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END OF MAY REPORT
END OF MAY:
Record: 39-14, .736 winning %
Standing: 1st place N.L. West, 8 games over Los Angeles
Best in MLB: Baltimore and Houston tied at 39-14. Baltimore 7 games ahead of New York
Worst in MLB: Chicago Cubs, 17-36, 16 games behind St. Louis
Swapping Puhl and Morgan worked as planned. Puhl actually increased his average from .305 to .337. The cream of the crop is starting to emerge, with Baltimore, Houston, and St. Louis holding comfortable leads in the standings. The A.L. West is a different story though; with California holding a slim one game lead over Kansas City, with Chicago trailing by two. Richard now has an 11-strikeout lead over Carlton, and also leads the league in ERA with a dazzling 1.09 mark, followed by Nolan Ryan at 1.41. For his efforts, Richard is named N.L. pitcher of the month. Sambito has 21 saves, best in the majors. Unfortunately though, negotiations with Sambito soured, and he will test the free agent market. I now have a dilemma. Do I trade Sambito and get something for him while sticking setup man Frank LaCorte in the closers spot, or do I hold onto him and hope he continues his dominance? Denny Walling gets a new 3-year contract due to his .300 average, willingness to sign relatively cheaply (only a $300,000 raise,) and lack of depth in the minors (Danny Heep is considered a good 1B prospect, but is only in AA.) Joaquin Andujar will be let go due to unreasonable salary demands (nearly $4 million a year.) Enos Cabell is also resigned for three years at his same salary of $1.14 million. Craig Reynolds is a tough decision. He only wants a little under $600K a season, but is only hitting .230. He has a few good skills though (brilliant triples hitter, doesn’t strike out much, good sac bunter.) Real life champions Philadelphia are six games out of first and struggling to stay over .500. No injuries to report. Larry Bowa is dealt to the Yankees.
NEXT: End of June report and midseason breakdown
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