Thriftlon Reports

[canadiancreed]

nice writeup. I especially love the chatroom like atmosphere in the one post

[Syd Thrift]

Thanks! I'm having a lot of fun with this. I hope that shows through.

[canadiancreed]

Originally Posted by Syd Thrift

Thanks! I'm having a lot of fun with this. I hope that shows through.

ya it does. If your'e not enjoying yourself, why bother?

[Syd Thrift]

Here's our yearly list of the best players each team has picked:

Baltimore Orioles

George Herriman, SS. Herriman loves to scribble little cartoon characters all over his notebooks, the dugout walls, the back ends of first baseman after he makes a base hit... everywhere you can think of, Mr. Herriman has probably doodled something there. Perhaps his funniest creation to date is a small feline he likes to call "Krazy Kat". Our futuristics tell us that Krazy Kat will be cited as a chief influence of some comic strip known as "Calvin and Hobbes." Why do we continue to employ these people? Rumors abound that he is half-African American, but we believe that he's Greek. Anyway, it doesn't matter; our league is open to peoples of all races and colors.

Sean O'Casey, SS. O'Casey is yet another writer out of Ireland. How is it that a place heretofore known only for its potatoes and cheap labor force could become such a renowned entity in such a short time? Don't get us wrong, some of our best friends are Irish (if by "friends" you mean "janitors"). O'Casey fashions himself a playwright. Being Irish, most of his plays are probably about getting drunk and having too many children. O'Casey suffered from poor eyesight as a child, but in baseball terms it looks as though he overcompensated and scouts indicate that his batting eye might just be his best virtue.

Boston Beaneaters

B.C. Forbes, pitcher. Forbes loves ranking things and then appending his name to the list. He ranked the top baseball players in our league and called them the Forbes 47. He ranked the top businesses in Boston and called them the Forbes 268. The planets? Not anymore. They're the Forbes 7. His pitches are just known as the "Forbes Three", but all are very solid. And it could be worse: 90 years from now he could have an annoying grandson who thought that his ancestor's lists entitled him to be President of the United States. Which is just plain silly, of course; Forbes is Scottish-born. Who could ever imagine the son, let alone the grandson, of a man born outside of our fair country could be President?

Reginald Claypoole Vanderbilt, LF. Everything has come easy to Mr. Vanderbilt, the youngest son of the railroad tycoon, and the Beaneaters would like to see some of that easygoing spirit rub off on the Beaneaters, who right now seem to be pressing a little. Vanderbilt is the proverbial "black sheep" of the Vanderbilt family but we think that the soothing balm of baseball can turn his entire life around.

Brooklyn Superbas

W.C. Fields, CF. This rangy outfielder hates children almost as much as he hates fly balls. He also hates dogs and, to hear him say it, "women, unless they are the wrong sort of women." Another one of Ned Hanlon's finds on the Broadway set, Fields has a vaudeville juggling act. Although we are more in the position of giving out advice than some rook, he still felt it necessary to bestow some of his wisdom on us. He told us to "never give a sucker an even break". When asked if Brooklyn was his first choice, he said that "on the whole, [he'd] rather be in Philadelphia." A curious one, this Mister Fields. We'll be watching him.

Mack Sennett, SP. Sennett is a budding theatre director in his spare time and has some grandiose ideas about "studios" and such that sound like their only chance to be feasible is if Thomas Edison's motion picture technology ever gets off the ground, which is as silly as the idea of self-propelled flying machines (excepting balloons, of course). The name of his proposed "studio" is Keystone and if you read some of his scripts you would think he hates policemen. His "kops" (in his world, the police can't even spell their own names right) race around in automobiles and throw custard pies at miscreants. Let's hope Mr. Sennett never has his house robbed!

Hans Moser, CF. Scouts tell us that Hans Moser has un funny Cherman accent! We find it hard to be true. For one thing, how could a German accent ever be pronounced as humorous? The Germans are second only to the Scottish in terms of seriousness; humor cannot possibly come out of that. Also, he is Austrian, not German. There is a subtle difference in accents that all Americans can comprehend! In any case, he projects to be a versatile outfielder who always gets his teammates into trouble with wacky hijinx.

Chicago Colts

Tom Mix, SP. Mix is an avid fan of cowboys who has maintained a correspondence with Old West legend Wyatt Earp. When he thinks of the possible death of Earp (still probably a ways off; the man, after all, is only 52 and has settled down since his OK Corral days), Mix reportedly weeps. His hobbies include pursuing bad guys, maintaining a clean-cut lifestyle that would make John "Captain Two Percent" Choate blush, rodeo riding, and pistol-shooting. Useless trivia from our team of futurists (who are eating us out of house and home): Mix is to be on the cover of some sort of "record album" by Sergeant Pepper 64 years hence. It's good to know that 3 generations from now the youth shall still be listening to the oom-pah-pah of the military march.

Bronco Billy Anderson, SP. Bronco Billy shares Tom Mix's strange love of the "cinema" but appears to be closer to reaching his goals. He has created quite a persona in "Bronco Billy" that would earn him millions on the vaudeville circuit if he could only find a way to import a desert onto the stage. He and his friend Edwin Porter are talking about making a motion picture called "The Great Train Robbery" that is to be an epoch of film-making at 12 minutes in length. And it ends with a bandit shooting at the audience! But do not fear, Americans, for bullets fired in film cannot pierce your skin!

Cincinnati Reds

John L. Lewis, 2B. Lewis works in a mine in Iowa and, though just a teen, is already agitating in favor of the American Federation of Labor. Sadly, the AF of L has not at this point thrown its hat in with mine workers, so his pleas to join up are met with laughter and derision. Nonetheless, his sense of love for the working man is just as important to the Reds as his gap power and range at second base. And listen to the man speak! "I have pleaded (labor's) case, not in the quavering tones of a feeble mendicant asking alms, but in the thundering voice of the captain of a mighty host, demanding the rights to which free men are entitled." Yes, he actually said that! In a speech! Quavering tones and everything!

Oswald Spengler, SS. Spengler is the Reds' kind of guy. He is going to be a big-time philosopher and already he argues at length for an organic version of socialism and authoritarianism. He also wishes to note that he is not at all into racial superiority, though we're at a loss to say why he'd bring something like that up on his own. At this point, it looks like he'll be a slap-hitting shortstop whose written tracts are much more sharply written than balls off his bat are sharply hit, but who knows? Anything can happen in a few years. He could turn into a good player - or his philosophies could be adopted by a group of raving nutjobs.

Cleveland Spiders

Milan Rastislav Štefánik, SS. The prototypical Cleveland Spider. In addition to playing baseball, Stefanik is pursuing a degree in philosophy and/or astronomy, likes to write political screeds about his homeland of Czechoslovakia (a part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire formerly known as Bohemia), and is working on a device that creates color photographs. Our word of advice to Mr. Stefanik: don't put too many eggs in one basket or you will get sick because of all the eggs you will have to eat when they break!

Gar Wood, SP. Wood likes nothing more than to take a boat, put a motor in it, and race around a lake. He likes this even more than baseball, which would be a problem for another team but given the route the Spiders have taken as of late, he should find himself among friends. He also shows a strange aptitude for designing garbage trucks. Xtreme-ism knows no limits!

Louisville Colonels

Douglas MacArthur, C. A man who will undoubtedly be a well-known figure both in and outside of baseball because of the silly-looking pipe he prefers to smoke from and his sometimes-reckless nature. The youngster is already telling people that "old soldiers never die", which is a great testament to the people who fought in the Civil War (although I'm told that many of them are already dead, which kind of refutes MacArthur's point). Whenever he leaves his post at catcher for a pinch-hitter or because he's taking the day off, he grabs the megaphone from out of the umpire's hands and announces to the crowd, "I shall return". Others may find this habit annoying and self-serving. The Colonels do not.

Franz Marc, SP. Marc looks to most to be more of a lover than a fighter, but the Colonels scouts have uncovered some pretty interesting things about this man's personality. He's currently going to college in Munich, Germany, studying to become a painter. He's produced some pretty interesting pictures, like this one that he shows off to people but refuses to sell:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Yellow-cow.jpg

That being said, he's also a dedicated member of the German peoples, a quality some say could get him into trouble in the future. The Colonels, however, see patriotism as one of the greatest virtues a man can have.

New York Giants

George Marshall, 2B. Marshall is a man who would be equally at home on the Louisville or Washington teams, but has that special gift that makes him a New York prize instead. You see, Marshall has a plan. It involves giving money and services to countries that really don't need it like France, but he insists that eventually this will be a really, really good idea. As virulent an anti-communist as you can find, the Giants hope he can turn that feeling into victory when his squad faces the Reds in the proposed National League setup.

Sexton Blake, SS. Blake has already appeared in many of the "penny dreadfuls" so popular across the Atlantic Ocean. He is a detective extraordinaire. Many think he's just a copycat of Sherlock Holmes, but a closer look shows him to be much lighter of foot and prone to action. He has his very own rogue's gallery that includes a superhuman, a career criminal, and an albino with glowing red eyes. However, as is often the case with heroic types, Blake always comes out on top in the end.

Philadelphia Phillies

John Boyd Orr, SP. A Scotsman by birth, Orr is all about getting people to eat the right thing. He views the Boston Beaneaters' palate with disgust. "You shouldn't eat that much fat," he told the Reports staff. "In a very real sense, you are the things that you put into your body." He then went on a 3-hour long lecture about this, which we have to admit we kind of tuned out. Good pitcher though.

Pittsburgh Pirates

Ned Kelly Jr., RF. The son of notorious bushranger (what is a bushranger, anyway? It sounds like something out of an Oscar Wilde play) and the leader of the infamous Kelly Gang, the junior Ned Kelly has sought to defend his father's few virtues on the baseball diamond. One thing that he has taken from his father is that he insists on wearing an iron breastplate to the plate. This is quite controversial, as it allows him to lean into pitches and take his base without feeling so much as a twinge of pain. In addition, there is no question when he is hit, as a loud clanging noise is produced. We're told the cranks love it.

Harry H. Laughlin, SP. Laughlin is something of a questionable choice for a Pirate. As manager Fred "Bluebeard" Clarke told us, "aye, we been lookin' for bonafide pirates but we hain't been able to find any so we just went for a right jerk instead. Avast!" Laughlin's particular field of study (and object of scorn) is eugenics, the belief that we can improve mankind by keeping the stupid people from breeding. We applaud the general idea but something seems off about it. We're not sure... oh, the fact that this flies in the face of the Bill of Rights. That's what.

St. Louis Cardinals

Johnny Gruelle, SP. Johnny Gruelle is such a wonderful man! He saw that his little sister's doll had no face due to the Depression of '91 and he drew one on it and called it "Raggedy Ann". He's also astonishingly good as a painter. He paints fences, houses... oh, we are just kidding! A little Christian levity there. Seriously, look at his painting sometimes. It's not any of that bizarre modern art garbage this generation is putting out. Gruelle's paintings harken back to an earlier, simpler time. A time of fairy tales and myth. He controls his baseballs nearly as well as his paintbrush, which is of course a big plus for the Cardinals.

Ernest Bloch, LF. Bloch is a budding composer who loves the sounds of Hebrew melodies. To us, they sound quite a bit like cats caterwauling in unison, but Bloch apparently sees something else. He's a perfect fit for the Cardinals, as this and his predilection for old classical music forms with Latin names brings the team the sort of scholarly theism they crave. And he has a good arm, too.

Washington Nationals

Kuniaki Koiso, C. The Nationals continue to go abroad to find their talent. Kuniaki Koiso is a bit of a military man but he has just enough of the diplomatic flair to satisfy the requirements of the team. Politically, he prefers moderaton to radicalism and is a really big fan of the crazy Japanese religion known as Shinto (ed. note: the opinions of the idiots who write this stuff does not reflect the opinion of the Thriftlon Reports as a whole). We're not sure why he's called The Tiger of Korea, seeing as how he's Japanese. He just is.

W.T. Cosgrave, SP. Cosgrave seems like too much of a fighter to be a key member of the Nationals, but Washington assures us that beneath this gruff exterior lies the heart of a man who could help found a government if he wanted to. Proper demeanor or no, Washington is just plain amazed that a talent of his level was not sought out sooner: this man throws 4 pitches for strikes, induces ground balls, and is solid in stuff, movement, and control. He might just become the first man in history to win 200 games and lead his country's Parliament for 10 years.

[Syd Thrift]

National League Standings

Team			W	L	PCT	GB	Pyt.Rec	Diff	Home	Away	XInn	1Run	M#	Streak	Last10
Boston Beaneaters	41	29	.586	-	41-29	0	16-17	25-12	4-2	10-8	84	W4	7-3
Philadelphia Phillies	40	30	.571	1.0	43-27	-3	20-15	20-15	1-2	9-9		W1	7-3
Baltimore Orioles	37	33	.529	4.0	35-35	2	19-16	18-17	3-1	14-14		W2	7-3
Washington Nationals	33	37	.471	8.0	34-36	-1	15-23	18-14	3-6	15-15		L1	2-8
New York Giants		30	40	.429	11.0	29-41	1	16-18	14-22	4-3	12-10		L2	5-5
Brooklyn Superbas	29	41	.414	12.0	30-40	-1	14-21	15-20	3-4	8-12		L4	2-8

American Association Standings

Team			W	L	PCT	GB	Pyt.Rec	Diff	Home	Away	XInn	1Run	M#	Streak	Last10
Cincinnati Reds		47	23	.671	-	41-29	6	22-13	25-10	4-1	14-4	80	W3	8-2
Pittsburgh Pirates	42	28	.600	5.0	44-26	-2	25-7	17-21	4-3	12-13		L3	6-4
Saint Louis Cardinals	36	34	.514	11.0	33-37	3	19-16	17-18	2-4	9-9		L5	3-7
Chicago Colts		35	35	.500	12.0	38-32	-3	23-15	12-20	3-3	10-11		W5	8-2
Louisville Colonels	33	37	.471	14.0	36-34	-3	19-16	14-21	3-4	8-15		W2	3-7
Cleveland Spiders	17	53	.243	30.0	19-51	-2	9-26	8-27	1-2	8-9		L2	2-8

Beaneaters Slow Down, Open Up Race

The Boston Beaneaters took a step back after their tremendous start and as a result the National League has turned into a 4-team race. Only the Superbas and surprisingly mediocre Giants are on the outside looking in. Erik Pritchitt did turn in the top pitching performance for the Nationals last year and singlehandedly kept Boston on top of the league. He currently sports a gaudy 18-5 record with a miniscule 2.11 ERA. In only his 3rd season in the bigs, he's become every bit the ace that Boston hoped he'd be. Youth rules the day for Boston; 23-year-old Lonzo Amill has played himself into the cleanup spot, where he leads all Beaneaters in triples, runs, and on-base percentage.

The Phillies, meanwhile, have ridden a 19-13 mark since the end of May to calculate their way into the race. This despite major injuries to catcher Ju-Wei Si-ma (at this point, the term "catcher" ought to be used lightly to describe the aging vet, but he's still useful as a pinch-hitter) and first baseman C.C. McTary. In the latter player's stead, Tom Cruse has conducted a fair amount of "risky business", hitting .293 and hitting a powerful 5 homeruns - 4 of them on the road. Who plays when MacTary returns in another month? Nobody knows. The pitching staff features 3 starters with sub-3.00 ERAs: Jerry "Magoo" Watson (11-4, 1.81 ERA) Jim "Checkmate" MacNeiledge (9-11 but with a 2.86 ERA), and David Pininfero (9-9, 2.25). Outside of Cruse, this is not a young team, so the time is now.

The Orioles and Nationals are trying their best to capture a pennant in what will probably be their last seasons in major league baseball. Baltimore has shown everyone that if you have an ace starter (Snoopy Haddon, 16-8 with a 2.94 ERA) and the league MVP (Dolan Packard, .372, 38 R, 28 RBI) you can more or less tread water with the rest of your team and still stay in the race. Washington has a still-young lineup that captured the hearts of National League fans in 1898. It's anchored by super-veteran Matt Barlow, the greatest hitter in the short history of this league.

Reds Dominate AA In Final "Junior" Pennant Race

Despite witnessing one of the most bizarre meltdowns in sports history, the Reds sit atop the American Association with more than twice as many wins as losses. Maurizio Monighetti, a fan and front office favorite, forced the Reds' hand when he started the season slow and only got worse as the year went on. He started the year hitting .146 in April, which, awful as it sounds, was his best month as he followed that with a .126 mark in May and a .116 in June before he finally called it a day. Multiple theories exist as to why Monighetti transformed so suddenly from hero to zero. The Reds claim he was poisoned by unnamed capitalists. Boston scribes opine that he didn't eat enough. Our own opinion is that Monighetti just didn't look like he wanted to earn a living playing baseball anymore. He seemed lackadaisical in the spring, too, and we were not terribly impressed by the way he ended his 1899.

The draining effect Monighetti had on the lineup makes this team's record all the more remarkable. Joshua Williams and Bill Copeland are a combined 30-8, and when Riordan Rowell started the season on a bad note the Reds compensated by indoctrinating Brooklyner Tommy Wace in exchange for a couple of prospects. 7 Reds are hitting over .300, with vet Rumor Mill Woehning a potential 8th with a .299 average. Shortstop Drake Gates is having a season that rivals his MVP performance in 1898, hitting .373 and posting an on-base percentage near .500.

This year's Cinderella story has been the Pirates of Pittsburgh. After nearly a decade of doing little but losing, the Pirates are clubbing their opponents into submission. 378 runs almost halfway through the season may not seem like much, but in this offensive context it's the #1 total in the Association. John Choate seems nearly unaffected by the new foul-strike and wear-gloves rules and is hitting an exciting .388. Unfortunately, that applies to both sides of the diamond: he's committed 10 errors already in left field and has the range of a 15-pound cannon in a world of 30-pounders. Ty Graham might have stolen all of Maurizio Monighetti's hits: he's gone from a .168 average and a probable release (he was only kept on the squad because the team felt that Chris Fortescue needed some competition in spring training) to a .343 average and an All-Star Game appearance.

[Syd Thrift]

National League Standings
Team			W	L	PCT	GB	Pyt.Rec	Diff	Home	Away	XInn	1Run	M#	Streak	Last10
Boston Beaneaters	70	52	.574	-	71-51	-1	31-29	39-23	6-5	17-13	32	W2	8-2
Philadelphia Phillies	69	53	.566	1.0	76-46	-7	38-22	31-31	4-7	14-18		W1	4-6
Baltimore Orioles	62	60	.508	8.0	60-62	2	30-32	32-28	6-3	21-22		L1	5-5
Washington Nationals	62	60	.508	8.0	64-58	-2	26-34	36-26	4-9	21-24		L2	6-4
New York Giants		58	64	.475	12.0	56-66	2	32-30	26-34	7-5	22-16		W2	5-5
Brooklyn Superbas	45	77	.369	25.0	45-77	0	20-42	25-35	6-4	13-15		L2	2-8

American Association Standings
Team			W	L	PCT	GB	Pyt.Rec	Diff	Home	Away	XInn	1Run	M#	Streak	Last10
Cincinnati Reds		83	39	.680	-	80-42	3	41-21	42-18	6-2	23-9	18	L1	7-3
Pittsburgh Pirates	68	54	.557	15.0	72-50	-4	44-16	24-38	5-4	17-20		W2	3-7
Saint Louis Cardinals	65	57	.533	18.0	65-57	0	34-26	31-31	4-5	13-17		W1	5-5
Chicago Colts		63	59	.516	20.0	64-58	-1	36-24	27-35	6-4	19-18		W1	6-4
Louisville Colonels	57	65	.467	26.0	61-61	-4	34-28	23-37	3-8	14-22		L1	6-4
Cleveland Spiders	30	92	.246	53.0	29-93	1	18-44	12-48	2-3	14-14		L4	3-7

And Then There Were Two: NL Pennant Race

At this point, the NL race looks more like the "which team gets to be stomped on by the Reds" contest, but lest we get too down on the parity of the league, we ought to realize that the AA features a team in the Spiders that essentially guarantees victory to their opponents. The closest thing that the NL has to patsies are the Dodgers, who actually lead the league in scoring! So don't listen to the critics who predict a Temple Cup sweep. Whoever comes out of the Nationals will be battle-tested and ready.

The Boston Beaneaters have appeared to have recovered from a midseason malaise that saw them play sub-.500 baseball in June and July. They were a solid 17-11 in August and are looking to prove their detractors wrong by leading the league in steals, average, and slugging percentage. Their lineup features a strong balance between youth (2B Lonzo Amill, .329 BA, 45 RBIs, 32 steals), journeymen (3B Ken Vine, rescued first from the Spiders and then the Dodgers), and Original Bostonians (CF Ernie Merwin, .339, 39, 22). Rotationally, much has been made of Erik Pritchitt's maturation into a world-class starter and we won't repeat any of it here except to say that without his 29-10 record the Beaneaters may well be under .500.

The Phillies are nobody's slouch, though. They are scientifically adept at coaxing walks out of pitchers and as such lead the NL in on-base percentage. We'll touch on their top performers in a bit, as they'll be featured in our MVP Watch.

Reds Chase A Different Kind of Record

Everybody wondered how it was that the Reds couldn't repeat last year after such a dominating 1898, but they're proletarian hitting and pitching system has silenced all the critics. If they finish 21-11 or better, the Peoples' Ballclub of Cincinnati will wind up with the greatest record in the history of major league baseball, surpassing the Colts' 103-51 record of 1895 (for those who don't remember or who have only recently tuned into this wonderful sport of ours, that was the year the Colts featured triple 26-game winners and both Nivens O'Mulvaney and Ed Scalf broke the .370 mark). They have just 6 games left against the Spiders and all of them are on the road, so it may be a little premature to anoint their name in the record books just yet.

NL, AA MVP Races

The staff at Thriftlon Reports, stat mavens all, have designed a rating system for the MVPs in both leagues based on several criteria. We've also selected the top 10 candidates in each league. The leader in each criterion receives 10, the 2nd place finisher gets 9, and so on down the list. Below are our explanations of the different metrics and why we think they ought to be included:

Batting Average: Possibly the ultimate stat in professional sports. Hits divided by at-bats. How much simpler and yet more instructive can you get?

Team Wins: Because if you don't contribute to victory, what good are you? As the saying goes, we finished last with you, we'll probably finish even worse without you but looky here's a draft pick.

Runs Batted In: We're told there's a pretty good correlation between this and batting average, but we need to reward the players with innate clutch abilities. Which do, of course, exist.

Stolen Bases: Sometimes a player will do something on the basepaths to help his team drive in runs and win, even if that something doesn't show up in the box scores. Steals are a reflection of this. We've noticed, in addition, that players who steal a lot of bases also harry the pitchers in at-bats when they aren't stealing, take an extra base on hits and productive outs more often, and increase the enthusiasm of the cranks, leading to a pleasing baseball atmosphere.

Defense: The one subjective of the group. What good is a player who hits .400 but who has a sub-.900 fielding average? Still a lot, we think, but definitely less than if he had a .950.

NL MVP
Player			Team	BA	Wins	RBI	SB	Def	Total
Lonzo Amill		BOS	8	9.5	1.5	10	6	35
Matt Barlow		WAN	6	4.5	9.5	9	4.5	33.5
Jim McNeice		BOS	2	9.5	9.5	6	4.5	31.5
Mike Altmann		PHN	9	7	3	5	7	31
Chris Scholey		BRK	6	1.5	6	7.5	9	30
Pearce Fulbrook		NYG	6	3	8	3	8	28
Nathan Middlemass	BRK	10	1.5	4.5	4	3	23
Von Craufurd		BAL	1	4.5	4.5	2	10	22
Kevin MacKeochan	PHN	4	7	1.5	7.5	2	22
Tom Cruse		PHN	3	7	7	1	1	19

10. Tom Cruse, 1B, Phillies. Cruse is having a great season and all, but he's turrible slow on the basepaths and is an outstandingly bad first baseman. We're not saying he doesn't have a chance if he has a great month of September... but it's got to be a really great month. And probably someone else will need to get injured. And the Phils have to win the pennant.

9. Kevin MacKeochan, 2B, Phillies MacKeochan is on this list because he's a 2-time NL MVP ('96, '98). He's really not having an MVP-type season.

8. Von Craufurd, C, Orioles. Craufurd is a very solid defensive catcher, having won Gold Gloves for the position in '96 and '97. Snoopy Haddon credits him for much of his success. That being said, defense can only take you so far in this league, and aside from leading the NL in doubles Craufurd has been decidedly average so far.

7. Nathan Middlemass, 1B, Superbas. Currently the league leader in average. This is Middlemass's first full season as a starter and probably needs another year or so of seasoning before he can be considered a true MVP contender. He also gets significant minus points for the poverty of his team's defense; as a first baseman, he ought to be able to influence that a bit.

6. Pearce Fulbrook, 2B, Giants. The brightest spot in a tough, tough Giants season. Captain New Jersey fields his position as well as anyone on this list, but his position is only 2nd base so he has to be ranked behind those who play tougher spots (Craufurd and Scholey). While it's not his fault that the Giants have completely fallen apart, he's not carrying the team into contention either.

5. Chris Scholey, CF, Superbas. The presence of Scholey and Middlemass on this list should tell you all you need to know about the Superbas' pitching. Scholey would probably play a corner outfield position on a contending team, but he's not terrible as a CF. Everything Scholey sees goes into play; so far this year he has just 4 walks and 26 Ks in 103 games and over 430 at-bats.

4. Mike Altmann, 3B, Phillies. We just aren't sure about Altmann. As the great general once said, "the map is not the field" and we wonder if Altmann's high average is really that indicative of his overall ability. He did quite a bit of work in the offseason improving his fielding and is on pace to commit just over half as many errors as last season. That upgrades him to average to above average at the hot corner. However, no Phillie subscribes more to the "hit the ball where the defender is not at the moment" scientific philosophy of the team and we are not convinced that getting lots of slap singles at the expense of the long ball truly makes one a better hitter.

3. Jim McNeice, 1B, Beaneaters. Nothing Mayor McCheese does is spectacular but he keeps doing it day after day. There's not much that can be said about him, good or bad. He's just a gamer.

2. Matt Barlow, 1B, Nationals. We're going to be very sorry to see Barlow leave to the upstart rival league. He's the greatest player in League history, and at 33 he has several more productive seasons ahead of him. Even though Barlow's team isn't the greatest this year, he's a contender for the MVP because he brings it all to the game: hitting, clutch ability, speed, and good defense at first.

1. Lonzo Amill, 2B, Beaneaters. This kid is only 23 years old and already he's our #1 selection for MVP this year. Amill is a role model for "husky" children everywhere; he has taught the world that you can be large and still be a base-stealing threat.

AA MVP
Player			Team	BA	Wins	RBI	SB	Def	Total
Drake Gates		CIN	10	9.5	9	7	10	38.5
Bill Snow		CIN	4	9.5	6	5	7.5	27
Mark Lucott		PIT	6	6.5	10	3	2	24.5
George Theodore		PIT	5	6.5	7	2.5	3.5	22
Jon Choate		PIT	9	6.5	5	4	1	21.5
Nivens O'Mulvaney	CHN	1	2.5	8	6	9	20.5
Johnston Long		PIT	3	6.5	3.5	8	5.5	18.5
Rowan Dillon		CHN	7	2.5	3.5	9	3.5	16.5
Carl Hendron		LOU	8	1	1.5	10	5.5	16
Dave Bulwer		STL	2	4	1.5	1.5	7.5	15

10. Dave Bulwer, 2B, Browns. Last year's AA MVP really doesn't look like a strong contender this year. He's hampered in part by the Cardinals' admonition against committing any of the Seven Deadly Sins, least of all stealing. He's a very solid fielder, though, and a good month could get him right back in this race.

9. Carl Hendron, CF, Colonels. Hendron's had a pretty puzzling career. Two years ago he'd come over to the Colonels from the Colts and looked like something of a bust. Since then, though, he's moved from left into center and has really turned his hitting game up a notch. He's a leadoff hitter, which cuts into his RBI chances, but you can't leave him out of any MVP discussion.

8. Rowan Dillon, 3B, Colts. Don't blame the downfall of Chicago on Mr. Dillon. Even while his team around him is falling apart, Rowan continues to hit. In just his 2nd full season in the bigs, the upstart third sacker is 4th in the AA in average and 2nd in steals. We expect even bigger and better things in the future from this lad, if not from his team.

7. Johnston Long, CF, Pirates. Another player hurt by hitting leadoff instead of the "MVP slots" of 3rd and 4th. However, when the rest of your lineup includes guys like Jon Choate, George Theodore, and Mark Lucott, you can afford to bat a guy like this at the top of the order. Long is currently the only player in the bigs to get to double figures in home runs this season.

6. Nivens O'Mulvaney, LF, Colts. We're just glad to see that "Quack" hasn't hung up his cleats for the year yet, which is what he had to do at about this time in both '99 and '98. He's a little off the pace in MVP numbers, but this is not a man you should ever count out (that is, if he's actually playing). He may actually be the best fielder of this group with 7 Gold Gloves to his name, but those awards are for play in left field so we felt there ought to be an asterisk or something.

5. Jon Choate, LF, Pirates. Choate has gone into a slight slump recently and ceded the batting lead to Drake Gates for the time being. He may recapture it, but despite the gaudy (.386) average, we give two reasons why Captain Two Percent shouldn't take home the MVP honors: his lack of speed on the basepaths (the Pirates choose to not run him not for religious reasons but practical ones) and his absolutely brutal play afield (he's gotten better but still looks like a converted first baseman out there). Still only 22, our statisticians inform us that Choate's "career" BA is the highest in the history of the league.

4. George Theodore, 3B, Pirates. Theodore has made an interesting transition from Buc #4 of the Pirates' "4 Buccaneers" offense to their cleanup hitter. In addition to finishing in the money in both average and RBIs, he fields the "hot corner" with an enthusiasm that we think will lead to several Gold Gloves in the future.

3. Mark Lucott, 1B, Pirates. Lucott paces all Associationeers in RBIs but recently was moved down in the order by his team due to the stellar play of Theodore. Ironically, with Johnston Long, Theodore, and Choate all hitting in front of him, that probably gives him even more RBI opportunities. He's the top MVP candidate on a Pirates team that is the Cinderella story of the year and maybe the decade.

2. Bill Snow, 3B, Reds. We're concerned that the presence of 2 Reds at the top of the MVP List might split the vote. Not that concerned because #s 3 and 4 are Pirates, but still a bit concerned nonetheless. Snow is an Original Red who is, simply put, having a career year. He's a solid and sometimes great third baseman and is a big part of Cincinnati's incredible season.

1. Drake Gates, SS, Reds. It almost gets boring putting this guy on the top of MVP lists year after year after year. Almost. Watching this guy play, you wonder how he doesn't have 9 MVPs to his name. He has failed to hit at least .322 just once in his career (his rookie season of 1892, when he had just 190 at-bats) and this year he's bucked the trend by having the best season of his career. When you have a guy who hits .388 for you and gets on base nearly half the time he comes to the plate, it's hard not to win a lot of games. When that same player provides Gold Glove-quality defense at shortstop, you sign his brother (Tim, the second baseman), sister, aunt, dog, and mailman to contracts and hope that his mojo has rubbed off on them.

[canadiancreed]

JUst curious are you in control of any teams, or are you playing the commish and leaving the teams to their own devices?

[Syd Thrift]

Originally Posted by canadiancreed

JUst curious are you in control of any teams, or are you playing the commish and leaving the teams to their own devices?

I play in God mode, which means I control everyone. That unfortunately means that the whole Montrell Liotta thing was my, um, doing (I won't say "fault" because I reap my own consequences!). The lone exception is that there's a single level of minor leagues that I let run itself, except when I call people up or demote them.

I've been slowly working in more and more control each season. For example, this past year was the first time I started taking a real interest in spring training: I set up several position battles and awarded the starting job coming out of the gate to the player that performed the best (really cool feature, by the by - waaay better than just assigning someone points and seeing how they grow). This next year I'll be adding historical stadia and will probably be using the Baseball Timeline to generate off-field events in the universe.

Thanks for the notice!

[jaxmagicman]

Originally Posted by canadiancreed

JUst curious are you in control of any teams, or are you playing the commish and leaving the teams to their own devices?

Geez dude, he said that in like the first post. Hehe.

[Syd Thrift]

It was an interesting last year for the old league structure. One team set a record for futility, two dynasties came to an abrupt end, and at the end of the season it was announced that three very mediocre teams would not be joining the newer, larger National League in 1901 and would spawn their own rival league instead. What did they expect to gain by this? Nobody but the owners of the Washingtons, Baltimores, and Louisvilles know for sure. Before those 3 announced their intentions, rumors swirled that Brooklyn might lose their franchise, but in the end only the Spiders were disbanded.

Team			W	L	PCT	GB	Pyt.Rec	Diff	Home	Away	XInn	1Run	Streak	Last10
Philadelphia Phillies	88	66	.571	-	95-59	-7	49-28	39-38	5-8	21-25	L1	3-7
Boston Beaneaters	87	67	.565	1.0	87-67	0	41-36	46-31	8-6	23-19	L5	4-6
Baltimore Orioles	79	75	.513	9.0	78-76	1	36-41	43-34	7-5	27-29	W5	8-2
Washington Nationals	78	76	.506	10.0	78-76	0	34-43	44-33	5-9	28-28	W5	8-2
New York Giants		74	80	.481	14.0	74-80	0	40-37	34-43	9-8	25-22	L3	2-8
Brooklyn Superbas	56	98	.364	32.0	57-97	-1	25-52	31-46	8-6	18-19	W1	5-5

American Association Standings
Team			W	L	PCT	GB	Pyt.Rec	Diff	Home	Away	XInn	1Run	Streak	Last10
Cincinnati Reds		98	56	.636	-	96-58	2	48-29	50-27	7-3	24-15	L1	5-5
Saint Louis Cardinals	85	69	.552	13.0	86-68	-1	44-33	41-36	6-5	16-20	W1	7-3
Chicago Colts		83	71	.539	15.0	83-71	0	46-31	37-40	6-4	25-20	L2	5-5
Pittsburgh Pirates	83	71	.539	15.0	86-68	-3	52-25	31-46	6-4	21-22	L1	6-4
Louisville Colonels	74	80	.481	24.0	78-76	-4	44-33	30-47	3-9	18-28	W2	5-5
Cleveland Spiders	39	115	.253	59.0	38-116	1	21-56	18-59	2-5	18-17	W1	2-8

Temple Cup
------------
Cincinnati defeated Philadelphia, 4 games to 2

[Syd Thrift]

ed. note: we regret to inform our reading public that the normal stringer for the Spiders died tragically while trying to "bungee jump" off of the Niagra Falls. Sadly, bungee cords have not been invented yet and the elastic underwear bands he used proved too flimsy. He shall be missed.

Overview: Is anybody really reading this? Seriously, this is a team that set a major league record for losses and who as a result is no longer in the league. The only people looking at this right now are either grade-A masochists or are my parents. Speaking of which, hi mom! Loved the socks you sent me for Christmas. No, really. I like socks. Money would have been nice, but I probably would have just spent it on socks anyway, so you're one step ahead!

Pitching

Name			Age	W	L	G	GS	Sv	IP	HAGG	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	VORP
Brian Gilbert		21	4	15	38	21	2	188.0	218	109	4	120	40	5.22	-19.8
*Brian Mellen		35	4	18	22	22	0	175.2	194	94	4	115	49	4.82	-12.9
Frank Pilkington	26	8	9	30	15	1	165.0	207	72	2	70	51	3.93	6.2
*Ed Gargen		21	5	14	38	28	1	157.0	170	51	2	31	53	2.92	23.6
*Felix Cossa		33	5	10	16	16	0	125.1	127	48	3	66	42	3.45	10.0
Larry MacCaa		29	4	10	15	15	0	104.2	149	64	1	53	25	5.50	-14.4
Reardon O'Mullany	23	3	4	52	0	14	95.0	119	44	3	45	25	4.17	1.2
Satoru Sakai		22	3	7	11	11	0	82.1	107	56	4	46	20	6.12	-17.0
*Carthage Nurse		26	0	8	23	5	1	73.1	107	65	3	69	10	7.98	-30.3
Gar Wood		17	0	8	20	5	0	62.2	90	44	5	56	21	6.32	-14.3
John O'Cloonan		29	3	2	6	6	0	42.2	41	10	1	12	11	2.11	9.3
Lou Gazard		30	0	5	6	6	0	38.1	51	38	4	36	2	8.92	-20.6
*Doug Alcester		30	0	4	4	4	0	27.2	39	21	1	22	4	6.83	-8.4
*Jim Cox		19	0	1	4	0	0	8.2	14	7	0	10	2	7.27	-2.9

Don't be fooled by the low-sounding 4.83 team ERA. The bottom dropped out of offenses around the majors this year. That is, except when they played the Spiders. Only the Dodgers came close to matching the Spiders' generosity: in a universe where nobody other than Brooklyn gave up more than 700 runs, Cleveland gave up over a thousand. Brian Gilbert and Brian Mellen were by default the team aces and finished a combined 8-33. If either of them are in the bigs next year, I'll be surprised. Not as surprised as I'll be next holiday season if I get something other than socks, but still pretty surprised. 14 pitchers used is... a lot. I doubt that record will ever be broken.

Catcher and First Base

Pos	Player			Age	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	VORP
C	#Dave Daniel		24	84	267	22	74	15	1	1	36	2	.277	8.4
C	 Carey Waye		25	60	126	4	20	4	0	0	8	0	.159	-11.6
C	*Scott Bedford		31	35	126	13	32	7	2	0	15	0	.254	0.3
C	*Horst Verhaar		23	20	71	11	16	2	1	2	10	0	.225	0.6
1B	#Ron Eshelman		32	150	539	64	142	26	7	5	59	2	.263	5.8
1B	#Bill O'Moledy		24	20	67	7	10	3	1	1	6	0	.149	-6.6

Dave Daniel actually put together something of a decent season as the Spiders' stopgap backstop. He would have ranked 2nd to last in runner thrown out percentage had he qualified, but hey. This is the Spiders we are talking about here. Next to guys like Carey Waye, the man looked like an All-Star. And how much does it hurt to be Ron Eshelman? The man was a Spider from the day the league formed. He gave the best years of his life to this team, and for what? The possibility of being signed by some AAA team or, if he's really lucky, catching on as a pinch-hitter with one of the new American League squads? Mind you, we're not saying he's any good. It's just sad, is all.

Infield

Pos	Player			Age	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	VORP
2B	#Lawler Gillespie	31	97	387	53	85	7	3	1	23	16	.220	-26.3
2B	 Tommy McCarthy		23	83	276	35	83	10	7	0	20	6	.301	11.0
2B	Lou Baverstock		28	29	40	4	10	1	0	1	2	0	.250	-1.3
2B	#Barney Gillen		31	24	37	1	8	0	1	0	4	1	.216	-1.2
3B	*José Quenones		34	81	317	35	92	9	4	0	28	6	.290	5.6
3B	 Gary Veatch		26	53	111	13	21	3	0	0	9	5	.189	-8.0
SS	 Cawthra Penington	24	98	328	35	92	7	4	1	28	22	.280	0.7
SS	*John Parris		26	113	322	31	77	14	5	2	35	1	.239	-3.9

You wouldn't know it from last year but there was a time when Lawler Gillespie was actually a decent player. This is a man who hit over .300 for the first six years of the league and was talked about as a potential MVP candidate at times. Then the bottom fell out of his game. Last year he kept losing his job and then taking it back due to injury or gross ineffectiveness on the part of his replacement. Finally the Spiders realized that as bad as the guys who were in the lineup instead of him were, they couldn't possibly meet the badness of Mr. Gillespie. He was released in late August, one week before the team was allowed to expand their roster. The business acumen of this front office was truly the equal of their on-the-field won-lost record.

The poor offensive totals listed above really only tell half the story, as the Spiders also had far and away the worst fielding percentage in the American Association. As it happened, the Nationals of Washington tied them for the overall major league lead with a .937 record (and actually committed a few more errors by dint of their fielders being able to cover more ground), but that's more of a bad mark against the new American League team than a good mark for this one. Tommy McCarthy did manage to break the .300 mark in his rookie season; he's probably the best bet of this group to find work in 1901.

Outfield

Pos	Player			Age	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	VORP
LF	*Phil Russ		22	102	411	55	124	20	8	3	38	1	.302	20.3
LF	#Erin Winterscale	29	59	118	12	30	4	3	1	10	1	.254	1.5
LF	 Clint Heath		33	52	117	10	33	6	1	0	10	0	.282	0.2
LF	*Dante Bommarito	32	25	30	2	8	2	1	0	4	2	.267	-0.5
CF	*Eddie Hoddell		27	134	439	73	122	12	8	6	47	16	.278	13.3
CF	#Kemen Adams		28	44	158	17	29	6	2	4	11	1	.184	-10.1
RF	*Bob Trantham		22	90	356	41	117	14	7	1	52	14	.329	23.1
RF	 Leandro Brando		27	71	208	12	47	9	4	0	19	0	.226	-6.8
RF	*Ryan Carpenter		30	7	2	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	.500	0.3

If anyone could be named the most valuable player on this team, Bob Trantham would be it. The illustrious young right fielder was called up in midseason and wowed the sparse Spiders crowds both at the plate and in the field. Were it not for the Reds' Cody Plummer, Trantham could well have won Rookie of the Year honors. His and Phil Russ's prospects for the future are probably the least dim out of anybody who played for Cleveland last year.

Well, by now anybody who was reading this has likely fallen asleep. No, wait. I mean they've gone on to other things. Falling asleep would likely cause them to dream about the Spiders, and those dreams are properly termed "nightmares". I am so glad that I do not live in Cleveland.

[Syd Thrift]

Overview: The Superbas proved the old saw that states that good pitching always defeats good hitting. Or at least they proved its converse, that bad pitching will overcome good hitting every day of the week. Brooklyn led the National League in hitting, yet finished dead last for the 3rd consecutive season due to a team ERA a full run higher than the next NL club. This team started out horrible (1-10 in April) and finished horrible (27-60) but in amidst all that was a 28-28 run when everyone was healthy and the pitching hadn't yet lost its confidence. That gives Brooklyn fans at least some measure of hope for the future.

Name			Age	W	L	G	GS	Sv	IP	HAGG	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	VORP
Phil Tanner		25	10	27	42	42	0	305.2	362	148	16	115	41	4.36	4.3
Larry MacCaa		29	6	11	23	23	0	158.1	216	100	2	71	27	5.68	-22.4
Layton Walls		25	8	11	20	20	0	158.0	200	75	9	62	53	4.27	3.7
*Paul Cossart		26	3	16	22	20	0	152.1	195	86	7	74	44	5.08	-9.4
*Tommy Wace		26	10	8	19	19	0	151.0	177	62	3	26	36	3.70	10.5
Jeremy Winkley		21	5	12	38	24	0	139.2	179	82	8	38	14	5.28	-11.7
Brad Leach		29	5	3	48	0	3	95.0	120	39	1	33	26	3.69	8.1
Chris Langdon		23	3	3	35	0	2	74.1	86	30	2	21	14	3.63	6.8
Conway Shelvin		29	2	5	45	0	7	66.0	77	18	2	10	17	2.45	13.4
*Claude Cugnoni		25	4	0	26	0	3	47.0	52	13	1	8	22	2.49	10.0
*Joseph Campbell	19	0	2	6	6	0	24.0	38	15	2	5	9	5.63	-2.9
Gary O'Larkin		29	0	0	1	0	0	0.1	1	0	0	0	0	0.00	0.2

Not the finest of years. Tommy Wace was the ace of the staff for the first part of the season but as the season began to unravel for them yet again, they pulled the trigger on a blockbuster trade to the Reds of Cincinnati. They picked up erstwhile closer Brad Leach and 2 highly touted prospects in the deal, but one wonders if Brooklyn will ever emerge from the cellar if they keep making deals like that. Now the staff ace role is held by Phil Tanner, who has won just 13 of 50 decisions so far in his young career but still has some ability to improve. Other than him, the Superbas put several other pitchers onto the mound last year with mixed results.

Catcher and First Base

Pos	Player			Age	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	VORP
C	 Clifton Joubert	22	67	235	11	55	3	0	0	34	0	.234	-9.7
C	 Dave Cotgrove		23	76	197	21	52	1	2	1	22	0	.264	-0.4
C	*Dylan Nelson		30	91	187	14	43	8	0	1	23	1	.230	-1.9
1B	*Nathan Middlemas	25	143	558	79	194	26	9	3	65	6	.348	35.5
1B	#Fred Raber		21	19	47	8	15	2	0	0	8	1	.319	-0.1
1B	 Bill MacAlduie		22	15	14	5	2	1	0	0	1	0	.143	-0.9

Dylan Nelson's skills continued to erode and by season's end the Superbas were allowing youngsters to don the tools of ignorance for this team. Problem was, they hit nearly as poorly as the incumbent, and they were not as adept defensively. Dave Cotgrove could get moved to another position, although his sophomore year saw him look very much like a catcher when it was his turn to bat. Nathan Middlemas was perhaps the best story on this team last year. His emergence allowed Brooklyn to trade Tom Cruse to the Philadelphia Phillies in exchange for a first round draft pick (which later turned into pitcher/funny man Mack "Keystone Kop" Stennett). If he remains with the team, he'll probably lead the charge into contention.

Infield

Pos	Player			Age	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	VORP
2B	 Frank Raines		23	48	190	33	51	4	3	0	15	7	.268	-1.7
2B	Proinsias Forsayth	21	49	163	21	47	1	1	0	16	9	.288	-4.5
2B	 Terrence Swarbrick	23	66	152	16	40	10	0	0	12	3	.263	-2.2
2B	Harvey Bulkley		27	47	111	15	24	3	1	1	9	3	.216	-4.8
2B	 Doug Dubin		33	42	93	13	23	2	3	3	12	7	.247	-0.5
3B	*Bailey Hamilton	25	89	376	57	115	17	7	5	38	15	.306	10.6
3B	*Ken Vine		34	54	216	37	71	15	6	1	25	22	.329	12.9
3B	*Terry Kernodles	35	33	42	3	5	2	0	0	2	1	.119	-4.3
SS	*Devlin Shaner		23	124	484	77	153	18	7	0	56	21	.316	16.3

Frank Raines showed a lot of potential a season ago, but a rash of injuries has left his career in doubt. When he was not in the lineup the Superbas scuffled at the keystone position. Part of this may have been the Brooklyn coaching staff's reluctance to award the job to anyone in particular, although an argument could be made that they didn't give up the job because nobody wanted it badly enough. Expect open competition this spring.

Bailey Hamilton took over the hot corner duties for Ken Vine, who was dispatched to Philadelphia in exchange for prospects. It looks as though for once they got the timing just right: the 2-time AA batting champ hit just .239 after the trade. Devlin Shaner put in another quiet but solid performance. He missed out on winning a second consecutive Gold Glove to Boston's Nelson Johnson, but committed a career-low 34 errors and provided what little infield continuity the team had in 1900.

Outfield

Pos	Player			Age	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	VORP
LF	 Gary O'Larkin		29	90	312	44	87	8	7	0	25	8	.279	-7.0
LF	 Murrough Smethhurst	22	69	240	34	88	11	7	4	36	1	.367	24.0
LF	Kirwin Pacy		24	95	237	34	66	5	5	2	30	20	.278	-3.5
LF	 Bill Ruffner		30	9	9	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	-1.7
CF	 Chris Scholey		28	133	568	70	179	26	14	2	74	19	.315	25.2
RF	*Valentin LoschiLosurdo	32	87	351	41	101	10	5	4	52	0	.288	7.6
RF	 Dave Blair		28	59	166	26	43	7	4	0	17	16	.259	-2.4
RF	*Loman Trane		41	24	67	4	10	0	1	0	8	0	.149	-8.0
RF	*Nari Miniato		34	4	13	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	-2.5

Chris Scholey must feel as though he's wasting the prime years of his career away in dismal Brooklyn. Last year he seemed to be the only outfielder more concerned about hitting baseballs than being a hit on the Broadway stage, at least until youngster Murrough Smethhurst was called up. Since they were well out of the race, the Superbas decided to allow Smethhurst to learn a brand new position in the major leagues. He committed 24 errors in just 50 games, but still arguably contributed more with his bat than he gave up with his glove. The team made another bizarre move in trading Valentin LoschiLosurdo to the Cincinnati Reds for a draft pick and a player (Nari Miniato) they had no intention of keeping. This created a void in right field for the rest of the season that at one point in time they tried to fill with super-veteran Loman Trane. Predictably, the former Louisville Colonel proved too old to swing a bat.

[darkenigma510]

I heart the Spiders. RIP.

[canadiancreed]

Originally Posted by darkenigma510

I heart the Spiders. RIP.

and their writer.

[Syd Thrift]

Overview: After contending for the AA pennant into the last week of 1899, Colonels cranks had some very high expectations for their club. Sadly, the Louisville nine did not quite meet them. This was a team built to "mind the fort" in military terms, but the good defense (2nd in runs allowed) carried with it a very poor offense (4th in average, 5th in runs scored). Still, it seemed that that old bugbear of military men, luck, was the largest culprit in causing the Colonels to lose so many games. You'll never hear them complain about this, but it's rare that a team finishes 6 games below .500 despite outscoring their opponents. According