Well the tragic loss of Dave Brown is obviously the standout news from the month, but the Bucs still manage a solid 17-12 July despite that shock. All the same, they now find themselves 5 1/2 GB of the Giants, who go an even better 18-11.
There are certainly no shortage of great individual performances, with both Paul Waner and Willie Foster winning the monthly awards. But that pitching now looks paper-thin and I'm not sure it will be able to hold off all the big bats with enough regularity to get them the requisite number of wins to remain competitive. Streeter's swan dive continues as he posts an 8.36 ERA for the sectional.
The trade deadline has come and gone with only the Force addition, so Honus has obviously decided to suck it and see with the players he has.
The Reds are in between the Bucs and Giants, and look set to give it their best tilt in a long time. Over in the AL, the Tigers have snuck ahead of the BoSox thanks to a stirring 20-8 month, with the Yanks once again struggling to hold on to the leading bunch.
Just to mix things up, here are the Top 20 position players and pitchers by WAR thru July.
Awards, news and leaders.
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