#Monday

Miami moved in front of Detroit by a half game in the AL Wild Card race behind a great start from Phenomenal Smith, whose return may be a difference maker for the Cuban Giants. Smith gave up 1 run in 7 innings, moving to 4-0. Hal Newhouser was good for Detroit, but an early homer from Gary Sheffield and a late one from Joe Adcock sealed the game for Miami.

Cleveland was supposed to have an easy time of it, hosting the lowly Memphis Red Sox. But the Spiders’ bullpen collapsed, and they dropped a 9-8 decision to the visitors, who were powered by homers from Lefty O’Doul, Hack Wilson, and David Ortiz.

In a series that means more for Indianapolis than Philadelphia, the ABC’s opened with a decisive win, 15-8 over the Stars. Johnny Bench hit 2 out, and the game wasn’t as close as the score (Philadelphia tallied 5 in the 9th to make it more respectable).

#Tuesday

Detroit pulled back into a dead heat with Miami, pounding out 6 homeruns (2 from JD Martinez) in an 11-5 win. Ernie Lombardi, Tony Lazzeri, Oscar Gamble, and Ty Cobb also went deep for the Wolverines in an easy win for the visitors.

Memphis did it again, beating Cleveland 4-2, and dropping the Spiders 2.5 games behind the Black Yankees. Homers from Reggie Smith and Wade Boggs backed a strong showing from Stubby Overmire, who moved to 13-9 on the year. The Spiders, however, remained only 2 games behind the Black Yankees as New York fell to San Francisco, 9-0, as Bump Hadley improved to 18-6 with a masterful 1-hitter.

Philadelphia stormed back from a 7-1 deficit, beating the ABC’s 8-7 on a pinch-hit walkoff shot from Aaron Judge–his 60th of the year–in a game that saw 2 grandslams, one from Indianapolis’ Ed Swartwood, the other from the Stars’ Charles Rogan. This was good news for Houston, who dropped a 9-8 decision to the New York Gothams, who were powered by 2 homeruns from Willie Mays. Houston remains 3.5 games ahead in the Marvin Miller Division.

Riding an excellent start from Rick Reuschel, the House of David pulled into a tie with Kansas City by defeating the Monarchs 3-1. Reuschel was supported by Ryne Sandberg‘s 40th homer of the year, and the win leaves both teams 1 game behind Indianapolis in the Wild Card race.

#Wednesday

What you see depends on where you stand: Miami fans will be miserable at their bullpen’s performance, as the Cuban Giants’ relievers surrendered 11 runs over the final 4 innings n an 11-8 loss to Detroit. Wolverines fans, of course, will be applauding the clutch performance of their team, led by Juan Beníquez‘ 4 hits and 3 RBI’s from Charlie Gehringer and Bob Bailey. The win moves Detroit 1.5 games up in the Wild Card chase.

The Spiders are struggling, but they refuse to give up: a Larry Doby homerun and walkoff RBI single from John Ellis gave Cleveland a 9-8 win over Memphis, keeping them at least within touch of the Black Yankees for the Bill James Division crown. Willie McCovey hit his 15th homerun in 35 games, and Paul O’Neill (the first of his WBL career) and Ron Blomberg also went deep.

The Black Yankees fell to San Francisco, as Eddie Plank earned his 20th win of the season with 6 strong innings for the Sea Lions. San Francisco’s bullpen–Ken Howell, Joe Nathan, and closer Rod Beck–fanned 7 of the 9 batters they retired, with Beck earning his 40th save of the season.

Houston bounced back in a big way, using a phenomenal start from Ice Box Chamberlain and 7 homeruns to beat the Gothams, 9-2. Chamberlain allowed 1 hit in just under 8 innings, fanning 12 and 2 of the important cogs in the Colt 45’s late season surge–OF Gorman Thomas and C Will Smith–carried the team, twice launching back-to-back homeruns. Jim Wynn led off the game with a dinger, and Paul Goldschmidt and Jim O’Rourke also went deep.

The victory sealed the pennant for Houston, setting off raucous celebrations in the home dugout. It also meant all of the attention in the NL is now focused on the final Wild Card Spot, currently owned by Indianapolis, but with Kansas City and the House of David hot on their heels (and Homestead still hanging around with at least a mathematical chance).

After fighting back from a 6-1 deficit, Indianapolis suffered a gut-wrenching loss, falling to Philadelphia, 12-8. The Stars were led by homeruns from Sherm Lollar, Harmon Killebrew, Jung Ho Kang, and Sherry Magee.

Ryne Sandberg had 4 hits including a go-ahead solo homer in the bottom of the 8th as the House of David topped Kansas City, 6-5. Jack Taylor continued a late-season rebound with a solid start, but both bullpens struggled in this one. The victory moves the House of David into a dead heat with Indianapolis in the Wild Card chase, with Kansas City 1 game back.

#Thursday

Miami just refuses to lose: Cleveland had taken the lead, 5-4 in the 6th inning, but the Cuban Giants scored 8 runs in their final 2 frames in a 12-6 victory. Miami pounded out 17 hits, led by 3 each from Jim Thome and Martín Dihigo. The game was never sure: Cuban Giants pitchers gave up 8 walks, so the Spiders had constant traffic on the basepaths. But they did just enough, with homeruns from Julio Rodríguez, Dihigo, Alejandro Oms, and Thome.

With the result, the Spiders drop to 1.5 games behind the Black Yankees and the Cuban Giants move to 1 game behind Detroit in the Wild Card race.

Speaking of the Black Yankees … their bullpen continues to be their Achilles’ heel, with 4 relievers giving up 9 runs in 2.1 innings. Ouch. The big blows were homeruns from Jimmie Foxx and Bobby Bonds as San Francisco defeated New York, 13-10.

#Friday

The Black Yankees continue not to grab the Bill James Division by the throat, falling to lowly Baltimore 5-4 in the opening game of the final series of the season. Homers from Eddie Murray, Manny Machado, and a final go-ahead blast from Earl Averill gave the Black Sox the edge in another game that saw less than stellar performances from New York’s bullpen.

Two homers from Gary Sheffield carried Miami to a 5-4 win over Cleveland, preserving New York’s 1 game advantage, and keeping the pressure on Detroit. The Cuban Giants got another strong outing from Jim Whitney, and were able to fade a 9th inning comeback from the Spiders for the victory.

So what will Detroit do with their opportunity?

Play a game for the ages where they held leads of 3-1, 4-2, 9-5, and 10-6. And it was never enough as, after closer Mike Henneman was forced from the game with a back injury, Troy Percival came in and gave up a grand slam to Manny Ramírez and a walkoff shot to Gabby Hartnett. Both Ramírez and Hartnett had 2 homers in the game, while Al Kaline had 2 for Detroit. Kaline had 3 hits and 7 RBIs while Hartnett had 4 hits for Memphis. A true thriller of a game that leaves everything pretty much undecided.

The House of David fell to Houston 8-2, as all eyes turned to the 4 game series between Indianapolis and Kansas City.

Kansas City’s Smokey Joe Wood and the ABC’s’ Luis Padrón squared off in the series opener and while each pitched well, neither were involved in the decision. Instead, after a 2 run shot from Ducky Medwick tied the game, Kansas City won it on a sacrifice fly from Dale Murphy in the bottom of the 9th. So Padrón fails in his attempt to win his 24th game of the year and, more importantly, Kansas City forces a 3 way dead heat for the final Wild Card spot.

#Saturday

Memphis keeps embracing their role as spoiler while relying on a handful of late season call ups. In this case, Bucky Walters gave a good starting performance, Lefty O’Doul had 3 hits, and Wayne Causey drove in 2 with an 8th inning single for a 5-3 victory over Detroit.

It sure looks like Miami has found a key part of their rotation: Phenomenal Smith improved to 5-0, combining with Ricky Nolasco on a 3 hit shutout of Cleveland. Smith struck out 10 before yielding to Nolasco, for the last 2 outs. Martín Dihigo drove in 2 runs, continuing his second half surge.

Miami moves a full game ahead of Detroit for the Wild Card slot, and Cleveland falls 1.5 games behind the Black Yankees for the Bill James Division title, with New York’s magic number reduce to 1.

And then it was none. New York topped Baltimore 11-7 behind homers from Mickey Mantle, Babe Ruth, and Roger Maris, giving the Black Yankees their first Bill James Division title.

Oh boy … Indianapolis has nobody to blame but themselves.

Behind a great start from Johnny Cueto and 3 RBI’s from Oscar Charleston, the ABC’s took a 6-2 lead into the bottom of the 9th, with their closer, Rob Dibble, on the mound. Dibble got one out, and then 16 of his next 20 pitches missed the strike zone, resulting in 4 consecutive walks, scoring a run. Rob Murphy relieved Dibble, and an RBI groundout and 2 wild pitches later, the game was tied at 6.

Cool Papa Bell walked in the bottom of the 10th, stole second, and scored on a hit from Ozzie Smith, moving Kansas City a game ahead in the Wild Card race.

#Sunday

The final day of the season leaves both final Wild Card spots up for grabs: in the AL, Miami has a 1 game lead over Detroit and in the NL, Kansas City has the edge over both Indianapolis and the House of David.

Miami was unable to clinch it: Larry Doby became the 2nd player in WBL history (and the first in the AL) to hit 4 homeruns in a game, driving in 7 as Cleveland topped the Cuban Giants, 13-7. That leaves Miami’s fate in the hands of Detroit later in the day.

Detroit used a mix of the old reliable–2 homeruns from Al Kaline and 1 from Ty Cobb–and the newly acquired (a strong start from Connie Johnson and key innings from Steve Howe and Troy Percival) to beat Memphis, 8-4.

And so, we finish in a dead heat.

Eppa Rixey combined with 4 relievers (including an important 1.2 innings from Doc Mitchell), leading the ABC’s to a 7-3 win over Kansas City, meaning Indianapolis and the Monarchs finish with identical 79-83 records. The only question is if the House of David will join them in a 3-way tie for the final playoff spot.

Nope.

The House of David tried valiantly, and even outhit Houston, 10-8, but they fell to the Colt 45’s, 10-9 in a game that saw Tony Gwynn rap out 3 hits, reaching 200 on the season. Richie Hebner, Ryne Sandberg, and Anthony Rizzo each had 2 hits, but they didn’t get enough support as the House of David season ends, falling just short of the postseason.

#Monday

So, two playoff games, winner makes the postseason.

#AL

First up, we have Miami visiting Detroit.

The Cuban Giants will turn to Hugh McQuillan who, despite being roughed up in his last start, has been solid for Miami. If he struggles early, look for Jim Whitney to try to give the team some innings on short rest. For Detroit, Pete Conway will take the mound, also on a pretty short leash.

Ty Cobb may be almost universally disliked, but his baseball talent cannot be denied: he launched a 3 run homer in the top of the first and a grand slam in the 2nd, helping Detroit to a 9-0 lead after 2 innings.

Conway, meanwhile, had allowed a single run on 3 hits through 5, and left after 6 with the score 13-2.

Miami scored 3 in the 9th, but fell well short, 14-5. In the end, a just result, as Detroit really feels like the better team. Still, the Cuban Giants went from being the worst team in the league to being this close to the playoffs: a good year for them.

Cobb finished with 2 homers and 7 RBIs, and Al Kaline, Charlie Gehringer, Ernie Lombardi, and Hank Greenberg each also went deep. There was some bad news on Greenberg, who will be out of action for a few days with a leg injury.

#NL

Indianapolis would turn to Doc White while Kansas City gave the start to young Matt Morris.

Kansas City took an early lead on Albert Pujols‘ second homerun of the game, pulling ahead 6-3 after 3 innings, with the ABC’s runs coming on longballs from George Foster and Chris Sabo.

Morris was OK–not great, but not bad–until Tommy Helms singled and scored on a double from Barry Larkin in the top of the 4th. A Bob Bescher walk put runners on the corner, and fetched Frank Castillo from the bullpen. The move backfired as Sabo and Oscar Charleston singled and, after a couple of outs, Johnny Bench brought home 2 with a single of his own, giving Indianapolis an 8-7 lead. Foster followed with his 2nd dinger of the game, extending the lead to 10-7 and chasing Castillo. His successor, Bob Shawkey, gave upa solo shot to Helms and when all of the dust settled, the ABC’s had scored 8 and were up 11-7.

The ABC’s coasted from there, riding additional homeruns by Ed Charles and Sabo to a 15-8 win, powering Indianapolis into the postseason. Sabo drove in 5 and Foster 4, with each of them notching 3 hits on the day.

Kansas City had ridden its pitching staff all year; here their arms betrayed them, surrendering 14 hits and 15 runs.

HOME PAGE | ROSTER | POSITIONAL STRENGTH | LEADERS

It’s not clear where Memphis goes, but it certainly looks like trading some of their positional depth for some pitching should be on the table.

THE OFFENSE

It’s a top heavy team, with some true standout talent.

#What’s Going Right

Ted Williams is an elite talent, and while his 298/412/619 slash line doesn’t move him into the absolute top tier, at 22 there is quite some room for improvement.

Manny Ramírez has stepped up dramatically from last year, leading the team with 42 HRs and 2nd behind Williams in RBI. Ramírez’ OPS has hovered around 1.000 all season, powered by a SLG in the mid .600’s.

David Ortiz has essentially displaced Bill White at 1B, slashing 286/370/680 in just over 300 PAs.

Gabby Hartnett is an excellent offensive C, posting an OPS in the mid 800’s with 37 HRs and his backup, Billy Bryan, has been even better offensively, with 14 HRs in 140 PA’s.

For a 20 year old, Dobie Moore‘s debut has to be considered a success, slashing 291/352/427 while playing across the IF.

#What’s Not Going Right

OF Mookie Betts and 3B Wade Boggs have been fine, but the Red Sox need more if they are going to compete.

Nobody getting a ton of playing time has really been awful offensively, although only Iván De Jesús‘ defensive flexibility has kept him in the league.

The positional distribution remains unsolved: Ortiz, White, and Travis Shaw all seem to be reasonable WBL alternatives at 1B, and the leading young talent (Hack Wilson and Lefty O’Doul) play the same positions as Reggie Smith, Betts, Ramírez, and Williams.

THE PITCHING

When your best pitcher is a middling middle reliever (Tommy de la Cruz, whose 6.20 ERA belies some very good supporting numbers), you’re in trouble.

#What’s Going Right

That is a little unfair to Stubby Overmire, who leads the team with 11 wins and looks like an excellent #2 or #3 rotation starter being asked to be a #1.

Andrew Miller‘s been solid out of the bullpen with a 7-8 record, 3 saves, and 11 holds while leading the WBL in appearances.

#What’s Not Going Right

Everything else.

David Bush, Len Barker, and Jon Lester have all failed to impress, with Bush (8-8, 6.82) being the best of a bad lot.

Some of the other hurlers given opportunities, especially Eddie Cicotte and Nixey Callahan, have been unbelievably bad.

THE FARM SYSTEM

TOP PROSPECTS | MINOR LEAGUE SYSTEM

There is some help, as Memphis has a middle-of-the-road farm system, with some strong talent that is blocked at the WBL level (all the more trade fodder for some pitching).

OFs Dwight Evans, Hack Wilson, Willie Crawford, Roy Thomas, Lefty O’Doul, and Carl Yastrzemski all look to have high ceilings. On the IF, it’s a bit more sparse, with Candy Jim Taylor and Joe Cunningham leading the way.

There is also some potential on the mound. Sadie McMahon remains well regarded despite his struggles, and he, Jim Kaat, Josh Beckett, and Nathan Eovaldi should all be given some long looks in the Spring.

WHAT’S NEEDED

A re-distribution of the talent, using some of the excess to bring some arms to town.

Storylines to Watch

Key Questions from Spring Training

• Who is going to fill out the rotation and the bullpen? Remains totally unanswered.
• Memphis’ scouts are agog over Dobie Moore, but scouts don’t play the game: is Moore the real thing and, if so, what happens to Vern Stephens? Moore looks to be the real thing, and Stephens was pretty bad, eventually moving on to Brooklyn (where, it must be said, he has flourished) for a 4th round pick.
• Sosa was moved out, essentially for Gabby Hartnett, putting more pressure on the OF the step up. Hartnett is doing well, and the last thing the Red Sox need is more OF talent.

FEATURED SERIES

Since the Cuban Giants still have an outside shot at the playoffs, we’ll use the opportunity to focus on the Red Sox’s visit to Miami for a 4 game set at the start of the week.

Projected Starters

Memphis starter listed first, although I would expect at least a few of these to change.

David Bush (8-8, 6.82) @ Cole Hamels (11-10, 5.88)
Stubby Overmire (11-9, 4.81) @ Jim Whitney (8-6, 3.90)
Len Barker (10-12, 5.07) @ Phenomenal Smith (2-0, 1.93)
TBA @ Hugh McQuillan (4-3, 4.82)

Just because it will make the end of the year far more interesting, let’s go with a 3-1 series win for Miami.

Game One

The Red Sox used 2 homeruns from Dustin Pedroia and just enough from their bullpen to take game 1, 8-6.

Memphis took the lead on a 2 run homer from Gabby Hartnett, but 2 wild pitches from David Bush (one in the 2nd, one in the 3rd) tied the game at 2.

Pedroia’s first homer, in the top of the 5th, put Memphis back on top. The Red Sox hit 3 out of the park in the 7th, getting homers from David Ortiz, Pedroia again, and Manny Ramírez. That gave the Red Sox an 8-2 lead, which should have been enough …

Except, Sadie McMahon, in relief of Bush, imploded, giving up 4 runs before being relieved by Andrew Miller. Miller, however, was effective, earning his 12th hold of the year, and Tommy de la Cruz closed the door for his 5th save as Memphis played spoiler to Miami’s Wild Card chase.

MEM 8 (Taylor 11-10) @ MCG 6 (Mathewson 7-15)
HRs: MEM – Hartnett (38), Pedroia 2 (4), Ortiz (32), Ramírez (43); MCG – Oliver (8).
Box Score

Game Two

Dean Chance got the start for Memphis in game 2 and was actually quite good. Unfortunately for Memphis, Miami’s Jim Whitney was better, allowing 3 hits and 1 run over 7 innings–a solo shot from Ted Williams in the top of the 1st–as the Cuban Giants edged the Red Sox, 6-1.

Miami got longballs from Julio Rodríguez, Jim Thome, and Joe Adcock in the victory.

MEM 1 (Chance 0-1) @ MCG 6 (Whitney 4-4, George 1 H)
HRs: MEM- Williams (40); MCG – J. Rodríguez (37), Thome (54), Adcock (2).
Box Score

Game Three

Bucky Walters would get the start for Memphis, with Miami countering with Phenomenal Smith, whose return from injury has come at just the right time for the Cuban Giants.

Memphis jumped on Smith in the top of the 1st with Bill White–whose playing time has declined regularly over the season–hitting a 3 run homerun. Miami tied the game in the 3rd with a 3 run homerun from Julio Rodríguez.

The Red Sox took the lead on a sacrifice fly from Wade Boggs in the top of the 5th, but 4 consecutive hits–doubles from Alejandro Oms, Rodríguez and Yasiel Puig wrapped around a single from José Canseco–chased Walters and gave the Cuban Giants a 6-4 advantage.

The Red Sox would score again, but not enough as Miami edged it, 7-6. Rodríguez continued his hot streak with 3 hits and 4 RBI’s, and the revamped Miami bullpen closed it out, this time with Ricky Nolasco getting the hold and Jonathan Papelbon his 8th save since coming over to the Cuban Giants.

MEM 6 (Walters 0-3) @ MCG 7 (Smith 3-0, Papelbon 8 Sv, Looper 10 H, Nolasco 3 H)
HRs: MEM – White (23); MCG – Rodríguez (38).
Box Score

Game 4

So this one matters as a series win would impact the post-season picture. Memphis would trot out their best starter, last year’s ERA champ, Stubby Overmire while Miami would counter with the impressive, but essentially untried, Hugh McQuillan.

Or, the once impressive, as the Red Sox jumped on him for 6 runs in 5 innings, and then pounded his relief, Don Wilson, for 4 more in an 11-3 rout.

The offensive onslaught was led by Ted Williams‘s 3 hits, but almost everyone got involved, with Williams, Lefty O’Doul, Wade Boggs, Mookie Betts, and Travis Shaw each going deep. Pair that with Overmire’s solid 7 innings, giving up 4 hits and 3 runs and–most surprisingly for Red Sox fans–2 scoreless innings in relief from Nixey Callahan–and you have an easy victory for Memphis and a vital defeat for Miami.

MEM 11 (Overmire 12-9) – MCG 3 (McQuillan 4-4)
HRs: MEM – Williams (41), O’Doul (2), Boggs (10), Betts (25), Shaw (18); MCG: Canseco (65).
Box Score

The series split is a solid result for Memphis as it continues to give some of its young players time; a far more disappointing result for Miami, who look to fall just short of the postseason.

Only 6 players are officially full time (that is, they qualify for the batting stats): IF Jimmie Foxx, OFs Turkey Stearnes, John Briggs, Adam Dunn, and Ichiro Suzuki, and everywhere playing Charles Rogan. That group probably forms the core of the shortlist for the final Rookie of the Year Award: if you’re able to hold down a fulltime starting spot as a rookie in the WBL …

#C

Perhaps unsurprisingly, there are no fulltime rookie catchers, although 2–Philadelphia’s Bill Dickey and the House of David’s Frank Chance–have seen more and more time as the season has worn on.

Really, that’s it. Chance has played about 3/4 of the time behind the plate, so the playing time is pretty consistent. So … Tom Haller (who is likely to not have a very long career, although he’ll be retained as the backup in Baltimore next season for sure) in the AL and Dickey in the NL.

#1B/3B

The corner IF spots are a bit rough, given the high end talent in the AL and the lack of presence in the NL.

Foxx’s being the only rookie infielder to qualify for the batting championship gives him the lead, despite Ortiz’ remarkable production. Foxx played a little more at 1B than 3B, but given the paucity of hot corner candidates, may get the recognition there, clearing the way for Ortiz.

Pafko played as much in RF as 3B, but we needed more 3B here. Harris is a nice feel-good story–nothing like a 36 year old rookie come good.

#2B/SS

2 of the best here–Cal Ripken, Jr. and Judy Johnson–played regularly elsewhere (including 3B), but logged the majority of their innings in the middle infield.

Interesting list, with Gehringer being the only truly full time player for the entire season, although both Moore and Ripken are close enough to count. The lack of talent at 2B and in the NL is striking.

#OF

Here we have the clear overall RoY from the field players, but there’s more to chew on here than Turkey. Sorry.

We’re not going to be too picky about positions here, going with Stearnes, Kaline, and J-Rod in the AL and Briggs, Rogan, and Foster in the NL; or perhaps Monday, if you want to recognize Rogan on the mound.

The surprises here are probably Briggs (who had an army of doubters, but is 2nd here in WAR) and Monday, whose offense just kept demanding more and more playing time. And mention has to be made of Beníquez–35 years old and a dominant year. He played 1B and 3B as well, so may see recognition there.

#SP

A dozen rookies made 10 or more starts; of those, a half-dozen are worth taking a closer look at.

Foster is the clear class of this group, but Smokey Joe is a very close 2nd. I would add Whitney and Valenzuela to the award list, giving Brooklyn 2 of the 4 slots.

#RP

There aren’t a ton of relievers who are impactful enough to really warrant discussion here, but there are some.

Marberry, McGraw, Forster, and Guardado look pretty solid.

The trading deadline is only a week away, so that becomes a bit of the focus for both this week and next.

#Awards

Ottawa‘s Gary Carter had 6 homeruns and a .450 average last week, earning him the National League Player of the Week honors while over in the AL, Player of the Week accolades went to Los Angeles‘ Kal Daniels. Daniels, who is having a borderline MVP candidate season, went 14-for-25 on the week, raising his overall batting average to .353.

#Team Performance

Cleveland and Brooklyn have both put some distance between themselves and their chase packs: in the Bill James Division, Cleveland (9-1 over their last 10 games) leads the New York Black Yankees by 4 games while in the Effa Manley Division, Brooklyn is now up by a whopping 10.5 over Homestead.

With the San Francisco Sea Lions running away with the Cum Posey Division (with the best record in baseball, they currently hold an 18.5 game lead), that leaves the Marvin Miller Division as the only currently close race, with the Kansas City Monarchs in first and Birmingham in last, with only 4.5 games separating the 5 teams in the division.

We’ll start to pay more attention to the Wild Card standings soon, for now, the Black Yankees and the Detroit Wolverines would make it in the AL, with Homestead and the surprising Ottawa Mounties in the NL. However, those races are all still very close.

With 5 losses in a row, Baltimore has recovered the worst record in the league with a .427 winning percentage (they briefly ceded this dubious honor to the Chicago American Giants, who have improved just enough to move ahead of the Black Barons).

#Player Performance

#Batters

What jumps out at me most is how widespread the talent is. This list has the top 2 performers in all categories, yet each team is only represented once.

Ron Blomberg (CLE). 295/361/688. 125 RBI.
José Canseco (MCG). 260/369/740. 52 HR.
Oscar Charleston (IND). 348/388/650. 157 H, 12 3B.
Ty Cobb (DET). 370/426/788. 154 H, 47 2B, 104 R, 6.4 WAR.
Kal Daniels (LAA). 353/444/660.
Josh Gibson (HOM). 408/507/790. 8.1 WAR.
Joe Jackson (CAG). 352/406/586. 51 2B.
Bullet Joe Rogan (PHI). 287/341/610. 12 3B.
Babe Ruth (NYY). 280/411/730. 53 HR,126 RBI, 106 R, 87 BB.
Ted Williams (MEM). 308/427/653. 80 BB.

#Pitchers

#Starters

All 5 players with at least 14 wins are listed, as well as the top 2 in other categories.

A. Rube Foster (KCM). 8-4, 3.01. 0.98 WHIP.
Lefty Grove (SFS). 14-4, 4.12.
Ron Guidry (NYY). 8-7, 4.40. 197 K.
Orel Hershiser (BRK). 15-5, 3.79.
Bump Hadley (SFS). 16-5, 4.11.
Luis Padrón (IND). 16-3, 3.36.
Eddie Plank (SFS). 15-5, 4.32.
Toad Ramsey (HOU). 13-8, 3.13. 207 K, 0.98 WHIP, 3.19 FIP, 6.4 WAR.
Jim Whitney (MCG). 8-3, 2.86. 0.98 WHIP.
Smokey Joe Williams (BRK). 10-9, 3.82. 3.58 WHIP, 5.1 WAR.

#Relievers

3 closers have 25+ saves, including Brooklyn’s Eric Gagne, who may be the most dominant fireman in the league at the moment. If it’s not Gagne, it’s one of the relievers who have recently taken over the closer role for their teams: Chicago’s Akinori Otsuka or Kansas City’s Craig Kimbrel.

25 Min IP.

Rod Beck (SFS). 4-3, 5.23. 27 Sv, 1 H.
Eric Gagne (BRK). 2-1, 2.52. 25 Sv.
Eddie Guardado (KCM). 2-1, 2.11. 1 Sv, 8 H.
Michael Jackson (HOM). 1-6, 5.36. 1 Sv, 17 H.
Craig Kimbrel (KCM). 3-4, 2.23. 7 Sv, 11 H.
Josh Lindblom (HOM). 7-3, 3.56. 27 Sv.
Akinori Otsuka (CAG). 5-1, 1.85. 6 Sv, 5 H.
BJ Ryan (OTT). 2-3, 4.95. 1 Sv, 14 H.

#Game of the Week

So so close to the no no.

Pitching on short rest, Indianapolis‘ Johnny Cueto delivered 5 hitless innings in a start against Ottawa … then Clay Carroll added 2 more, and Rob Murphy another. Which meant Rob Dibble came in for the bottom of the 9th with the ABC’s leading 7-0 and throwing a combined no-hitter. Dibble got Roberto Alomar to groundout, Larry Walker to whiff … and then gave up a long fly ball to Gary Carter that just barely cleared the outfield fence, ruining the shutout and the no-no.

IND 7 (Carroll 1-2) @ OTT 1 (Radbourn 11-10)
HRs: IND – Dunn (33), Charleston (30), Votto (26); OTT – Carter (44).
Box Score

#Injury Report

Not a lot of impact here right now: names that might see a rehab stint this week include John Tudor (BAL), Bob Brown (OTT), Ross Reynolds (LAA), and Casey Stengel (HOU).

#Chicago American Giants

Chicago’s season is done at this point, so they have turned their focus to next year. The immensely talented Chino Smith was recalled from AAA. While Smith won’t unseat Eddie Collins at 2B, it’s hoped that, by shifting Joe Jackson to LF, the American Giants can see what they have in Smith in RF.

Despite his obvious power, Rocky Colavito was sent to AAA to clear room for Smith.

Chicago also recalled Danny Murtaugh from AA, sending Damian Jackson down, giving them a chance to see what the young IF can do, both at SS and as Dick Allen‘s backup at 3B.

Jackson tied the game with a 2 run pinch-hit shot in the 9th and won it with another 2 run homerun in the 11th as the American Giants beat Memphis, 8-6 in 11 innings.

The American Giants exploded for 15 runs over the last 3 innings, turning a 5-5 tie into a 20-6 rout of Los Angeles. Kevin Mitchell had 3 homeruns and Paul Konerko and Duffy Lewis each hit grandslams in the game, with Konerko driving in 8–the most in the WBL this season–and Mitchell 6. Collins, Konerko, and Mitchell each scored 4 times.

#Los Angeles Angels

John Stearns was sent to AAA with AJ Pierzynski returning from his rehab assignment. With Ron Hassey‘s strong showing, look for Pierzynski to be more in a backup role than a platoon.

Doug Rader and Carlos Delgado each hit 2 homeruns and Doc Gooden put in a solid start as the Angels trounced Portland, 11-2.

Kal Daniels is having himself a season. Los Angeles, unfortunately, isn’t, and his 5 hits weren’t enough as the Angels fell to the Sea Dogs, 10-6 in 10 innings. Things got a little worse for the Angels after the game as Ross Reynolds–perhaps the most dependable arm in their bullpen all year–will miss about a week with a stiff back. John Lackey was recalled from AAA.

#Miami Cuban Giants

Julio Rodríguez hit two homeruns, giving him 30 on the year, but the Cuban Giants’ bullpen imploded in a 14-7 loss to the Black Yankees. The next day, Rodríguez did it again: 2 homeruns in another loss to New York, this one by a 14-5 tally.

Jim Whitney continued to shine as a trade acquisition for the Cuban Giants, twirling a 2-hitter against the Black Yankees in a 4-0 victory. Helped by homeruns from Yasiel Puig and Gary Sheffield, Whitney improved to 3-1 for Miami, whiffing a dozen and walking 2 in the complete game effort.

#Portland Sea Dogs

Art Fowler was sent to AAA with Tom Zachary being recalled from his rehab assignment. The next day, Walter Ball was forced from his start and will miss about a week with inflammation. Ball hits the DL with Fowler being immediately recalled. And then Fowler was injured; however, as he will miss about 3 months, the yo-yo stops here. Bill Monbouquette was recalled for his WBL debut.

Gil Hodges hit 2 out of the park, giving him 30 on the year, as the Sea Dogs held on for a 10-7 win over Memphis.

#San Francisco Sea Lions

Watty Clark was recalled from his rehab assignment, with Bobby Seay being returned to AAA. With Tom Brewer‘s impressive start, for now, Clark will work out of the bullpen.

Turkey Stearnes launched 2 out of the ballpark, but Miami prevailed over the Sea Lions, 6-4. Different day, same song: Jack Clark hit 2 out but again Miami triumphed over the Sea Lions, this time 9-7.

We enter the dog days …

In addition to the natural clarification of the playoff races, August has 2 very important dates: 8/17 is the trading deadline and 8/23 marks the day rosters can be expanded.

#Awards

#July Awards

All hail Homestead‘s Josh Gibson, who hit .487 with 11 homeruns and 36 RBIs in July to win the NL Batter of the Month. For good measure, Gibson added 19 walks, giving him an OBP for the month approaching .600 (.598).

Los Angeles‘ Kal Daniels continues to deliver on his talent, hitting .371 with 12 homers and 30 RBI’s to take home the AL Batter of the Month.

Don Drysedale was in what could most generously be called a funk until July hit, with some even calling for Brooklyn‘s ace to be moved to the bullpen. Instead, he went 5-0 in the month with a 1.81 ERA to take home the NL Pitcher of the Month Award.

Memphis‘ Stubby Overmire was named the AL Pitcher of the Month, going 3-0 with a 1.36 ERA in the year, finding some of the form that led to his ERA crown last year.

Drysedale’s teammate John Briggs just keeps proving his doubters wrong. The 21 year old CF took home the July Rookie of the Month Award in the NL, hitting .366 for the month with 8 homeruns, 17 RBI’s, and 20 runs scored. Another CF–Detroit‘s budding superstar Turkey Stearnes–took home the honors in the AL, hitting .337 with 9 homeruns and 25 RBI’s in the month.

For once, there wasn’t much controversy with the awards. Gibson, whose 1.651 OPS led the league for the month, was a clear choice, meaning Houston‘s Jeff Bagwell–second at 1.375–could understand the decision not going his way.

Birmingham‘s Hank Aaron, and Cleveland‘s Lance Berkman and Ron Blomberg each had 13 homers on the month, with Blomberg driving in a ridiculous 39 runners. But Daniels had the higher OPS, and certainly was a defensible choice.

Drysedale was the only hurler with 5 wins in July, and Overmire and he were 1-2 in ERA. So, overall, solid selections across the board.

#Weekly Awards

Stearnes’ hot streak also earned him the AL Player of the Week Award, as he hit .500 with 5 homers in the first week of August. In the NL, a .536 average with 3 homers earned Brooklyn’s Jackie Robinson the Player of the Week Award.

#Team Performance

In the Bill James Division, it looks like a 2-team race, with Cleveland now leading the New York Black Yankees by a single game. That makes it and the Marvin Miller Division the ones worth watching–the Marvin Miller is a 3 team race currently, with Kansas City leading Indianapolis by 1.5 and Houston by 3. But Birmingham and the House of David are only 5.5 games back, so nobody is truly out of the picture.

Not so in the Cum Posey Division: with the best record in baseball, San Francisco is the only team in the division over .500 and leads second place Miami by 18.5 games.

The Effa Manley Division is edging closer to being settled, as Brooklyn, now with the 2nd best record in the league, leads Homesteads by 7.5.

Chicago–yes, last year’s playoff contender Chicago–has the worst record in baseball, at 49-63.

#Player Performance

#Batters

I mean … Josh Gibson, ladies and gentlemen. Ty Cobb has regained the SLG lead by .003, but Gibson is having himself a year for the ages at this point.

Top 2 across all categories.

Ron Blomberg (CLE). 291/358/668. 117 RBI.
José Canseco (MCG). 259/370/741. 50 HR.
Oscar Charleston (IND). 342/384/637. 145 H, 12 3B.
Ty Cobb (DET). 369/423/799. 145 H, 44 2B, 96 R, 6.2 WAR.
Kal Daniels (LAA). 339/432/656.
Josh Gibson (HOM). 406/505/794. 7.7 WAR.
Tony Gwynn (HOU). 348/386/558. 141 H.
Joe Jackson (CAG). 355/408/580. 50 2B.
Charles Rogan (PHI). 287/339/614. 12 3B.
Babe Ruth (NYY). 280/413/739. 51 HR,117 RBI,102 R, 5.9 WAR.
Ted Williams (MEM). 313/432/651.

#Pitchers

#Starters

7 players have 13 or more wins, led by San Francisco’s Bump Hadley with 16; we’ve included all of those as well as the top 2 in other categories.

The list has settled somewhat–only the Black Yankee’s Ron Guidry doesn’t really belong on a list of the best starters in the WBL (those strikeouts tho …).

Roger Clemens (HOU). 13-6, 3.43.
A. Rube Foster (KCM). 7-3, 2.89. 0.98 WHIP.
Lefty Grove (SFS). 14-4, 3.93. 167 IP.
Ron Guidry (NYY). 8-7, 4.14. 191 K.
Orel Hershiser (BRK). 14-5, 3.92.
Bump Hadley (SFS). 16-5, 4.05.
José Méndez (MCG). 9-5, 4.34. 164 IP. 0.98 WHIP.
Luis Padrón (IND). 15-3, 3.40. 3.65 FIP, 5.0 WAR.
Eddie Plank (SFS). 15-5, 4.14.
Toad Ramsey (HOU). 13-8, 3.13. 197 K, 0.97 WHIP, 3.17 FIP, 6.2 WAR.
Jim Whitney (MCG). 7-3, 3.05.

#Relievers

All 5 closers with 20 or more saves are listed, as well as top 2 in relevant stats. Relievers are weird–Rod Beck and Michael Jackson have had strong years, but have also had a couple disastrous outings each, leading to ERA’s over 5.00 despite leading the league in saves and holds, respectively.

24 Min IP.

Terry Adams (CLE). 1-4, 3.82. 20 Sv, 2 H.
Rod Beck (SFS). 3-3, 5.17. 27 Sv, 1 H.
Eric Gagne (BRK). 2-1, 2.76. 23 Sv.
Ken Howell (SFS). 4-1, 2.09. 4 Sv, 6 H.
Michael Jackson (HOM). 1-6, 5.73. 1 Sv, 15 H.
Ted Kennedy (PHI). 2-2, 3.64. 4 Sv, 13 H.
Josh Lindblom (HOM). 7-3, 3.60. 26 Sv.
Joe Nathan (LAA). 5-4, 3.57. 20 Sv.
Akinori Otsuka (CAG). 4-1, 1.99. 5 Sv, 5 H.
BJ Ryan (OTT). 2-3, 3.43. 1 Sv, 13 H.

#Looking Back at Preseason Predictions

Some good/some bad, as usual.

In the AL, The San Francisco Sea Lions were the clear preseason favorite, and they’ve delivered; but the experts also had the New York Black Yankees running away with their division, which has certainly not been the case. And nobody saw Chicago’s collapse–the experts saw the American Giants in 2nd place behind the Sea Lions, led by an MVP quality season from Frank Thomas. The Big Hurt has been good, but not that good, and the American Giants have floundered for most of the season.

Over in the NL, the prediction was for Brooklyn and Homestead to be tied for first place, which is not far off. But the Marvin Miller Division is a bit mixed up, with Houston being predicted to coast to a 7 game lead with Kansas City and Indianapolis (currently 1-2) foundering at the bottom of the table.

#Injury Report

Memphis’ Dobie Moore should start a rehab assignment this week, as will the New York Gothams‘ Carson Smith and Ottawa’s Bill Smith.

HOME PAGE | ROSTER | POSITIONAL STRENGTH | LEADERS

That said, they are 7.5 games behind, and struggling a bit for sure, and it’s not clear that trading away a an all-star arm in Jim Whitney was the right move at the midseason break.

THE OFFENSE

It’s a bit weird. The Black Barons have a ton of power, with over 250 homers, second in the NL in that department. But that’s about it. They struggle to get on base, struggle to hit singles and doubles, and, at the end of the day, are only meh at what matters for an offense, scoring runs.

#What’s Going Right

Hank Aaron continues to position himself right on the edge of superstar level, leading the team in OPS (.953), homeruns (39), and RBIs (77).

Behind Aaron, Eddie Mathews continues to be an offensive force despite struggling to hit over .230.

Newly acquired Ryan Braun is a monster at the plate given Birmingham a truly impressive top 3 in the lineup..

While not at the same level as those three, Jim Pagliaroni is among the better offensive backstops in the league and Albert Belle, brought in during the offseason to hit for power, has done exactly that.

A shade of last year: Richie Sexson was brought in over the all star break as a throw-in to the Braun trade. Sexson has 4 homeruns in his first 10 games with Birmingham.

Gene Tenace is demanding more playing time now that he’s back from injury, with an OBP over .400 and SLG over .500 in pretty limited action.

#What’s Not Going Right

Even with 31 homers, Curtis Granderson is somewhat exemplary of what’s wrong with Birmingham’s offense overall: he’s hitting under .200 despite all those homeruns, with only 7 other extra base hits. Likewise, fan favorite JP Arencibia keeps hitting them out–12 dingers in 127 PAs–but doing little else at the plate.

Despite being given every opportunity to lock down the 1B job, Adrián González is not doing much. He’s performing better than last year, but an OPS under .800 is rough from a 1B in this league.

Similarly, despite Troy Tulowitzki‘s recent improvement, neither he nor Herman Long have been able to hold onto the SS job for long.

Cupid Childs is flashy, leading the team with 28 homers and the same number of steals. But closer examination reveals some weaknesses, with his OPS hovering barely over .700 and 19 caught stealings reducing the impact of those stolen bases.

THE PITCHING

The offense is better than last year, but the record is worse: an indication that not all is great on the mound for Birmingham.

#What’s Going Right

Harley Young has moved into the closer role, and the first-time all-star has continued his dominance, with 6 saves, 6 holds, and an ERA under 3.00.

Alejandro Peña and Greg Maddux are both pitching better than their raw numbers might suggest. While both have losing records and ERA’s around 5.00, their WHIPs remain solid.

#What’s Not Going Right

Even the above has caveats: Peña and Maddux have surrendered 68 homeruns combined, which is nearly unfathomable.

Juan Rincón has 12 saves, but has been pretty awful, losing his closer role and perhaps in danger of a trip to AAA–an ERA around 8.50 will do that.

While Bruce Chen has been better of late, he still sports an ERA near 6.00, and he and Rincón are both surrendering dingers at a Peña and Maddux like rate.

Nobody else has stood up in the rotation, with John Malarkey and Lefty Gomez being thoroughly meh to date.

THE FARM SYSTEM

TOP PROSPECTS | MINOR LEAGUE SYSTEM

There is talent here, but it’s not clear how it all fits together. As an example, Joe Torre looks for real behind the plate, but unlikely to unseat Pagliaroni, and it’s not clear what Curt Flood offers that Granderson does not.

That said, Jess Barbour, Marcus Giles, Trea Turner, Ozzie Albies, and Gary Matthews all have some significant upside. But right now Giles, Turner, and Albies all play the same position, and Braun’s acquisitions further crowds the OF situation.

On the mound, the best arms–Cozy Dolan and Steve Avery–are still a few years away, with little help likely from the upper levels.

WHAT’S NEEDED

Fewer solo homers, more overall offensive production, and the pitching to improve across the board.

Storylines to Watch

Key Questions from Spring Training

• How will some key pieces for last season–Pettitte, Rincón, González, Childs, Pagliaroni–perform over the course of a full year. Mixed. Pettitte, of course, was traded, Pagliaroni has excelled and González has been acceptable.
• With Andy Pettitte traded, how does the rotation respond and does Albert Belle perform at a level that makes it worthwhile. Belle has been good, but Birmingham would rather have Pettitte, given the rest of their roster right now. This is not in small part due to Lefty Gomez (part of the Pettitte trade) being unable to keep up his early strong performance.
• Who will fill out the roster. Still a question …

FEATURED SERIES

The Black Barons travel to New York at the end of the week for a 3 game set against the Gothams.

Projected Starters

Birmingham’s starter listed first.

Lefty Gomez @ Christy Mathewson
Alejandro Peña (5-6, 4.91) @ Juan Marichal (8-9, 4.92)
Charlie Morton (4-3, 5.01) @ Gaylord Perry (8-10, 4.88)
Greg Maddux (8-9, 5.10) @ Don Sutton (11-4, 4.75)

(Forgot to grab stats for Gomez and Mathewson before playing the game.)

I mean … who knows? These are two teams still searching for an identity, let alone a .500 record.

Game One

Birmingham took the lead in the 2nd on a 2-run double from Herman Long, and then made it 4-0 on a 2-run shot from Ryan Braun in the 3rd. But Lefty Gomez gave it back in the bottom of the frame on an RBI single by Willie Mays and a 3-run pop fly that curled just inside the short left field pole from Will Clark.

RBI’s from Curtis Granderson and Albert Belle gave the Black Barons a 2-run lead, later halved by a solo shot from Mays. And that’s where we stood in the bottom of the 7th, 6-5 in favor of Birmingham. Clark then took Bill Phyle deep for his second homerun of the game, tying us up at 6.

On this day, though, Birmingham would prevail: Gene Tenace homered off Robb Nen in the top of the 9th and Harley Young pitched a perfect frame in the bottom for his 7th save of the season.

BBB 7 (Jackson 1-5, 5 B Sv; Kemmerer 2 H) @ NYG 6 (Crain 1-2; Henke 9 Sv)
HRs: BBB – Braun (38), Tenace (9); NYG – Clark 2 (24), Mays (37).
Box Score

Game Two

Alejandro Peña and Juan Marichal would face off in game two.

Marichal struggled immediately: a single, 2 walks, and an HBP gave Birmingham a 1-0 lead, Ryan Braun delivered a grandslam, and Curtis Granderson a 2-run shot to make it 7-0. Then it got comical: a hit, 2 errors, and a walk led to another run. So, 8-0 good guys after half an inning.

By the end of the 3rd, the Gothams had clawed their way back into it with a solo shot from Jim Ray Hart and a homerun and double from Willie Mays, closing the score to 8-5.

A rain delay of just over half an hour removed both starters in the 4th inning. Peña’s replacement, Joe Orrell, only lasted a few pitches before having to leave via injury. Birmingham brought in Charlie Morton, scrambling their rotation for the rest of the series.

A double from Benny Kauff brought the Gothams back to within a single run, 8-7, but the Black Barons remembered how to score in the 7th when Cupid Childs plated 2 with a single and Hank Aaron drove in another, for an 11-7 lead.

But New York wasn’t done: Larry Doyle took Bruce Chen deep, making it a 2 run game at 12-10. Again, though, Harley Young was up to it, giving Birmingham a 2-0 lead in the series.

BBB 12 (Morton 5-3; Young 8 Sv; Malloy 2 H) @ NYG 10 (Marichal 8-10)
HRs: BBB – Braun (39), Granderson (33); NYG – Hart (2), Mays (38), Doyle (14).
Box Score

Game Three

Before the game, even though it wasn’t clear what the exact nature of his injury was, the Black Barons needed a starter, so Joe Orrell headed to the DL with Warren Spahn being recalled for the start. He’d be opposed by Gaylord Perry for the Gothams.

Spahn was roughed up, giving up 5 homeruns in under 5 innings, with Larry Doyle going deep twice and Will Clark, Jim Ray Hart, and Buster Posey each sending one over the fence as well. After 5 innings, the Gothams led 7-0, with Perry surrendering neither a hit nor a walk in that span.

Perry walked Bob Nieman to lose the perfecto, but held onto the no-no until the 7th, when a single from Eddie Mathews gave Birmingham their first hit. At that point, it was 9-0, and the result was unlikely to come into doubt.

Perry ended with a 3-hitter, whiffing 10 in the complete game effort. Doyle and Hart had 4 hits each, and Doyle and Clark drove in 3.

BBB 0 (Spahn 2-3) @ NYG 10 (Perry 9-10)
HRs: BBB – none; NYG – Clark (25), Hart (3), Posey (29), Doyle 2 (16).
Box Score

Game Four

So, will Birmingham take the series 3-1, or will the Gothams come back and earn a series split? The Black Barons turn to Greg Maddux, while New York will counter by giving Rube Waddell the spot start.

Waddell struggled out of the gate, allowing an RBI single to Hank Aaron, walking Albert Belle with the bases loaded, and giving up a third run on a groundout while Brooklyn batted around in the top of the first.

Recently acquired Don Buford led off the bottom of the inning with his 21st homer of the year, closing it to 3-1 in favor of Birmingham.

Waddell settled down, and we were still 3-1 after 6 innings. Waddell was unlikely to come out for the 7th, but an elbow injury forced the Gothams’ hand, with Mike Norris taking the ball in the top of the 7th.

Maddux gave up a leadoff homer to Benny Kauff in the bottom of the frame, closing the gap to 3-2, and a single from Will Clark raised action in the Birmingham bullpen. Jim Ray Hart launched his 4th of the year, chasing Maddux with the Gothams having suddenly taken the lead, 4-3. Buford added an RBI with his 3rd hit of the day, and New York’s bullpen took over with a 2 run edge.

Robb Nen had a poor inning, but Jo-Jo Moore nailed Aaron at the plate to end the frame, preserving the 2 run lead. Brian Wilson had no such issues, walking 1 and whiffing 3 in picking up his 15th save of the year.

BBB 3 (Maddux 8-10) @ NYG 5 (Norris 4-4; Wilson 15 Sv; Nen 11 H)
HRs: BBB – none; NYG – Buford (5), Kauff (26), Hart (4).
Box Score

Waddell will miss a couple weeks, earning the oft-injured lefty a trip to the DL with Pete Donohue being recalled from AAA.

So, a series split. Birmingham’s bats fell off dramatically over the final 2 games, pointing to the inconsistency the Black Barons need to overcome if they are to escape the bottom few slots in the league.

Homeruns continue to plague Birmingham’s staff: the Gothams hit 15 out in the 4 games, with Jim Ray Hart launching his first 4 of the season and Will Clark and Larry Doyle hitting 3 each.

Coming off a short week for most teams.

#Awards

Josh Gibson of the Homestead Grays hit .409 last week–which barely moved his overall batting average of .408. That, along with 5 homers and 12 RBIs earned him the NL Player of the Week Award. In the AL, one of the surprising cogs in the Detroit Wolverines‘ machine, Juan Beníquez, earned the Award, hitting .423 with 3 homers.

#Team Performance

More of the same.

San Francisco is riding a 9-1 streak, improving their winning percentage to .648, easily the best in the WBL. They lead the Cum Posey Division by 17 games over Miami.

In the Effa Manley Division, the surprising Brooklyn Royal Giants are extending their edge over Homestead, now leading the Grays by 5.5 games.

But the other 2 divisions are building to be close races: in the Bill James Division, the New York Black Yankees continue to struggle, falling to the 3rd best record in the league and only leading Cleveland by a single game. And, in the Marvin Miller Division, while the Kansas City Monarchs are in first, both Indianapolis and Houston sit only 1.5 games back.

Baltimore, despite better showings as of late, continue to hold the worst record in the league at .429.

#Player Performance

#Batters

Remember when we were talking about Tony Gwynn and Ty Cobb competing to hit .400? They now sit roughly 40 points behind Josh Gibson, leading the universe with a .408 average. Offensively, the league revolves around three players: Gibson, Cobb, and Babe Ruth. And Ruth’s exploits are even more impressive when you consider his .285 average.

But, for now, Gibson stands alone, leading in all 3 slash categories.

As always, top 3 in most stats with the leaders in bold.

Ron Blomberg (CLE). 255/370/668. 40 HR, 105 RBI.
José Canseco (MCG). 255/370/717. 44 HR.
Oscar Charleston (IND). 342/385/641. 136 H, 12 3B.
Ty Cobb (DET). 369/421/794. 136 H, 41 2B, 86 R, 5.8 WAR.
Kal Daniels (LAA). 332/431/640.
Josh Gibson (HOM). 408/503/809. 102 RBI, 88 R, 7.2 WAR.
Tony Gwynn (HOU). 360/398/574. 138 H.
Joe Jackson (CAG). 358/409/587. 47 2B.
Stan Musial (KCM). 319/388/569. 40 2B.
Babe Ruth (NYY). 285/420/751. 49 HR, 113 RBI, 98 R, 81 BB, 6.0 WAR.
Ted Williams (MEM). 312/429/656. 770 BB.

Tim Raines and Rickey Henderson are in a see-saw battle for the SB lead, with Raines currently on top , 78-73. See below for some more on speed in the league …

#Pitchers

#Starters

San Francisco’s big three is just humming along. Bump Hadley and Eddie Plank are the only hurlers with 15 wins, and Lefty Grove has 13. Only Indianapolis’ Luis Padrón (14) and Houston’s Toad Ramsey (13) have that many.

Ramsey or Kansas City’s A. Rube Foster are probably the best overall starters in the league right now, but we’ll see how August plays out.

A. Rube Foster (KCM). 7-3, 2.66. 0.96 WHIP.
Lefty Grove (SFS). 13-4, 3.92. 170 K.
Ron Guidry (NYY). 8-7, 4.16. 187 K.
Bump Hadley (SFS). 15-4, 3.64.
José Méndez (MCG). 9-5, 4.38. 0.99 WHIP.
Luis Padrón (IND). 14-3, 3.58. 3.60 FIP, 4.6 WAR.
Eddie Plank (SFS). 15-5, 4.02.
Toad Ramsey (HOU). 13-7, 3.04. 190 K, 0.96 WHIP, 3.07 FIP, 6.1 WAR.
Jim Whitney (MCG). 6-3, 3.10. 1 Sv, 2 H.
Smokey Joe Williams (BRK). 9-9, 3.62. 3.59 FIP, 4.5 WAR.

#Relievers

Brooklyn’s Eric Gagne is probably the league’s dominant closer, but some of the hurlers whose role has been more fluid–notably the Gothams’ Robb Nen and the Black Yankees’ Goose Gossage–have perhaps been more valuable.

23 IP Min.

Rod Beck (SFS). 3-2, 3.72. 26 Sv.
Eric Gagne (BRK). 2-1, 2.93. 21 Sv.
Goose Gossage (NYY). 3-3, 2.02. 122 Sv, 8 H.
Eddie Guardado (KCM). 2-1, 2.02. 1 Sv, 7 H.
Michael Jackson (HOM). 1-6, 5.35. 1 Sv, 14 H.
Ted Kennedy (PHI). 2-2, 3.83. 4 Sv, 12 H.
Josh Lindblom (HOM). 6-3, 3.65. 25 Sv.
Robb Nen (NYG). 3-2, 1.88. 10 Sv, 9 H.

#Steals and Speed

Seemed a good time to check in on some oddities in running the bases.

Let’s start with some players who perhaps should be running a bit less, led by the New York Gothams‘ recently acquired Don Buford, who has 21 steals, but has been caught 20 times. Houston’s Craig Biggio has been even worse, with only 10 steals in 26 attempts. Chicago‘s Eddie Collins has been gunned down 23 times, but has 45 swipes: not a great success rate, but far ahead of Buford and Biggio.

San Francisco’s Rickey Henderson has been caught the most times in the league, but with 73 steals against 25 caught stealings, his success rate remains decent.

On the other end of the scale, Indianapolis’ Bob Bescher has only been caught 10 times in 53 attempts; Kansas City’s Ozzie Smith is doing even better, with an 84% success rate (42 for 50 so far); and the Black Yankees’ Eric Davis has gone 37 for 42.

Ottawa‘s Carlos Beltrán has been thrown out only once in 26 tries but, interestingly, nobody with at least 5 steals has a perfect record on the basepaths.

#Injury Report

A big week, led by Chicago perhaps finally getting some insight into Tricky Nichols‘ year-long struggles, as last year’s ace will miss 4 or 5 months with a shoulder ailment.

Detroit and Homestead both may have some help for their pitching staffs on the way, as Buddy Napier and Joakim Soria should start rehab assignments this week for the Wolverines while Cliff Lee and Doug Drabek should do so for the Grays.

Memphis‘ Dobie Moore, the Black Yankees’ Dave Righetti, and the House of David‘s Anthony Rizzo should also find their way back this week.

Coming off a short week for most teams.

#Awards

A .500 average and 3 homeruns was enough for Jeff Bagwell of the Houston Colt 45’s to win the NL Player of the Week Award while, in the AL, Portland‘s resurgent Buddy Bell took home the Award, doing even better over the span by hitting .522 with 4 dingers.

#Team Performance

The yawner is the Cum Posey Division, where San Francisco continues to coast with the best record in the league, leading the division by 15 games and going 8-22 over their last 10 contests.

In the Bill James Division, where the New York Black Yankees once looked as comfortable as San Francisco, the Cleveland Spiders have closed to within 2.5 games of New York. That’s the same margin the Brooklyn Royal Giants hold over Homestead in the Effa Manley Division while, over in the Marvin Miller Division, it’s a 3 team race between Kansas City, Indianapolis, and Houston with only 2.55 games separating those 3 franchises.

Baltimore continues to flounder with the worst record in the WBL at 41-58.

#Player Performance

#Batters

Returning to this, a few things stand out: Detroit‘s Ty Cobb has hit a little bit of a lull, pulling his average well below .400 while Babe Ruth keeps doing Babe Ruth things, but isn’t as dominant as he has been in past moments. All of this has allowed the exploits of Homestead’s Josh Gibson to come to the forefront.

Gibson was an all-star, but he was overshadowed by Cobb and Ruth until now. But he’s slashing 407/500/781, which may make the young backstop the most dangerous bat in the league at the moment.

As always, top 3 in most stats with the leaders in bold.

It’s an odd list, as the gap between the truly elite performers–essentially Gibson, Cobb, and Ruth and, maybe, Cleveland’s Tris Speaker–and the next group is pretty wide.

Ron Blomberg (CLE). 286/355/681. 38 HR, 101 RBI.
José Canseco (MCG). 252/370/709. 42 HR.
Oscar Charleston (IND). 345/390/639. 130 H, 11 3B.
Ty Cobb (DET). 381/432/818. 130 H, 41 2B, 5.8 WAR.
Kal Daniels (LAA). 331/434/626.
Josh Gibson (HOM). 407/500/781. 1221 H, 6.5 WAR.
Tony Gwynn (HOU). 366/406/563. 130 H.
Rickey Henderson (SFS). 260/386/482. 63 BB, 69 SB.
Joe Jackson (CAG). 362/407/592. 124 H, 44 2B.
Stan Musial (KCM). 325/390/573. 40 2B.
Mike Piazza (BRK). 313/350/709. 38 HR.
Babe Ruth (NYY). 291/428/769. 47 HR, 108 RBI, 94 R, 78 BB, 6.0 WAR.
Tris Speaker (CLE). 343/423/692. 81 R.
Larry Walker (OTT). 274/355/669. 38 HR, 93 RBI.
Ted Williams (MEM). 306/419/636. 81 R, 63 BB.

#Pitchers

#Starters

All 6 players with 12 or more wins are listed.

A. Rube Foster (KCM). 6-2, 2.48. 0.93 WHIP.
Lefty Grove (SFS). 12-4, 3.86. 156 K.
Ron Guidry (NYY). 8-6, 4.24. 169 K.
Bump Hadley (SFS). 14-4, 3.62. 3.55 FIP.
Orel Hershiser (BRK). 12-5, 3.76.
José Méndez (MCG). 9-5, 4.12. 3.9 WAR.
Luis Padrón (IND). 13-3, 3.70. 3.57 FIP, 4.4 WAR.
Eddie Plank (SFS). 14-4, 3.90.
Toad Ramsey (HOU). 13-5, 2.82. 175 K, 0.93 WHIP, 2.81 FIP, 6.1 WAR.
Jim Whitney (MCG). 5-2, 2.88. 1 Sv, 2 H. 0.98 WHIP.

#Relievers

22 IP Min.

Rod Beck (SFS). 3-2, 3.58. 25 Sv, 1 H. 0.76 WHIP.
Rheal Cormier (NYY). 0-2, 5.48. 12 H.
Eric Gagne (BRK). 2-1, 3.14. 20 Sv.
Eddie Guardado (KCM). 2-1, 1.87. 1 Sv, 6 H.
Bob Howry (PHI). 3-1, 3.91. 13 Sv. 0.78 WHIP.
Michael Jackson (HOM). 1-4, 3.48. 1 Sv, 14 H.
Josh Lindblom (HOM). 4-3, 3.44. 25 Sv.
Robb Nen (NYG). 3-2, 1.72. 10 Sv, 9 H.
Lee Smith (KCM). 4-1, 2.37. 6 Sv, 6 H. 0.82 WHIP.
Brian Wilson (NYG). 1-0, 1.19. 14 Sv.

#Injury Report

Detroit’s Mike Henneman may start a rehab assignment later in the week.

#Los Angeles Angels

Jack Gleason was recalled to take Don Buford‘s roster spot. Buford’s absence means Kal Daniels becomes the Angels’ everyday LF with Elmer Smith entering a platoon with Steve Garvey at DH.

Mike Trout and Carlos Delgado hit back-to-back homeruns in the bottom of the 11th as the Angels beat Detroit, 9-8. Delgado’s was his 2nd of the day and the blasts left both him and Trout with 21 dingers each on the season.

#Miami Cuban Giants

Steven Wright was sent to AAA, clearing room for Jim Whitney, who moved directly into Miami’s rotation.

Whitney made a solid debut with just over 6 scoreless innings, but it took a walkoff homer from Iván Rodríguez in the bottom of the 10th for the Cuban Giants to triumph over Portland, 5-4. Jim Thome went deep twice in the game, giving him 34 on the year.

#Portland Sea Dogs

John Wetteland–despite his struggles with Baltimore–will join Portland’s bullpen with Bobby Witt returning to AAA. Additionally, Joseíto Muñoz was named to the rotation, with Jerry Koosman, who is returning from a rehab assignment, taking up the role of the departed Mike Cuellar in the Sea Dogs’ bullpen.

Rogers Hornsby‘s departure is a little more complicated: Paul Molitor will take over most of the time at 2B, with Willie Randolph as his backup and Eddie Yost was recalled from the minors to provide some depth at 3B.

#San Francisco Sea Lions

Jimmy Bloodworth has gone from fan favorite to AAA as he was sent down to clear room for Frank Grant, who will take over as the everyday 2B.

Bump Hadley‘s first start of the second half was more of the same excellence: a 4-hit shutout of Chicago. Hadley, who improved to 13-4, fanned 10 in the 8-0 win, and Jack Clark went deep twice in support of the right-hander.