[abell1198]

In an effort to speed this dynasty up and move into the playoffs, I'm only going to do team reports on those teams that are within 10 games of the lead or who lead their division. This still leaves about 45 of the 108 teams in each league to cover. So, while it may be one team who is running away with the division or the entire division in a tight race, the teams who are in the running will get the press. So, here goes.

In the American League, the 1900's Division is a three team race between three Detroit Tigers teams. In first place are the 1908 Detroit Tigers at 54-57. The 1908 Tigers are 12th in the AL in average at .278. LF Matty McIntyre (.329, 0 HR, 37 RBI), RF Ty Cobb (.319, 9 HR, 67 RBI), 1B Claude Rossman (.316, 8 HR, 73 RBI) and CF Sam Crawford (.290, 10 HR, 71 RBI) lead the way for Detroit. The pitching staff is below average, although SP George Winter made headlines for the club on July 30th. Winter (11-8, 5.06 ERA) shutout the 1975 Boston Red Sox (46-64) by a score of 8-0, allowing six hits, striking out seven and walking one.

In second place are the 1909 Detroit Tigers at 51-60, 3 GB. The 1909 squad is 6th in the AL in average (.281), 2nd in runs scored (602) and 1st in stolen bases (219). RF Ty Cobb (.361, 21 HR, 89 RBI) is 1st in the Majors in runs scored (108) and stolen bases (66). Cobb is 2nd in the AL in hits with 162. CF Sam Crawford (.326, 20 HR, 104 RBI) is 2nd in the AL in RBI. Unfortunately for the Tigers, their pitching is ranked 104th in runs against (637) and 105th in starter's ERA (5.56).

The 1907 Detroit Tigers are in third place at 45-66, 9 GB. The team is 7th in the AL in stolen bases with 152. RF Ty Cobb (.338, 17 HR, 70 RBI) and CF Sam Crawford (.296, 15 HR, 72 RBI) lead the Tigers at the plate. SP Bill Donovan is the team's best pitcher at 9-9, 3.54 ERA.

In the National League, it is a two team race. In first place are the 1906 Chicago Cubs at 72-39. Now, being a Cardinals fan, it's tough for me to say something positive about the Cubbies, but this team is no joke. The 1906 Cubs posted their best monthly record to date, 21-8. They are 10th in the NL in runs scored (531), 17th in average (.273), 12th in OBP (.344) and 3rd in stolen bases (172). 3B Harry Steinfeldt (.365, 12 HR, 90 RBI) is one of three .300 hitters in the lineup and won NL Batter of the Month for July. Steinfeldt hit .404 with 8 HR and 30 RBI in 29 games. RF Frank Schulte (.281, 18 HR, 88 RBI) provides the power for Chicago. In the field, the Cubs are 17th in the NL in runs against (400), 16th in starting pitcher ERA (3.11) and 4th in defense. Their starting five look like this:

SP Mordecai Brown 10-6, 3.20 ERA
SP Fred Beebe 13-7, 2.87 ERA
SP Jack Pfiester 11-3, 2.72 ERA
SP Orval Overall 11-7, 3.49 ERA
SP Bob Wicker 13-3, 3.24 ERA

CL Ed Reulback (1-10, 4.25 ERA, 34 Saves) is tied for 1st in the NL in saves. The Cubs made headlines multiple times this month. On July 8th, Overall defeated the 1946 St. Louis Cardinals (28-61) 5-0, allowing only two hits and striking out six. On July 11th, Beebe threw a NO-HITTER against the 1940 Cincinnati Reds (49-43), winning 2-0. Beebe struck out six and walked seven!!!! On July 26th, Beebe again made headlines with a 10-0 win over the 1933 New York Giants (41-65), allowing four hits, striking out 11 and walking three. The following day, July 27th, Wicker threw a 5-0 shutout over the 33 Giants (41-66), allowing four hits, striking out six and walking three. The Cubs would sweep the Giants, shutting them out (again) in game three of the series. Apparently, you don't make headlines when the bullpen helps out.

The 1909 Pittsburgh Pirates are in second place at 66-45, 6 GB and currently hold down the last wild card spot. Pittsburgh is tied for 14th in the NL in runs scored (.273), 15th in OBP (.342), 7th in stolen bases (143) and 19th in defense. SS Honus Wagner (.327, 13 HR, 69 RBI) and CF Tommy Leach (.278, 17 HR, 79 RBI) lead the team at the dish. SP Nick Maddox (12-3, 2.98 ERA) is the team's best pitcher. SP Vic Willis (13-6, 4.17 ERA) made news for the team on July 30th with a 7-0 win over the 1958 Milwaukee Braves (50-60). Willis scattered five hits, struck out eight and walked one in the game.