Thriftlon Reports

[Syd Thrift]

Overview: Despite never having won more than 76 games in a single season (and that in the inaugural 1892 year, when all bets were off), the Pirates of Pittsburgh entered the year with a swagger. They'd pilfered maybe the best young player of the league from the hapless Cleveland Spiders, and years of losing had caused them to accumulate many high draft picks that were translated into several budding stars of their own. When Johnston Long bravely predicted a pennant for this team, he made sportswriters around the country break into hysterics. However, for 2 months at least this team proved them wrong. They started the year 42-25 and looked destined to... well, let's just say destined.

That the young crowd fell off that pace and ended with 83 wins is nothing to be ashamed of. These scalawags have learned a valuable lesson from 1899: that the major league season is not a 60 game jaunt but a long, 154 game cruise. Out of all the teams in the new National League, these may be the best suited to challenge the Reds.

Name			Age	W	L	G	GS	Sv	IP	HAGG	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	VORP
Samuel Ouellette	24	23	15	42	40	1	327.2	349	111	6	72	133	3.05	38.9
Chris Tippett		32	22	13	40	40	0	302.1	346	136	11	94	43	4.05	0.6
*Kerry Osbaldeston	27	13	12	41	35	0	258.0	298	97	3	65	66	3.38	20.8
Ted McQueil		29	10	14	26	26	0	211.1	260	94	15	51	56	4.00	1.5
*Teh-huai Wang		25	5	9	79	0	16	138.2	152	54	0	36	74	3.50	9.1
Brent Poldermans	37	10	8	40	13	2	130.0	160	59	5	45	22	4.08	-0.3

As befits a team modeled after the swashbucklers of times past, the Pirates are not a team that deigns to put you to sleep with tricky pitching and acrobatic defense. No, this club wields its baseball bats like saracen swords and bludgeons you into submission. All that's needed from the pitching staff, then, are guys who will keep the sword-smashers in the game. Samuel Ouellette has turned into that sort of player. He's not going to wow you with lots of strikeouts. However, he keeps the ball down and as a result yielded more than 4 earned runs in a game just 7 times out of 40 starts. This wonderful first-year starter provided quite an inspiration for the rest of the staff.

Catcher and First Base

Pos	Player			Age	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	VORP
C	*Mark Miller		26	129	502	83	172	14	4	7	78	0	.343	46.9
C	 Alfred Eberhart	27	92	149	14	33	4	1	0	22	1	.221	-1.9
1B	*Mark Lucott		27	154	636	96	208	28	6	4	106	3	.327	43.9

Mark Miller led all backstops in average, hits, runs, RBIs, and total bases. We think that pretty much sums up why he is the best catcher in all of baseball. Like so many great players on this team he is under 30 years old, too. We think as fondly of the Pirates' future as we do of rum and fine wenches.

Mark Lucott may be overlooked by some, but in fact he's really the player this team built around. Lucott started playing with these Pirates back when they were a bad team with seemingly no hope to ever contend. Even now that such lumunaries such as Johnston Long, John "Captain Two Percent" Choate, and Mark Miller have come along, he was still the man who led this squad in runs batted in. It's no wonder he's been named to the All-Star game each of the last 3 years. He even wrested control of the American Assocation Gold Glove from Ron Eshelman, who didn't really have anything better to do with the Cleveland Spiders.

Infield

Pos	Player			Age	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	VORP
2B	 Gianluca Pezzo		22	132	497	84	131	11	6	3	66	14	.264	8.5
2B	*Chris Fortescue	31	57	110	8	12	3	2	0	8	6	.109	-12.7
2B	#Pete O'Radaghan	30	51	71	7	16	3	2	0	11	0	.225	-2.2
3B	#George Theodore	23	146	559	90	172	20	6	12	96	0	.308	46.3
3B	 Bill McIldowie		27	36	44	3	11	1	0	0	7	0	.250	-1.4
SS	#Ty Graham		28	142	565	104	156	17	13	5	61	10	.276	18.8

Just think of how much better this team would have been had they made the switch away from Chris Fortescue at the beginning of the season rather than a month into it. His lack of performance came somewhat out of the blue in the sense that you never see a .109 batting average coming; on the other hand, this is a guy who hit just .239 the year before and had a sub-.900 fielding average to boot (and we do mean, to boot). The real puzzler is that as of the end of the season this guy was still on the major league roster. What foul things does he know about the Pittsburgh Pirates owner?

George Theodore is, as mentioned last year, the forgotten member of this team. He isn't the greatest third baseman in the world, having committed 58 miscues last season, but he hits so well that the fans are willing to, well, forget that. If Ty Graham played for the team in Brooklyn, he would be feted nightly. On the Pirates, he's just another bat.

Outfield

Pos	Player			Age	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	VORP
LF	 Jon Choate		22	132	548	82	207	27	7	1	95	5	.378	67.0
LF	 Chris O'Hanlon		29	47	98	7	25	3	0	0	12	0	.255	-1.8
LF	*Ned Kelly Jr.		22	32	50	13	18	1	0	2	15	1	.360	7.0
CF	#Johnston Long		22	143	535	136	165	20	7	11	62	53	.308	58.6
RF	 John Bebbington	36	113	317	50	90	5	3	1	38	22	.284	12.6
RF	 Hollis Arnold		28	68	248	26	41	14	2	0	21	0	.165	-15.9
RF	 Bill Campbell		31	3	9	1	3	1	1	0	3	0	.333	1.2

This team is so loaded with young talent, they make the baby Jesus cry. Actually, what's closer is that this team swears so much that they make the baby Jesus cry. Except for strait-laced Jon Choate, of course... but he terrorizes pitching to such a degree that he may as well have a pirate's mouth. Choate has a long career ahead of him as the kind of supervillain who is so good and kind that you want to beat him over the head with a shovel, only you can never ever do so because then you would look the part of the villain. His sidekick Johnston "Kid" Long, who is not named because of his childish nature but because of his resemblance to Captain Kidd. He's so fast that he once was made to walk the plank and ran across it so fast that he was able to jump and land on another plank 20 yards away.

And to top if all off, this team *also* has 1899 draftee Ned Kelly Jr. on the squad. Which is a very good thing since Hollis Arnold looked like he committed acts of rape and pillage upon himself last year.

[Syd Thrift]

Originally Posted by canadiancreed

btw just wanted to say that I heart the team reviews after the end of the season. VERY nice touch.

Thanks. It takes forever to write these, but they REALLY help you get immersed into the league and pretty soon you're liking the Johnston Longs of the world even more than the Rickey Hendersons.

[Syd Thrift]

Overview: The Colts' AA dynasty was not as extreme or storied as the New York Giants' NL one, but prior to last season they had managed to win 4 of the last 5 pennants and contended well in 1898. They also didn't fall nearly as hard as the Jints; a strong (37-23) finish actually saw them pull even with the Pirates and finish just 2 games out of 2nd. It wasn't so much a story of the Chicago cowboy club falling apart, then, as it was about a new dynasty taking their place.

As to the why... the team just got old, is all. Players like Nivens O'Mulvaney, Jesse MacLagan, and Glenn Spiller, who had contributed so much in the past for this team, simply did not perform at such a high level last year. There were some flame-outs too (most notably original Colt Tomas Colhoun), but mostly everybody got just a little worse. Can this team rebound back into contention? Anything is possible for a team whose very name summons images of American self-reliance, but we suspect they'll need an infusion of new talent to get back on the proverbial saddle.

Name			Age	W	L	G	GS	Sv	IP	HAGG	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	VORP
#Jesse MacLagan		29	23	21	50	49	0	392.1	414	126	7	69	165	2.89	68.4
Glenn Spiller		30	22	16	44	44	0	338.1	398	121	14	81	51	3.22	47.3
#George Duffy		38	15	17	39	39	0	263.2	334	111	8	97	26	3.79	21.1
Martínez Bajana		26	11	6	51	16	3	170.2	198	68	6	41	34	3.59	17.2
*Paul Howell		35	6	5	56	0	22	93.0	91	28	4	26	32	2.71	17.9
Vince Davenport		30	2	3	9	6	0	40.2	66	23	4	8	8	5.09	-2.3
*Sean Nickerson		29	2	2	22	0	4	40.2	31	8	0	10	15	1.77	11.9
*Mike Smerdon		28	2	1	14	0	3	34.0	38	17	0	9	9	4.50	0.2

Perhaps it's too much to expect a guy like Jesse MacLagan to "have it" year in and year out. He did post his lowest ERA since 1892 but also matched his low in wins. He's still quite a workhorse but one wonders if 9 years at about 400 innings apiece hasn't taken a toll on his arm. His compatriot Glenn Spiller underwent a troublesome renaissance; before this season he was known as one of the stingiest players in the league in terms of allowing the longball. Last year he had the 6th highest total of HRs allowed in all of baseball! Fortunately the rest of his game was still relatively solid.

Catcher and First Base

Pos	Player			Age	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	VORP
C	 Tony Stone		31	116	266	46	71	8	3	4	33	1	.267	18.7
C	 Rodolphe Bartoccini	25	76	227	26	63	4	2	0	23	0	.278	1.4
C	 Will Rogers		23	23	88	7	18	2	0	0	13	0	.205	-4.8
1B	 Tomás Colhoun		33	118	355	42	90	4	5	0	47	2	.254	-11.7
1B	C.C. McTary		32	45	138	15	34	6	0	0	21	0	.246	-5.2
1B	 Ted Smith		25	26	102	22	41	5	5	0	19	10	.402	14.0

The Thriftlon Stathead has Tony Stone rated, on a per-at-bat basis, the 3rd best hitting catcher in all of baseball. We just don't see it. Sure, his BB/K ratio is impressive (71/6), but the Stathead should really know by now that walks are usually the result of a pitcher's wildness, not a hitter's skill. And for all of his supposed ability to get on base, what does the man do once he's on? Very little. If the Colts are lucky the next batter hits into a fielder's choice and upgrades team speed on base. We're not sure Stone was the best player on this team, let alone the league. Speaking of thoughts of "best", we'll note that young Will Rogers looked a little overmatched at the plate, but one must also note that during the month he started, the Colts played some of their best baseball.

The fall of Tomas Colhoun was precipitous and scary, so much so that it would not be surprising to see him regain the starting role this preseason. If he falters again, Ted Smith proved that he's man enough for the job.

Infield

Pos	Player			Age	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	VORP
2B	#Albert Mangoni		31	110	363	49	81	6	3	6	50	6	.223	-2.0
2B	 Ron Fye		25	38	55	7	14	0	0	0	3	5	.255	-0.1
3B	*Rowan Dillon		25	147	612	140	208	23	8	7	70	69	.340	59.0
SS	 Tim William		32	143	507	111	155	17	7	4	50	28	.306	33.6
SS	 Bob Parker		26	26	87	9	28	5	2	1	19	1	.322	7.2
SS	 Zander Bostic		25	32	82	5	15	0	1	0	2	3	.183	-6.8
SS	Tom Martin		29	40	77	3	9	4	0	0	5	0	.117	-10.6

When Albert Mangoni posted a batting average under .225 for the second consecutive season, that was enough for the Colts and he was unceremoniously released. He has a long history of shining at the plate, however, so don't be surprised if he turns up somewhere in the American League. Rowan Dillon was the team's unsung hero in '00 and the Stathead says that Tim WiLLiam was the 3rd best player on the team. Again, though, much of that value is iffy value supported by WiLLiam's luck at happening to be the guy at the plate when the opposing pitcher loses his stuff. We asked him about this and he said, "Let me tell you this, meat. I like walking a whole lot more than I like running. And I like running just fine." He then directed us towards his "PR man", one Rob in Phoenix. We think it was a joke but we didn't get it.

Outfield

Pos	Player			Age	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	VORP
LF	 Nivens O'Mulvany	35	133	528	83	151	16	8	5	102	31	.286	14.6
CF	*Ed Scalf		32	111	433	73	137	16	9	1	63	49	.316	9.6
CF	 Maximiliano Bonizo	30	92	255	37	74	10	6	1	28	10	.290	6.5
CF	 Harry Scherer		36	15	12	2	2	2	0	0	0	0	.167	-0.1
CF	*Sesto Cimabue		31	6	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	-1.2
RF	 Jay Robbins		28	145	558	80	172	20	9	5	101	5	.308	38.1

You know what? The Stathead is an idiot. Nivens O'Mulvaney is now at best an average player? Okay, maybe he doesn't hit for the gaudy averages he used to in the gay 90s, but this is still a man who passed the century mark in RBIs. Only four people did this in 1900 (including teammate Jay Robbins). Has the Stathead mistook "top-rated clutch hitter" with "average player"? We wish everybody could age as well as Quack O'Mulvaney.

Ed Scalf is another guy who got hurt and who is woefully underrated by the so-called stat "expert". That last column, VORP, is something he makes us include. If you ask me, it should be "game winning RBIs" or "sacrifice hits" or something else more useful. I don't even know what VORP is! It sounds like some sort of trail mix you make with raisins and peanuts.

[Syd Thrift]

Overview: The Cardinals management is willing to accept that perhaps refusing to allow its players to steal bases except under the most dire circumstances may have been a mistake. They are nothing if not magnanimous. And beatific, which doesn't have lot to do with this except to point out their beatitude. In any case, last year could be considered a rousing success in that the St. Louis team walked away from theft, taking 2nd or 3rd just 39 times the entire season. Good Christian fans rejoiced across the country over seeing all this virtue. Sadly, this virtue also led to the team being just 4th in the AA in runs scored, overwhelming a solid effort by the team's pitching. The pennant was lost by 13 games so the lack of running may not have made much of a difference... but even so. The fans deserve more.

So we re-open the floodgates, realizing that yes, in fact, the term "stolen base" is just a figure of speech and the Cardinals aren't really taking anything when they are aggressive on the basepaths. After all, second base is still there to be had when they leave the field!

Pitching

Name			Age	W	L	G	GS	Sv	IP	HAGG	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	VORP
Stephen Vickers		25	22	18	46	45	0	370.0	406	120	13	125	107	2.92	63.3
Mike Hebert		29	24	19	46	46	0	363.1	386	132	0	103	125	3.27	48.7
#Orran Meager		30	20	15	45	45	0	330.0	328	91	7	85	103	2.48	71.7
Kent Sanders		25	4	6	20	10	2	98.1	113	45	6	37	36	4.12	4.5
Dan Hanson		21	7	6	26	8	0	83.1	104	40	2	46	21	4.32	2.0
Conway Shelvin		29	3	1	22	0	4	35.0	44	13	1	4	10	3.34	4.4
Ettore Castelucci	32	3	2	32	0	5	49.2	55	26	1	31	13	4.71	-1.5
Talley Graham		34	2	2	24	0	3	40.1	43	21	1	28	8	4.69	-1.1

Stephen "Parochial" Vickers has much to be proud of. Mike "Saint" Hebert has a reputation beyond repute, and Orran "Penitent" Meager is just an all around good guy. The front office has bequeathed those nicknames upon their starting trinity so that way whenever they win a 2-1 game, the fans will realize just who they are winning that 2-1 game for. It is true that up until now, Mr. Meager was known as "Strikeman Irish". While we appreciate the churchgoing sense of the Irish peoples, we believe that this is too vulgar a nickname for a man whose face is lifted to the sky for such a large part of the day.

Dan Hanson looks to be the team's 4th starter should they need one this year, but he doesn't get a nickname until he proves his holiness upon the field of the green cathedral.

Catcher and First Base

Pos	Player			Age	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	VORP
C	 Scott Syrett		28	129	468	61	137	16	3	0	49	0	.293	8.2
C	*Elliott Strong		26	64	84	13	18	1	0	2	16	0	.214	-0.8
C	*Ju-wei Si-ma		43	22	32	6	12	1	0	0	9	0	.375	4.0
C	Harvey Kline		29	18	27	5	4	0	0	0	1	0	.148	-1.5
1B	 Bob Perry		29	147	575	78	180	20	5	7	83	0	.313	19.0

Scott Syrett finished second in the league in runners holily smited percentage, striking down 44.4% of all who dare face his armly wrath. When you think about it, he really finished first, as Renau Cosaro is a godless Communist and therefore smites nothing in a holy manner. He is blossoming into an otherworldly backstop whose skill at handling pitchers nearly equals his skills in preventing criminal acts from being committed by the opposition. He supplanted teammate Harvey Kline as the final American Association Gold Glove catcher.

Bob Perry at first provides necessary muscle for this team. The slugger - if 7 home runs in a season does not define "slugger", we don't know what does - finished 2nd on the team in RBIs and third in doubles. He also finished 2nd in walks with 56, which would be a fine total if not for the triple-digit calmness Dave Bulwer.

Infield

Pos	Player			Age	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	VORP
2B	 Dave Bulwer		29	154	628	127	191	21	13	8	69	0	.304	44.8
3B	 Roger DeMowbray	30	124	466	57	122	14	8	0	64	6	.262	-8.7
3B	Paul Woolcock		29	104	356	52	128	17	7	2	55	8	.360	23.4
SS	#Loren Larson		27	117	391	48	122	7	5	3	36	2	.312	14.4
SS	 Cal Roddis		27	53	73	9	27	1	2	0	15	6	.370	8.0

We asked Dave Bulwer, the perennial team MVP, to lead the team in a show of ascetic restraint, and he shocked us with his diligence. Not one time last year did Bulwer even attempt to steal a base! This came after years where he swiped 70 and 73 bases. It made us weep for joy and to reward him we will allow him to scamper freely next season without regard to the law.

Roger DeMowbray just didn't look right to us last year and that's one reason why Paul Woolcock was such a Godsend. Playing for his third team in three years, Woolcock proved that his NL Rookie of the Year campaign in 1898 was no one-time conflagration of good events. His .360 average paced the team. Loren Larson, like Woolcock, is a better hitter than a pitcher, but given this team's defensive highs and offensive lows, the Cardinals are okay with this situation.

Outfield

Pos	Player			Age	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	VORP
LF	Chris Dean		24	142	560	94	165	18	10	3	63	0	.295	9.1
LF	 Cooley Wellwood	29	101	135	16	46	8	1	0	25	1	.341	7.8
CF	*Ray Cable		30	129	550	79	163	34	14	1	85	12	.296	12.3
CF	#Eric Sullivan		27	32	102	20	33	4	3	0	15	3	.324	4.1
RF	*Sean McGilvray		32	104	396	41	114	7	7	1	52	0	.288	7.3
RF	*Toby Mudd		24	103	235	37	67	6	2	3	36	1	.285	9.5

Although there is no one spot of the outfield that made teams concentrate on a weakness, the Cardinals' outfield was so devoid of strength that one could claim that they were at fault for the team's failure to win an AA title. Chris Dean got a starting job when he joined Dave Bulwer in denouncing the steal and looked adequate. We think that with a constant "green light" to steal compared to the "red light" he had before (green for God's pastures, red for sin of course) he will get much better. Ray Cable led the team in RBIs but finished last among qualified CFs in range factor with 2.71. And over in right field, Sean McGilvray and Toby Mudd combined to form a league-average player.

[Syd Thrift]

Overview: Pittsburgh may have gotten all the press, but it is in our opinion that the real Cinderella story of the 1900 season was the Boston Braves. As you all know, Cinderella is the story of a young woman who is forced to become a bootblack or similarly proletariat occupation due to the presence of some mean step-sisters or cousins or something. As part of her boot-blacking duties, she is forced to sleep upon seven mattresses. Little does she know that underneath the mattresses there is a single sirloin steak. She eats it and then when they find it out they declare her the king because only a king would be so ravenous for meat that she'd eat something she'd just slept on.

Similarly, Boston emerged after nearly a decade of losing to very nearly become the best team in the National League. They actually had a chance until the 2nd to the last day of the season, and then only dropped out because of a 5 game losing streak to end the year. Had they not faltered late, not only could they have won the pennant, they could have won 90 games! As it was, their 87 victories is by a large margin a team record.

Pitching

Name			Age	W	L	G	GS	Sv	IP	HAGG	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	VORP
*Erik Pritchitt		25	33	13	49	49	0	393.2	348	78	4	54	158	1.78	115.6
#Scott Hight		26	24	20	49	49	0	390.2	422	127	7	57	79	2.93	69.4
*Keith Gages		31	14	13	52	38	4	298.2	327	112	7	64	87	3.38	39.2
*Jeremy McKinney	32	6	10	18	18	0	132.2	136	44	0	32	19	2.98	22.7
Mike Green		33	5	3	53	0	19	85.2	66	14	1	9	47	1.47	27.9
*Davin Galbreath	28	5	6	42	0	1	64.2	61	17	0	16	12	2.37	14.4
*Bobby Ralph		30	0	2	13	0	1	20.0	26	9	0	12	4	4.05	1.3

This time last year, we were all about Scott "Undertall" Hight's emergence as a top-level starter. Well, last year Erik "The Rebel" Pritchitt (so named due to his clubhouse habit of *not* applying mayo to all of his sandwiches) leapfrogged him to take ownership of the coveted stopper role. It was a great season for Pritchitt, who led all pitchers in both wins and ERA and took home the National League Pitcher of the Year award. Hight had a solid season as well (the stat guy says he was the 8th best pitcher in all of baseball by that weirdo stat he makes us put at the end), although the end result was that he was just another 20-win, 20-loss player last year. All this was almost enough to make everyone forget the flameout Jeremy McKinney had when he came over in a midseason trade. The supposed savior of the rotation went just 6-10 for the Beaneaters and although his starting job is secure, he ought to be ashamed.

Catcher and First Base

Pos	Player			Age	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	VORP
C	 Bradley Patterson	27	129	504	59	148	20	8	1	60	3	.294	17.7
C	 Paulie MacKenzie	27	48	101	9	32	5	0	0	11	0	.317	4.2
1B	*Eric McNeice		30	154	620	81	187	30	6	5	93	12	.302	6.7

With long-time eating champion Ju-Wei Si-Ma dispatched in a preseason trade, the Beaneaters were forced to start from scratch behind the plate for the first time in team history. Well, that's unfair, since Bradley Patterson had the majority of at-bats at the position in 1899 as well, but it may as well have been. Luckily for Boston, their "new" backstop proved to be up to the task and if anything a better fielder than the outgoing China national. Our one concern is that Patterson played a lot of innings at the position last year; will he be able to play as much? Paulie McKenzie looked okay as a backup last season but we're just as unsure of his ability to replace Patterson as we were of Patterson's to replace Si-Ma (even if Si-Ma was kind of freaky).

Durability is not a problem with Mayor McCheese, who started every game for the Beaneaters for the third consecutive season. Here's a man who plays every day, hits .300, and has the clutch ability to lead the team in RBIs. What more could you ask for from your first baseman?

Infield

Pos	Player			Age	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	VORP
2B	*Lonzo Amill		23	134	511	77	161	23	16	4	62	43	.315	30.1
3B	*Ken Vine		34	58	217	29	51	10	0	1	28	12	.235	-9.8
3B	*Domynguos Parelez	37	80	173	15	36	4	2	2	21	1	.208	-8.9
3B	 Roderick Glass		21	53	166	17	51	3	0	0	16	2	.307	0.4
3B	 Ron Lanyon		33	13	48	0	11	1	1	0	8	0	.229	-0.9
SS	 Nelson Johnson		25	144	471	56	122	10	4	2	43	11	.259	-6.9
SS	Stan Hollick		30	108	113	15	22	2	1	0	15	5	.195	-9.2
SS	*Dan Strickland		31	63	92	7	15	2	0	0	6	2	.163	-10.3

Problems in the infield are probably what kept this team from beating the high-science Phillies. To a point, this is to be expected, as one's reflexes are blunted a bit after eating an entire turkey, but here the problems seemed to have been primarily from the offensive end rather than the defensive one (and we will not go any further with that particular metaphor). Lonzo Amill, at least, was fine. His game was off from the year before - getting just over half his '99 output of runs scored was a particular concern - but the performance was still good enough to net him team MVP honors.

Outside of him, though, things were not good. It got to the point where they traded a second base prospect and a draft pick to the lowly Brooklyn Superbas for Spiders castoff Ken Vine. Vine has a long pedigree of hitting. He's 12th lifetime in hits. 14th in average, and 7th in stolen bases. Although age has forced him over to the hot corner and away from shortstop, he was still considered a ferocious hitter, at least before he came to Beantown. Unfortunately, he really struggled at the plate here and his future with the Beaneaters is in doubt. Nelson Johnson is your classic good field no hit shortstop, which would be fine if so many other members of the team did not also lack hitting skill.

Outfield

Pos	Player			Age	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	VORP
LF	 Will Munger		33	124	392	46	84	7	7	0	21	37	.214	-20.1
LF	Dave Wilson		22	130	360	49	113	11	6	3	48	36	.314	12.2
CF	 Ernie Merwin		30	110	441	80	138	19	13	8	50	32	.313	26.5
CF	*Dennis Dean		26	33	79	14	25	4	3	0	6	5	.316	4.9
CF	 Jim Shears		25	31	42	5	8	1	0	0	5	1	.190	-2.2
RF	*Dan DeBose		27	109	368	57	109	8	7	4	34	19	.296	12.6
RF	 Gennarino Chiaudani	29	60	116	12	35	6	5	0	14	8	.302	5.9

It wasn't exactly that the Boston coaching staff *wanted* to keep playing Will "The Hunger" Munger, it's just that everybody they replaced him with kept getting hurt and he was always just... there on the bench. You can't blame a person for showing up, can you? I guess you could blame him for not showing up last year. He went from slap-hitting speedster who can win a game for his team on the bases to anemic fast guy who couldn't get on base often enough to demonstrate his prodigious skills. Given their situation in the outfield, it's likely that Boston will give him a final chance to show he has something left.

Ernie Merwin, when healthy, was the best hitter on the team. Problem was, a strained knee shelved him for almost 2 months, so Lonzo Amill was awarded team MVP honors instead. Out in right, the Beaneaters hope that one of Dan DeBose, Gennario Chiaudani, and Dennis Dean will emerge as the starter for '01.

[Syd Thrift]

Overview: 1900 should not be seen as merely a victory for the Philadelphia Phillies, but also a victory for science and the scientific method. The Phillies' management started with a hypothesis: what would happen if we scored the most runs and gave up the fewest in the league? They then tested it, and although the real world is not the greatest laboratory they did manage to duplicate the pitching side of things. Hitting-wise, they finished a mere 8 runs behind the Brooklyn Superbas. Well, the test results were positive! The Fighting Phillies of Philadelphia were for the 3rd time in the short history of the NL the best team. Actually, in the entire history of the league there have been but two champions: the Giants and the Phils. Now the Reds and Pirates are coming over from the tattered remains of the American Association, but watch as they shall fall against the mill-wheel as well!

Pitching

Name			Age	W	L	G	GS	Sv	IP	HAGG	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	VORP
*Jerry Watson		31	23	12	46	46	0	341.2	293	71	4	78	184	1.87	95.8
*David Pininferino	33	21	16	45	45	0	353.1	308	80	3	104	128	2.04	92.8
Jim McNeiledge		32	19	22	45	45	0	367.1	391	125	6	101	108	3.06	57.0
#Jimmy Baker		29	10	8	74	1	19	138.2	124	39	3	47	20	2.53	29.3
Rick Haider		27	12	7	50	10	3	135.2	150	44	1	51	57	2.92	23.2
Martin Cheney		19	3	1	7	7	0	48.2	45	19	1	24	20	3.51	5.3

Such was the depth of the Phillies' talent at pitcher that the league Rookie of the Year Rich Haider was but a backup reliever who took to starting towards the end of the season. This team just missed having not one, but two pitchers with sub-2.00 ERAs. For the sake of reference, pitchers have allowed fewer than 2 earned runs every nine innings a grand total of 3 times in league history (twice this season). Top to bottom, this was an absolutely monstrous staff that should dominate opposition hitting for years, nay, decades to come.

Catcher and First Base

Pos	Player			Age	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	VORP
C	*Renau Cosaro		28	123	419	35	91	8	0	4	54	4	.217	-14.7
C	 Gallagher Tarrant	24	61	117	13	24	3	0	1	9	0	.205	-4.1
C	*Ju-wei Si-ma		43	26	62	6	16	0	0	1	3	1	.258	0.3
1B	*Tom Cruse		25	144	572	75	175	20	8	10	89	0	.306	15.7

Why, some ask, did the Phillies stick with Renau Cosaro as he hit so poorly all season long? Yes, we will admit, 1900 was a trying year for him in many ways. But what the Johnny come latelys do not realize is that for every run Cosaro doesn't score at bat, he prevents three from scoring at the plate. Last season he committed just 16 errors and 4 passed balls at catcher and set league records for both the highest fielding average at his position ever (.972) and the highest runners thrown out percentage as well (44.9). You could almost say that the Phillies couldn't afford to keep him out of the lineup.

Tom Cruse excelled in his first year as a Phillie. Coming from the Superbas, he did not get as many RBI opportunities as with them due to his hitting lower in the lineup. However, a .300 average, double-figure homeruns, and a top 10 finish in those good old runs batted in is what you look for in a first baseman. He's also no slouch with the glove, finishing 3rd among major league first basemen in fielding average. We'll chalk up his relatively low range numbers to the fact that the Phillies pitching gets so many strikeouts.

Infield

Pos	Player			Age	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	VORP
2B	 Kevin MacKeochan	35	136	526	91	178	23	3	1	60	19	.338	39.4
2B	*José Quenones		34	24	52	6	10	0	1	0	3	2	.192	-3.2
3B	 Mike Altmann		30	133	517	62	172	11	1	2	60	10	.333	20.9
SS	 Ning Zhang		28	73	310	49	101	9	1	3	34	24	.326	9.8
SS	*Rod van Schoonhoven	28	74	199	17	50	4	4	0	20	1	.251	-7.8
SS	 Rowan Caird		28	88	174	13	52	7	2	0	23	0	.299	1.8
SS	#Cormac Kersey		24	10	9	1	2	1	0	0	0	0	.222	-0.1

Even when things broke poorly for the Phillies, they ended up working out well. Witness Ning Zhang's mysterious Chinese abdominal injury, which sidelined him for the second half of the season (and threatens to keep him out well into 1901 as well). This ailment gave longtime backup Rowan Caird a chance to star, and star he did. Should Zhang need more time, expect Caird to be more than equal to the task.

Kevin MacKeochan, almost as an afterthought, won the NL MVP and is showing no signs of slowing down at age 35. The last time a Phillie has not won the MVP was 1897; MacKeochan took it in '98 as well, and Ning Zhang was their man last year. It makes Mike Altmann, who quietly posted a .333 average, the weak link in the infield chain, at least in the sense that by definition one link must be weaker than the rest.

Outfield

Pos	Player			Age	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	VORP
LF	*Galimberto Eccelino	29	131	386	61	88	18	4	8	39	11	.228	-2.4
LF	#Lonan Eve		22	105	254	26	87	7	4	2	31	3	.343	19.7
LF	*Floyd Pickleheimer	27	48	67	7	15	3	0	0	6	1	.224	-2.8
CF	 Fred Jacobsen		24	115	498	90	123	13	11	8	39	50	.247	-4.8
CF	Dougal Mossman		28	51	169	20	42	7	1	0	11	11	.249	-5.0
RF	*Doonan Elmes		25	142	508	60	149	16	9	2	72	11	.293	16.6
RF	 Bob Mathie		33	75	89	13	22	4	5	0	13	6	.247	0.8

As if Renau Cosaro wasn't example enough, the Phillies' outfield proved that if you provide great defense, you do not need great offense. This is especially true if you produce from positions that you don't expect production from, like second and third base and shortstop. Remember, this team, despite all these supposed ne'er do wells, finished 2nd in the National League in batting average. Fred Jacobsen leads the charge of the glove brigade. He won the Gold Glove in center field for his third consecutive season. What he lacks in arm strength (just 2 steals last year) he more than makes up for in range afield (3.22 range factor, despite all the aforementioned Ks that eat into Tom Cruse's totals).

On the corners, the Phils ran with Galimberto Eccelino and Dougal Mossman when they needed defense, Lonan Eve and Doonan Elmes when offense was at stake. Actually, Elmes is a fine defender as well, having led all RFs in average and finishing 2nd in total innings played. He lacks the powerful arm you want to have to prevent the first-to-third base movement, though.

[Syd Thrift]

Overview: Though they finished well off their 1898 mark of 105 wins, the Peoples' Ballclub proved once again that the power of the proletariat is stronger than any other power out there. In an amazing first, the Reds had the league MVP, the league Pitcher of the Year, *and* the league Rookie of the Year. It was as if voters around the league were all themselves indoctrinated into the wonderful Cincinnati Propaganda Machine.

Room for improvement? Sure. The Reds last year locked up the pennant race relatively early and kind of stumbled in September (15-17 from September 1 to the end of the season). Some say that was a result of resting starters and so on, but it's still a little troubling. The working man does not put down his wrench just because he's working so much harder than anybody else. Still, if we have to temper our enthusiasm, we temper it only slightly. The World Series victory marked the Reds' 2nd in 3 years and now they will be able to prove their might over the entire National League. Dance 'round the maypole!

Pitching

Name			Age	W	L	G	GS	Sv	IP	HAGG	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	VORP
*Joshua Williams	29	31	15	53	53	0	359.2	344	132	7	157	172	3.30	46.2
Bill Copeland		32	22	16	44	44	0	332.0	354	103	7	99	91	2.79	60.3
*Tommy Wace		26	17	7	29	29	0	238.1	235	66	3	66	75	2.49	50.3
*Riordan Rowell		29	13	10	48	19	1	192.2	234	97	5	83	48	4.53	-0.2
*Edgar Wallace		32	8	5	75	0	26	145.0	144	35	1	28	52	2.17	35.9
#Todd Warwick		31	4	3	7	7	0	57.2	61	29	2	36	16	4.53	-0.1
*Oisín Daroch		24	1	0	23	0	6	40.0	30	5	0	6	11	1.13	13.8
Tom Wilbanks		25	2	0	2	2	0	14.0	12	2	0	7	1	1.29	4.8

Another year, another 30 wins for Joshua Williams. He generously allowed many people to reach first base via the base on balls last season but as it turns out this was only to fill the bourgeoisie with false hope. One thing we would worry about if we were inclined to worry about the Pitcher of the Year are his innings pitched numbers; despite giving the People's Ballclub 53 starts again, he averaged just under 7 innings. Now, it's nice that he could do that thanks to the excellent "bull pen" of Riordan Rowell and Edgar Wallace, but what would happen if one of those men went down? Again, it's just excessive worry.

Tommy Wace looked great coming over from the Superbas but did get hurt down the stretch. Hopefully he'll be ready to go by Opening Day. And the man that the Thriftlon Reports actually pays to sit in a little office and calculate statistics (can you imagine a less meaningful job?) says that Bill Copeland was actually the staff ace last year. Now we know why his skin is so lily-white: it's clear he hasn't been to see a ball game in years.

Catcher and First Base

Pos	Player			Age	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	VORP
C	 Tyler Lenard		26	129	473	72	152	24	5	7	75	2	.321	37.9
C	#Austin MacHowell	29	47	90	11	19	3	0	0	14	2	.211	-4.5
1B	*Cody Plummer		22	140	427	76	140	20	7	9	79	1	.328	33.3
1B	*Maurizio Monighetti	31	48	203	22	26	5	4	1	17	2	.128	-22.5

Tyler Lenard may not have set any gaudy records last year, but he was still a truly great catcher. There's not much more that can be said about that. At first base, some may wonder why it was that Maurizio Monighetti was given so much time to prove himself so unworthy of being a major leaguer. Well, all we have to say is this: he was perfectly fine the year before, and we've never seen such a precipitous drop. Also, the man is so active with the party that proper measures must be taken there as well. In any case, once the Reds finally did allow him to concentrate on agitation full-time, his replacement Cody Plummer was just plain stupendous. Rookie of the Year was just the start for him, we think.

Infield

Pos	Player			Age	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	VORP
2B	Tim Gates		34	89	343	41	99	11	6	0	47	1	.289	2.0
2B	 Dan Wayland		27	81	232	35	68	13	1	0	21	0	.293	2.5
2B	 John Pasley		29	56	112	10	35	4	0	0	21	1	.313	2.1
2B	*Cooper Chamings	34	12	40	6	12	1	1	0	6	3	.300	2.6
3B	 Bill Snow		32	131	541	78	169	30	18	0	88	14	.312	26.2
SS	 Drake Gates		32	132	515	95	198	41	15	0	102	50	.384	72.9
SS	#Jules Caccio		32	14	40	8	10	1	2	2	8	1	.250	3.5

Drake Gates was not merely the American Association's Most Valuable Player last year. While the rest of major league baseball suffered an offensive downturn, Gates refused to succumb and flirted with .400 all season long from the most important defensive position in the field. We were surprised to see that this was only the 4th best season by a shortstop in the history of the game, though we were not surprised that the years in front of it were Gates' '98 and two years by Kevin MacKeochan. Gates is constantly redefining what it means to play the position. And he's not merely an offensive powerhouse: he ranked 2nd in baseball in fielding average and 4th in range factor for the position.

Bill Snow was very solid as well. Tim Gates kept getting hit in the head with baseballs and missed a good deal of time in 1900 as a result. His replacements were pretty decent, though, so if Gates is too afraid of hard-throwing pitchers to continue, he is a cog that can be replaced. Well, he is more than a cog. He is a human being. But he can still be replaced in our lineup, if not our hearts.

Outfield

Pos	Player			Age	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	VORP
LF	 Dowd Swanne		24	142	557	112	210	12	4	3	48	61	.377	43.4
LF	*Will Woehning		44	75	163	28	49	7	1	1	23	2	.301	2.9
LF	*Valentin LoschiLosurdo	32	37	41	7	13	4	0	1	8	0	.317	3.9
CF	 Franklin Sluggett	26	130	473	60	119	11	7	4	50	31	.252	-17.2
CF	*Ambrose Braithwaite	33	66	96	18	29	2	0	2	11	8	.302	3.9
RF	 Kent Cashion		29	72	295	59	90	6	5	1	28	5	.305	11.2
RF	Dan Leaf		26	86	213	30	65	10	4	0	16	12	.305	7.2
RF	*Nari Miniato		34	24	25	1	6	0	0	0	1	1	.240	-0.3

Is it mere coincidence that both league champions had a center fielder more interested in turning doubles into outs than strikes into doubles? We think not. Franklin Sluggett may not be a hero of the statistics-worshipping crowd, but he was plenty heroic for the Reds. Sluggett scored 90 fewer times than the year before but led the majors in range factor and won his second Gold Glove. We like receiving the Gold Gloves as they can be very easily melted down and used to finance the upcoming revolution. Did we say revolution? We meant convention.

Dowd Swanne, meanwhile, emerged as yet another Reds superstar. He pushed Drake Gates all season long and became the leadoff hitter we thought Franklin Sluggett was going to be (again, we are not disappointed in Sluggett! Just over-pointed in Swanne!). Speaking of left field, it amazes us that Will "Rumor Mill" Woehning continues to punish hitters at the age of 44. He's the oldest player in the league and although he really cannot play in the field anymore he is perfect for the hit in the pinch and the occasional spot start. In right, both Kent Cashion and Dan Leaf were solid performers. It's so hard to decide between the two.

[Syd Thrift]

Theft!

Thus far, the big story on everybody's lips has been the player heists perpetrated by the American League. Washington, Baltimore, and Louisville left the NL with all their players intact and for the most part those 3 teams have been dominating the league. We knew that was probably going to be the case going in. What we didn't realize was how poor the character of the other American League owners was going to be. Many a star player has spurned his rightful team in favor of a larger salary and more glory in the rival league. Nivens O'Mulvaney. Reigning MVP Kevin MacKeochan. Jesse "Rawhide" MacLagan. Those are only 3 of the largest names out of the dozens of players who have moved from one league to the other.

We bring this to the sports fans' attention on this 5th of May because we have just heard that, following a loss to the Chicago White Stockings, manager Connie Mack of the Philadelphia Athletics gave Ning Zhang of the crosstown Phillies a bag full of money in exchange for playing for him. The Athletics had already landed MacKeochan, although in a bout of poetic justice he tore a tendon in his ankle and will miss the rest of the season. The Phillies were still sitting in 2nd as of this evening, but if the Athletics keep swiping their talent, how long will that be the case?

This has got to cease, American Leaguers. We appreciate that you want to create a league that is as great as the NL, but you can't. You don't have the history or the character for it. Disband now while there is still hope for your souls.

[Syd Thrift]

Now that I've got the 16 teams in 10 cities set-up I've been waiting for all summer (well, 16 teams in 11 cities, but who's counting?), I've switched to Eugene Churching the games. For the unitiated, this means simming out the games to the 7th inning and then taking over. For added Church-mania, I'm only handling substitutions. The game handles stealing and so on pretty well so I left it with that (actually, it's pretty horrible with sacrifice hits at the "Very Often" level, even for the deadball era, so I dropped it down a notch, but otherwise...). Also, I like to kind of zoom through the games so I'd probably neglect baserunning if it were left solely up to me.

The effect is, well... if you thought that writing up those little year-ending summaries got you immersed into the game, playing them out takes this to a whole 'nother level. Actually, the summaries enhance this because they force you to make opinions about all the players in your league that you find yourself defending and/or retracting as the evidence grows larger. Also, it allows you to really get down and dirty with era-accurate pitching totals such as these:

Name			W	L	SV	ERA	G	GS	IP	HA	R	ER	HR	BB	K	WHIP	OAVG	
Matt Nutt SP		3	3	0	1.56	6	6	52.0	43	17	9	1	13	21	1.08	.228	
Jesse MacLagan SP	5	2	0	1.60	8	7	62.0	51	18	11	1	9	32	0.97	.225
Rino Dallaglio SP	3	3	0	2.54	7	7	60.1	42	22	17	1	11	32	0.88	.191
Greg Bradridge CL	0	1	0	2.70	3	0	6.2	7	2	2	0	3	2	1.50	.269
Glenn Spiller SP	2	5	0	4.42	7	7	57.0	60	37	28	3	16	9	1.33	.269

Yep, at the highest endurance ratings the game will let you use guys in the rotation on their days off and they'll still do well enough to complete their own starts the vast majority of the time. Mind you, even on the "Very Rarely" setting for "Pinch-Hit For Pitchers", the game itself will pinch-hit for them all the freaking time, and it will never ever use your rotation as your bullpen so you end up with guys putting up Mike Marshall type stats as your closers, but if you play the games out, boom. Eerily accurate pitching usage is possible.

You'll also probably notice that there will be fewer stats in the reports I show in the future. I've already created a couple of customized views that leave off a lot of the secondary stats like VORP and on-base percentage and even some more controversial ones like walks. This is because I want to recreate the fan's eye view of baseball from the era. Walks, of course, were just as important then as now, but I think that unless someone had the rep for being a big pitch-fouler or had a nickname like "Camera Eye", people really didn't recognize this ability. There are several guys from this period I could cite who came into the league, put up fantastic RC/27 type numbers because of a high OBP, then receded from the league because they their numbers people paid attention to at the time didn't look so hot.

I did keep ERA even though real life didn't see fit to count earned runs until 1905 or so (before then, pitchers were judged pretty much solely on wins and losses, which isn't the worst method when a. you have 2 or 3 guys pitching all the games for your team, b. there were so many errors that you would want to put a premium on guys who didn't let the ball get out of the catcher's mitt, and c. there were such huge discrepancies between ballparks like the 39th Street Grounds or Columbia Field where 450-foot flyballs to center were also known as "outs" whereas 300-foot dinks to right in the Polo Grounds were homeruns) because even I have my limits. Still, you may want to pay more attention to the Three True Outcomes because when all three of those are so scarce, a good defense can make a bad pitcher look good and vice versa. This is still true today, but so far I'm literally seeing 3 Stuff guys (out of 20) with ERAs in the 2.00s. One guy has yet to strike anybody out in around 30 innings but is roughly league average.

Playing these games out, you really see why casual fans have the biases they have. In the dead ball era, batting average was HUGELY important. There really were such a thing as "productive outs". In fact, any non-strikeout had a great chance at extending a rally because teams committed so many errors. You stole bases because, in addition to the chances you had at getting that extra base, you knew that there was an equally good chance the catcher would throw the ball into the outfield and give you the extra base.

In the field, fielding average was probably about as important a statistic as there was: I know that the difference between .948 and .985 doesn't seem large (that's 1901 vs. now, by the way), but turn those numbers upside down for a second: 1.5% errors vs. 5.2%. You could expect more than 3 times (almost 4 times, actually, since FAs are trending up towards .986 and .987) as many errors in a game or in a series as you could today. That's huge. A guy who could avoid errors was worth his weight in gold. It's no wonder that the uber-stat, the VORP of the day was something called "total average" (not to be confused with the Tom Boswell stat) that mixed BA, FA, and pitcher's winning percentage.

Would it surprise you to learn that in 1901 National League teams scored more runs per game than their 1986 counterparts did? Almost half a run a game more, actually (4.63 to 4.18). We see the 3.22 ERA back then and a .348 slugging average and think of it the same way we think of them today: marks of anemic offense. As the records show, that's a total misnomer. The leagues got a lot deader as the decade wore on (NL runs per game had dipped to 3.57 by 1906), jumped up again in 1911 and 1912 to their 1901 levels, dipped again due to the war (and a shortage in baseball-related materials causing, and then climbed in time for the so-called Golden Age. Even so, 1925 to 1901 or 1911 was about analagous to 1901 or 1911 to 1986 in terms of the number of runs a fan would see in a game. The aura of offense-deprived teams scraping for what little runs they could garner against spitballing meisterpitchers is patently false. In its own way, the game was as lively back then as it was before the recent offensive explosion, if not the ball.

[Syd Thrift]

MacLagan Notches 250th Win

Jesse "Rawhide" MacLagan, who jumped the sinking Chicago Colts this offseason in favor of the new American League and the Chicago White Stockings, bested rookie Ed Cloutier and the Boston Red Stockings 8 runs to 6 to record the 250th win of his career. He is 6-3 on the season and at age 30 is still showing the outrageous "stuff" that has caused him to be the winningest pitcher in baseball history. His earned run average this year (1.94) is nearly a run better than his previous best (2.78 the first year of the league).

Rocky Start

We caught up with "Rawhide" and asked him to prevaricate upon his career. A member of the original Cubs, his first season was not the greatest. "The Colts at that time were bringing in cowhands and steer herders to see if any of us could play this game," he said. "In April of 1892, I had never picked up a baseball in my life. But I did know how to rope an ornery cow with a lasso. And as it turned out, the flick of the wrist you need to toss a good lasso is the same flick of the wrist to throw a curve."

1892 saw that wonderful curve from the start but he also won just 17 of his 40 decisions. "It was frustrating, you know? After my first time around the league I felt I had as good of pitches as anybody else, but I just didn't know how to win."

Learning How To Win

That came later. A year later, to be exact. MacLagan went 28-19 that year and won the first of 5 Most Valuable Pitcher honors. Talk has even circulated as to rename the award the Rawhide MacLagan Award. "I don't know about that. There are so many good pitchers in the league." MacLagan is as talented as he is humble. 250 wins over 9+ seasons means that the man has to have averaged well over 25 wins a season, which was not easy in the gay 90s and will be darn near impossible in the aughts.

"That's a good point", he said. "I think the days of the 50-start season are over... although they're asking us to pitch a lot more now that the new league is around. I think the days of the 'bull pen' might be at an end as well."

Speaking of which, MacLagan has done something this year he did only one other time in his career: relieve. "It's just weird," he said about the experience. "When you start, you can pretty much prepare for a team all day or even all week. But in relief, you just go out there." He smirked. "Then again, they don't know what's coming to them either."

The new league may not know what's coming to it. Given his youthful age, his established record, and the lack of quality hitting, MacLagan is even money to match those 250 wins through the rest of his career.

[Syd Thrift]

Nationals Race Heats Up

National League Standings
Team			W	L	PCT	GB	Pyt.Rec	Diff	Home	Away	XInn	1Run	M#	Streak	Last10
Boston Beaneaters	23	12	.657	-	23-12	0	8-3	15-9	1-1	6-4	105	W4	7-3
Philadelphia Phillies	23	13	.639	.5	24-12	-1	19-5	4-8	3-2	8-7		W2	6-4
Cincinnati Reds		21	16	.568	3.0	21-16	0	15-9	6-7	2-1	7-4		W3	6-4
Saint Louis Cardinals	18	17	.514	5.0	15-20	3	6-6	12-11	2-1	5-5		L2	5-5
New York Giants		17	20	.459	7.0	19-18	-2	14-11	3-9	0-2	2-6		L4	3-7
Brooklyn Superbas	15	20	.429	8.0	17-18	-2	4-7	11-13	0-1	6-6		W2	5-5
Pittsburgh Pirates	14	21	.400	9.0	15-20	-1	8-4	6-17	3-2	2-5		L3	3-7
Chicago Colts		12	24	.333	11.5	12-24	0	9-15	3-9	0-1	4-3		L2	5-5

In the early goings, the league front-runners appear to be Boston, Philadelphia, and Cincinnati, who not coincidentally were the three teams at the top of their leagues last year as well. The Beaneaters are paced by a high-flying offense that, as a whole, is hitting over .300 and making up for shaky starts by a couple of their pitchers. The Phillies are taking the opposite approach to winning: their ERA is below 2.00, by far the best in the National League. Jerry "Magoo" Watson has been spinning victories for them all year long (he's 8-3 now), but he's far from the only member of the staff who is bringing it. Cincinnati has to feel that their seasonal start is, if anything, disappointing. Their 2.76 ERA is 2nd in the league, but the hitting, which for so long was symbolic of the rise of the proletariat, has dipped like Eugene V. Debs' popularity in the wake of the McKinley re-election. It's hard to pinpoint the cause of the malaise. Everybody just seems to be hitting under their ability. 1900 AA MVP Drake Gates possesses an averae of only .255. Kent Cashion is even worse: .238 so far.

What Happened To The Colts?

We tracked the story of the New York Giants' fall into the second division for you last year. The Colts, however, had gotten old but were still pretty okay. Unfortunately, 1901 brings with it bad tidings. Bereft of mainstays Rowan Dillon, Nivens O'Mulvaney, Jesse MacLagan, and Glenn Spiller, the NL Chicagos lost their first nine games and trail the rest of the league by a good margin. The one man who was a member of the '00 rotation still with the team, George Duffy, was 39 years old and showed every bit of his age, posting an ERA of 8.00 and failing to win a single game before he was finally ushered out. To compound insult upon injury, hot catching prospect Will Rogers ruptured something in his leg a week into the season and now his entire career is in doubt.

Okay, We Suppose We May As Well Talk About This League

American League Standings
Team			W	L	PCT	GB	Pyt.Rec	Diff	Home	Away	XInn	1Run	M#	Streak	Last10
Washington Nationals	28	11	.718	-	29-10	-1	8-3	20-8	2-2	5-5	99	W15	10-0
Louisville Colonels	25	14	.641	3.0	22-17	3	17-11	8-3	2-1	7-3		L1	4-6
Baltimore Orioles	21	18	.538	7.0	22-17	-1	14-13	7-5	3-2	5-5		W2	5-5
Philadelphia Athletics	19	21	.475	9.5	19-21	0	5-7	14-14	2-0	3-3		W1	5-5
Boston Red Stockings	18	21	.462	10.0	20-19	-2	12-15	6-6	3-4	5-5		W3	6-4
Detroit Tigers		17	22	.436	11.0	15-24	2	11-17	6-5	0-2	6-5		L6	4-6
Chicago White Stockings	17	24	.415	12.0	19-22	-2	6-7	11-17	0-3	6-9		L2	4-6
Cleveland Blues		14	28	.333	15.5	13-29	1	4-9	10-19	3-1	5-7		L3	2-8

It appears that the "Nationals" have created precisely the kind of league they were looking for. Unable to achieve dominance in the NL, these usurpers helped to create their own league and have been absolutely dominant. Yes, you are reading that correctly. 15 consecutive wins, a .718 record, 19 wins in May. Who can possibly stop a team that gives up fewer than 2 earned runs a game? Nobody in the new AL, that's for sure. You'll also notice that the 2 and 3 spots are held by former NL/AA teams. This is because the AL is inferior to the NL. Okay, that's unfair. No it's not. This entire league is inferior.

Early MVP Front-Runners

Lonzo Amill of the Boston Beaneaters has been reason #1 why his team is sitting atop the National League. He's hitting .371 and has 31 runs and 24 RBIs in the team's first 35 games. It seems as though every ball he hits is hit well and hit hard. His 4 home runs and 7 triples are each just one off from pacing the circuit and pitchers have wisely allowed him to take first base 20 times this young season. It was more than enough for the Real League to name him Player of the Month.

In Washington, it may surprise you to note that the early MVP is a Washington National. Come to think of it, no it shouldn't. If you are surprised by this news, you are surprised very easily. You were probably surprised by the rumor that the new soft drink that is sweeping the nation, Coca-Cola, contains bits of both the coca leaf and the kola nut. In any case, the Washingtonian named AL Player of the Month for June is Cincinnati Reds castoff Kayne McMartin. McMartin showed some success with the Nats last year after being dispatched from the Peoples' Team, but never anything like this. His .394 average is tops in the league, and he also leads in doubles, runs scored, RBIs, and extra base hits. Such dominance is only further proof that the National League is where the real action is at.

Snoopy, Mister Magoo Named Top Pitchers

Bill "Snoopy" Haddon, last year's NL Pitcher of the Year, is tearing apart the American League. The "major" leagues' first 9 game winner, Haddon has struck out an amazing 75 batters in 112 innings pitched and posts an ERA of 1.57. Look. We understand that these accomplishments look really nice and all, but isn't it more rewarding to see a player succeed against real competition? Yes, we know that the Americans are outdrawing the Nationals in nearly every city. That's just the rabble. The same rabble, I ought to point out, who think that vaudeville acts such as "Deal Or No Deal" and "Famous People Recently Married" are worth putting coins into the box for. Yes, the NL will gladly take their money as well, but there's a large difference between what is aesthetically pleasing to the proper crank and what the "fanatic" will accept.

Magoo Watson, the NL POTM, is also a 9-game winner, by the way. In fact, he has an even better record than "Snoopy" (9-3 vs. 9-4). But you plebians don't see that, do you? You just cheer for all those cheap strikeouts and ignore the greatness that is the old league and its loyal players. Fine. Root for the "free agents" all you want.

"Rookie" Watch

With all of this distasteful contract-jumping and league-changing, there are quite a large number of "rookies" playing this year. So far, the finest of the bunch in the Only League That Matters is firstbaseman Fred Raber. Raber has taken a shine to the Brooklyn Superbas' batting order, hitting .303 and amassing nearly as many RBIs (31) as games played (35). The 22-year-old's strikeout rate is a little high (16 Ks vs. only 8 bases on balls), but I'm sure the Superbas will live with that given all his other talents.

The top "rookie" in the league of "rookies" is 20-year-old Ross MacKerlich. He's been propping up the sagging Athletics of Philadelphia with a .365 average in 31 games. Of course, now he's hurt, along with the winners of 4 of the last 5 NL MVPs, Kevin MacKeochan and Ning Zhang. They both jumped to the American League Philadelphia entry and are both not likely to be able to play until next season. We laugh most heartily at the misfortune of the usurpers. Athletics indeed. Maybe they should call themselves the Cripples! Ah, our humor is so grand and high-minded.