[Nick Soulis]

Season 7
August



Awards
Batter of the month AL: Eric Chavez (2006 Athletics)
Batter of the month NL - Joe Harris (1919 Indians)
Pitcher of the month AL - Rich Harden (2006 Athletics)
Pitcher of the month NL - Stan Coveleski (1919 indians)

Injuries
Ray Herbert(1963 White Sox) - hamstring - 3 Weeks
Dioneer navarro (2005 Dodgers) - knee - season

American League East
Lead by the ageless Frank Thoms, the 2006 Athletics all put the division away this month with 19 wins and now a 10 game lead with a magic number under 20. Thomas is hitting .305 with 17 home runs while Eric Chavez has smashed 25. Rich Harden won his 19th game and has a real shot at the Cy Young with his 239 K's and 2.98 ERA. Huston Street is among the best closers in the business with 33 saves. Tony Pena lead the 2003 Royals to a winning month but they couldnt handled head to head with Oakland. Still nine games under .500 the pitching hasnt been up to par. Carlos Beltran has 95 RBI and is a deer in center while Mike Sweeney has his average up to .336. The 1921 Red Sox have lost 43 games away from Fenway and didnt have the bats to make things work. The starters had a 3.27 ERA lead by 16 game winner Bullett Joe Bush but other then Del Pratt who is hitting .343, the offense has been on snooze. The 1933 White Sox lost 20 times in the month and have wasted an MVP type year from Al Simmons (.341/32/112). Baseball is not a man sport.

American League West
Cruising to 100 wins the 1963 White Sox have made their point. Gary Peters has 21 wins and Juan Pizzaro 19 for a staff that makes it look easy. The offense is first in runs and has a .761 team OPS lead by the MVP favorite Pete Ward who has driven in 111. It will be fascinating to see if the Sox take take it all the way through the post season. The 1974 Twins seem to have lost hope and are not playing great baseball. The club has scored runs and hung tough but the defense has been poor of late and the pen has lost its way. Tough to play knowing that September is without real meaning. The 1986 Ddogers wont quick but Tommy Lasorda never did figuire out the bullpen issues. The club has depended too much on the home run and has not manufactured runs in a park that favors low scoring games. The 2009 Orioles were never in the race and never will be. The record is not all that bad but they find themselves at the bottom of the division. Adam Jones is a five tool player that has had a fine year but starting pitching has been hit hard and a lack of any real consistency other then losing has been the story of this team.

National League East
Poising themselves for the postseason, the 1919 Indians won two more awards in the month of August and are playing as well as they have all season. Tris Speaker is up to .385 and what we have seen from him the past two seasons should reinforce him as one of the all time greats. They are 8-2 in extra innings and 25-12 in one run games; this team knows how to get the job done. Pete Richert has pitched well of late for the 1967 Senators who have played good ball this year. A second place finish and Frank Howard deserves a shoutout for his big year slugging .586. Pitching for the 1969 Braves has been a headache and the club lacks any real speed to manufacture runs. Orlando Cepeda went 1 for 23 to end the month proving that Hank Aaron had little to no help this season. The 1969 Expos look up and are 43 games out of first and surely will be well over 100 losses. Rusty Staub had a good year but the club is last in most all offensive categories having more steals then home runs. Expos have won only 6 times against left handers and 53 losses away from Jary Park.

National League West
The final race is in the West where the top three teams are separated by 4.5 games. The 1972 White Sox are doing their darndest to hang on and Tom Bradley has been on fire since the all star break and now has 17 wins and a 3.23 ERA. Dick Allen has drive in 100 RBI and Bill Melton provides support in the order. The Sox host the 1975 Expos and the 2005 Dodgers for three each in the final month. The Expos won 18 games in August and are the hotter club at the moment. The have 184 steals and Gary Carter hit .412 in the month. Steve Rogers has also found his form with a 1.10 ERA in his last 2 starts and 17 wins overall. The 2005 Dodgers will face off for four games to end the season with the Expos but still seem to believe. This LA team is the best in the league on defense while Jeff Kent and Milton Bradley are seeing the ball well. Brad Penny is the ace and has 17 wins but will need a strong September and should feel confident as the Dodgers have a lights out pen. The team that was suppose to be there in the end, the 1979 Brewers, will do their best to be spoilers and end with some dignity after a shocking season. Ben Oglive has 31 home runs as the Crew does lead the league with 152 long balls.