Pastime Baseball League
May Review (cont.)
Northern League Report
As it ended last season, the
New York Heroes and the
Wichita Brigade lead the way in the East and West, respectively. Yet the story for each has plenty more wrinkles.
For Wichita, the Brigade has weathered an injury to
Rube Waddell, who's having a subpar season (3-4, 4.48). He's since returned, missing 3 starts, but was blistered in this last outing for 8 runs and 11 hits over 6 innings. But
Al Orth has been stellar (6-1, 2.84) and
Jonas Gaines leads the team in wins with 8, against 3 losses, with a 3.21 ERA.
Wichita is only playing .500 ball on the road, but is 16-3 at home. Virtually the entire offense is contributing, although the team now must weather the loss of LF
Jimmy Sheckard, the Northern League Batter of the Month for April, who was hitting .372 with 6 homers and 29 RBI when he went down with a ruptured achilles tendon on May 15, likely finishing him for the season.
As for New York, the Heroes have inexplicably altered their rotation from last season, despite its success.
Sam Weaver (13-8, 2.94 in '09) is setting up closer
Jonathan Papelbon, while
Jack Taylor - who swung from pen to rotation last year (9-7, 3.04) - has yet to throw a pitch. Instead,
Bill Drake and
Bill Byrd have moved from the pen into the rotation, with Byrd having won a Northern League-best 8 games to this point.
The youngsters they hoped would lift them,
Grady Sizemore (.311-3-20) and
David Wright (.300-7-39) have done that and more, though Sizemore has been sidelined with a concerning back problem. Wright was torrid in May, hitting in 25 straight games for a .351 average on the month and earning Northern League Batter of the Month honors for May. Second-round pick
Irish Meusel (.297-7-36) and fifth-rounder
Jim Viox (.332-4-28) have stepped in and hit right from the start, lifting an already solid offense.
The
Louisville Racers trail New York by eight games, as what last year was the PBL's most potent offense now sits sixth in the Northern League.
Dan Brouthers (.311-9-38) remains solid, though not off-the-charts as he was last year. Combined with the terrible starts of 2B
Hardy Richardson (.183-4-24) and C
Heinie Peitz (.191-4-15), and Louisville is lacking its old firepower.
Something is going to have to give in
Sacramento, where the Stingers' new pitching pickups -
Bob Shawkey (1-5, 6.51) and
Wilbur Cooper (3-2, 5.87) - are failing to get it done. Last year's NL Outstanding Hitter,
George Hall (.266-2-13, in 28 games), has returned from his hamstring injury but is yet to get going. While only four games behind Wichita, Sacramento is also only four games ahead of a
Chicago team whose improvement is drawing notice throughout the league.
The Hitmen lead the Northern League in runs scored, averaging more than 6 a game on the strength of a PBL-best 59 homers. While
Babe Ruth (.285-12-43) has drawn much of the attention as the PBL's top pick, the elevated games of
Albert Pujols (.325-8-34) and
Josh Hamilton (.306-7-33) have helped the Hitmen to an improved opening to the year.
They do, however, maintain a losing record. That is the fault primarily of a shaky rotation, particularly
Amos Rusie (2-6, 6.32) and
Monte Ward (4-4, 5.94). The bullpen of
Johan Santana, Pink Hawley,
Brian Bruney and closer
Bobby Jenks has a league-best ERA of 2.77. Rusie is safe, but if Santana (0-2, 5.53) shows some consistency out of the pen, Ward could lose his spot.
AWARDS
Player of the Week
5/3 CF Fielder Jones - New York Heroes
5/10 1B Jake Beckley - Indianapolis Engines
5/17 3B David Wright - New York Heroes
5/24 CF Fielder Jones (2) - New York Heroes
5/31 RF Socks Seybold - Sacramento Stingers
Batter of the Month
3B David Wright - New York Heroes
Pitcher of the Month
SP Jim McCormick - New York Heroes
Rookie of the Month
SS Mike Moynahan - Wichita Brigade