#Baltimore Black Sox

Curt Blefary hit 2 out and threw out 4 runners, leading Baltimore to a 6-5 win over Cleveland in 13 innings as the Black Sox continued to play the spoiler role.

Bryce Harper and Manny Machado each hit 2 out as the Black Sox routed Cleveland, 14-5.

#Cleveland Spiders

Lance Berkman hit 2 homeruns, reaching 50 on the year, as the Spiders lost a lead, then regained it in a 7-6 victory over Baltimore. Superstar OF Tris Speaker had to leave the game, but is only expected to miss a few games.

Ron Reed had been pitching better of late, playing a key role in the Spiders’ bullpen. Now the Spiders will have to fend off (or catch) the Black Yankees without him, as Reed will miss the next 4 months or so. Billy Muffett, the closer at AAA for much of the season, was recalled.

#Detroit Wolverines

George Bechtel and Johnny Marcum were recalled from rehab assignments, while gold-glove winning SS George Davis started one.

Juan Beníquez, perhaps the most pleasant surprise of all for Detroit this season, made his 18th homer a walk off job as the Wolverines came from behind to beat Los Angeles 8-6.The game saw Ty Cobb set a new WBL record for hits with 192, and, less pleasantly, recently acquired IF Bobby Wallace had to leave the game with a leg injury.

Wallace is likely to miss the rest of the regular season with a quad injury, opening the door for Davis’ return from his long term injury and rehab assignment.

Hank Greenberg hit 2 out, including a grandslam in the top of the 9th as the Wolverines beat the Black Yankees, 9-5. Greenberg drove in 7, and Cobb added 3 hits for Detroit.

Al Kaline hit 2 out, but the Wolverines fell to the Black Yankees, 9-3.

#New York Black Yankees

Pascual Pérez was recalled from a rehab assignment, with Ron Bryant heading back to AAA. Pérez returns to the rotation, with Red Ruffing moving to the bullpen and the surprising Tony Brizzolara maintaining his rotation slot.

The Black Yankees had hoped to avoid this, but an ill-advised pinch running appearance landed Grant Johnson on the DL for about a week. Josh Harrison was recalled from AAA.

Rogers Hornsby torched his previous club for 2 homers in a 4-2 win over Portland that saw Brizzolara turn in another solid start for the Black Yankees.

#Baltimore Black Sox

John Tudor was recalled from his rehab assignment, with Mark Baldwin heading back to AAA.

Sean Marshall will miss about a month with a strained bicep with the Black Sox recalling Rafael Betancourt from his rehab assignment.

The Black Sox recalled Ps Baldwin, Joe Cascarella, Kevin Tapani, and Emil Yde, IF Asdrúbal Cabrera, and OFs Phil Bradley and Earl Averill. With the season basically over, the Black Sox moved Mike Mussina out of the rotation, hoping to get a look at some arms for the future.

Dennis Martínez put in one of his best starts of the year, blanking Los Angeles 8-0 with a 4 hitter, striking out 10 and walking none. Ken Singleton, Manny Machado, Tom Haller, and Averill (in his first WBL game) went deep for Baltimore.

#Cleveland Spiders

Bob Feller‘s outing was shortened by a rain delay, but he still earned the victory with 5 scoreless innings, combining with Whit Wyatt, Al Smith, and Ron Reed on a 4 hit shutout of Baltimore. Ed Bailey drove in 5 and Lance Berkman had 3 hits in the 9-0 win for the Spiders.

Ron Blomberg started a rehab assignment for the Spiders.

Evan Longoria hit 2 homeruns to give him 30 on the season as the Spiders beat Detroit, 13-8.

#Detroit Wolverines

Hank Greenberg‘s second homer of the day was a walkoff shot as the Wolverines came from behind to beat San Francisco, 9-7.

Joakim Soria was recalled from a rehab assignment.

Ty Cobb had himself a day–5 hits, 3 homeruns–and the Wolverines topped San Francisco, 9-5.

#Memphis Red Sox

Bad news for Memphis, as Jameson Taillon will be out for over a year as he faces elbow reconstruction surgery. The Red Sox recalled Dean Chance from AAA.

As roster expansion hit, the Red Sox recalled Bob Stanley, Bucky Walters, Armando Benitez, Lefty O’Doul, Dustin Pedroia, Joe Rudi, and Hack Wilson.

Billy Bryan hit 2 homers and the Red Sox topped the Black Yankees, 8-6.

Len Barker ran out of gas in the 9th, but still had enough to fan 11 Black Yankees in a 13-1 pounding of New York. Barker improved his record to 9-10, supported by the first 2 homeruns of Pedroia’s WBL career and 3 hits each from DJ LeMahieu and Ted Williams.

#New York Black Yankees

The Black Yankees recalled Ps Ryne Duren, Jim Corsi, Anthony Varvaro, Noah Syndergaard, and Ron Bryant along with position players Roger Maris and Jorge Orta.

Orta had a debut for the ages, hitting 4 doubles in 5 at bats in his first WBL game as the Black Yankees pummeled Memphis, 15-7. Orta has been somewhat underrated as a prospect historically, but this was quite a showing.

Same as it ever was: despite not making the playoffs last year, the Black Yankees will be expected to contend for the Whirled Championship. That’s what happens when you have Babe Ruth, and, if you had him, you wouldn’t want it any other way.

Best Case

Everything that was supposed to happen last year does: Ron Guidry establishes himself as an elite ace with Waite Hoyt and Jack Scott close behind; the bullpen’s revival, led by Aroldis Chapman, proves real; Lou Gehrig and/or Mike Schmidt move from good to excellent; and Ruth keeps doing Ruth things.

Worst Case

Not only does the pitching fail to come through, but Thurman Munson, Eric Davis, and Mickey Mantle all regress and nobody else truly steps up.

Key Questions

• It’s all about the bullpen, according to the media.
• There will be a lot of attention on last year’s ERA champion, Andy Pettitte–with some of that focused on what the loss of Albert Belle means for what was truly a fearsome bench last year.

Trade Bait

Sure. The most useful pieces would be OF Albert Belle, SS Derek Jeter, and 2B Tom Herr, any of whom could potentially move on.

You can’t accuse New York of not making moves: Belle is gone, along with some other good talent, in exchange for Andy Pettitte, further deepening what could be–could be–a great pitching staff.

Roster Evaluation

That sure looks like a contending team, especially when you see the potential for some of the players to take steps leftward.

Talent Ratings

Best In The Minors

This is an old system (there isn’t a single teenager in it), and one that is lacking in talent beyond the top 3. But those top 3 are pretty strong, so perhaps that won’t matter. Maddox breaks camp with the Black Yankees.