All Star Break Musings

AL North:

1.  I've been pleasantly surprised by my Dogs so far.  They're playing at a .573 clip, which is just about what was expected.  I've got some legit HR hitters in the lineup & they're powering the way.  I signed Britt West as my big FA move & traded for Jimmie Suarez
&  Humberto Rosa  .  Those three have combined to hit 65 HR's, plus I've got a homegrown guy with 28.  My SP remains a collection of #3 guys, meaning they're solid, but not spectacular.  My pen is a work in progress and the clear weakness right now.

2.  Philadelphia Cream Cheese 
They're within striking distance and playing about as expected.  
Young Jimmie Mijares leads the way for their offense with several others chipping in as well.  They too seem to have a SP staff built on depth, but without a true ace.  They're bullpen is fantastic and clearly leading the way for a good all around pitching staff.  Closer Deivi Hernandez  is doing about as good as possible in the back end of that pen.  That staff should keep them in the race.

3.  Consuls
They too are playing about as expected, which is right around the .500 mark.  Dick Sadler continues to lead the way with his power, but a probable season ending injury to him leaves a giant hole in their lineup.  Can their others guys pick up his power #'s?  I like the depth of their guys as just about any of them are a threat to knock the ball out of the park.  Pitching is clearly their weakest point, but they do have Grant Malone , who is having a fantastic season so far. 

4.  Muskellunge
They're having a tough go of it right now, playing at a .360 clip.  They've also been a bit unlucky, as they're under performing by a fair amount.  Offense hasn't been a problem as they're hitting .281 as a team & are being led by masher hHarry Hiatt .  Pitching?  Well, they're clearly looking like the old Colorado Rockies prior to the humidor.  A staff ERA of 6.28 hides the great work of Alex Romero , who is having a breakout season as a SP. 

World Series S36 Winner...

Santa Cruz Wildcats - run by Carseneau!!!!

The Wildcats needed a thrilling 7 game series to get by powerhouse San Juan.  The Santurce Crabbers were looking for their 4th title in a row, but got their dreams crushed by the Wildcats.  The Crabbers took the 1st two games, then built a commanding 3-1 lead in the series before Santa Cruz stormed back winning the last three, including an incredible 20-2 pounding in Game 6.

Great series guys and let's keep it going for S37! 

Durocher Award S36 Winner...

 Everyone, please give a round of applause to the S36 Durocher Award winner, Wvwc9092!!!

S36's ballot brought in 17 owner votes.  It was a runaway vote this year as just about everyone seemed impressed with the big turnaround.  A 23 game improvement for a new owner and they seemed prime to continue that success.  Job well done!! 

 
Voting Breakdown:
1.  Wvwc9092:  9 votes
2.  Rbedwell:  4 votes
3.  Carseneau:  2
4.  AaronWayne:  2

50 Game Dash Thoughts, NL Style:

NL Contenders:  unless, you know, that world ending things

1.  San Juan

2.  Tacoma 

3.  Nashville 

NL Contenders:  Pretty dang good category, but can't get too comfy yet

4.  Colorado Springs

5.  Memphis

6.  Scottsdale

7.  Pittsburgh

NL Contenders:  Good as well, but need a bit more help

8.  New Orleans 

9.  Toledo

10. Syracuse

NL:  See you next year group

11. Atlanta

12. Chicago

13. Los Angeles 

14. Milwaukee

NL:  Real big trouble

15. San Francisco

16. Kansas City

I think the NL has a few more elite teams than the AL and many teams in the middle that if they get hot, look out.  The bottom of the league is also worse compared to the AL.  San Francisco and Kansas City are in real trouble of missing the MWR.  I think SF will meet, but KC  will need to see significant improvement over the last 1/3 of the season.  

50 Game Dash Thoughts:

AL Contenders - unless the world ends before the end of the season

1.  St. Louis

2.  Santa Cruz

AL Contenders - if everything breaks their way 

3.  New York

4.  Boston

AL Contenders - Wild Card hopefuls 

5.  Las Vegas 

6.  Dover

AL Contenders - because someone has to win their division

7.  Toronto

8.  Fargo

9.  Cincinnati 

AL -  We'll get them next year!!

10. Monterrey 

11. Charlotte 

12. Louisville

13. Philadelphia 

14. Salem 

15. Colorado 

16. Austin

Two elite teams with a bunch of teams piled in the middle.  No true stinkers in the league.  Austin has the worst record, but should really have four or five more wins.  I also don't see any issues here with any of these franchises and the MWR.  A big FA signing or a few key trades could really reshape the AL.  

 

 

Gearing up for the Home Stretch, AL Style:

AL North:

1.  Toronto Thunderbolts:  52-54, .491 - expected .472

2.  Fargo Prairie Dogs:  51-55, .481 - expected .466

3.  Cincinnati Consuls: 48-58, .453 - expected ..467

4.  Philadelphia Cream Cheese:  45-61, .425 - expected .445

Welcome to the worst division in Wrigleyville!  Right now my home division is shaping up like a race to .500.  Whoever gets there, and can stay there, wins the division going away.  None of us are good so what it all means is that whichever of us, and I think all four teams are still alive, gets in, will win the AL pennant.   

AL East:

1.  New York Daredevils:  57-49, .538 - expected .586

2.  Boston Knights:  55-51, .519 - expected .554

3.  Dover Hammer'd Leprechauns:  53-53, .500 - expected .477

4.  Louisville Redtails:  49-57, .462 - expected .455

Also pretty tight, top to bottom.  Louisville is probably out of it, but they are hanging around enough that they could take it, providing they get hot.  New York is still the favorite, but all three of the top teams are very much in the WC hunt.  I think they get two teams into the playoffs.  

AL South:

1.  St. Louis Spirits:  74-32, .698 - expected .723

2.  Monterrey Jack:  50-56, .472 - expected ..474

3.  Charlotte Sometimes:  47-59, .443 - expected .462

4.  Austin Stunners:  43-63, .406 - expected .447

St. Louis is one of only two powerhouse squads in the AL.  They're really good and will be tough to beat.  They're even playing below expectations.  The other three teams are all fighting it out to see if anyone can get their heads above H2O and into WC contention.  

AL West:

1.  Santa Cruz Wildcats:  71-35, .670 - expected .641

2.  Las Vegas Lazerbeams:  57-49, .538 - expected .517

3.  Salem Salmonbellies:  48-58, .453 - expected .415

4.  Colorado Merles:  45-61, .425 - expected .400

The Wildcats are the other premier team of the AL.  They can pretty well put things on ice and wait for the playoffs.  Las Vegas is a serious WC threat and could make some noise, Salem and Colorado and just hanging around.

Gearing up for the home stretch:

Team Division Rankings:

 NL North:

1.  Tacoma Toyotas:  62-40  .608, expected .593

2.  Toledo Tiggers:  52-50 .510, expected .522

3.  Chicago Crazy Baldheads:  46-57 .447, expected .426

4.  Milwaukee Sturgeon:  44-59 .427, expected .453

Thoughts:  It's still Tacomas, but Toledo is kind of sort of hanging around & is in WC  contention.  The others?  Well, they're in a tight race to see who finishes out of the basement.  

NL East:

1.  San Juan Santurce Crabbers:  72-31  .699, expected .746

2.  Pittsburgh Alleghenys:  54-48  .529,  expected .520

3.  Syracuse Moose:  51-51  .500, expected .555

4.  Kansas City Scouts:  26-76  .255, expected .259

Believe it or not, San Juan is actually under performing by quite a bit, but that's not a problem when they lead the division by close to 20 games.  Pittsburgh and Syracuse are both in the WC hunt.  Syracuse has under performed by a lot, so we'll see if they can gain some momentum down the stretch.  KC's in real trouble.

NL  South:

1.  Nashville Bootleggers:  62-41  .602, expected .551

2.  New Orleans Cajun Critters:  56-47  .544, expected .533

3.  Memphis Kings:  55-48  .534, expected  .552

4.  Atlanta Peachfuzz:  49-54  .476, expected  .515

Really an interesting division and all four of these teams have a chance of winning division.  Atlanta has a lot of ground to make up, but they're not out for certain.  This division could very well get three playoff teams in, but I'd expect them to beat up each other and end up with two.  Nashville's pretty safe, so does New Orleans hold off Memphis or do the Kings take it to another level?

NL West:

1.  Colorado Springs Bandits:  57-45  .559, expected .536

2.  Scottsdale Schizoids:  53-49, .520,  expected .529

3.  LA Special Ops:  47-56, .456, expected .430

4.  San Francisco Casey Jones:  37-65, .363, expected  .397

Tight at the top.  Both are division and WC contenders.  LA really never had a chance due to the poor timing of the owner swap, during FA period, so 1BlueJaysWay has really done a great job of keeping them afloat.  SF has underperformed and needs to keep that MWR in mind.  I think they reach 55.