through immediately, as Frank Thomas launched a 3 run homerun in the bottom of the 1st. But Jack McAleese–who seems to have locked down the utility OF spot for the Red Sox–drove home 2 in the 2nd and scored on a base hit from Dobie Moore, tying the game at 3.

Ted Williams launched his 25th of the year in the 3rd, giving Memphis a 1 run lead. Chicago evened the score the following inning on a sacrifice fly from Paul Konerko. That lasted into the top of the 5th, when Williams went deep again, this time with a man on. 6-4 Memphis. Buehrle made it into the 6th but a DJ LeMahieu double chased him from the game. His relief, David Price, allowed 2 more runs, making the edge 8-4, Red Sox.

Lester got through the 5th, but by that point he had given up 7 walks and was clearly fatigued. Then, suddenly and surprisingly, the relievers figured out how to pitch, keeping it scoreless until Memphis added a few more in the top of the 9th.

Just about the only bad news for Memphis was Moore having to leave the game after being hit on the hand with a pitch: his ultimate injury status is yet to be known.

MEM 11 (Lester 6-4; Roach 1 Sv) @ CAG 4 (Buehrle 6-9)
HRs: MEM – Williams 2 (26); CAG – Thomas (21).
Box Score

This is emblematic of everything disappointing about Chicago’s year so far: loss after loss and question after question of what if and what’s next. This team needs some help: immediately, they are looking at sending AJ Minter down to AAA and installing Akinori Otsuku as the closer, but it’s going to take more than that.

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.

We’re rounding the corner towards the selection of this year’s All-Star teams. Today, we’ll check in on last year’s all stars from the AL.

#Awards

Duke Snider hit .444 with 5 homeruns last week, earning the Brooklyn OFer the NL Player of the Week Award. In the other league, Detroit‘s irrepressible Ty Cobb was named AL Player of the Week. Cobb moved his average back over .400, finishing the week at .411 after hitting .579 with 5 homers.

#Team Performance

Pretty much status quo here.

The New York Black Yankees lead Cleveland in the Bill James Division by 5.5 games; San Francisco has extended their lead in the Cum Posey Division to 9.5 over Chicago; and Indianapolis and Kansas City remain tied atop the Marvin Miller Division.

And, over in the Effa Manley Division, 5.5 games separate Brooklyn in first and Ottawa at the bottom.

Memphis and Brooklyn have gone 8-2 over their last 10 games, while Miami has done the inverse, finishing 2-8 over their last week and a half.

#Player Performance

Batters

Someone poked Babe Ruth, insinuating that the Black Yankees’ OF might not be the dominant player in the league. Since then, he has been on fire, retaking the league lead in his usual categories.

Three batters sit over .400: Houston‘s Tony Gwynn at .427, Ty Cobb at .411, and Homestead‘s Josh Gibson at .402. Gwynn, predictably, is the only batter with over 100 hits so far in the season.

Oscar Charleston (IND). 328/380/626. 9 3B.
Ty Cobb (DET). 411/462/864. 97 H; 34 2B; 4.9 WAR.
Josh Gibson (HOM). 402/480/776. 4.5 WAR.
Tony Gwynn (HOU). 427/460/668. 108 H.
Joe Jackson (CHI). 368/417/611. 35 2B.
Stan Musial (KCM). 329/394/573. 35 2B.
Babe Ruth (NYY). 297/420/768. 34 HR; 81 RBI; 67 R; 55 BB.
Larry Walker (OTT). 321/390/782. 32 HR; 73 RBI.
Ted Williams (MEM). 306/425/624. 60 R; 48 BB.

San Francisco’s Rickey Henderson continues to lead the league in steals with 51, but Ottawa’s Tim Raines has recovered a bit offensively, and being on base more has allowed him to close the gap a bit, now sitting with 44 on the year.

Pitchers

Starters

Indianapolis’ Luis Padrón and San Francisco’s Bump Hadley are the only hurlers in double digits for wins. The three pitchers with 9 victories are also included below, as well as the usual statistical leaders. Of note is the appearance of Kansas City’s A. Rube Foster, who now has (barely) enough IP to qualify here.

The dominance of Kansas City and San Francisco is worth mentioning as well.

Frank Castillo (KCM). 9-1, 4.01.
A. Rube Foster (KCM). 4-0, 2.44. 0.86 WHIP.
Lefty Grove (SFS). 8-4, 3.19. 107 IP; 3.1 WAR.
Ron Guidry (NYY). 8-3, 3.68. 116 K.
Bump Hadley (SFS). 10-4, 3.81. 3.29 FIP.
Luis Padrón (IND). 10-2, 3.90.
Eddie Plank (SFS). 9-3, 3.65.
Toad Ramsey (HOU). 9-4, 3.03. 107 IP; 134 K; 0.94 WHIP; 2.72 FIP; 4.6 WAR.

Relievers

Five relievers have 9 Holds at this point, and all of them are listed, making this a bit of a larger group than usual.

16 IP minimum.

Rod Beck (SFS). 2-2, 3.79. 19 Sv.
Rheal Cormier (NYY). 0-1, 3.72. 9 H.
Ken Howell (SFS). 4-1, 1.46. 3 H.
Michael Jackson (HOM). 1-3, 3.55. 1 Sv; 9 H.
Craig Kimbrel (KCM). 1-0, 0.92. 2 Sv; 9 H; 0.71 WHIP; 2.07 FIP.
Josh Lindblom (HOM). 3-2, 4.01. 18 Sv.
Rob Murphy (IND). 1-1, 2.70. 1 Sv; 9 H.
Ross Reynolds (LAA). 2-0, 1.93. 1 Sv; 1 H; 2.02 FIP.
BJ Ryan (OTT). 1-2, 4.85. 1 Sv; 9 H.
Lee Smith (HOD). 4-1, 2.97. 3 Sv; 6 H; 0.73 WHIP.

#2 Way Players

It’s been a while, so figured we should check back in on these guys. Here’s the list:

Wood has received very little time in the field, so we’ll see how he does as that expands. It looks like Ward should stay on the mound, and that really, it’s only Rogan and Padrón as truly valuable 2-way talents.

#Injury Report

Cleveland’s Mel Harder, Detroit’s Hal Newhouser, Miami’s Kenshin Kawakami and perhaps most importantly, Portland’s Joséito Muñoz should all start injury rehabs later this week. Should those go well, all four teams should receive rotation boosts in the near future.

#Last Year’s All-Stars

As we ramp up to this year’s all-star game, seemed a good time to check in on last year’s designees. This week, we’ll take a look at (what was last year) the AL.

#OBV

Bob Bailey (3B, DET). Just a dependable offensive machine at the hot corner.

Rod Beck (RP, SFS). Still racking up the saves, and doing better than last season otherwise.

Hank Greenberg (1B, DET). Keeps pounding the ball.

Mike Henneman (RP, DET). Remains dominant from the bullpen.

Rogers Hornsby (2B, POR). Keeps rolling along with better numbers than last season.

Joe Jackson (OF, CAG). This year’s version is a doubles machine without nearly the homerun power, but still maintaining on OPS over 1.000.

Craig Kimbrel (RP, KCM). Dominant, and really making the argument to be moved into the closer slot for Kansas City.

Willie Mays (OF, NYG). Somehow underappreciated despite his stellar performance.

Andy Pettitte (SP, NYY). Just keeps rolling. Like the whole league, his ERA is a little higher, but his peripheral numbers are strong.

Buster Posey (C, NYG). More power than last year, a little less of everything else, but still elite.

Frank Thomas (1B, CAG). Significantly better offensively across the board, which is a truly frightening statement.

Ted Williams (OF, MEM). A borderline selection last year, he’s upped his game significantly this season, with an OPS of 1.049.

#Mebbe

Curt Blefary (C, BAL). Nowhere near as good as last season, but still a good offensive player, showing both power and control of the strike zone.

Eddie Collins (2B, CAG). Power output has fallen off, and while he’s still a top performer, is not the MVP candidate of last season.

Mike Epstein (1B, HOM). The shape of his production has changed, as his BA has dropped 80 points. But he’s slugging .570 and his OPS is virtually the same as last season.

Dan McGann (1B, BAL). At 37, he’s performing better than last season, but remains under the radar for some reason.

Stan Musial (OF, KCM). He’s hitting almost exactly the same as he did last year, but has struggled with the longball. That may be enough to nudge him off the team, unfair as that may be.

#Meh

Dick Allen (3B, CAB). Not doing badly, but clearly a long wasy from an all star at this point.

Gerrit Cole (SP, LAA). May be pitching better than last season, but without the dominant W/L record, should fall far short of the all-star game.

Mark Melancon (RP, POR). Perhaps a stretch choice last year due to a ridiculous number of wins for a reliever, is doing fine this year, but far from all-star levels.

AJ Minter (RP, CAG). Still the American Giants’ closer, but no longer among the best in the league.

Reggie Smith (OF, MEM). Other than a boost in power, struggling a bit across the board.

Bobby Wallace (SS, BAL). Injured and not performing nearly as well regardless, Wallace is still an on base machine, and clearly has value.

Brian Wilson (RP, NYG). Injured and limited to 13 games so far, but dominant in those appearances, so there’s a chance.

#What Happened?

Bill Byrd (SP, BAL). Well below average so far this season.

Elrod Hendricks (C, HOD). Last year’s magnificent performance looks more and more like a mirage. Hendricks still has power, but is no longer elite among league backstops.

Duffy Lewis (OF, CHI). Struggling, especially in the power department.

Tricky Nichols (SP, CAG). An ERA over 6.00 and a ton of HR’s allowed.

Freddy Parent (SS, CAG). Parent rode his All Star selection–deserved at the time–to a trade to a contender, and then lost the ability to hit for power at all. Without that, he’s a mediocre SS.

Doug Rader (3B, LAA). A stunningly productive 2000 has been followed with … very little.

George Stone (OF, HOD). Significantly worse across the board. Stone looked like a budding star last year, now he looks like a decent 4th OFer.

#Other

Ned Garvin (SP, BAL). Garvin was the dominant pitcher in the league last year when he got injured. He’s been fine since his return, but has yet to find the same level.

Sean Marshall (RP, BAL). Hit by a long-term injury, Marshall is due to return to Baltimore’s bullpen by the all-star game.

Championship contention. The offense is just too good not to warrant it, even if moves need to be made in the pitching corps.

Best Case

The offense continues as one of the very best in the league, and enough pitching is found to navigate the postseason.

Worst Case

The fringe of the offense–Freddy Parent, Mike Fiore, whomever is run out there in LF–reverts and the pitching collapses.

Key Questions

• How is the rotation going to fall out? Can Ed Walsh handle a fulltime starting role, and can Mark Buehrle and Ben Sheets handle the back end of the rotation?
• How long do the American Giants stick with Parent–he’s fine, but his level of play over the second half of the season (after the American Giants picked him up from Ottawa) was below championship.

Trade Bait

There are some pieces in the minors, and this is a team that needs pitching, so there is some potential here.

Roster Evaluation

Table says it all: if the pitching comes through, this is a championship contender.

Talent Ratings

Best In The Minors

The table says it all: this is a weak farm system in need of replenishment.

Overall

An amazing offense, a solid pitching staff. But ultimately not enough: which means a solid pitching staff is insufficient for a team with championship aspirations.

The offense was a joy, though: Eddie Collins is a virtually perfect baseball specimen, and Frank Thomas, Joe Jackson, and Dick Allen are spectacular hitters.

What Went Right

All the offense all the time.

The top four batters each had OPS’ over .900 and between the four of them hit 102 homeruns, drove in 386 runs and scored 394. They even stole 100 bases, but really that was entirely Collins (61) and Jackson (34). Collins is the oldest at 27 with the other three 24 or under, so the future is bright here.

And it’s not like the offense drops much behind them: Duffy Lewis had a SLG over .500, Mike Fiore had an OBP over .400, Carlton Fisk‘s OPS near .800 makes him a pretty elite hitter for a catcher, and Cristóbal Torriente had a solid year overall and a great one considering he’s still a teenager.

On the mound, AJ Minter was among the best closers in the league and David Price was spectacular after being brought over from Indianapolis. Ben Sheets and Tricky Nichols were good, perhaps a little better than good and Ed Walsh showed flashes of excellence.

Hoyt Wilhelm and Ken Sanders were good out of the pen.

Note how tepid the praise is getting …

ALL STARS
3B Dick Allen; 2B Eddie Collins; OF Joe Jackson; OF Duffy Lewis; RP AJ Minter; P Tricky Nichols; 1B Frank Thomas

What Went Wrong

The American Giants brought in Freddy Parent at the all star break to solidify the SS position. The revolving door there stopped, but Parent wasn’t very good–certainly not as good as he was in the first half of the season for Ottawa.

Five players (Magglio Ordoñez, Jack Doyle, José Abreu, Luke Appling, and most of all Damian Jackson) were given 100+ PAs to lay claim to jobs, and they each failed somewhat spectacularly.

But really the focus here has to be on the mound. Chicago had its share of hurlers who were given a chance and weren’t up to it–every team does. But they had a much larger group of pitchers who were just far too mediocre for a championship team. This includes Dick Rudolph, who was no worse than he was for Birmingham but also no better; Akinori Otsuka, Mark Buehrle, Herb Pennock … the list goes on. Special mention has to be made of Don Newcombe, whose raw numbers are good until you encounter his home run rate. Not giving up a lot of hits doesn’t mean a lot if the ones you give up continually leave the yard.

Transactions

March

None

June

OF Melky Cabrera, P A. Rube Foster, 1B Adrián González & 2nd Round Pick to Birmingham for P Hoyt Wilhelm & P Dick Rudolph

Regret may set in, especially around Foster, but the move made sense at the time, and Wilhelm is almost a unique reliever, which makes up for a little bit of the lost value.

OF Minnie Miñoso to Miami for P Don Newcombe, P Clay Condrey & 4th Round Pick {José Quintana}

If Necombe turns it around, maybe this was worth it. Maybe.

3B Sibby Sisti; OF Bob Watson; 2B Rickie Weeks to Ottawa for SS Freddy Parent

Another one that seemed quite reasonable at the time, but Watson especially may be missed (at the same time, he was pretty completely blocked positionally at Chicago).

July

3B Robin Ventura, P Tyler Clippard, 4th Round Pick & 5th Round Pick to Indianapolis for P David Price & 2B Jorge Orta

Ventura was a bust in Chicago, and especially in light of Price’s stellar performance, this feels fine.

Looking Forward

SP

This is a need. For now, the American Giants are fine, but the long term trio of Ed Walsh, Mark Buehrle, and Harry Buckner is solid, but not spectacular.

RP

Minter and Wilhelm are good and there is some talent behind them, notably Scott Radinksy (despite his struggles this season) and Hector Neris.

C

Carlton Fisk is expected to be here for quite some time.

1B

Frank Thomas. Simply, Frank Thomas.

2B

Eddie Collins. Simply, Eddie Collins.

3B

Dick Allen. Simply, Dick Allen.

SS

This is likely an issue–and soon if Freddy Parent doesn’t turn it around. Luke Appling and Tim Anderson are waiting in the wings if that comes to pass.

LF

Duffy Lewis was surprisingly effective, and has the claim on the position for a while.

CF

The American Giants were as surprised as anyone that Mike Fiore led the league in walks.

RF

Joe Jackson. Simply, Joe Jackson.

The Rookie Draft

Rounds 1-4

The American Giants were thrilled that Jacob DeGrom was still on the board with the 18th pick. Whether he shows up in Chicago next year or the year after, he should arrive very soon to help out their rotation.

In the third round, they picked up CF Lenny Dykstra in a “best player available” move and in the 4th, SP José Quintana, because you can never have too much young pitching and OF/1B Walter “Steel Arm” Davis, because you can never have too many cool nicknames.

Rounds 5-8

With no picks in the 5th or 6th rounds, Chicago’s franchise exceptions dropped significantly in value. They need a few 1B, some help at 3B, arms, and some OF depth. Still, they were able to grab Freddy Sánchez in round 7 and Cass Michaels in round 8, each of which have a shot at WBL time at some point (Michaels as soon as this season as a utility IF).

Rounds 9-12

P Josh Hader (final exemption); P Tom Williams; P Vern Kennedy; OF Craig Gentry.

4th round pick José Quintana and and 9th round selection Josh Hader both refused to come to terms for Chicago, who will receive compensation in next year’s draft for Quintana.

Overall

With low expectations come limited success, or some such.

Ottawa has some interesting pieces, a ton of raw talent, and very little to show for it all. Future success hinges on the development of that talent–Ken Griffey, Jr, Álex Rodríguez, and Randy Johnson, I’m looking at you.

As is often the case with teams that struggle, there were some decent high spots on offense but a bit of a mess on the mound.

What Went Right

Not a lot.

Larry Walker, Tim Raines, and Gary Carter each established themselves as legitimate WBL players, although each of them are just outside the upper tier at their position in the league (Walker only through seemingly being injury prone).

Carlos Beltrán did enough to put himself on the roster next year, and Rusty Staub hit well for Ottawa after being acquired in trade.

Old Hoss Radbourn and, before getting injured, Roy Halladay both look like front of rotation arms for Ottawa. Ryan Dempster stepped into the absence created by Tom Henke‘s injury quite well. Some other starters–Bob Moose, Bob Brown, and Clayton Richard especially–flashed some potential in limited innings, going 14-6 over a combined 30 starts.

The Mounties are an incredibly young organization: in one sense, merely surviving went right if 7 of your starters are 23 or under.

ALL STARS
SS Freddy Parent

What Went Wrong

Roberto Alomar faded and neither Álex Rodríguez nor Ken Griffey, Jr. did anything to live up to their massive potential. Across the board, it seemed like the best players could do was meh offensively.

Most of the pitching was horrible, and when not poor, greatly inconsistent (with Randy Johnson being the best example). Jim Clancy–whose 0.0 WAR was an accurate representation of his quality–was the only pitcher other than Radbourn and Halladay with over 100 IP.

Overall, there was just an absence of quality for the Mounties.

Trade Evaluations

March

None

June

IF Steve Garvey, OF Spud Johnson, 1B Carlos Delgado to Los Angeles for OF Rusty Staub, P Dave Bennett, OF Carlos Beltrán, C Jim Stephens & P Sean O'Sullivan

Seems fine–Delgado’s loss this year hurt, but Staub (a franchise player) and Beltrán offer a lot of future value.

IF Freddy Parent to Chicago for IF Sibby Sisti, OF Bob Watson, and IF Rickie Weeks

Parent was Ottawa’s only all star, so the drop in quality hurt. But it does clear the way for Á-Rod (which may or may not be a good thing if his performance doesn’t pick up), and Watson looks promising.

RP Gary Lavelle & P Jamie Moyer to Black Yankees for IF Dick Bartell, OF Sam Thompson & 4th Round Pick {Mark Eichhorn}

Seems fine, maybe a little light if neither Bartell nor Thompson see WBL time.

July

P Steve Howe, OF George Van Haltren, 5th Round Pick & 6th Round Pick to New York Gothams for P Jeremy Affeldt, P Bob Moose, OF George Burns, IF Art Devlin & 3rd Round Pick

All reasonable, as both Moose and Burns have some promise.

Looking Forward

SP

Radbourn and Halladay should be solid for years to come, and there is great excitement over the potential of Randy Johnson. Beyond that, it’s a lot of question marks.

RP

If Henke can bounce back from injury, he and Dempster should be solid here, and there are some decent arms behind them.

C

Carter should have this locked up for quite a while.

1B

Long term, a mixture of John Olerud and John Mayberry should handle this, but there are no great immediate options, unless Staub and Bob Watson can handle it.

2B

Even with his late season fade, this should be Roberto Alomar‘s position, especially as Raines shifts permanently to the outfield.

3B

An area of need, as neither Anthony Rendon nor Larry Parrish impressed.

SS

It’s assumed that Rodríguez will hold this down.

LF

Raines should play here more and more.

CF

This gets more interesting, as either Betrán or Griffey, Jr. could be here long term, with the other moving to a corner OF position.

RF

Walker as long as he’s healthy, with others, including Staub, filling in.

The Rookie Draft

Rounds 1-4

There are some tempting choices out there, but Max Scherzer being a franchise selection who looks almost ready for the majors makes him the choice. The 2nd round was a much harder selection, but the Mounties eventually settled on Al Orth, partially because he should be able to help out at the major league level somewhat immediately.

1B is a bit unsettled for the franchise, so Elbie Fletcher made sense in the 3rd round. Fletcher is a ways away from helping at the WBL level, but he could be in the mix eventually. In the last part of that round, they took another arm: 22 year old Dan Haren.

In the 4th round, the Mounties took 2B Jimmy Dykes with their final franchise exemption and rubber armed reliever Mark Eichhorn with their other pick that round.

Rounds 5-8

Ottawa needs quality across the board, but being limited to franchise selections may make that challenging. They start in the 7th round with OF Warren Cromartie and follow that in the 8th with SP Dupee Shaw.

Rounds 9-12

IF Joey Cora; OF Leon Roberts; P Billy Koch; and P Chuck Taylor.

#Portland Sea Dogs v Chicago American Giants, Game 6

Chicago has a choice: do they start Ben Sheets or David Price? The left handed power in Portland’s lineup led them to Price, but he’ll be on a short leash. Portland will go with Bert Blyleven, hoping he can recover some of his earlier form after being hit hard in game 2 of the series.

Portland will start Iván Rodríguez behind the plate and Jeff Burroughs in LF–Pudge in a regular rotation and Burroughs partially due to Harry Hooper‘s struggles.

Eddie Collins is just a force of nature: he singled to leadoff the game, stole second, stole third, and scored on a groundout by Frank Thomas. Blyleven didn’t do anything wrong, and yet the American Giants took an early 1-0 lead.

Bobby Murcer would tie it up an inning later with a solo homerun and, in the third, Jim Fregosi would go deep and Murcer would drive in another with a single. That made it 3-1 in favor of the Sea Dogs.

But Chicago would not go quietly: Dick Allen hit his first homerun of the posteason, and hits from Rocky Colavito and Freddy Parent put runners at 2nd and 3rd with 2 outs. But Blyleven induced a weak popout from Mike Fiore to end the threat with Portland holding on to a 1 run lead, 3-2.

With both pitchers on a tight leash, they suddenly remembered they could pitch a little bit.

Price cracked first when Murcer singled up the middle to lead off the 6th. In came Sheets, who seemed to have it under control until, with 2 outs, Gil Hodges singled home Murcer and Burroughs followed with a shot into the right field seats. By the time the inning ended, Sheets had been relieved by Ken Sanders and the Sea Dogs were up, 7-2.

A walk to Colavito and a single from Parent chased Blyleven in the top of the 7th, with Portland turning to Mike Cuellar for the run of lefty hitters in Chicago’s lineup. Cuellar was left in to face a righty the following inning: Thomas took him deep with Jackson on, closing the gap to 7-4.

Which brings us to the top of the 9th. Portland’s closer, Bob Porterfield, comes in to face the bottom of the American Giants’ lineup. And that was it: Porterfield was perfect, and Portland was through!

Thomas drove in 3 of Chicago’s 4 runs and Hornsby and Murcer had 3 hits each for the Sea Dogs.

CAG 4 (Price 0-1) @ POR 7 (Blyleven 1-0; Porterfield 2 Sv; Hoffman 1 H)
HRs: CAG – Allen (1), Thomas (1); POR – Murcer (3), Fregosi (1), Burroughs (1).
Box Score

Rogers Hornsby, who hit .455 with 6 RBIs in the series, was named series MVP, although Gil Hodges (3 homeruns and 8 RBI) and Walter Johnson (2-0, 2.25) each deserved some consideration.