This post features yours truly taking the case for each size rink for broomball play.
Some background: If you don't know what broomball is, I suggest you pause in reading this and click here to educate yourself on a totally fun sport. I am currently playing in the PSL Competitive broomball league (organized by PUMP), which is both competitive and plenty of fun. However, I would like to continue the spread of the game in the area by not only having open sessions anyone can attend, but also having the ability to get a group together to travel to different sites and play in competitive tournaments. Basically, I hope to create a group that will follow the same sort of path of expansion and commitment to the game that the group I've been in since college, First State Broomball, has taken. Below is my describing the positives and negatives of each type of rink we could play on; ideally, I hope a large enough crowd wants to play so that we can use the larger rinks & more people can play at one time.
IN FAVOR OF A SHORT RINK: (or playing on the width of a larger rink)
1.) Of course, with a smaller sheet of ice that you're playing on, it's less running back and forth to get in position to make a play. Whether you're well out of shape or in fine physical condition, it's easier on everyone to get to both sides of ice and get involved in the action.
2.) Because there is less room to get past opponents and score, the smaller ice gives everyone an opportunity to show off superior stick handling skills. As is evident from the above picture, the ceiling on the rink we play in the PSL is very low and has taken away numerous great lift passes I've attempted, but that obviously isn't the case at all rinks.
3.) Smaller rinks mean that everyone can worry less about the many hockey-based rules that broomball employs. There's no icing violation for clearing the ball away, and the only line we worry about regarding offside is the center line; even the offside line can be done away with in more casual games, though cherry-pickers aren't very fun.
AGAINST: Time to shut me down.
1.) If you're playing on a small rink with any amount of people over 3 or 4 per team, it's very liable to take away from a very useful tool some could use to their advantage, which is speed. Why take away a talent someone has in favor of everyone else who doesn't possess that talent?
2.) Almost necessarily, because you're playing on a small rink, you're probably playing with nets of standard hockey dimensions, rather than the larger broomball-specific nets. Combined with having less room to take a multitude of different shots like slapshots or variations of lift shots, you better either be a master of having the ball come to your stick to maneuver it past the goalie, or a master of having just plain old luck, or goals will be very hard to come by.
3.) No matter if you're wearing broomball shoes or your everyday sneakers, ice quality will probably be an issue for you. Full public skating sessions aren't held on that tiny rink I posted, so you're relying on almost entirely very young kids to carve up the ice enough for you to have sufficient traction to run on it; I don't like those chances. Also, if I'm getting a sheet of ice cleaned so that it's ideal for games with everyone wearing the special shoes, I'm much more likely to get the sheet of ice that allows you to freely run around on the ice rather than the continual back-and-forth of short ice action. So take that!
IN FAVOR OF A FULL-LENGTH HOCKEY RINK:
1.) It's exactly like hockey on shoes. With more area to work with comes more speed, more creativity with the ball on your stick, more ways to put one past the goalie with both finesse shots and shots that could knock a goaltender over, and more of the strategies employed in hockey that make that sport so intriguing to watch. These are exemplified in 5 on 5 clean ice action; checking out YouTube videos of 5 on 5 play further backs this assertion.
2.) Playing on a large sheet of ice gives you a better reason to use the broomball nets. By playing on these nets, you not only get to see more shots on net that could very well lead to high-scoring affairs, but you also get to see who has all the great reactions that you see in NHL games, rather than seeing who can occupy net space in the hockey nets better, as the ball is considerably larger than a puck.
3.) If you want the best preparation in order to go other places and take on the best that they have to offer, you have to play on the proper surface for those games. The only leagues I see that utilize smaller surfaces are the leagues that promote a more social environment like the PSL and college intramural leagues that generally strive to get everyone involved, playing, and having fun.
AGAINST: Open, competitive play? I see. I think it's time to drop some bombs on your argument.
1.) If you want to play on large sheets of clean ice, then you also want us to fork out around $60 for a pair of shoes, and those are just for more recreational broomball shoes. Outside of shoe rentals, the only way people are going to want to step out on the ice is if the ice is sufficiently shaved by open skating sessions or hockey games before broomball. The ice quality will thus cause people to either empty their wallets to play or maybe bruise their backsides while playing.
2.) How effective would a league really be on large rinks? Many of these leagues seem few & far between. You'd first need to have a large enough team so that not everyone dies of exhaustion out on the ice, then you'd have to think up line combinations for every game, especially considering that each team's roster for every game will very likely be changing every time out there. Sounds like a great deal of work even before worrying about the rules once you get out on the ice.
3.) So if a large rink helps players to potentially use their great speed, then what's the fun for the average person who's out of shape and wants to step out on the ice? Unless my not-so-fast team has unbelievable stick-handling skills, it sure sounds like we're going to take resounding defeats to teams that are merely in better shape than we are. This isn't the pros; this is our local league! Come on, man!
I better step in and stop myself from getting in a fight with...myself. Whichever rink that is chosen for broomball, I just want to grow interest in a sport/game around Pittsburgh/Western PA that's fun to play with friends and is one to talk and joke about with friends. Even if you have no serious interest in joining a traveling team that takes on other serious teams (note: I would say more about maybe starting a league, but I'm afraid of taking anything away from the weekly leagues that the PSL runs year-round, so the in-Pittsburgh broomball league seems fairly well-established already), many can tell you from experience how fun it is to step out on the ice and enjoy yourself for a couple of hours on a weekend evening.
Note: if you haven't read any of the previous posts setting out the background, rules, and team rosters in the All-Timers League, click here and start from the bottom post if you want the full details. Click here for the ATL Message Board, which provides constant updates on the standings, along with the daily games being finished and any injuries or roster changes that occur. And we're now (finally) over halfway done with the ATL season! In much the same way as the actual major leagues run things, I've dubbed this point in the season the ATL All-Star break. Ofcourse, with an All-Star break comes a fair share of awards and All-Star teams, and you'll findthose in this post. I've also finally included the entire stats of everyone for each team, which most would probably find not only more informative than the cumulative team stats I hadpreviously been sharing, but also gives all of you the overall picture of who's succeeding & who's struggling. The ATL simply didn't coast into the All-Star break without anything of note occurring; there were a few intriguing moments that arose from these games:
A couple players for Providence brought their bats in a big way on, fittingly, my birthday: Both Albert Pujols & Yogi Berra smashed 2 home runs in the game to lead the Reds to a 9-3 triumph in Funkstown.
Just like the famous 1927 season, Jigger's Babe Ruth & Newark's Lou Gehrig are in the midst of a home run battle. They've exchanged multi-HR games, as well as the lead in this HR race; Ruth has currently spaced himself somewhat at 24 to 19. Of course, the competition in the ATL is a little bit closer in skill and numbers to Ruth & Gehrig than the men they were playing against 84 years ago.
Remember Christy Mathewson's impressive streak of consecutive starts without a loss for Jigger, a team that currently sports a record under .500? That came to a halt at 16 as he absorbed the setback in a 3-1 loss to the Reds. He now has an unfortunate new streak going: he's lost his last 3 starts.
THE ATL ALL-STAR TEAM
Talk about a snub. He played all of 12 2/3 innings at third base, but he's 100 times more worthy of an All-Star spot than anyone who's played the spot full-time so far.
C Yogi Berra, PRO. No one is donning the tools of ignorance on the same level as Mr. Lawrence Peter Berra. He's hit at a very high level, fielded his position well more than competently, and he's stayed healthy in a full-time role; no other ATL catcher can stake these claims. 1B Lou Gehrig, NWK. If you flipped a coin between Gehrig & Albert Pujols for this spot, you would win either way. Pujols has an ever-so-slight edge in AVG, OBP, SLG, OPS, & wOBA, while Gehrig is barely ahead in HR, RBI, VORP, ISO, XBH, & total bases. I'll give Gehrig the nod based on slightly better fielding. 2B Rogers Hornsby, CMB. Hornsby beats Jackie Robinson for this spot with a little better display of hitting on a weaker team. The Sedohcs are probably desperate for Hornsby to return from his recent shoulder soreness if they want any hope of bouncing back this season. 3B Wade Boggs, FUN. Why the heck am I picking a player for this spot that has an OPS+ below 100? Because every other third baseman in the league has either spent significant time on the DL (Brooks Robinson, George Brett) or in a platoon (Eddie Mathews, Ron Santo). SS Honus Wagner, PRO. Easy choice. The Flying Dutchman is definitely in the MVP discussion with his elite hitting & fielding. Almost certainly the best all-around player in the ATL so far. LF Tris Speaker, NWK. Wow, another coin-flip level of decision between Speaker & Ted Williams. Nearly any pitch near the plate is one Speaker will smack into the outfield for a hit. Despite being more of a singles hitter, his overall rate statistics give Williams' a run for their money; with the added edge in fielding his spot & being a basepath terror, I had to give Speaker the nod. CF Ty Cobb, WOR. He's besting other transcendent legends such as Willie Mays, Mickey Mantle, & Joe DiMaggio in nearly every category, and his current ridiculous average is below what it was for his career. His low HR total but amazing ability to run & create runs through small-ball epitomizes how the Ruby Legs have done most of their scoring so far. RF Stan Musial, FUN. Babe Ruth has gotten incredibly hot with the bat, but he still has a long climb ahead of him in order to catch the consistent offensive force Stan the Man has been this season. If he can keep this up and get more runners on base for his ABs, he might be able to help hit the Funk back toward contention. SP Lefty Grove, WOR. Walter Johnson may have a solid lead on Grove in both VORP & FIP, but I attribute some of that to the Big Train having stats that reflect those of a deadball era pitcher, while Grove pitched his career in a more modern, hitter-friendly era. If he surrenders low amounts of HRs and continues his current strikeout rates, he might be a shoo-in for the ATL Pitcher of the Year Award. RP Bruce Sutter, PRO. Doesn't have the lowest ERA or the most saves, but Providence's primary closer has been a tremendous workhorse out of the bullpen, ringing up batters on strikes at a high rate while maintaining a very low WHIP. ATL ALL-GLOVE TEAM With the All-Star team based primarily on hitting/pitching, I thought it would be a good idea to select those players at each position who have excelled with the glove so far. However, since I can't actually watch them play, and the defensive statistics are slightly limited, I have to resort to making some educated guesses as to who's holding down their spots in the field the best. C Bill Dickey, WOR. Highest CS%, doing everything well behind the plate for Worcester. 1B Eddie Murray, CMB. Close call among Murray, Gehrig, & Pujols, but Murray looks to be covering the most range at this spot. 2B Eddie Collins, NWK. His astounding D has kept him as a mainstay in Newark's lineup despite some struggles at the plate. 3B Mike Schmidt, JIG. Like the All-Star team, no real stand-out winner at this position. SS Derek Jeter, NWK. With all the criticism he got for winning the Gold Glove in 2010, the stats say he fully deserves it so far in the ATL. LF Tris Speaker, NWK. Squeaks past Barry Bonds. As a legendary CF, it seems right that he should be leading this. CF Joe DiMaggio, FUN. Playing a flawless CF so far while still covering a good deal of range out there. RF Hank Aaron, NWK. The man does have 3 Gold Gloves to his name. When he gets the innings, Mel Ott will put up a great challenge. P Phil Niekro, FUN. Near impossible to reliably pick. When it gets hit back at him, this 5-time Gold Glover makes the play.
STANDINGSNote: Please keep the accompanying player statistics in their proper context; I posted league averages on the bottom of this post. 1. Providence Reds 58-30. Right when you think they're going to cool off & let teams into the race for 1st place, they run off a 9-1 record to go into the break with a seven game lead. Quite simply, the Reds have had the most players perform either at or above expectations playing against fellow legends, and the record illustrates this. Hitting & pitching stats: 2. Worcester Ruby Legs 51-37.They no longer possess the most dominant rotation in the ATL, and they don't have the most powerful hitting team by any means, but their baserunning prowess has helped them steal some games from the opposition & kept them in 2nd place (yes, pun intended). Hitting & pitching stats:3. Newark Legion 50-38. They've now won 21 of their last 24 games and have firmly planted themselves in the race for the championship. The pitching has been adequate, but no one has scored more runs or fielded the ball better than the Legion. Hitting & pitching stats:4. Jigger Bushes 40-48. The ATL's best bullpen has closed up & kept them in some games. This team could make a late run if more of the sluggers start putting the bat to the ball instead of their myriad of whiffs this season. Hitting & pitching stats:5. Funkstown Funk 33-55. Essentially the entire pitching staff has so grossly underperformed expectations that they're nearly singlehandedly pushing this team toward the bottom of the ATL. Hitting & pitching stats:6. Cumberland Sedohcs 32-56. Almost climbed out of the basement before their current 2-8 spell. The general norm for the Sedohcs through 88 games has been players who have underplayed even possible pessimistic predictions for how they would play against fellow legends. Hitting & pitching stats: Stat Zone (category leaders) AVG: Tris Speaker, NWK .387 OBP: Speaker .445 SLG: Albert Pujols, PRO .555 OPS: Stan Musial, FUN .967 H: Honus Wagner, PRO 138 R: Wagner 70 HR: Babe Ruth, JIG 24 RBI: Lou Gehrig, NWK 77 SB: Ty Cobb, WOR 32 wOBA (advanced statistic, click on it to see what it calculates): Musial .422 VORP (hitting value over replacement player): Wagner 41.4
ERA: Lefty Grove, WOR 2.34 W: Pete Alexander, NWK; Christy Mathewson, JIG; Cy Young, PRO 11 L: Roger Clemens, CMB 13 SV: John Smoltz, WOR 25 IP: Mathewson 142 2/3 K: Randy Johnson, PRO 124 WHIP: Pedro Martínez, CMB 1.15 K/BB: Robin Roberts, CMB 3.68 FIP (advanced statistic, click on it to see what it calculates): Walter Johnson, PRO 2.86 VORP (pitching value over replacement player): Johnson 39.8
Top Pitching Performances of this Segment (by Game Score): Lefty Grove struck out 14 in a game; not only did he not make it on this list, he also was saddled with the loss in that game. #3 Pedro Martínez, CMB vs. FUN: 9 IP, 8 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 8 K #2 Ferguson Jenkins, CMB vs. PRO: 8 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 8 K #1 CC Sabathia, WOR vs. NWK: 9 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 7 K
Top Hitting Performances: A couple '39 Yankees had virtually unstoppable days. #3 Lou Gehrig, NWK vs. FUN: 2 for 3, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 2 R, 1 BB, SB #2 Lou Gehrig, NWK vs. JIG: 5 for 6, 5 RBI, 1 R #1 Joe DiMaggio, FUN vs. WOR: 2 for 2, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 3 R, 3 BB(#1 in ATL)
Big Bombs (longest HR) #5 Barry Bonds, CMB 438 ft. #4 Babe Ruth, JIG 443 ft. #3 Ken Griffey Jr., CMB 453 ft. #2 Albert Pujols, PRO 454 ft. #1 Ted Williams, FUN 459 ft.
I have a good feeling that the ATL league averages will continue to subtly fluctuate around these numbers the rest of the season: .261 AVG, .724 OPS (.331 OBP+.393 SLG), 3.94 ERA.
Last notes: Once in a while, the OOTP manager will back himself into a corner with the players he has & be forced to play players wildly out of position in the field because of his liberal substitutions in tight games. I suppose this is still more favorable than letting the pitcher bat in those situations. Also, with players getting banged up and superstars experiencing periodic struggles, I'm really enjoying watching the ATL continue to be played out!
Opening note: If you're coming here from the First State Broomball page, welcome! Hopefully this answers the question posed well enough for you. Feel free to comment here if you have any questions about something I neglected to cover, failed to cover clearly, or are just curious to know.
A couple weekends ago, I ventured back east to Delaware for even more good times with old friends, as well as to play a sport that we're trying to improve at to a level where we can beat traveling teams from many different areas. What sport am I talking about? Wow, you got it on your first guess! BROOMBALL.
What was formerly UD Broomball is now First State Broomball; check out our site here. While you're at it, check out the group's Facebook & Twitter pages too.
Unfortunately, 90% of the people whom I told that I was playing this wonderful sport gave me the same response: "What the #*$% is broomball?!" Thus, I had the impetus to give you my full description, with fancy pictures and everything!
Thanks for Brian for being the man (although this comes naturally to him) and taking these great pictures, Derek for helping to set this whole thing up, and the Nomadic Hordes/DC Broomball for coming up to play us. Broomball bears many resemblances to hockey. No, we're not actually using brooms, but sticks made of a wood or some metal shaft with a "broom" end that looks kind of like an ice scraper. It's played on a sheet of ice that can be cleaned or worn down from people skating on it. As you can see above, we played on a clean sheet of ice that basically required everyone to wear special broomball shoes that grip the ice very well (my body thanks the DC group for bringing extra shoes for me to wear that night). At previous open sessions, we would play after public skating sessions or hockey games, so most of the ice would be worn down and allow us to play in our sneakers if we didn't have shoes. We used hockey goals but broomball goals are 2 feet longer & wider (6 ft. high, 8 ft. wide). The ball is inflated but hard, and it's a little larger in size than a softball. Much of the same equipment used in hockey can readily be used in broomball; I wore knee/shin guards & borrowed someone's helmet, and though I bought specialized broomball gloves, hockey gloves work just fine.
Hey, that's me! Just like hockey, play is commenced with faceoffs at the various circles. The rules are similar to hockey, but modified for broomball's nuances. Play is stopped every time the goalie freezes the ball or the ball leaves the rink. Offsides rules follow the "floating blue line" rule: the ball must be the first thing to cross the blue line into the attacking zone, and when this is accomplished, the attacking team can use their entire attacking half of the ice without worrying about offsides for touching up. "No touch" icing (international style) is always enforced, even if you're killing a penalty. Because we were playing coed no-check rules, checking someone (along with your traditional hockey penalties) earned you a trip to the box. Playing a ball above your shoulders with your stick also got you 2 minutes in the sin bin. My bad, team. With play being 5 on 5 using the entirety of the rink, competitive broomball can certainly feature some open and fun action. Once you get used to using your stick and balancing yourself on the ice, you'd be amazed how well you can get that ball moving toward your goal. You can lift the ball high into the air, and if you line it up right, you can execute some very powerful slapshot-type shots that can really challenge a goalie. Of course, if you want a better chance of succeeding as a team, you have to deploy some strategy into the game, and hockey strategy can easily be integrated into broomball; we had 3 offensive lines taking shifts of a little over a minute, as well as 5 defensemen taking turns. More thrills & spills. As pictured, Matt nearly had an amazing breakaway goal. The ball found its way back out to me as I trailed the play. I took a shot that was blocked, then found Matt for a one-time blast that found the back of the net! There were so many other great pictures from our scrimmage that aren't included in this post; check the First State Broomball Facebook page that I linked to for more. We may have lost 2-1 that night, but it was a great broomball experience for our new team moving forward. Obviously we'll look better once we all have shoes & fancy new uniforms.
Hopefully I've explained this sport well enough to you that I don't have to hear that title question again. Feel free to YouTube broomball for some awesome videos of the sport in action...or if you want to see random people looking silly on ice in sneakers.
Note: if you haven't read any of the previous posts setting out the background, rules, and team rosters in the All-Timers League, click here and start from the bottom post if you want the full details. Click here for the ATL Message Board, which provides constant updates on the standings, along with the daily games being finished and any injuries or roster changes that occur. Wow, we're just about halfway through. In order to keep this moving at a more rapid pace so we can get through the season quicker, I won't give you any kind of extended writeup on the status of each team. Instead, the main part of this writeup will be a larger statistical leaderboard so you have a little more perspective on the number of big names currently dominating the ATL. I'm also declining to assign an MVP for this segment; instead, I'll be opting for a first-half MVP that will come in the next ATL update. Within this segment, I found two moments that probably come around once in a blue moon in today's major leagues:
In a game against Providence, Newark OF Paul "Big Poison" Waner sported an odd stat line I'm certain I've never seen before: 4 plate appearances, 0 for 2, 3 RBI. He hit a sac fly, then hit a ground ball to second base that led to an error in which 2 runs scored. Waner was quite the drinking man; Casey Stengel once said about him, "He had to be a very graceful player, because he could slide without breaking the bottle on his hip."
You know when you're "witnessing" old-school, all-out, win or die baseball? When you see a starting pitcher, Worcester's Mordecai Brown, try to score from second on a single and bowl the catcher over in the process. Brown knocked the ball loose & was safe.
STANDINGS 1. Providence Reds 48-25. Treading water since the last update, though their overall numbers have not fallen off much at all. 2. Worcester Ruby Legs 44-29.A team of streaks right now: won 6 in a row, but now has to recover from a recent sweep by Newark. 3. Newark Legion 37-36. Won 8 of last 9, only the Reds are hitting it better. 4. Jigger Bushes 34-39. Still 3 wins above expected, and they were shut out 4 times this segment alone. 5. Funkstown Funk 29-44. With all the big bats healthy, they're hitting with anyone, but poor pitching has greatly held back more progress. 6. Cumberland Sedohcs 27-46. Someone needs to help Rogers & Pedro, as there's currently a serious lack of hitting & pitching depth here.
LEADERBOARD
Though leading all qualified ATL hitters in average, "The Grey Eagle" Tris Speaker has been in a platoon most of the year with fellow Legion OF Al Simmons.
Batting Average: 1. Tris Speaker, NWK .391 2. Honus Wagner, PRO .377 3. Stan Musial, FUN .374 4. Ty Cobb, WOR .361 5. Rogers Hornsby, CMB .353
On-Base Percentage: 1. Musial .469 2. Speaker .452 3. Ted Williams, FUN .437 4. Wagner .419 5. Albert Pujols, PRO .418
FIP (advanced statistic, click on it to see what it calculates): 1. Mathewson 2.82 2. W. Johnson 2.90 3. Alexander 3.02 4. Young 3.17 5. Jim Palmer, JIG 3.37
VORP (pitching value over replacement player): 1. Grove 33.7 2. Mathewson 32.9 3. W. Johnson 32.0 4. Young 29.5 5. Brown 27.8
Top Pitching Performances of this Segment (by Game Score): #3 Bob Gibson, WOR vs. CMB: 8 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 7 K #2 Roger Clemens, CMB vs. JIG: 8 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 9 K #1 Jim Palmer, JIG vs. PRO: 9 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 6 K
Top Hitting Performances: #3 Honus Wagner, PRO vs. FUN: 5 for 5, 2 RBI, 1 BB, SB #2 Joe Mauer, FUN vs. CMB: 4 for 5, 5 RBI, 1 R #1 Lou Gehrig, NWK vs. WOR: 4 for 4, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 3 R
Big Bombs (longest HR) #5 Jimmy Wynn, JIG 425 ft. #4 Willie Stargell, FUN 431 ft. #3 Iván Rodríguez, JIG 434 ft. #2 Manny Ramírez, PRO 436 ft. #1 BABE RUTH, JIG 504 FEET. Not a typo. The Bambino blessed the ATL with a titanic shot off Newark's Gaylord Perry.
Nothing changing virtually at all regarding league averages for the ATL: .261 AVG, .726 OPS, though ERA dropped to 3.91.
Besides that, I have nothing new about which I could gripe on here. Coming in the next update: the mid-season all-ATL team...
Note: if you haven't read any of the previous posts setting out the background, rules, and team rosters in the All-Timers League, click here and start from the bottom post if you want the full details. Click here for the ATL Message Board, which provides constant updates on the standings, along with the daily games being finished and any injuries or roster changes that occur.
We've crossed the 1/3 mark of the All-Timers League! In real time, I was pleased to get this segment done (along with this recap) as quickly as I did. There were some great pitching duals & performances, but the ATL's offenses brought their game up overall during this period; I can't recall this many double-digit totals in the past segments. More specifically, there were a few firsts & particular events that caught my eye, for better and worse:
Providence's Honus Wagner, he of the bowed legs, became the first player in the ATL to accomplish the inside-the-park HR. That gave him 5 on the year; he averaged 6 per 162 games for his lengthy career.
Speaking of the deadball era, Worcester's Ty Cobb became the first player to steal home in the game. It was a straight steal of home on the pitch. In 1912, he stole home 8 times. I can't even fathom that happening today.
Picture this: a very slow runner (Mark McGwire) on second, with 2 outs in the inning. A ball is hit through the hole between shortstop & third base. Barry Bonds fields it, throws it home...NOT IN TIME! Sound familiar? (WARNING: Show this video to me, and I can't guarantee to you that I won't go into rage mode.)
Of course, there's always 3 games per day. One day featured 2 games ending on walk-off HR: Cumberland's Chipper Jones & Jigger's Ryne Sandberg did the honors.
Here's your star players, standings, & stats so far. I added the best game performances over this period; it used to be one part of Baseball-Reference's home page that always interested me when I made my daily visit there.
MVP:Our first pitching MVP goes to Christy Mathewson of the Newark Legion. He's been literally unbeatable so far this year, and his performance over this segment was definitely not a drop-off from the previous ones. Overall, he sports a 9-0 record in 12 starts, with a 1.93 ERA, 1.01 WHIP (only 15 walks), & 55 K in 98 IP. For those not familiar with this name, Matty pitched all but just one game from 1900-16 for the New York (baseball) Giants, winning 373 games, winning 5 NL pennants & 1 World Series, and holding the 8th best career ERA of any pitcher with 1,000 IP. He's a member of the inaugural class of the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1936, garnering the most votes of any pitcher not also named Babe Ruth. He was known to always be around rookie pitchers during spring training, "trying to show them how to pitch successfully in the big leagues." A couple of great tidbits about Matty: He served the country as an Captain in the Army during World War I; there, he was accidentally gassed & developed tuberculosis. While recovering, he devised a game not too different from the well-know game today, Strat-o-Matic, to keep his mind engaged & on baseball. In 1902, he spent some of his offseason playing fullback in the first attempt at a National Football League, playing for...the Pittsburgh Stars. Maybe, just maybe, a smart move to stop playing, considering how much more dangerous football was back then even compared to now.
The Standings:
1. Providence Reds 40-18:The Good: My boys are not too far removed from a monster 14-game winning streak. Of the players getting the most regular time in the lineup, 4 of them are hitting the ball at over a .330 clip, while the entire offense is over 100 OPS points above league average. Mel Ott's full-time return to the lineup provided the Reds with some extra oomph to nudge them ahead of the competition in basically all power categories. With 4 starters under a 3.60 ERA, the offense has a fantastic advantage in usually not having to score big as often as other teams; only twice did the opponent plate more than 4 runs against the Reds. Led by Quisenberry & Sutter, the bullpen has overall been second to none. Even in the current absence of Brooks Robinson and the diminished playing time of Roberto Clemente, the defense has been at least league average, if not better. The Bad: The winning streak was great, but the subsequent series losses to the Funk & Sedohcs to end the segment were not so great. The offense has been recently shut down by some of the hotter pitchers in the ATL, as well as the best names in pitching like Pedro Martínez. Particular spots of concern in the lineup are 3B, where SS-first Arky Vaughan & slick-fielding Ken Boyer are platooned, LF if Ramírez continues to struggle, & backup C where Gary Carter is having issues. With all the fireballers in the rotation, walks could very well cause ERAs to climb should these legends hit a rough patch. If Carl Mays (9.00 ERA in 11 games) continues to struggle, the bullpen essentially becomes a 5-man crew that could be more susceptible to both overworking & injury. Best hitter: 1B Albert Pujols (.359/.439/.641, 14 HR, 60 RBI, 4 SB). It amazes me more that his slash line is currently outperforming his real-life numbers as of now, than it does that he's averaging more than an RBI per game. We'll see if he can hold on to the HR lead. Honorable mention to so many people, it's absurd: Honus Wagner, Jackie Robinson, Mickey Mantle, Mel Ott, & Yogi Berra. Best pitcher: Walter Johnson (7-4, 2.91 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 76 K in 89 2/3 IP). In a complete dead heat with Cy Young: .04 ERA & .01 WHIP superior to ol' Denton. He's pumping in the heaters and posting strikeout rates that are higher that I had foreseen. Honorable mention to Cy Young & Bruce Sutter.
2. Worcester Ruby Legs 35-23:The Good: Even after a few setbacks this segment, the starting pitching is still top-notch. Lefty Grove is pitching like the dominant force that he was essentially his entire career in the majors. Even youngster CC Sabathia has joined in the big success with a string of good starts & the team lead in strikeouts, though his offense is not yet supporting him. It's a bit of a surprise, but Johan Santana has achieved the most success out of the Ruby Leg bullpen thus far: 3.00 ERA, 1.13 WHIP in 18 games. Regarding the hitting, there's Ty Cobb's ridiculous numbers you'll see below, then there's everyone else who will play a role in delivering the big hit when needed. The overall power is a bit lacking, but when they're getting on & stealing bases at their current ATL-high rate, they're still as good as anyone in manufacturing runs. The fielding has been overall pretty satisfactory in assisting their non-strikeout-oriented hurlers. The Bad: Worcester's overall strong start subsided a bit this segment with an 8-7 showing, putting them a couple more games behind Providence. Roy Campanella's recent injury does not help push this offense forward from a power standpoint. Despite being 3rd in runs scored, this offense could take a step forward into being a championship-level group if one of the numerous around .700 OPS hitters steps up & becomes a big threat; Joe Morgan, perhaps? Not long ago the ATL leader in ERA, Three Finger Brown has seen his ERA jump over 1 full run due to 3 straight poor starts. The bullpen is merely OK: John Smoltz has worked in a large amount of games so far to mixed results, while the rest of the 'pen has been generally right around league average. Best hitter: CF Ty Cobb (.365/.414/.493, 2 HR, 34 RBI, 20 SB). He's hitting at his career rates, is near the tops in OPS as well as #1 in SB, all while playing one of the most crucial positions on the field. Yeah, he's a fairly important player. Honorable mention to Jeff Bagwell. Best pitcher: Lefty Grove (8-2, 2.12 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 78 K in 85 IP). Had a dominant 8 inning, 82 pitch shutout outing as the best of his amazing outings. May well have had only 1 loss had he not surrendered a late HR to former A's teammate Al Simmons. Honorable mention to Mordecai Brown & Bob Gibson.
3 (tied). Newark Legion 28-30:The Good: Legion players seem to love taking turns providing the big hits for the day, as none of the regulars have an OPS over .900. They aren't blowing people away with HR hitting, but they are finding varieties of manufacturing runs with the stolen base and still providing a high volume of extra base hits. The starting pitching has stepped up, primarily because of 2 outstanding performances by noted drinker Pete Alexander and otherwise decent pitching from the majority of the rotation. Even in the instances where the starters hit rough patches early, the middle relief of Drysdale, Sutton, & Cooper has succeeded in cooling down opponents' bats. Nothing drastic has happened on the defensive side of the ball lately, as Newark boasts very justifiably the best defense in the ATL. The Bad: The Good sounds awfully familiar, doesn't it? That's because it pretty much is, except in a weaker form than before; Newark posted just a 5-10 mark over this segment. Surprisingly, they aren't taking advantage of their homer haven of a home park, as they're just 13-16 there. Some hot starters like Eddie Collins have cooled down significantly, while slow starters like Derek Jeter & Eddie Mathews have yet to start doing real damage to opposing pitchers. To say the end of games has been an adventure for the Legion would be an understatement. With Jeff Reardon struggling and Hoyt Wilhelm still having heart attack-inducing outings on good nights, this team is getting some wins stolen away from them because of lackluster back end bullpen performances. Indeed, their Pythagorean Record projects them to be 4 wins better than they currently are. Best hitter: 1B Lou Gehrig (.309/.365/.527, 11 HR, 47 RBI, 3 SB). Tris Speaker leads this team in many hitting categories, but Gehrig isn't splitting his time with anyone at first base. As long as he's around in the middle of that order, Newark will have that big threat to score runs nearly all of the time. Honorable mention to Tris Speaker. Best pitcher: Pete Alexander (6-2, 3.29 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, 44 K in 65 2/3 IP). Consecutive brilliant outings against Jigger (6-hit shutout) & Worcester (CG, 1 R) helped Ol' Pete vault over Captain Consistency, Big Ed Walsh. Honorable mention to Ed Walsh & Don Drysdale.
3 (tied). Jigger Bushes 28-30:The Good: After a brutal start to the segment that included a 14-2 loss to the Reds, they've rebounded and are currently riding a 4-game winning streak. They've managed to find success at home in their Louisiana park: 16-13 there, 12-17 away. The offense is still bashing the ball out of the park at a high rate, which has bailed them out in a number of key situations recently. Handing the ball to Christy Mathewson every 5 games at a minimum hasn't been a bad idea. If the Bushes can start taking more leads into the 7th & 8th innings, there's a good chance the wins will follow; Gossage & Fingers both sport ERAs under 2, and Rivera could make this a complete lockdown group if he can find his normally consistent form. The Bad: Their Pythagorean Record is 25-33, showing that even as a team with a losing record, they're managing to sneak by with some close wins (9-8 in 1-run games) while otherwise playing fairly poorly. Five (up from four) Bushes hitters compose the top six in the ATL in strikeouts...gadzooks. As can be seen above, the lineup isn't even close to compensating for these strikeouts in being able to produce runs at an acceptable rate. Even Babe Ruth, #2 in the league in HR, is hitting 82 points below his career .342 average. Juan Marichal's injury meant that Tom Glavine was signed, and Glavine has struggled in his first 3 starts. To be sure, Sandy Koufax was supposed to be this team's ace, and his 5.15 ERA shows he hasn't been up to snuff yet. The defense isn't bailing the pitching out, either, as it has yielded the most errors and is tied for the weakest defensive efficiency rating (the ability of a defense to turn a ball in play (other than HRs) into an out). Best hitter: CF Duke Snider (.304/.354/.496, 5 HR, 12 RBI). Jimmie Foxx has mostly struggled, with his average dropping 32 points over this segment. Snider, on the other hand, has been a constant with both offensive & defensive production in a lineup with little of either. Honorable mention to Babe Ruth. Best pitcher: Christy Mathewson. Rich Gossage has made 25 appearances, accumulating a 1.20 ERA & 1.10 WHIP, yet he'll have to remain in the shadow of Matty's brilliant work. Another honorable mention to Rollie Fingers.
5. Funkstown Funk 22-36:The Good: The bats are starting to get healthy, and their production has been excellent in this past segment. The always legendary hitting of Ted Williams in the middle of the order, combined with the return of 2B Nap Lajoie at the top as a catalyst for producing runs, helped the Funk to not lose the beat (pun intended) on offense during the week or so that Stan Musial was nursing a minor elbow injury. Although he hasn't been able to rack up the saves recently (0 this segment), Dennis Eckersley has established himself as a fairly consistent arm out of the 'pen. As you can see below, Phil Niekro provided one of the best performances of the segment with his 4-hit shutout. The Bad: Despite taking 2 of 3 from the ATL-leading Reds in Providence and the Legion in Newark, it was a rough segment for the Funk. For the main reasons why, they need not look much further than their starting pitching, which is the worst in the ATL. Tom Seaver & Greg Maddux have yet to generate any prolonged strings of pitching excellence, and recent Hall of Famer Bert Blyleven has been generally brutal in the back end of the rotation. The bullpen has been just mediocre overall. Joe DiMaggio has been a bit of a disappointing regular so far, hitting at a very low clip (another pun intended); C Johnny Bench has also been very poor at the plate, leading manager Barlow to bring on the extremely young Joe Mauer to take some of the burden off Bench. Overall on defense, it's been rough times for the Funk; in particular instances, I noted 2 different times when the Funk defense led to a late defeat. Best hitter: LF Ted Williams (.324/.458/.506, 6 HR, 26 RBI). I'll give him this honor over Stan Musial just because of Musial's recent injury that caused him to miss about half of these games. Still, it's not like he doesn't deserve this with his prolific batsmanship. Honorable mention to Nap Lajoie & Stan Musial. Best pitcher: Dennis Eckersley (1-3, 4 SV, 3.05 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 42 K in 38 1/3 IP). Who else could I give this to? Only one other pitcher, Elroy Face, on the entire staff has an ERA below league average.
6. Cumberland Sedohcs 21-37:The Good: Here's your second-best team in the ATL over the past 15 games. The hitting certainly still has room to improve, but they did increase their rate statistics over the last segment. Rogers Hornsby has continued to rack up the hits. Barry Bonds sports a fantastic .386 OBP; if pitchers start throwing more balls over the plate for him, watch his name appear near the top of many hitting categories. The Sedohcs have received some superb starts from Pedro Martínez, workhorse Robin Roberts, & even one from Eddie Plank that have certainly been a major catalyst in the team's recent successful streak. They've won each of they're last 3 series, so at they very least, they could very well play spoiler to someone looking to hold a top 2 spot. The Bad: The going isn't going to get any easier for the Sedohcs' offense if it wants to make itself a more respectable unit. Big-hitting C Mike Piazza was sent to the DL for a few weeks with a quad strain, while most of the lineup (Murray, Banks, Ripken, Griffey, Rose) has remained largely ineffective and has allowed opponents to pitch around the super-elite sluggers like Bonds. Roger Clemens & Fergie Jenkins (10.97 ERA over last 3 starts) continue to be a complete mess in the rotation, while the entire bullpen looks like a disaster area right now. Rube Waddell? Might as well be Dana Eveland. Not only are they falling victim to the longball too often, but they are suffering from a high BABIP due primarily to what I believe is either the worst or second-worst fielding team in the ATL. Best hitter: 2B Rogers Hornsby (.345/.408/.477, 3 HR, 22 RBI). Despite probably being a negative voice in the clubhouse (check out the quotes about Rogers), he's still whacking the ball day in & day out. Honorable mention to Barry Bonds. Best pitcher: Pedro Martínez (3-6, 2.68 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 65 K in 84 IP). He was outdueled by young CC Sabathia (who also took him deep) 2-1, while his only win this segment came by outpitching the Big Train, 2-1. He hasn't surrendered more than 3 runs in ANY of his 6 losses so far. Get the man some help! Honorable mention to Robin Roberts.
Top Pitching Performances of this Segment (by Game Score): Uh oh, Legion... #3 Eddie Plank, CMB vs. NWK: 8 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 K #2 Phil Niekro, FUN vs. NWK: 9 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 6 K #1 Christy Mathewson, JIG vs. NWK: 8 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K
Top Hitting Performances: #3 Met Ott, PRO vs. JIG: 3 for 4, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 1 BB, 3 R #2 Barry Bonds, CMB vs. JIG: 3 for 3, HR, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 3 R #1 Eddie Mathews, NWK vs. FUN: 3 for 5, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 3 R
Big Bombs (longest HR) #5 Kirby Puckett, FUN 437 ft. #4 Lou Gehrig, NWK 440 ft. #3 Mickey Mantle, PRO 442 ft. #2 Barry Bonds, CMB 459 ft. #1 Babe Ruth, JIG 465 ft. Stat Zone (category leaders) AVG: Stan Musial, FUN .396 OBP: Musial .497 SLG: Albert Pujols, PRO .641 OPS: Musial 1.134 H: Honus Wagner, PRO 93 R: Wagner 51 HR: Pujols 14 RBI: Pujols 60 SB: Ty Cobb, WOR 20 wOBA (advanced statistic, click on it to see what it calculates): Musial .486 VORP (hitting value over replacement player): Pujols 33.9
ERA: Christy Mathewson, JIG 1.93 W: Mathewson 9 L: Roger Clemens, CMB 8 SV: Bruce Sutter, PRO 16 IP: Mathewson 98 K: Tom Seaver, FUN 86 WHIP: Mathewson 1.01 K/BB: Ferguson Jenkins, CMB 4.04 FIP (advanced statistic, click on it to see what it calculates): Mathewson 2.66 VORP (pitching value over replacement player): Mathewson 32.7
Ending notes: 1. The ATL's cumulative batting numbers rose slightly: up to a .260 average and .726 OPS. As a result, the league average ERA inched up to 3.99. 2. I wish the game would do a better job of informing me when players are fully recovered from injury; I fear I may have gypped a manager or two out of a game from one of their better players.
That'll do it here. The midway point is coming extremely soon...
Note: if you haven't read any of the previous posts setting out the background, rules, and team rosters in the All-Timers League, click here and start from the bottom post if you want the full details. Click here for the ATL Message Board, which provides constant updates on the standings, along with the daily games being finished and any injuries or roster changes that occur.
I wish I could have taken more time to pound this out earlier, but final exams just kept dragging me away from my focus on the ATL. The third segment was filled with some great comebacks and otherwise great games & performances, most of which were lower scoring. Here's some of the main points I took away this time around the league:
I was particularly impressed at the outfield play. I noted numerous spectacular catches and plays by the legends, some of which were certainly not recognized as elite fielders at any point in their careers. Names I listed for great catches: Hank Aaron, Duke Snider, Pete Rose twice, and even both Ted Williams & Manny Ramírez. Ken Griffey Jr. gunned a man out at home to record the final out in one game.
No lead appears to be safe. During this time, the Worcester Ruby Legs were the main culprit in stealing away a number of wins where they trailed entering at least the 8th inning. Not all the comebacks resulted in wins, but there were numerous instances of 9th inning, game-tying HR to send games into extras.
More of the best players will be seeing the field, as players are returning from early season injuries while only one significant injury occurred in this period (to 3B Brooks Robinson).
Here's your star players & standings so far. I changed my report style just slightly.
MVP:
Albert Pujols of the Providence Reds has been hitting legends like he hits anyone that pitches in the majors today. Batting Line: .377/.433/.610, 10 HR, 45 RBI, 3 SB. In addition, virtually all of the defensive statistics point to Pujols being far & away the best fielding full-time first baseman in the ATL through 43 games. Most notably during this period, he racked up 4 RBI in an 8-6 win over Jigger, and he became the first to hit 10 HR in a 3 for 5 performance during a 9-1 win over Funkstown. My first experience with Pujols was not any of the times I visited PNC Park to watch Pujols bash the life out of balls thrown by Pirates pitchers. Instead, it was adding him as a free agent onto my first ever fantasy baseball team, which was about 2 weeks into his prodigious rookie year; I can actually pat myself on the back for that one. I have the utmost respect for Pujols not only because he combines legendary strength with keen coordination, plate patience, the ability to avoid strikeouts, & a solid fielding presence, but also because he has the character becoming of an everyday type of Hall of Famer. I never hear him disrespect any opponents or teammates, and his care for others is always on display, such as when he gave his full assistance to a Cardinals fan who went face first into the dirt going for a foul ball at a Pirates game. What a man. Why does he have to be a Cardinal?!
The Standings:
1. Providence Reds 29-14:The Good: The Reds' offense is hitting at a torrid pace, and just about everyone seems to be pulling their weight. They're still managing a team OPS over .800, and by being in the top half of the ATL in all of the listed offensive categories, they seem able to manufacture runs in all sorts of ways. They have also managed to deal well with the adversity that comes with a lengthy season; after losing 8 of their first 10 games in May, including being swept by the Ruby Legs with 2 games being blown in the 9th, they finished this stretch of games by triumphing in 5 straight. The bullpen still ranks as the best in the ATL in most categories. Also, with stellar performances like Bob Feller's 4 hit, 11 K shutout of the Funk & Cy Young's 85-pitch, 8 inning outing, and the overall ability to strike out batters while limiting the longball, the entire pitching staff has been very successful. The Bad: Brooks Robinson provided some surprising thump in the lineup to go with his legendary glove, but he is now sidelined for 6-7 weeks with a fractured rib. Outside of Zone Rating, the defense appears to rank as a middle-of-the-road defense in the ATL. With performances like those against the Ruby Legs not long ago, the pitching staff has shown itself to be vulnerable to poor and surprisingly unclutch performances; even in one victory against Jigger, I noted a shaky bullpen. Manny Ramírez has not produced acceptable results (.211/.275/.351), out of the 4th spot in the lineup and may well have to be moved down for a while; maybe it's the mysterious groin injury bothering you, Manny? Best hitter: 1B Albert Pujols. It's nice to see a contemporary player showing the old-timers how much stronger & more athletic players are today, albeit in virtual form. Honorable mention to Honus Wagner, Yogi Berra, & Jackie Robinson. Best pitcher: Cy Young (5-1, 2.94 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, 40 K in 67 2/3 IP). Had he not been smacked to the tune of 6 runs in 2 1/3 IP, Walter Johnson would have likely claimed this spot. Young has been a model of consistent big-time performance, much like he was in his illustrious career. Multiple relievers had better numbers, but I nearly always give deference to starters for putting up their stats over many more innings of work. Honorable mention to Walter Johnson, Bruce Sutter, Dan Quisenberry, & Bob Feller (RIP).
2. Worcester Ruby Legs 27-16:The Good: There's two places you don't want to put this team if you face them: at home (fewest losses) and in close games (best record in 1-run games). Fittingly, their success starts with their starting pitching; as you can see, they collectively have a fantastic 2.99 ERA so far. You'll find 3 of their 5 starters leading categories below, and none of them was the one I picked as the best of the bunch. The offense may be just OK, but with legendary hitters Ty Cobb & "Shoeless Joe" Jackson, there will almost always be someone on base to at least move around the bases & produce runs. I am thoroughly impressed with the amount of teamwork in the power hitting department: 3rd in the ATL in HR, but no one has individually more than four. 3B George Brett just returned to the lineup to provide even more offensive firepower. If the season were to end today, the Ruby Legs would easily feel confident in their chances of winning, as they have taken five of six from the 1st place Reds, including two crazy late-inning comeback wins. The Bad: An alarming pitching statistic moving forward is the Ruby Legs' 5th place standing in walks. It would not be unreasonable to think that opponents may start converting more of their walks into runs in upcoming games. John Smoltz has not given the Ruby Legs any confidence lately in finishing out games, as his early success has turned into what is now four blown saves. The defense seems uninspiring so far, with no one very close to leading its position in many defensive metrics. The league seems to be very much in line with this past year's production (see the link in the notes below), but if the hitting decides to pick up, I would worry that this team may not have the pure power to catch up in runs to opponents that rely more on the longball for success. Best hitter: CF Ty Cobb (.350/.399/.454, 1 HR, 26 RBI, 13 SB). Two-time winner of the ATL Player of the Week during this segment. Cobb just keeps working hard & plugging along at his highest of echelons. C Bill Dickey was possibly the most clutch despite being otherwise poor with the stick, hitting two very big HR to win games for Worcester. Honorable mention to Joe Jackson. Best pitcher: Lefty Grove (5-1, 2.06 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 50 K in 56 2/3 IP). The fireballer is 4-0 with a 1.32 ERA in his last 6 games, including a 8 1/3 IP, 0 R, 11 K masterpiece vs. Jigger. Honorable mention to Mordecai Brown & Bob Gibson.
3. Newark Legion 23-20:The Good: The Legion have been playing more consistent baseball than anyone in the ATL, taking two of three in all five of their series during this segment. The hitting has been excellent, and they have received support from every spot in the lineup at some point in the season. Collins & Speaker have generated hits & stolen bases, while Gehrig, Aaron, & Mays have provided the brunt of the decent power even when the leadoff spots lack production. They've also received a little luck lately, such as when Derek Jeter's nubber rolled far enough to get a winning run across in the 10th, and winning on a Ruby Legs error. However, they're still underperforming their 25-18 Pythagorean projection. Nearly all the defensive metrics point to the Legion as the best defensive team in the ATL, and yes, even thanks to the guy who's the subject of this hit-filled Google search. While not flashy, the pitching has done well enough to keep the team afloat & fighting near the top of the standings. The Bad: For a team with only one strong strikeout starter, the Legion pitching staff can not be surrendering the most home runs in the ATL and still expect to make a long run toward the championship. Supposed closer Hoyt Wilhelm still sports a 10.45 ERA, a 3:2 save to blown save ratio, and a walk rate of over one per inning. Plenty of workhorses compose this rotation, but more of their horses need step up their performance level another notch, rather than hovering below league average in many categories. Jeter & Eddie Mathews have been somewhat disappointing in their lack of hitting output. I also find their being 4th in HR slightly disappointing for a team that plays in a "homer dome." Best hitter: Tris Speaker (.410/.464/.545, 1 HR, 21 RBI, 8 SB). The Grey Eagle has been whacking the ball over the place and wreaking total havoc with his ability to combine great bat-to-ball skill with fast baserunning. However, some may not personally enjoy knowing that he may have been a KKK member. Honorable mention to Lou Gehrig & Hank Aaron. Best pitcher: Ed Walsh (4-4, 2.96 ERA, 1.40 WHIP, 30 K in 70 IP). Big Ed just continues to pitch long into games & get out of innings unharmed. Warren Spahn provided the best-pitched game of the ATL so far according to Game Score: 9 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 12 K. Honorable mention to Don Sutton.
4. Jigger Bushes 21-22:The Good: There's not much left to say about how great Christy Mathewson has been for the Bushes that hasn't been said already. His great performances alone are helping to carry this pitching staff to being 3rd in ERA thus far, although he has cooled down slightly in his last two starts. Both Goose Gossage & Tom Henke have provided tremendous work as 7th & 8th inning options out of the bullpen, which is a valuable resource in close games when the non-Mathewson starters have been just mediocre. Jimmie Foxx has been the model of both power & consistency in the middle of a struggling lineup. Duke Snider (.300/.350/.500) has returned from an injury flawlessly, even hitting a walk-off tater in the 11th against the Reds. Being 2nd at hitting the long ball has helped Jigger greatly, considering their otherwise struggling offense; they won multiple games on entirely home runs. The Bad: I can only imagine that Jigger's manager wore his Brad Eldred jersey (note: I'm upset I didn't find a single image of him in #51) in front of the team one day, and they have been inspired to play just like Brad Eldred did for the Pirates ever since: plenty of HRs, but an absurdly low average coupled with ridiculously high strikeout totals. Four of the top six strikeout victims play for Jigger. A-Rod has struggled mightily of late, while Schmidt, Yastrzemski, & Iván Rodríguez all are swinging well below .200 at the moment. Outside of outdueling Pedro Martínez once, Sandy Koufax has yet to live up to the expectations placed upon someone meant to be an ace on an ATL team. Mariano Rivera has been surprisingly unreliable in tie games, as he has surrendered the winning run twice in his last three outings. Best hitter: Jimmie Foxx (.305/.379/.497, 7 HR, 29 RBI). Double X has just mashed the ball in a similar fashion to his glory years dominating the hitter-friendly early '30s. Babe Ruth is quietly starting to catch or surpass him in some stats. Honorable mention to Babe Ruth. Best pitcher: Christy Mathewson (7-0, 2.07 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 35 K in 74 IP). No-decisions in his last two starts keeps his undefeated streak going. Minimal walks will always help to keep that ERA microscopic. Honorable mention to Rick Gossage, Rollie Fingers, & Tom Henke.
5. Funkstown Funk 17-26:The Good: Stan Musial & Ted Williams are shouldering a heavy load on this offense. Both have OBPs over .450, as their great eyes are the primary reason why the Funk are leading the ATL in walks. Johnny Bench, who was barely cracking .100 as of the last update, now is even at the Mendoza line, and he cracked a walk-off homer to beat the Sedohcs. Despite still maintaining a high WHIP, Nolan Ryan has been getting out of innings and sports one of the better ERAs in the ATL. Greg Maddux has been coming around from a slow start, especially after firing a 5-hit shutout. The back end of the bullpen has remained steady, as Eck has become a reliable & durable closer for the Funk. Moving forward, Nap Lajoie returns soon from injury, which is a welcome sign for a lineup which has sported a noticeable hole at second base for the past couple weeks. The Bad: Despite leading the league in walks, the Funk are fourth in slugging % & last in stolen bases, helping them fall to last place in runs scored. At best, they've been scoring in bunches; they managed only 3 runs in a recent 4-game losing skid. Especially in the infield, there has been a clear lack of hitting production on the days Musial doesn't play 1B, as Alomar, Reese, & McCovey are all ice-cold over the past couple weeks. On the fielding side, only Joe DiMaggio has been excelling at his position, and the Funk are dead last in fielding range as a team. So far, the pitchers stepping up with big performances out of this righty-heavy staff are few & far between. No one is pitching overly poorly so far, but their level of play has to jump a notch or 2 if this team wants to bail out the offense more & win some more games. Best hitter: Stan Musial (.386/.488/.629, 8 HR, 25 RBI). I very well could have made Musial MVP once again with his still superior statistics, but that wouldn't have been near as fun. Honorable mention to Ted Williams. Best pitcher: Dennis Eckersley (0-2, 4 SV, 2.93 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, 24 K in 27 2/3 IP). One of my favorite pitchers to watch & try to emulate in my younger years (the pitching style, not his one-time alcoholism). 1.17 ERA in last 10 games gives him the nod over middling at best starters. Honorable mention to Nolan Ryan.
6. Cumberland Sedohcs 12-31:The Good: Even on bad teams, individual positives can be found. Pedro Martínez and Rogers Hornsby are legitimate big-time players so far, while the Sedohcs have received great production from both of their catchers. With a high BABIP and low total walk numbers, if balls can just start finding more Sedohc gloves, the pitching stats could improve quickly. Griffey's multiple game-tying HR have shown the team has resiliency (though they did lose both these games). Morale is very low, but some pitching & timely hitting could get things turned around. Regaining Paul Molitor from injury will give the team some added hitting skill & speed. The Bad: The story so far for the Sedohcs continues to be that of players not living up to their expectations. Only two of the regular starters has even managed a .250 average. For a team expected to have exceptional power, Cumberland currently resides in a last-place tie in HR; Ken Griffey leads with 5 but otherwise poor numbers, while Barry Bonds sits at a 99 OPS+ (just below league average OPS). "Leading" the worst rotation in the ATL, Roger Clemens has been downright awful with a 7.46 ERA in 9 starts, getting both hit around and walking batters. Lee Smith's performance at the other end of the pitching staff has been far below that expected of one of the best closers ever. The fielding has been expectedly poor. Best hitter: Rogers Hornsby (.345/.399/.494, 3 HR, 17 RBI). Old school classic. Hitting like the consummate professional hitter that he was in real life, though he also looks like the not-so-great fielder that he was in real life. A weak honorable mention to Mike Piazza. Best pitcher: Pedro Martínez (2-5, 2.95 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, 52 K in 61 IP). Someone needs to help poor Pedro get some well-deserved wins; he most notably lost lately while Sandy Koufax blanked the Sedohcs' offense. No one else pitched well enough to earn an honorable mention from me.
Big Bombs (longest HR) #5 Bill Dickey, WOR 433 ft. #4 Frank Robinson, WOR 437 ft. #3 Joe Morgan, WOR 439 ft. #2 Mickey Mantle, PRO 443 ft. #1 Babe Ruth, JIG 444 ft. Stat Zone (category leaders) AVG: Tris Speaker, NWK .410 OBP: Stan Musial, FUN .488 SLG: Musial .629 OPS: Musial 1.117 H: Honus Wagner, PRO 66 R: Wagner 38 HR: Albert Pujols, PRO 10 RBI: Pujols 45 SB: Eddie Collins, NWK 14 wOBA (advanced statistic, click on it to see what it calculates): Musial .479 VORP (hitting value over replacement player): Musial 28.7
ERA: Mordecai Brown, WOR 1.88 W: Christy Mathewson, JIG 7 L: Roger Clemens, CMB; Lee Smith, CMB 6 SV: Bruce Sutter, PRO 12 IP: Mathewson 74 K: Bob Feller, PRO;Bob Gibson, WOR 62 WHIP: Jim Bunning, WOR 1.10 K/BB: Robin Roberts, CMB 4.75 FIP (advanced statistic, click on it to see what it calculates): Cy Young, PRO 2.83 VORP (pitching value over replacement player): Mathewson 23.0
Some last notes: 1. For your reference, the league batting average currently stands at .258, OPS is .719, and league average ERA is 3.91. Teams are averaging 4.38 runs per game. You can compare these to what they were in 2010. 2. I don't recall any pitchers batting in situations when they obviously should have been pulled for a pinch hitter, but I still think the computer manager substitutes way too often & forces itself to put players in awkward fielding positions. 3. Expect the next segment of games to move much quicker.
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