[abell1198]

The Steroid Era continues with mixed results. I thought there would be more power, which was true for some teams. Pitching still wins championships and the 1990's teams showed plenty of it. In the American League, two teams share the lead at the end of April at 18-10. The first team is the 1999 New York Yankees. SS Derek Jeter (.327 avg) is one of two .300 hitters in the lineup. SP Roger Clemens is 5-0, 2.03 ERA to lead the pitching staff. The Yankees started out 5-1 and swept the 1940 Detroit Tigers. The 1956 New York Yankees were also swept by the 1999 squad. Tied with the Yankees for the lead are the 1995 Cleveland Indians. The Indians have four .300 hitters, led by 2B Carlos Baerga at .355. CF Kenny Lofton is tied for 1st in the AL in triples with five. SP Ken Hill leads the pitching staff at 2-0, 2.50 ERA. Hill threw a no-hitter on April 4 in an 8-0 win over the 1951 New York Yankees, even though he walked seven batters while striking out five. CL Jose Mesa leads the bullpen at 0-0, 1.42 ERA and 9 saves. The Indians have had winning streaks of three and five games and currently has a three game winning streak.

In third place are the 1997 Cleveland Indians at 16-12, 2 GB. They are #2 in runs scored in the AL with 167. 3B Matt Williams (.320 avg) is one of two .300 hitters in the lineup. The team is batting .282, which is good enough for 16th in the AL. The starting pitching, however, is in trouble. The starters have struggled with a 6.24 ERA, placing them 103rd in the AL. Fortunately for the Indians, the bullpen has stepped up with a 2.64 ERA, which is 13th in the AL.

Two Yankees teams are tied for fourth place at 14-14, 4 GB. The 1998 New York Yankees have three .300 hitters in their lineup, led by 1B Tino Martinez at .384. As a team, the 1998 Yankees are 20th in the AL with a .278 average. Their starting pitching is failing to perform and is 94th in the AL with a 5.36 ERA, while the bullpen has been good enough to help the team win. The 1996 New York Yankees have the same record and the same issues as the 1998 team. The team is hitting well, with a team average of .291, which places them 6th in the AL. 2B Mariano Duncan (.352 avg) is one of three .300 hitters. Starting pitching is 96th in the AL with a 5.49 ERA, but the bullpen has helped out the team with their 2.55 ERA, which places them 12th in the AL. Closer Mariano Rivera is 0-0, 0.00 ERA with 5 saves.

Tied for sixth in the division at 13-15, 5 GB, are the 1993 Toronto Blue Jays and the 1990 Oakland A's. The Blue Jays are led by 2B Roberto Alomar (.305 avg), who is one of two .300 hitters on the team. The starting pitching has been dismal, ranking 102nd in the AL with a 6.03 ERA. The lone bright spot was SP Juan Guzman's no-hitter thrown on April 6 against the 1989 Oakland A's in a 2-0 win. The 1990 A's, who were the preseason favorites, have struggled at the plate. The team has no .300 hitters, is 107th in runs scored (87), 103rd in batting average (.231) and 104th in OBP (.296). The A's starting pitching has been average, but the bullpen has been spectacular, placing 8th in ERA at 2.31.

Finishing out the division, and tied for last at 11-17, 7 GB, are the 1992 Toronto Blue Jays and the 1991 Minnesota Twins. The Blue Jays have only one .300 hitter in 2B Roberto Alomar, who is hitting .350. Their hitting overall has been poor and the pitching has been average. The Jays won their first two series of the year before falling into a six game losing streak and have been a .500 club since then. The Twins have only one .300 hitter in RF Randy Bush (.314 avg). The team, overall, is hitting poorly. The starting pitching has been bad as well. The bullpen has been performing and may be the reason why this team doesn't have a worse record. The Twins have been streaky. They started out winning five of their first six games, but have put together losing streaks of three and seven and currently are on a six game skid.

In the National League, the division is led by two teams, who are tied at 18-10. The first team is the 1990 Cincinnati Reds, who are one of the favorites to win this division. The Reds have been the Big Red Machine for the month of April. They lead the NL in hitting with a .312 average and are third in OBP at .374. 1B Hal Morris (.390 avg) leads a lineup of .300 hitters!!! Seriously, the entire batting order outside of the pitcher is batting .300 or higher. Morris is tied for 2nd in the NL with 46 hits. SP Jose Rijo leads the starters at 5-0, 2.84 ERA, while CL Rob Dibble leads the bullpen at 1-1, 1.35 ERA, 6 saves. The bullpen is ranked 10th in the NL with a 2.37 ERA. SP Jack Armstrong (3-1, 1.69 ERA) made news when he threw a no-hitter on April 2 against the 1909 Pittsburgh Pirates in a 2-0 win. The Reds have put together winning streaks of four and five games, and are currently on a three game winning streak. The second team is the 1999 Atlanta Braves. CF Andruw Jones is the team's only .300 hitter at .320. Pitching has carried this team, with the starting staff ranked 8th in the NL with a 2.88 ERA. SP Terry Mulholland leads the staff at 5-0, 2.45 ERA. The bullpen is ranked 17th with a 2.71 ERA, led by CL John Rocker at 0-0, 0.59 ERA, 9 saves. The Braves started the season 9-1, sweeping the 1996 Braves and 2006 St. Louis Cardinals in the process. The Braves also swept the 1908 Chicago Cubs, but were swept by the 1993 Philadelphia Phillies.

Speaking of the 1993 Philadelphia Phillies, they find themselves in third place at 17-11, 1 GB. 1B John Kruk (.369 avg) is one of two .300 hitters in the lineup. Kruk is third in the NL in OBP at .489. SP Curt Schilling leads the starters at 4-2, 2.84 ERA. The Phillie bullpen is #3 in the NL with a 1.68 ERA. The Phillies started 2-4 and were swept by the 1913 New York Giants. Since then, they've swept the 1937 New York Giants, the 1968 St. Louis Cardinals and the 1999 Atlanta Braves.

In fourth place, and the second favorite to win this division, are the 1992 Atlanta Braves at 16-12, 2 GB. The team has no .300 hitters and is 96th in the NL in average (.238) and OBP (.298). The surprise hitter has been SS Jeff Blauser. Blauser is hitting .296 and is tied for 4th in the NL with 10 home runs. Personally, I think Blauser should be tested after hitting 10 homers in one month. SP Mike Bielecki leads the starters at 3-1, 3.00 ERA. The bullpen is sixth in the NL with a 2.27 ERA, led by CL Mark Wohlers (3-0, 0.00, 5 SV). The Braves started 5-1, but struggled the rest of the month.

In fifth place are the 1997 Florida Marlins at 15-13, 3 GB. 3B Bobby Bonilla is the teams only .300 hitter with his .333 average. SP Kevin Brown has been lights out!!! Brown is 6-0 and tied for 1st in the majors in wins. Brown's ERA of 1.15 has him tied for third in the NL. Needless to say, Brown earned the National League Pitcher of the Month for April.

The 1998 San Diego Padres are in sixth place at 13-15, 5 GB. 1B Wally Joyner (.339 avg) is one of two .300 hitters in the lineup. SP Kevin Brown (4-1, 1.64 ERA), SP Andy Ashby (5-1, 1.79 ERA) and CL Trevor Hoffman (0-0, 0.00 ERA, 6 SV) lead the pitching staff.

In seventh place are the 1991 Atlanta Braves at 12-16, 6 GB. 2B Jeff Treadway leads all hitters with a .336 average. CF Otis Nixon is 3rd in the NL in stolen bases with 15. The starting pitching has completely failed, ranked 104th with a 5.32 ERA.

The 1996 Atlanta Braves are in eighth place with a 11-17 record, 7 GB. The team has no .300 hitters and is 101st in the NL with a team average of .228. The starting pitching staff ranks 20th in the NL with a 3.10 ERA, led by SP Greg Maddux at 4-2, 1.89 ERA. The Braves are currently on a six game skid.

In last place are the 1995 Atlanta Braves at 9-19, 9 GB. CF Mike Devereaux is the team's only .300 hitter at .316. SP Greg Maddux is the only bright spot at 3-1, 1.57 ERA. The starting staff as a whole is 101st in the NL with a 4.92 ERA, while the bullpen is 91st in the NL with a 5.63 ERA.