At long last...
Classic League UpdateLate Season 5
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Team W L % GB Streak L5 Avg. ERA
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Blue Sox 16 6 .727 - W4 4-1 .304 2.21
Rockets 11 10 .523 4.5 L1 3-2 .254 2.88
Capitals 11 11 .500 5 L1 1-4 .262 4.28
Storm 10 11 .476 5.5 W1 2-3 .279 4.38
Aeros 10 11 .476 5.5 L1 3-2 .232 4.27
Knights 9 12 .428 6.5 W1 4-1 .244 4.28
55ers 8 14 .363 8 L2 2-3 .252 3.92
Blue Sox
The Sox have pulled away since mid-season, going 8-2 after the halfway point while the rest of the teams have beat up on each other. They've had stellar pitching from Palmer (3-1, 1.44 ERA) and Walter ("more durable than Randy") Johnson (5-0, 1.99), and dynamite hitting from Sisler (.380), Cobb (.377) and Dickey (.354, 2 HR, 14 RBI). The real story, however, is the Sultan of Swat, who is pursuing the first ever triple crown title (.397, 15, 34). No one can hope to catch him in homeruns or RBI's, but Cobb, Sisler, and the Rocket's Willie Keeler have a chance to steal the batting title from him.
Players to watch - Ruth, to see if he can accomplish the unlikely (of course); Lajoie, to see if he can cross the Mendoza line permanently (he sits at exactly .200).
Rockets
Their bats are still anemic, but their pitching has held together much better than expected. Playing in a stadium with huge dimensions helps, I suppose. Seaver (2-1, 1.60) and Chesbro (3-2, 2.86) have been surprisingly effective, including an incredible 11 inning shutout performance by "Cheese" against the Storm at Arena Nouveau. Truly one of the Classic League's classic games, Medwick (.313, 2, 6) hit a Randy Myers 1-1 pitch deep into the leftfield seats in the top of the 11th, and Chesbro closed out the Storm in the home half to seal the 1-0 victory.
Players to watch - The aforementioned Keeler (.351, 2, 13) has been hot all year. Keep an eye on the pitching staff; this is the only team with absolutely NO playoff experience, and if the pitching folds, it'll be an early exit for the men in orange.
Capitals
Down the toilet (3-7) since they were forced to move to a stadium with more "realistic" dimensions at midseason. The Caps slammed 43 HRs during the first 12 games (old Bandbox), slightly more than 3.5 per contest.
Extrapolate and you get 580 HRs in a 162 game season. I don't think so. During the last ten games, however, they've only hit 19. The remodeled Bandbox is still plenty cozy, but it's no longer 290' down the lines.
Additionally, teams are pitching more carefully to the big four (Mantle, Greenberg, Aaron and Maris), but they're surviving: Mantle (.321, 11, 20), Aaron (.302, 8, 21), Greenberg (.298, 10, 20), Maris (.290, 8, 18).
Players to watch - The Caps pitching was great last season (on the Amiga version of Earl), but it's been mediocre on PC 1.5. If any two starters of Tiant, Carlton, Waddell or Russ Ford can emerge, the Caps could still repeat as champions.
Storm
Injuries! Starting catcher Cochrane was spiked at the plate in game 19; he's out for the season. Fourth starter Mike Scott pulled some ligaments in his elbow after only going 2 and 1/3 innings of game 20; he's also out for the season. Either Nolan Ryan or Sid Fernandez will be pressed into the fourth spot in the rotation. Schalk has been a capable backup backstop (.342, 7 RBI in limited time), but how long will that last? Brett (.333, 3, 18) and Gwynn (.337) have provided steady hitting. Guidry (4-1, 2.52) has anchored the rotation. John Tudor(!?) has pitched spectacularly in his last two starts, including 9+ shutout innings against the Rockets (see above) for which he received no decision (the Storm lost 1-0 in 11 innings). This team has lost several close/one run games, which is odd considering the bullpen of Myers, Eichhorn and Eckersley. Unfortunately, while Eichhorn has been mildly effective, the other two take turns sucking the gaspipe between warmup tosses.
Players to watch - Ryan and/or Fernandez. I'm afraid this team has too many strikes against it to survive the final stretch run, but we'll see.
Aeros
How can this team be hitting .232 with names like Mays, Williams, Hornsby, Gehrig, Terry, DiMaggio, Heilman and Bresnahan in the starting lineup?!! I predicted they would fade after midseason, and since then they've compiled a record of 3-6. I've tried every combination with their lineup to no avail.
Gehrig (.269, 5, 8) and DiMag (.259, 4, 12) are semi-respectable, but they play at Wrigley, for Godssakes! Blue (3-2, 1.91) and Ol' Pete (4-2, 2.79) have kept them in the race.
Players to watch - Who knows? You'd figure that one of these guys would break out sooner or later, but....
Knights
Every league has a weird team, and the Knights are it in the Classic League.
They've won three extra-inning games this season. After starting the season 5-1, they proceeded to lose their next TEN. They were all but out of the playoff race at 5-11, battling the 55ers for last place, when they started winning again. As stated above, they're 4-1 in their last five, and if they win their three remaining games, they'll make the playoffs.
Admittedly, it's a long shot, but I wouldn't bet against them. Kiner (.312, 7, 13) has been productive, but Pesky (.343, 2, 11) has been downright shocking. I decided to start him when I reached the limit of my patience with Joe Cronin, and Pesky has just been amazing. Spahn (4-2, 2.79) leads a shaky pitching staff, and Charlton has wrestled the closing duties from Henke.
Players to watch - Newly installed leadoff hitter Sam Rice; potential power surges (or purges) from Hartnett and Rosen.
55ers
Gaylord Perry (3-2, 1.88) and Koufax (2-3, 2.13) are battling for the Cy Young award, but notice their ERA's compared to their records. Boxer shorts provide more support, for Christsake. Each of them should be 4-1 (or even 5-0) at this point. The 55ers aren't as bad as their record indicates; they just can't score when they get good pitching, and they can't pitch when they get good hitting. Frank Robinson (.352, 4, 13) is doing his share, but you can't drive in many runs when nobody else is on base.
Players to watch - Perry and Koufax, to see if either wins the Cy Young; otherwise, wait 'til next year.
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Author: Jay Donahue Email: <DonahueJ@smtp.edmonds.wednet.edu>
Curator: Tom Link Email: <tomlink@seanet.com>