The Around the Horn League (AtHoL)

[luckymann]

Two of the league's superstars go at it hammer and tongs here, with a late rally getting the Bombers home in a thriller.

Somewhat lost in the rush, Johnny Mize whacks his 21st homer of the season, which projects thus:

[luckymann]

We suspected this was going to be the case and the sluggers haven't let us down, with some extraordinary numbers of homers being hit. Ernie Banks gets the recap mention in this huge game against Hollywood, but it is also notable for the 3 taters Joe Kelly mashes, taking him to 26 and tied for the league lead. No doubt in my mind that record is falling this year.

[luckymann]

Don't let the 29-31 record fool you, there's a bit of a buzz around the Seals Park bleachers as we move from May to June, and a general feeling that we might just be onto something good here.

Why on earth would that be? you might be asking yourself as you look at those metrics. Yeah, I'm the first to admit they are pretty ugly. Thing is, you shoulda seen them a month ago. 18th almost across the board on offence, although the pitching was holding up way better than expected. And just in the last fortnight or so, the bats have come alive to give us a glimpse of what this lineup is capable of.

BATS

We have scored 302 runs in our 60 games so far. Exactly 100 of those have come in our last 12, pushing our RPG up a full point in the process.

Bagwell has been a disaster zone, Evans not much better. For the former, it has cost him the starting 1B job, with Jeff now on the weak side of a platoon with Ripper Collins - who, as usual, is mashing a bunch. We've just had to wear the latter, and he is one of the guys who, along with Knoblauch, has started heating up of late.

Tom Wilson was so diabolical (3-for-40), we ended up forgoing any service time concerns and switching him out for Benito. The only other change here has been the addition of utility man Lou Collier, whom we acquired to give us a bit better split balance and flexibility, with Bruce Christensen sent to AAA.

Williams and Wesley have been massive throughout and I so hope we manage to keep these two together for some time to come.

BALLS

The closer you look at our pitching numbers, the nastier they look back - granularity does them no favours whatsoever. No real surprise there.

McCormick has been superb, although he's just back from a minimum IL stint after straining his elbow. Other than that, there's little good to report. Joe Bush has been on the IL twice, and won't be back for a while yet with rehab stints etc - we've only had 29 IP from him so far. Ray Collins has been much better in recent starts after a nightmare first month. After looking good enough at AAA to warrant a call-up, Koufax has stunk up the joint in his three starts. Messersmith has been great and then terrible in equal measures. The BP has cost us far too many games, with last year's best reliever Garrett Crochet bumped from Closer duties after his ERA blew out to 6+.

GLOVES

As predicted, our D has not been great. -6 ZR to this point, with our rankings all near the bottom. Most of this is from the OF, which is more acceptable than if it was around the horn. In fact, our IF ZR is holding up OK with the exception of Vizcaino, which sadly may spell out his doom with the club given his light-hitting tendencies. But for now, Schofield isn't hitting at AAA so we're stuck with the SQ.

WINGS

Not much of note here. Only Cabrera and Schofield are really on my radar, and neither have done much so far. Clough is one to keep an eye on - a pitcher by trade but can hit a bunch, so my interest is piqued. I still hold out some hope for Washington.

POCKETS

Have been picking up a few players off the WW, pitchers mainly, with Urban Shocker the biggest name. Our 40-man is full now and there's nobody on there I'd like to lose so any further additions are going to need to be worth the risk.

Now, as we start getting some $$ in, I'll be looking at extensions. I like the vast majority of our running costs to be fixed so we know as close to where we stand at all times, which means very few players go to arb under my aegis. I'll also start trying to extract value from imminent FAs we have no interest in keeping, before that value disappears altogether.

Next update after Game 120 - just before the ASB. Looking for a 35-25 split but will take 31-20 to get us to 500. The weakness of our Band means we are only going to need to be thereabouts to be in the mix, but let's not get ahead of ourselves.

[luckymann]

Players of note among the AtHoL's MiLB All-Star squads:


3BL (AAA)

Parks Conference

• P Lou Lucier (Paducah)
• P Justin Thompson (Paducah)
• P Mark Leiter sr (Reidsville)
• 1B Harry Steinfeldt (Topeka)
• 2B Paul DeJong (Columbus)
• 3B Matt Carpenter (Vincennes)
• SS Maury Wills (Schenectady)
• OF Lee Mazzilli (Cairo)
• OF Terry Moore (Nashville)

Lewis Conference

• P Bill Dailey (Buffalo)
• P Ed Walsh (Altoona)
• C Babe Martin (Toronto)
• C Bill Perkins (Minneapolis)
• OF Lefty Johnson (Charlotte)

HR Derby winner

Russ Derry (Taunton)

ASG result

Parks Conference 3, Lewis Conference 1

ASG MVP

Lee Mazzilli (Cairo)


2BL (AA)

Baldwin Conference

• P Tony Gonsolin (Belleville)
• P Gordon Jones (Belleville)
• P Elmer Sexauer (Hot Springs)
• P John Grabow (Aspen)
• C Bob Brenly (Union City)
• 1B Kevin Witt (Tulsa)
• 2B Frankie Gustine (Jackson)
• 2B Dick McAuliffe (Aspen)
• 2B Al Myers (Sioux City)
• 3B Odell Hale (Tulsa)
• OF Harrison Bader (Corpus Christi)
• OF Marcell Ozuna (Keokuk)
• OF Adolfo Phillips (Duluth)

Morrison Conference

• P Bob Fallon (Galveston)
• P Doug Gallagher (Selma)
• P Bruce Hurst (Wichita Falls)
• P John Montague (Jacksonville)
• C Patsy Gharrity (Manchester)
• 2B Bill Hallman (Longview)
• 2B Burgess Whitehead (Veracruz)
• 3B Bill Webb (Cambridge)
• SS Steve Kiefer (Portland)
• OF Albert Belle (Havana)
• OF Carl Everett (Havana)
• OF Myril Hoag (Jacksonville)

HR Derby winner

Bob Hamelin (Union City)

ASG result

Morrison Conference 5, Baldwin Conference 0

ASG MVP

Steve Kiefer (Portland)


1BL (A)

Bobby Conference

• P Dave Beard (Annapolis)
• P Tommy Byrne (San Bernardino)
• P Jim Crawford (Tyler)
• P Aaron Laffey (Tyler)
• P Firpo Marberry (San Bernardino)
• P Kyle Farnsworth (Redondo Beach)
• P Ron Perranoski (San Bernardino)
• C Bob Davis (Bloomington)
• C Chris Davis (Fort Myers)
• 3B Ian Stewart (Decatur)
• SS Johnny Burnett (El Centro)
• OF Chick Hafey (Corsicana)
• OF Paul Householder (Las Vegas)

Jack Conference

• P Kevin Kobel (Bellingham)
• P Gil Meche (Port City)
• P Steve Foucault (Mayfield)
• C Hank Helf (Vernon)
• C Steve O'Neill (Hopkinsville)
• 1B Phil Cavaretta (Chambersburg)
• 3B Brook Jacoby (Worcester)
• OF Angel Pagan (Worcester)
• OF Joe Rudi (Watsonville)

HR Derby winner

Kiki Cuyler (Salinas)

ASG result

Jack Conference 4, Bobby Conference 1

ASG MVP

Bob Davis (Bloomington)

[luckymann]

As the MiLBers are doing their thing, the big boys are as busy as ever - Oakland, in particular. Is it just me, or does Dayton always seem to feature in these types of games?

Slammin' Sammy also has a big night and is once again in the mix for a shot at the HR record - a race we will be following throughout the second half of the season.

[luckymann]

We've lost Ripper Collins for 6-8 weeks after he had a finger fractured by an errant pitch and I just felt it was time to push the envelope a wee bit. That urge led to this trade with Mobile.

With the two small retentions, this deal gets us a massive upgrade at OF and SP, along with a nice reliever, for a net outlay of roughly 35k. The two risks here are that Winfield is a FA at the end of the season, while Plank is in his second arb year and looking at just under 100k. But we've given up nothing we really wanted to keep and have been ultra conservative to this point, so I think the payoff curve is worth it - especially if some other ideas I have come to pass. We'll sit straight down with Winfield and Plank and talk contracts.

[luckymann]

Standings and Leaders






Top 20s - overall





Top 20s - rookies





Monthly Award Winners

April

Lincoln Association
Batter – Johnny Mize (Chicago): 295 / 16 HR / 34 RBI
Pitcher – Brett Anderson (St. Louis): 4-0 / 2.13 / 45 K / 50.2 IP
Rookie – Brett Anderson

King Association
Batter – JD Martinez (Philadelphia): 330 / 16 HR / 38 RBI
Pitcher – Eddie Plank (Mobile): 4-1 / 1.83 / 31 K / 54 IP
Rookie – John Olerud (Philadelphia): 337 / 9 HR / 20 RBI

May

Lincoln Association
Batter – Mel Ott (St. Louis): 393 / 7 HR / 23 RBI
Pitcher – Andy Benes (Oakland): 5-0 / 2.45 / 39 K / 47.2 IP
Rookie – Fred Dunlap (Dayton): 321 / 12 HR / 29 RBI

King Association
Batter – Mike Schmidt (Winston-Salem): 333 / 15 HR / 39 RBI
Pitcher – Gio Gonzalez (Portland): 4-0 / 1.31 / 45 K / 48 IP
Rookie – John Olerud (Philadelphia): 365 / 8 HR / 17 RBI

June

Lincoln Association
Batter – Juan Soto (Cincinnati): 345 / 15 HR / 37 RBI
Pitcher Rube Waddell (Chicago): 5-0 / 2.35 / 48 K / 53.2 IP
Rookie – Nat Hudson (Tucson): 5-1 / 2.39 / 40 K / 52.2 IP

King Association
Batter – Tony Clark (Raleigh): 363 / 11 HR / 28 RBI
Pitcher – Carlos Carrasco (New Orleans): 5-1 / 2.66 / 56 K / 50.2 IP
Rookie – Bill Donovan (Raleigh): 4-1 / 1.96 / 59 K / 41.1 IP


Prospect Pipeline

[luckymann]

All-time AtHoL home run leader Mark Teixeira adds another chapter to what is turning out a most storied career with a devastating performance against Portland.

Tex's fine game is the perfect segue into this season's Race for 64! coverage, which sees Johnny Mize and Joe Kelly heading the pack at the time of writing with 39, putting them on 70 pace.

More to follow.

[luckymann]

Not quite the sectional we were looking for, as we go 26-34 to sit at 55-65 entering the stretch run. Still, we are only a couple off the Toros for the Adams Band lead and retain some hope of an unlikely playoff appearance. Unlikely indeed, given we are yet to record a winning month.

A slow but sustained downtrend across the metrics, with our pitching struggles more pronounced.

BATS

Run production - or, specifically, lack thereof - continues to be a problem for us. But, with such a young squad that appears to have so much upside in it, I'm not going to obsess about that for now.

A series of niggles haven't helped, with Collins' age starting to catch up with him and both Wesley and Selbach spending short stints on the sideline.

BALLS

You'll notice one very familiar new name added to our staff, with this trade having been orchestrated just this week.

In for a penny, in for a pound - right? What's a second flamethrowing wild southpaw if you've already got one? Big Unit is a punt I just couldn't resist taking, having already made my mind up Messersmith was not our guy. He's still some time off his best, but hopefully - he's yet to make a start for us - we get some good mileage and can still afford him in his delayed prime. I'm a big proponent of LHSP, and now we have a bunch - although for now it is almost certainly Ray Collins who misses out next year when McCormick returns.

GLOVES

I'm not saying the guys we have now are the guys we'll always have, but the other part of the RJ appeal is his high K rate, which takes some pressure off a D that is unlikely to ever be elite.

WINGS

Cabrera has had a nice little stretch and Washington continues to show signs of life. Young southpaw Bob Miller has also been acquitting himself well at AAA and may yet prove a nice type.

POCKETS

Little action here, after the flurry of trades left us without ammo. I did lock down Winfield on a 2/160 deal, and just yesterday extended Appling by a year for $35k.

Reliever Garrett Crochet is our biggest dilemma. Poor this year after winning the reliever award last season, pretty big arb estimates but super popular and has been much improved of late so he ain't going nowhere just yet. Still, I'm not sure he's a luxury we can afford, especially if rookie Bob Dresser - who has supplanted him as our Closer - can hold his form moving forward.

[luckymann]

Detroit's Jack Jones becomes the first pitcher in the AtHoL to reach 200 career wins.

He's got a fair lead over the chasing peloton.

[luckymann]

This wild win over Louisville simultaneously highlights all of the things we have going for us and all of the things on which we have so much work to do; in order - hitting; pitching.

[luckymann]

This year's AtHoL All-Star Squads. We get two down-ballot selections with Teddy B and reliever Tully Sparks.

Game Score

King Association 5, Lincoln Association 2

MVP

Carlos Beltran (Montgomery)

HR Derby

Frank Fennelly (Seattle) def Mike Schmidt (Winston-Salem) 12-11


Prospects Squads. Just Melky Cabrera here for us.

Game Score

Lincoln Association 8, King Association 2

MVP

Jesse Barfield (Fort Myers, A)


Portland are home and hosed, Chicago look safe. The other four plus WCs are wide open. We remain two adrift of Tucson, whom we host to kick off the Battle of the Bands. Of course, winning the group is our only avenue to the playoffs - we are miles out of WC contention.

[luckymann]

Montreal's Joe Kelly is well within reach, needing just six for the record with 40 to play, but there are plenty hot on his heels as well.

[luckymann]

And so, with a 429-foot 2-run homer off Charlie Buffinton in the 3rd inning of their game at home to Chicago, Montreal's Joe Kelly becomes the new king of swing.

For now. Let's call him the clubhouse leader.

Because there is still two-dozen games to play and plenty of big bats chasing him with relish.

[luckymann]

Amid all the mashing of taters, the quality pitching still shines through regularly. Montgomery's is one tough lineup for J-Pax to have done this to. More importantly for the Pelicans, it maintains their lead atop the KA Rickey at three games.

That said, this is the AtHoL's first no-no of the season.

[luckymann]

Jonathan Lucroy has a night to remember against Wichita as the Terriers give the Aviators an absolute beatdown.

Johnny Mize has now also passed the 63 mark and remains close by Joe Kelly, but somewhat foolishly has managed to get himself suspended for 3 vital games.

[luckymann]

Not quite the drama of last season, but there are still a few close calls and near misses on the final day - all in the King Association.

In the O'Malley, Philly and Boston go into the final day at 98-67 - tied for first and both guaranteed of a playoff spot. The Keystones beat New York and the Reds lose at Pittsburgh, giving the title to Philly, with Boston finishing as the WC1. That win proves even more crucial for the Stogies, as it gives them the WC2 by a game from Winston-Salem and San Jose.

I'll cover the Seals in full after the playoffs, but we make a stirring late bid for post-season action before eventually coming up a game short.

The final standings, therefore, are as follows:

From here on, it will be the Race to 76, although I doubt we'll ever see Joe Kelly's effort this season bested.



(NB Some other players of interest a bit further down that list: 49 - Reggie Jackson, Alex Rodriguez; 45 - Sammy Sosa; 44 - Henry Aaron; 42 - Ken Griffey jr, Roger Maris; 41 - Bryce Harper; 39 - Rafael Devers, Bo Jackson; 36 - Lou Gehrig; 35 - Mark McGwire.)


Batting titles to Dayton's Sam West (368; 1st) and Bernie Williams of New Orleans (338; 1st). Fred Dunlap gives the RBI record a shake as well before finishing with 170 to miss out by 5.

Chicago ace Rube Waddell leads the league with 24 wins, Charlie Sweeney of Detroit's 2.67 ERA is the best, Sacramento rookie Dave Pope is the King of K with 442, while Keegin Akin of Houston and Cincy's Jack Harper tie for the most saves with 33.

Top 20s - overall





Top 20s - rookies





Monthly Award Winners

July

Lincoln Association
Batter – Ernie Banks (Montreal): 374 / 14 HR / 30 RBI
Pitcher – Max Scherzer (Chicago): 5-1 / 3.02 / 54 K / 50 IP
Rookie – Johnny Podres (Wichita): 5-1 / 3.64 / 63 K / 47 IP

King Association
Batter – Fred McGriff (Pittsburgh): 366 / 13 HR / 30 RBI
Pitcher – Roger Clemens (Pensacola): 4-1 / 2.55 / 88 K / 60 IP
Rookie – Roger Clemens


August

Lincoln Association
Batter – Fred Dunlap (Dayton): 396 / 10 HR / 36 RBI
Pitcher – Charlie Sweeney (Detroit): 4-0 / 1.93 / 16 K / 46.2 IP
Rookie – Fred Dunlap

King Association
Batter – Mark Teixeira (Pittsburgh): 320 / 14 HR / 45 RBI
Pitcher – Fergie Jenkins (Portland): 5-0 / 2.03 / 32 K / 44.1 IP
Rookie – John Olerud (Philadelphia): 380 / 9 HR / 20 RBI


September

Lincoln Association
Batter – Matt Kemp (Wichita): 388 / 13 HR / 38 RBI
Pitcher – Steve Carlton (Chicago): 5-0 / 1.06 / 38 K / 42.1 IP
Rookie – Bullet Joe Bush (San Francisco): 5-0 / 2.51 / 27 K / 43 IP

King Association
Batter – Bernie Williams (New Orleans): 394 / 8 HR / 34 RBI
Pitcher – Carlos Carrasco (New Orleans): 6-0 / 3.25 / 48 K / 52.2 IP
Rookie – James Shields (Raleigh): 5-1 / 2.21 / 51 K / 53 IP

[luckymann]

A couple tight pitching-dominated games see Detroit and Pittsburgh progress to the main playoff rounds.

Here's how they'll line up from here.

One thing is guaranteed: we will have a first-time Champion.

[luckymann]

Compensation of a sort for Richmond, who get a 3BL Championship after losing their spot in the AtHoL.

[luckymann]

Oklahoma City wins a hard-fought title, going the distance in both the Group and Conference Series before disposing of Selma in six.