Two teams in the same division make for an intriguing mid-season matchup.
The
Baltimore Black Sox, who we saw in
Series IX and
XVI, have the best record in the league, led by a stellar pitching staff and a solid top-to-bottom offense, and lead the
Cum Posey Division by 5 games. The
Houston Colt'45's sit in 3rd place, 9 games back and 2 games over .500. We kicked the season off with Houston in
Series I and saw them again in
Series XIII.
#Baltimore Black Sox
The dominant story for the Black Sox is on the mound, where
Ned Garvin (8-3 with a league leading 2.64 ERA),
Bill Byrd (10-2, 3.20), and
Dennis Martínez (10-5, 3.52) form the best trio in the league. Add in the emergence of
Mike Mussina (3-1, 2.97) and the Black Sox starting rotation is unrivaled int he WBL. The
Don Bessent /
Bob Miller closer duo remains in place, with the 2 combining for 20 saves, but the key is the trio of
Sean Marshall, all-star acquisition
Joe Beggs, and
Buddy Groom getting them the ball.
Offensively, the team is just solid top to bottom.
Curt Blefary (265/383/541) leads the team with 21 HR and a 925 OPS, but the offense really revolves around
Frank Robinson (298/367/501) who trails Blefary by 1 HR and whose 67 RBIs leads him by 7.
Larry Gardner and
Bobby Wallace both sport OBPs over .400, and
Dan McGann,
Ken Singleton, and
Manny Machado (picked up via a midseason trade) each are in double digits in HRs.
#Houston Colt 45's
The Colt 45's are intriguing. They have a lot of talent, are the most flexible team in the league (in terms of players able to handle multiple defensive positions), and can't hit homeruns to save their life.
Their starting pitching has been good, if a bit uneven, a situation exacerbated with
Bret Saberhagen out for the rest of the year and
Stephen Strasburg unavailable for at least a start. The back of the rotation is improving, as mid-season acquisition
Roger Clemens has pitched better for Houston than he did for Memphis, and
Bones Ely looks to have staked claim to the final rotation spot.
Offensively there are a lot of nice pieces, but, across the board, not enough power.
Jim Wynn leads the team in HR and SLG (13 and .453) and
Jeff Bagwell (272/364/418) is the only other regular in double digit homeruns with 10.
Andrés Galarraga and teen phenom
Pete Hill have shown more pop in limited appearances.
#Predictions
I have a soft spot for this Houston team, but facts is facts: Baltimore is better. I'd love to see a Colt 45's sweep to tighten up the playoff race, but I think the Black Sox take 3 out of 4.