[luckymann]

Heavy going for us in this first stanza of '66 and an abject reminder to yours truly and anyone else listening about how quickly things can get away from you in this caper. This is especially so with the house rules I have in place, which also make the quick turnaround from here a near impossibility.





We're still without Felipe Alou and his return date remains uncertain. We've just a day or so ago also lost rookie Bobby Tolan, so Bill Virdon is back up in his place. And yet it is only because of our hitting that we're as close to 500 as we are.



Clendenon has been superb (leading the MLB with 14 HR), with strong support from Clemente and Pagliaroni. Far from perfect still, however, with inconsistency still a major issue - we are kept scoreless for more than 30 innings in a row over one stretch.




Our pitching has come to earth with a bone-rattling thud, with a number of guys slipping badly so far this season. Friend has dropped off the cliff and won't be with us past this season. Pascual will be, but is going to need to be closer to the guy we saw last year than this. Our staff is bisected by a clear line: those past their prime and those yet to reach it, with really only Veale straddling it. We extend him by 4 years for a cool mil, with a few others also locked down for next year and one or two cheapies stashed away for a rainy day.


Both divisions remain close with this next period looking to be key in this year's races.




Monthly Award Winners

April

American League

• Batter – Joe Pepitone (Twins): 355 / 6 HR / 17 RBI
• Pitcher – Denny McLain (Senators): 3-0 / 1.08 / 30 K / 33.1 IP
• Rookie – Stan Bahnsen (Twins): 2-1 / 2.74 / 12 K / 23 IP

National League

• Batter – Frank Robinson (Reds): 443 / 5 HR / 16 RBI
• Pitcher – Sandy Koufax (Dodgers): 3-0 / 1.06 / 37 K / 34 IP
• Rookie – Mel Queen (Astros): 3-1 / 0.64 / 1 SV / 9 K / 14 IP

May

American League

• Batter – Harmon Killebrew (Twins): 313 / 11 HR / 27 RBI
• Pitcher – Joe Nuxhall (Indians): 6-1 / 1.87 / 35 K / 53 IP
• Rookie – Dave Baldwin (Tigers): 4-0 / 5.02 / 2 SV / 7 K / 14.1 IP

National League

• Batter – Billy Williams (Cubs): 381 / 7 HR / 30 RBI
• Pitcher – Gary Peters (Giants): 5-1 / 0.69 / 35 K / 52.1 IP
• Rookie – Fritz Peterson (Cubs): 5-1 / 2.20 / 33 K / 49 IP

News and Leaders






Milestones and Observations of Note

• 2500 Hits: Willie Mays
• Sandy Koufax is 8-1 / 1.06 to this point.

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