TAKING STOCK AS FSBL TAKES SHAPE
Surprises, disappointments and what to expect in the second half
July, Year 1 —With the first season of the Franchise Stars Baseball League nearing its midpoint, we're getting a better look at what teams and players we can expect to be key to the second half of this first season of the FSBL.
We start off by looking in the AL East. Much was made of the Yankees, given their deep pool of iconic talent, not getting a great draw - relatively speaking - to open the FSBL. The key cog of this first season was going to be Lou Gehrig, and through the first six weeks he had been anything but. The Yankees had managed to hang with the Red Sox, though, and now - with Gehrig's presumed surge having finally arrived - the Yankees have tied Boston for first place in the AL East as the calendar hits July. Gehrig has mashed his way to 2nd in RBIs with 67, is tied for 4th in homers with 22, and his average is up to .299.
Gehrig's resurgence has coincided with a cooling off of the Red Sox' early stars, as Reggie Smith and Mookie Betts - 1/2 in the league in batting a month ago, have both cooled off to solid rather than spectacular. Boston's pitching still rules the roost, though, and it doesn't hurt Boston that Ted Williams has found his power stroke, sitting tied with Gehrig at 22 homers to go with his 1.012 OPS, good for fifth in the league.
The AL Central was a colossal mess a month ago, with each team sitting below .500. We said then the expectation was for the Indians to get hot and they did, their collective slump collectively ending, most notably the return to form of Napoleon Lajoie, who took the better part of six weeks to get going before going on a 23-game hitting streak. But Lajoie has been sidelined for the last two weeks and isn't expected back soon.
That opens the door for the rest of the division to make their stand, and leading the way there have been the Minnesota Twins, whose pitching has been outstanding, led by Johan Santana (8-4, 2.61). They've gotten timely hitting up and down the lineup, led by Kent Hrbek, who is sixth in the AL in RBIs with 59.
The division continues to devour itself, though, with each team within 4 games of .500 in games against each other. Even the Tigers, who remain the most disappointing team in the FSBL, are only three games below .500 in the division.
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Out West, there is no shock as the presumed best team - the Oakland A's - have been that and more, dominating the league en route to the biggest division lead in the FSBL, 11.5 over the Angels, who have managed to hover around .500 somewhat unexpectedly. The A's are, top to bottom, the best team in the AL, with a fearsome heart of the order in Jimmie Foxx, Mark McGwire and Frank "Home Run" Baker; the best leadoff man in the game in Rickey Henderson, and a dominant pitching staff led by early Pitcher of the Year candidate Rube Waddell (10-3, 2.35 ERA, league best 125 Ks).
The only other thing worth watching in the AL West is the performance in Seattle of Ken Griffey Jr., who is batting .319 and leads the league in homers (30), RBIs (69) and is third in OPS (1.086).
Moving to the National League, the NL East is tight thanks to the resurgent Mets who have righted the ship to get back in the race, bringing the division's top four teams with 2 1/2 games of each other. Tom Seaver's NL-best 1.90 ERA leads the way, but the big change has been the bullpen, which was horrific for the first six weeks of the season, at one point taking 11 of the Mets' first 17 losses.
That said, the Mets are the team in fourth...the lead belongs to the Braves, who have overtaken the league's biggest surprise, the Montreal Expos, as well as the Phillies, who overcame their own early-season struggles.
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June Games of the Week
June 5: ARZ @ PIT
June 12: LA @ SF
Atlanta's pitching is carrying the day, the third best ERA in the NL, but the offense has managed to be sufficient, led largely by the combo of Ronald Acuna (.332-22-46) and Bob Horner (.331-23-56). Skeptics keep waiting for Horner to fall off, at least with respect to average, but he's been consistent from the go for Atlanta and he and Acuna have made a formidable middle-of-the-order tandem.
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The NL Central is almost as tightly packed, with its top four teams (sorry Brewers) within 5 games of each other. The Cubs, Reds, Pirates the Cardinals have all held first place over the past two months.
The Cardinals are the current leader, 2 1/2 games up on Cincinnati, and perhaps the league's most interesting team. For all the talk of the Giants, A's and Yankees offenses, it is the Cardinals who have scored the most runs in the FSBL, led by Triple Crown threat Johnny Mize (.348-27-66) and Rogers Hornsby (.308-20-47). They've been held back by pitching. Ace Bob Gibson is 10-2, though his 3.76 ERA is above expectations - the function of back to back beatings in May, largely. And Ted Breitenstein has been a surprise at 9-4 with a 3.05.
But the rest of the rotation is 15-17 with a 5.17 ERA. Thinking is that, if the rotation gets its act together, the Cardinals could create some distance.
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The West, as expected, is a two-horse race, with the Giants holding a comfortable 8 1/2 game lead over the Dodgers, who sit comfortably in a wild-card position. The June 12th Game of the Week, a rubbermatch from Candlestick in a three-game set with Clayton Kershaw - at the time the league ERA leader at an impeccable 1.22 - on the slab for L.A. showed the Giants' might as they bounced back from a 5-0 deficit to crank 7 homers, including a grand slam from MVP frontrunner Willie Mays (.316-26-68) off Kershaw to start the comeback.
Rookie Draft: Quick Hits
The first FSBL rookie draft was held on June 1 in which teams picked up 4 players from the remaining 60 in their 100-player master pool, plus one Negro Leaguer from history.
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Big winners on the day included the Florida Marlins, who added pitchers Jose Fernandez and Sandy Alcantara and topped that off with slugging outfielder Gary Sheffield, a boon for an offense currently second-to-last in the National League.
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Arguably the best draft top to bottom went to the Cleveland Indians, who added a pair of solid starters in Addie Joss and Corey Kluber, and a potentially dynamic pair of bats as well in Carlos Santana and Kenny Lofton.
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The Cardinals picked up the #2 starter they desperately needed - no disrespect to Ted Breitenstein - in landing Dizzy Dean, who will slot in behind ace Bob Gibson.
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The rich got richer as two of the FSBL's top teams also landed top starters, with the A's adding Eddie Plank to their already potent rotation of Waddell, Grove, Hunter, Hudson and Quinn. Meanwhile, the Yankees added Whitey Ford, who will top the rotation with Ron Guidry next season, as well as a pair of solid second basemen in Joe Gordon and Willie Randolph.
The Royals, who have hung around the muddled AL Central on the strength of their pitching, figure to upgrade at two positions - where Whit Merrifield figures to supplant Mark Grudzialanek and either or both of Mike Moustakas and Kevin Seitzer should be a marked improvement over K.C.'s current black hole at third in the combo of Emmanuel Rivera and Joe Foy.
Other notables include: Johnny Sain (Braves), Chuck Klein (Phillies), Frank McCormick and Rob Dibble (Reds), Lee Smith (Cubs), Paul Molitor (Brewers), Bill Mazeroski (Pirates), Boog Powell (Orioles), Dwight Evans (Red Sox), Robin Ventura (White Sox), Norm Cash (Tigers), Joe Cronin (Twins), Jeff Bagwell (Astros), Don Baylor (Angels).
Top Negro Leaguers entering include C Frank Duncan (Diamondbacks), 2B Newt Allen (Giants), OF Wade Johnston (Cardinals), OF Branch Russell (Brewers), SP Nip Winters (Padres), Logan Hensley (Marlins) and Johnny Wright (Rays).
June 19: TB @ BAL
June 26: PHI @ SD
AL TEAM PAGES
