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Eugene Church · 05-07-2006, 10:40 PM

ALLTIME ALLSTAR ASSOCIATION

Wednesday, August 13, 1902

AMERICAN LEAGUE

With only a month to go in the regular season in the tight American League title chase, the Philadelphia Athletics have moved into first place by a scant one percentage point over the Cleveland Indians. Coming in third are the Boston Red Sox, who are 4 games out, followed by the fourth place Bronx Bombers at 7.5 games. Heading up the second division is St. Louis in the fifth position. The Browns are 11.5 games in back of the leading A's. The Chisox are 12 back and are in sixth place, Detroit and Washington are tied for last place, trailing by 12.5 games.

Connie Mack's Philadelphia A's (70-55) have put on a second half spurt and rest atop of the American League standings, although precariously. They went 11-7 in the last two weeks to nudge slightly ahead of the Indians by one percentage point. Jimmie Foxx (.301/31/88), rookie Shigeo Nagashima (.293/10/68), Al Simmons (.302/14/65), John Henry Lloyd (.272/16/63), Frank Baker (.292/21/54) and Mickey Cochrane (.304/5/46) have supplied the offense and Lefty Grove (16-6 3.22), Rube Waddell (12-10 2.85) and Eddie Plank (12-8 4.03) the starting pitching. Rollie Fingers (2-4 2.60/14 saves) and Bobby Shantz (11-4 4.22/6 saves) have done the job in the bullpen. A midseason pickup, Alejandro Oms (.328/4/16), has sparkled in the leadoff spot. The A's are clicking on all cylinders and look like the team to beat this year. As a team they are hitting .267 with 140 home runs (second in the AL, third in the AAA) with a team ERA (second AL) at 3.92.

The Cleveland Indians (71-56) are in second place behind the Athletics. Skipper Steve O'Neill's club went 10-10 during the last couple of weeks and will be a tough team to contend with because of a fine pitching staff. Herb Score (16-7 2.83), Addie Joss (14-7 2.61), Bob Feller (11-6 2.78), Early Wynn (12-8 3.71) and Bob Lemon (5-4 2.79) are the best pitching corps in both leagues, leading with a 3.46 ERA. The Tribe hitters are the worst in both league with a .255 team batting average. Luke Easter (.240/20/70), Larry Doby (.259/15/69), Willie Wells (.286/10/50), Tris Speaker (.304/4/44) and Nap Lajoie (.292/1/40) give them enough offense to get by, but nothing more. Recently O'Neill benched Easter and Earl Averill (.255/10/47) for Rocky Colavito (.328/6/14) and Jim Thome (.203/6/18) in an effort to get a little more offense. More offense and Cleveland could be headed for the World Series.

The Boston Red Sox (67-60) flirted with first place for a while, but fizzled in a series with the A's and put up a poor 7-12 mark over the last few weeks. The Bosox are tops in BA in the AL with a .275 mark and fourth in homers with 125. ERA-wise Boston's 4.12 stands fifth in the league, headed by Pedro Martinez (15-7 3.57), George Ruth (14-9 3.50), Roger Clemens (13-8 3.50), Mel Parnell (9-6 4.36) and reliever Dick Radatz (4-5 3.41/13 saves). A bevy of fine batters lead the charge for Joe McCarthy's club: Oscar Charleston (.323/22/78), Ted Williams (.301/28/113), David Ortiz (.289/24/87), Nomar Garciaparra (.295/14/73) and recent starter, Ellis Burks (.307/10/32). Boston lost their shortstop, Joe Cronin (.308/8/50) for a month with a torn muscle in his hip. The Red Sox have hit their way to third place so far. To challenge for the league title and the trip to the World Series, McCarthy needs the pitchers to step it up to a higher level. Boston's hitting is carrying the pitching thus far this season.

The New York Yanks (63-63) have played well the last couple of months and have climbed up to fourth place in the standings. Over the past two weeks they compiled a 10-8 mark and now trail the A's by 7.5 games. The Bombers still hit homers (141, #1 in the AL) like last year, but the pitching just hasn't been there. It has been a tough year for Lefty Gomez (11-9 3.29), Ron Guidry (9-8 4.40), Herb Pennock (9-7 3.02) and Whitey Ford (7-7 3.14). Likewise for ace reliever, Mariano Rivera (6-7 3.52/11 saves), who has been replaced by Goose Gossage (4-2 2.42/2 saves). Babe Ruth (.307/35/96) leads the Bomber brigade and is having an outstanding season. He hit 35 homers last year to set the AAA record, since broken by Pittsburgh's great rookie first baseman, Sadaharu Oh, who already has hit 38 this year. Lou Gehrig (.278/29/95), Derek Jeter (.306/11/51) and Joe DiMaggio (.283/18/65) have stood out, too. It will take a group turnaround by the New York starters to get them back in the race. But it will be hard to make up 7.5 games in the last month of the season.

In the fifth place position are Earl Weaver's St. Louis Browns (59-67). Home run power has moved them up in the standings. His team went 9-9 the last two weeks and are 11 games out. Dismal pitching has been the culprit this season. The Brownies are last in the American League with a 4.30 ERA. Last year St. Louis finished in last place and hit only 76 home runs. This season they have already collected 120. They finished 29 games out last year. Josh Gibson (.269/29/73), Eddie Murray (.259/20/63), Ken Williams (.269/16/58), Vern Stephens (.292/12/41) and Cal Ripken (.277/10/36) have led the club in hitting. Ripken has been a pleasant surprise since becoming the starting shortstop at midseason. Mike Mussina (12-12 3.73), Hoyt Wilhelm (9-7 3.47) and relief specialist Greg Olson (4-6 3.03/12 saves) have been the only productive pitchers. St. Louis could finish as high as fifth, but only if Jim Palmer (9-9 4.63) regains his early season form.

Manager Al Lopez is not a happy camper this season. His Chicago White Sox (59-69) have spiraled down to sixth place this season, after finishing last year in second place. During last few weeks they turned in a 7-11 mark and are now 12 full games out of first place. They are second in the AL with a 3.68 ERA, but have produced the least runs of any club in either league. On the mound Billy Pierce (9-6 2.71) has been Lopez's best. Ed Walsh (8-10 2.85) has been tough, but doesn't have many wins to show for it. Wilbur Wood (11-10 3.40) is solid, but hasn't gotten the run support. Joe Jackson (.349/6/64) is hitting the heck out of the ball again this season. Frank Thomas (.240/21/75) is providing the home runs and the RBIs and rookie outfielder, Kazuhiro Yamauchi (.369/4/14) has looked great in 13 starts. He was picked up in the Special Draft at midseason. The Chisox might be destined to a seventh place finish as the Detroit Tigers have started to play up to their potential of late and are on the rise.

Detroit (58-68) has been hot in recent weeks with a 11-8 record. They are currently tied with the Washington Senators for seventh place. The Tigers have finally found their batting eye and could move up as far as fifth place. It is not likely they will catch the Yanks. Ty Cobb (.371/11/68) is even more awesome this year and looks like a cinch to win his first batting title. Hank Greenberg (.271/27/98) and Charlie Gehringer (.292/20/84) have provided some important offensive punch as well. Manager Hughie Jennings inserted George Kell (.318/1/26), Vic Wertz (.310/5/28) and Al Kaline (.281/3/8) into the lineup to try and shake things up and it seems to have worked. The only effective pitcher this season has been Hal Newhouser (9-6 4.04), but he has been lost for the year with bones chips in his left shoulder. Detroit's ERA is 4.29 currently with no good in sight. The Tigers will just have to outscore the opposition. They might just do it and climb up to fifth place.

The cellar-dwelling Senators (58-68) hung around the first division for one-third of the season, but have now descended to their accustomed surroundings. Washington was 9-9 over the last two weeks and seems destined for a last place finish. They are 12.5 games behind the Athletics and tied for seventh in the league with the Tigers. Goose Goslin (.278/8/71), Cecil Travis (.337/5/51), Heinie Manush (.333/4/33), Tony Oliva (.293/9/48) and Rod Carew (.296/1/44) lead the offense, while starting pitchers Camilo Pascual (12-8 3.13), Dutch Leonard (12-7 3.59) and Walter Johnson (10-7 3.71) can be very hard to beat at times.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

The New York Giants are running away with the National League, leading the second-place St. Louis Cards by a whopping 11 games. In third place are the Boston Braves, who trail by 12.5 games. Rounding out the first division clubs are the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Brooklyn Dodgers, tied for fourth place in the standings, 15 games out. The Chicubs are 17.5 games behind and are in sixth place. Cincinnati is in seventh place, resting 21.5 games out of first. And the Philadelphia Phillies are in the basement, 23.5 games behind the Giants.

John McGraw predicted the Giants would win the World Series this year. He is well on the way to making that come true. New York has been devastating for the last two months, going 34-17. Their main opponent, the Boston Braves, have slumped to 23-26 in that same period. In the last two weeks the Giants have gone 12-7 and have made shambles out the NL race. McGraw does it with hitting. Look at his lineup: Bill Terry (.298/9/55), Martin Dihigo (.292/24/69), Barry Bonds (.298/18/48), Mel Ott (.317/25/92), Wilie Mays (.268/16/78), Freddie Lindstrom (.298/6/62), and three catchers, Roger Bresnahan (.256/3/28), Harry Danning (.314/3/12) and Tom Haller (.297/4/22), Alvin Dark (.291/7/56). The are the number one team with .279 BA and a 3.67 ERA. NY is no slouch in the pitching department, either. Carl Hubbell (20-4 2.28) has been brilliant. Rookie Jeff Tesreau (8-1 3.34) has come on strong since being moved into the starting rotation at midseason. Christy Mathewson (15-4 3.50) had gotten his game going in the second half of the season. Reliever Robb Nen (2-8 4.59/17) has been off and on at times, but has nailed down 17 victories, tops in both league. Toss in Johnny Antonelli (9-6 3.53) and you have a very potent and imposing ballclub. Look out American League!...here comes the Giants!

Tony Larussa's St. Louis Cardinals (67-60) have come on like gangbusters with a 32-20 mark in the last two months and 13-7 in the last two weeks, but still trail the Giants by 11 games. The Redbirds began their rampage when Larussa stopped experimenting with his lineup and returned to the guys who finished second last year and came within an eyelash of taking the title. The Cards have hit the cover all the ball, kicking their team average up from the .240s to .276. Even their pitching has improved from 4.38 to 4.01 during this stretch. Satchel Paige (11-1 2.98) came out of the bullpen and has been outstanding. Harry Brecheen (9-3 2.11) came up at midseason and really made the team go. And the hitters have been in orbit with Frankie Frisch (.356/4/49) is leading the league. Chick Hafey (.347/9/54), Rogers Hornsby (.315/19/79), Stan Musial (.288/24/83), Johnny Mize (.299/16/53), Joe Medwick (.299/8/61) and rookie Walker Cooper (.275/7/32) have also been mighty with the bats. It is too late for St. Louis to catch New York, but they look like they will finish in the second place perch this season.

The Boston Braves (65-61) hung in for a while, even holding first place as late as June, but their pitching went sour and so did the Braves. They were 7-11 in the last two weeks and have now fallen to third place, 12.5 games out. Bobby Cox's Braves lead the AAA in home runs with 150. Heading up the offense are Chipper Jones (.316/25/89), Buck Leonard (.282/27/86), Eddie Mathews (.247/32/76) and Pete Hill (.285/18/58). Rookie outfielder Tommy Holmes (.322/8/42) has a had a fine season, too. On the hill Tom Glavine (11-7 3.96), Warren Spahn (10-8 3.70) and Greg Maddux (10-8 3.56) have been the main cogs. If the pitching can come back, the Braves could challenge the Cardinals for second place.

The defending league champs, the Pittsburgh Pirates (63-64) have really disappointed. 21-25 over the last two months and 9-9 over the last few weeks. They are now in a fourth place tie with the Brooklyn Dodgers, 15 games in the rear. Rookie Sadaharu Oh (.306/38/116) has already broken the alltime Alltime Allstar Association home run record and is on his way to setting a new RBI mark, too. Pitching-wise Deacon Phillippe (13-9 3.07), Vic Willis (12-9 3.61) and Ray Kremer (11-9 3.33) have had good years.

The fourth place Dodgers (62-63) have gone 23-26 in the last two months and 9-9 in the last few weeks. Manager Tommy Lasorda's ballclub has been led by Cristobel Torriente (.341/11/72) and Zach Wheat (.328/14/93) offensively and on the mound by recent call-up, lefty Nap Rucker (6-3 2.39).

The Chicago Cubs (60-66) are sixth and have put up a record of 9-9 over the last two weeks. They trail the Giants by 17.5 games and are headed no where this year. Among Skipper Charlie Grimm's standout regulars are Turkey Stearnes (.335/33/100) and Bill Dahlen (.317/12/59). On the hill, it's been Moe Brown (14-7 3.71).

Seventh place belongs to Sparky Anderson's Cincinnati Redlegs (56-70), who have compiled an 8-11 mark the last two weeks. Heroes have been few and far between for the Reds. Only Ted Kluszewski (.325/23/72) has been anything to brag about among the regulars and only a couple of pitchers have had any success: Gary Nolan (12-9 3.95) and Jose Rijo (8-9 3.27).

And last year's great surprise, the Philadelphia Phillies (54-72), have had a terrible season and will finished in eighth place. In the last few weeks the Phils have been 7-11. Only Chuck Klein (.300/22/83) and Lefty O'Doul (.334/13/54) have hit well, while on the mound, only rookie Jiro Noguchi (12-5 3.76) has done the job for Manager Danny Ozark.

Sorry about the short reports on the NL second division.

Gotta run...WIFE IS SCREAMING AT ME TO GO!

See League Standings, Boxscores and League Reports here:

http://aaa.allsimbaseball.com/index....tpage&Itemid=1

05-07-2006, 10:40 PM	#434 (permalink)
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 17,079 Thanks: 100 Thanked 100x in 52 posts	ALLTIME ALLSTAR ASSOCIATION Wednesday, August 13, 1902 AMERICAN LEAGUE With only a month to go in the regular season in the tight American League title chase, the Philadelphia Athletics have moved into first place by a scant one percentage point over the Cleveland Indians. Coming in third are the Boston Red Sox, who are 4 games out, followed by the fourth place Bronx Bombers at 7.5 games. Heading up the second division is St. Louis in the fifth position. The Browns are 11.5 games in back of the leading A's. The Chisox are 12 back and are in sixth place, Detroit and Washington are tied for last place, trailing by 12.5 games. Connie Mack's Philadelphia A's (70-55) have put on a second half spurt and rest atop of the American League standings, although precariously. They went 11-7 in the last two weeks to nudge slightly ahead of the Indians by one percentage point. Jimmie Foxx (.301/31/88), rookie Shigeo Nagashima (.293/10/68), Al Simmons (.302/14/65), John Henry Lloyd (.272/16/63), Frank Baker (.292/21/54) and Mickey Cochrane (.304/5/46) have supplied the offense and Lefty Grove (16-6 3.22), Rube Waddell (12-10 2.85) and Eddie Plank (12-8 4.03) the starting pitching. Rollie Fingers (2-4 2.60/14 saves) and Bobby Shantz (11-4 4.22/6 saves) have done the job in the bullpen. A midseason pickup, Alejandro Oms (.328/4/16), has sparkled in the leadoff spot. The A's are clicking on all cylinders and look like the team to beat this year. As a team they are hitting .267 with 140 home runs (second in the AL, third in the AAA) with a team ERA (second AL) at 3.92. The Cleveland Indians (71-56) are in second place behind the Athletics. Skipper Steve O'Neill's club went 10-10 during the last couple of weeks and will be a tough team to contend with because of a fine pitching staff. Herb Score (16-7 2.83), Addie Joss (14-7 2.61), Bob Feller (11-6 2.78), Early Wynn (12-8 3.71) and Bob Lemon (5-4 2.79) are the best pitching corps in both leagues, leading with a 3.46 ERA. The Tribe hitters are the worst in both league with a .255 team batting average. Luke Easter (.240/20/70), Larry Doby (.259/15/69), Willie Wells (.286/10/50), Tris Speaker (.304/4/44) and Nap Lajoie (.292/1/40) give them enough offense to get by, but nothing more. Recently O'Neill benched Easter and Earl Averill (.255/10/47) for Rocky Colavito (.328/6/14) and Jim Thome (.203/6/18) in an effort to get a little more offense. More offense and Cleveland could be headed for the World Series. The Boston Red Sox (67-60) flirted with first place for a while, but fizzled in a series with the A's and put up a poor 7-12 mark over the last few weeks. The Bosox are tops in BA in the AL with a .275 mark and fourth in homers with 125. ERA-wise Boston's 4.12 stands fifth in the league, headed by Pedro Martinez (15-7 3.57), George Ruth (14-9 3.50), Roger Clemens (13-8 3.50), Mel Parnell (9-6 4.36) and reliever Dick Radatz (4-5 3.41/13 saves). A bevy of fine batters lead the charge for Joe McCarthy's club: Oscar Charleston (.323/22/78), Ted Williams (.301/28/113), David Ortiz (.289/24/87), Nomar Garciaparra (.295/14/73) and recent starter, Ellis Burks (.307/10/32). Boston lost their shortstop, Joe Cronin (.308/8/50) for a month with a torn muscle in his hip. The Red Sox have hit their way to third place so far. To challenge for the league title and the trip to the World Series, McCarthy needs the pitchers to step it up to a higher level. Boston's hitting is carrying the pitching thus far this season. The New York Yanks (63-63) have played well the last couple of months and have climbed up to fourth place in the standings. Over the past two weeks they compiled a 10-8 mark and now trail the A's by 7.5 games. The Bombers still hit homers (141, #1 in the AL) like last year, but the pitching just hasn't been there. It has been a tough year for Lefty Gomez (11-9 3.29), Ron Guidry (9-8 4.40), Herb Pennock (9-7 3.02) and Whitey Ford (7-7 3.14). Likewise for ace reliever, Mariano Rivera (6-7 3.52/11 saves), who has been replaced by Goose Gossage (4-2 2.42/2 saves). Babe Ruth (.307/35/96) leads the Bomber brigade and is having an outstanding season. He hit 35 homers last year to set the AAA record, since broken by Pittsburgh's great rookie first baseman, Sadaharu Oh, who already has hit 38 this year. Lou Gehrig (.278/29/95), Derek Jeter (.306/11/51) and Joe DiMaggio (.283/18/65) have stood out, too. It will take a group turnaround by the New York starters to get them back in the race. But it will be hard to make up 7.5 games in the last month of the season. In the fifth place position are Earl Weaver's St. Louis Browns (59-67). Home run power has moved them up in the standings. His team went 9-9 the last two weeks and are 11 games out. Dismal pitching has been the culprit this season. The Brownies are last in the American League with a 4.30 ERA. Last year St. Louis finished in last place and hit only 76 home runs. This season they have already collected 120. They finished 29 games out last year. Josh Gibson (.269/29/73), Eddie Murray (.259/20/63), Ken Williams (.269/16/58), Vern Stephens (.292/12/41) and Cal Ripken (.277/10/36) have led the club in hitting. Ripken has been a pleasant surprise since becoming the starting shortstop at midseason. Mike Mussina (12-12 3.73), Hoyt Wilhelm (9-7 3.47) and relief specialist Greg Olson (4-6 3.03/12 saves) have been the only productive pitchers. St. Louis could finish as high as fifth, but only if Jim Palmer (9-9 4.63) regains his early season form. Manager Al Lopez is not a happy camper this season. His Chicago White Sox (59-69) have spiraled down to sixth place this season, after finishing last year in second place. During last few weeks they turned in a 7-11 mark and are now 12 full games out of first place. They are second in the AL with a 3.68 ERA, but have produced the least runs of any club in either league. On the mound Billy Pierce (9-6 2.71) has been Lopez's best. Ed Walsh (8-10 2.85) has been tough, but doesn't have many wins to show for it. Wilbur Wood (11-10 3.40) is solid, but hasn't gotten the run support. Joe Jackson (.349/6/64) is hitting the heck out of the ball again this season. Frank Thomas (.240/21/75) is providing the home runs and the RBIs and rookie outfielder, Kazuhiro Yamauchi (.369/4/14) has looked great in 13 starts. He was picked up in the Special Draft at midseason. The Chisox might be destined to a seventh place finish as the Detroit Tigers have started to play up to their potential of late and are on the rise. Detroit (58-68) has been hot in recent weeks with a 11-8 record. They are currently tied with the Washington Senators for seventh place. The Tigers have finally found their batting eye and could move up as far as fifth place. It is not likely they will catch the Yanks. Ty Cobb (.371/11/68) is even more awesome this year and looks like a cinch to win his first batting title. Hank Greenberg (.271/27/98) and Charlie Gehringer (.292/20/84) have provided some important offensive punch as well. Manager Hughie Jennings inserted George Kell (.318/1/26), Vic Wertz (.310/5/28) and Al Kaline (.281/3/8) into the lineup to try and shake things up and it seems to have worked. The only effective pitcher this season has been Hal Newhouser (9-6 4.04), but he has been lost for the year with bones chips in his left shoulder. Detroit's ERA is 4.29 currently with no good in sight. The Tigers will just have to outscore the opposition. They might just do it and climb up to fifth place. The cellar-dwelling Senators (58-68) hung around the first division for one-third of the season, but have now descended to their accustomed surroundings. Washington was 9-9 over the last two weeks and seems destined for a last place finish. They are 12.5 games behind the Athletics and tied for seventh in the league with the Tigers. Goose Goslin (.278/8/71), Cecil Travis (.337/5/51), Heinie Manush (.333/4/33), Tony Oliva (.293/9/48) and Rod Carew (.296/1/44) lead the offense, while starting pitchers Camilo Pascual (12-8 3.13), Dutch Leonard (12-7 3.59) and Walter Johnson (10-7 3.71) can be very hard to beat at times. NATIONAL LEAGUE The New York Giants are running away with the National League, leading the second-place St. Louis Cards by a whopping 11 games. In third place are the Boston Braves, who trail by 12.5 games. Rounding out the first division clubs are the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Brooklyn Dodgers, tied for fourth place in the standings, 15 games out. The Chicubs are 17.5 games behind and are in sixth place. Cincinnati is in seventh place, resting 21.5 games out of first. And the Philadelphia Phillies are in the basement, 23.5 games behind the Giants. John McGraw predicted the Giants would win the World Series this year. He is well on the way to making that come true. New York has been devastating for the last two months, going 34-17. Their main opponent, the Boston Braves, have slumped to 23-26 in that same period. In the last two weeks the Giants have gone 12-7 and have made shambles out the NL race. McGraw does it with hitting. Look at his lineup: Bill Terry (.298/9/55), Martin Dihigo (.292/24/69), Barry Bonds (.298/18/48), Mel Ott (.317/25/92), Wilie Mays (.268/16/78), Freddie Lindstrom (.298/6/62), and three catchers, Roger Bresnahan (.256/3/28), Harry Danning (.314/3/12) and Tom Haller (.297/4/22), Alvin Dark (.291/7/56). The are the number one team with .279 BA and a 3.67 ERA. NY is no slouch in the pitching department, either. Carl Hubbell (20-4 2.28) has been brilliant. Rookie Jeff Tesreau (8-1 3.34) has come on strong since being moved into the starting rotation at midseason. Christy Mathewson (15-4 3.50) had gotten his game going in the second half of the season. Reliever Robb Nen (2-8 4.59/17) has been off and on at times, but has nailed down 17 victories, tops in both league. Toss in Johnny Antonelli (9-6 3.53) and you have a very potent and imposing ballclub. Look out American League!...here comes the Giants! Tony Larussa's St. Louis Cardinals (67-60) have come on like gangbusters with a 32-20 mark in the last two months and 13-7 in the last two weeks, but still trail the Giants by 11 games. The Redbirds began their rampage when Larussa stopped experimenting with his lineup and returned to the guys who finished second last year and came within an eyelash of taking the title. The Cards have hit the cover all the ball, kicking their team average up from the .240s to .276. Even their pitching has improved from 4.38 to 4.01 during this stretch. Satchel Paige (11-1 2.98) came out of the bullpen and has been outstanding. Harry Brecheen (9-3 2.11) came up at midseason and really made the team go. And the hitters have been in orbit with Frankie Frisch (.356/4/49) is leading the league. Chick Hafey (.347/9/54), Rogers Hornsby (.315/19/79), Stan Musial (.288/24/83), Johnny Mize (.299/16/53), Joe Medwick (.299/8/61) and rookie Walker Cooper (.275/7/32) have also been mighty with the bats. It is too late for St. Louis to catch New York, but they look like they will finish in the second place perch this season. The Boston Braves (65-61) hung in for a while, even holding first place as late as June, but their pitching went sour and so did the Braves. They were 7-11 in the last two weeks and have now fallen to third place, 12.5 games out. Bobby Cox's Braves lead the AAA in home runs with 150. Heading up the offense are Chipper Jones (.316/25/89), Buck Leonard (.282/27/86), Eddie Mathews (.247/32/76) and Pete Hill (.285/18/58). Rookie outfielder Tommy Holmes (.322/8/42) has a had a fine season, too. On the hill Tom Glavine (11-7 3.96), Warren Spahn (10-8 3.70) and Greg Maddux (10-8 3.56) have been the main cogs. If the pitching can come back, the Braves could challenge the Cardinals for second place. The defending league champs, the Pittsburgh Pirates (63-64) have really disappointed. 21-25 over the last two months and 9-9 over the last few weeks. They are now in a fourth place tie with the Brooklyn Dodgers, 15 games in the rear. Rookie Sadaharu Oh (.306/38/116) has already broken the alltime Alltime Allstar Association home run record and is on his way to setting a new RBI mark, too. Pitching-wise Deacon Phillippe (13-9 3.07), Vic Willis (12-9 3.61) and Ray Kremer (11-9 3.33) have had good years. The fourth place Dodgers (62-63) have gone 23-26 in the last two months and 9-9 in the last few weeks. Manager Tommy Lasorda's ballclub has been led by Cristobel Torriente (.341/11/72) and Zach Wheat (.328/14/93) offensively and on the mound by recent call-up, lefty Nap Rucker (6-3 2.39). The Chicago Cubs (60-66) are sixth and have put up a record of 9-9 over the last two weeks. They trail the Giants by 17.5 games and are headed no where this year. Among Skipper Charlie Grimm's standout regulars are Turkey Stearnes (.335/33/100) and Bill Dahlen (.317/12/59). On the hill, it's been Moe Brown (14-7 3.71). Seventh place belongs to Sparky Anderson's Cincinnati Redlegs (56-70), who have compiled an 8-11 mark the last two weeks. Heroes have been few and far between for the Reds. Only Ted Kluszewski (.325/23/72) has been anything to brag about among the regulars and only a couple of pitchers have had any success: Gary Nolan (12-9 3.95) and Jose Rijo (8-9 3.27). And last year's great surprise, the Philadelphia Phillies (54-72), have had a terrible season and will finished in eighth place. In the last few weeks the Phils have been 7-11. Only Chuck Klein (.300/22/83) and Lefty O'Doul (.334/13/54) have hit well, while on the mound, only rookie Jiro Noguchi (12-5 3.76) has done the job for Manager Danny Ozark. Sorry about the short reports on the NL second division. Gotta run...WIFE IS SCREAMING AT ME TO GO! See League Standings, Boxscores and League Reports here: http://aaa.allsimbaseball.com/index....tpage&Itemid=1 Last edited by Eugene Church; 05-18-2006 at 02:46 PM.