1998 CFOD MID-SEASON REVIEW YOUR MILEAGE MAY VARY! Mantle Division: Pitching heavy Springfield dukes it out with batting heavy San Francisco, with the Reservoir Dogs waiting in the wings to take on the winner. Springfield 'Topes (44-33) - After a lackluster 6 years, the 'Topes now seem bent on forming a dynasty. Their pitching has been particularly effective, with a league-best team ERA of 3.69. Ace and all-star Kevin Brown has a 2.52 ERA and 9 wins, while starters Francisco Cordova, Andy Pettitte and Jesus Sanchez have combined for 20 wins. All-star center fielder Bernie Williams has scored 72 runs while driving in 45, and outfielder Eric Davis and 1B Tino Martinez have 50 or more RBI. No real burnout problems to speak of, which gives the 'Topes the inside track to their 1st ever pennant. San Francisco Shriners (47-36) - After putting in mediocre performances for years, the Shriners have come alive, thanks to a punishing offense. The Shriners placed two sluggers in the all-star game, with Sammy Sosa (31 homers, 55 runs, 81 RBI) and outfielder Glenallen Hill (.337 batting average, 23 homers, 55 runs, 62 RBI). 3B Mark Loretta is hitting .380 with 57 runs scored, and Jim Thome & Paul O'Neill are hitting well. The pitching was expected to be shaky, but the team has put together an above average 4.00 team ERA. Tom Candiotti has a 3.52 ERA and 8 wins, while John Rocker has 19 saves. So what may kill the Shriners' chance at a pennant? Burnouts. Glenallen Hill and Mark Loretta are getting a little overworked, and could burn out with plenty of games remaining. Closer John Rocker is done for the season. San Francisco may need to trade for a few more players to keep their high octane machine running. Reservoir Dogs (42-38) - Hot on the trail of the 'Topes & Shriners are the Dogs. 3B Chipper Jones & 1B Todd Helton are both past the 50 mark in runs and RBI, and OF Bob Abreu is slugging over .531. Pitching so far has been middle of the pack. The Dogs have been performing well, but still managed not to place anyone on the allstar team. The Dogs are only 3 1/2 games out of first, and could move into first if either of the above teams falter. Toronto Towers (35-42) - The Towers are struggling this year, thanks to a punchless offense. Kenny Lofton (27 steals, 48 runs scored) is the only big performer, although Ivan Rodriguez did make the all-star team as the catcher. Starting pitching has been pretty good. Jeff Fassero, Tony Saunders & Dave Mlicki all having ERA's below 4. The real killer on the team is the relievers. 1 of 5 relievers has an ERA below 2.0. The other 4 have ERA's well over 5.0. When the game is tied in the 8th inning, Toronto finds themselves in a tight spot. Mechan Syndicate (33-44) - The move to Coors field has not been kind to the pitchers. The hitters certainly enjoy it, though. 1B Rafael Palmeiro was the starter on the all-star team, Barry Bonds & Bill Mueller have scored over 60 runs, Shawn Green has 19 homers and 67 RBI, and the Syndicate are getting great hitting from every fielding position. The team ERA is 5.86, which would break the alltime record for highest ERA. Charlottesville Squids (33-49) - The comfy confines of Tiger Stadium has given the Squids a similar season as the Mechan Syndicate. They're getting some fantastic production out of their hitters. Juan Gonzalez has 20 homers, 51 runs and 69 RBI, while Gary Sheffield has 19 homers, 59 runs and 61 RBI. Dean Palmer is threatening to break the all-time homer mark, with 29 dingers at the break, and 2B Ray Durham has scored 50 runs. Sheffield, Palmer & Durham all made the all-star team. Closer John Wetteland was an all-star this year (0.89 ERA and 20 saves), but most of the others are mediocre to downright scary. Brian Anderson has a 6.35 ERA and 0-11 record, while Scott Karl has a 3-10 record and a 7.87 ERA. The 5.29 team ERA ranks near the bottom of the league. ******** Koufax Division: Somerville all the way. Zippys and Wet Sox are duking it out for wildcard spots. Somerville Sluggers (51-28) - An off-season trade involving franchise players seems to have paid off bigtime for the Sluggers. Import OF Manny Ramirez is an MVP candidate, leading the league in homers (31), along with putting up a .632 slugging percentage and knocking in 79 runs. Henry Rodriguez is his fellow bash brother, slugging an unbelievable .744 with 27 dingers and 63 RBI. Tony Womack and Barry Larkin have done an excellent job as table setters, combining for more than 100 runs so far. The only downer on the pitching staff is that regular ace Curt Schilling is struggling (5-9 record, 4.35 ERA). However, Tim Wakefield is 11-3 with a 3.26 ERA and an all-star appearance, and Bob Howry made the all-star team as well with a 1.67 ERA and 22 saves. The team is 9 games ahead of 2nd place, so Somerville will be able to coast their way to the end of the season with the Koufax pennant firmly in hand. Zippys (43-38) - How 'bout them Zippys? The team cratered in 1995, and are now back in the playoff hunt. The Zippys put no less than 5 people in the all-star game. All-star 1B John Olerud is hitting .352/.445/.554 with 59 runs and 55 RBI, and all-star Derek Jeter has 70 runs scored. Reliever Graeme Lloyd has a 1.05 ERA and 16 saves, while Jamie Moyer has a 3.17 ERA and 10 wins. Brian Moehler is 8-4 with a 2.23 ERA. The main cause for concern for the Zippys is their momentum. They got their winning record partly based on a lot of part-time guys who are long gone. Can they maintain their pace & get a playoff spot with their fulltime guys? Oregon Wet Sox (41-37) - After last year's world series appearance, anything less than #1 has got to be a bit of a disappointment. The culprit? Surprisingly, it's the hitting. The Wet Sox are near the bottom of the league in runs scored. Jeff Bagwell has been slumping, hitting .234/.367/.398 with 11 homers and 38 RBI. Andruw Jones does have 56 RBI, but has only a .417 slugging average. OF Larry Walker is the only regular with a slugging average over .500 (Walker is hitting .342/.431/.585 with 52 runs and 45 RBI's). While the hitting has been lackluster, the team ERA is a better-than-average 3.97. Mike Mussina has a 11-3 record, a 3.12 ERA and was the starting pitcher on the all-star team. Rob Nen was also an all-star, with 20 saves so far. Despite the stalling offense, the Wet Sox are still in the hunt. If Jeff Bagwell can get his swing back, Oregon will snag a wildcard spot. Boston Brewins (37-44) - An interesting team. Loads of power, but can't get on base to save their lives. OF Greg Vaughn is an MVP candidate (30 homers, league leading .691 slugging, 59 runs, 62 RBI), but his RBI totals would probably be a lot greater if they had a legin leadoff hitter. Brian Hunter (.287 OBA, 38 runs scored) has been a big letdown. Jose Canseco and Jeff King have combined for 31 homers so far, but both have on-base averages hovering around 0.300. On pitching, the Brewins hold their own. Trevor Hoffman made the all-star team with 11 saves and a tiny 0.89 ERA. All-star Woody Williams is 9-4 with a 3.27 ERA. Hillsborough Regulators (35-47) - Hillsborough fell short of the mark this year, and are already looking towards next year. Most of their starters, including Roger Clemens, were delt for prospects & draft picks. Still, they managed to put 2B Jeff Kent (50 RBI) on the all-star team. Cincinnati Rock (31-49) - 3B Vinny Castilla (23 homers, 53 runs, 69 RBI) is a bright spot in an otherwise dim year. Cincinnati is in the process of reloading, and will give it another shot in '99. ********* Ruth Division: San Diego has the best record in the league, and are looking to make the playoffs for the first time. Solid California will make the playoffs with the conference wildcard at worst, while Boston is hanging onto a league wildcard spot. San Diego Termites (54-26) - Everything is working out for San Diego. They currently are the league leaders in run scored (448) and are 3 runs away from being the league leaders (in the good way) in runs allowed (323). Let's start with hitting. Albert Belle is making a run at MVP in his first full year with San Diego, with a .648 slugging percentage, 29 homers and a league leading 85 RBI at the break. Along with Belle, OF Moises Alou was the other Termite slugger to make the all-star team, having 20 homers, 60 runs and 63 runs driven in. Tony Fernandez (.346 average, 63 runs scored), Darryl Hamilton (.370 OBA, 55 runs scored), and Andres Galarraga (21 homres, 62 runs, 57 RBI) are also having stellar seasons. On pitching, David Wells is 11-1 and was the starter in the all-star game. Recent acquisition John Thomson is 2-0 in 2 starts and is 8-3 overall with a 2.7 ERA. Chan Ho Park & Wilie Blair are also putting in fine seasons. Closer Ricardo Rincon made the all-star team and has a 0.81 ERA. Overall, San Diego is hitting on all cylinders. They've always been competitive, but have never made the playoffs. That will definitely change, given that they have the best record in the leauge. The only question for San Diego fans is: Will the Termites have home field advantage throughout the playoffs or not? California Coneheads (49-33) - California fans are outraged. Their team is not in 1st place with a comfortable lead with the league's best record. Rather, they're in 2nd place with the league's 4th best record. California still has the league's best infield, with 2B Craig Biggio, C Mike Piazza and 3B Scott Rolen all making the all-star team. OF Cliff Floyd is slugging over 5.00 with 15 homers and 54 RBI. Alex Fernandez is gone, but California doesn't seem to miss him. All of California's regular starters have ERA's 4 and below and are a combined 32-18. California may not be able to catch San Diego, which would mean their pennant streak would end at 7. Still, they're a lock for the post-season, and their underdog status may get them back to the world series, where they have not appeared since 1994. Boston Whaleheads (43-37) - Last year's champs find themselves far behind the Termites and hovering around .500. Ken Griffey Jr. (26 homers, .570 slugging, 64 RBI) and SS Alex Rodriguez (.557 slugging, 22 homers, 60+ runs/RBI) made their obligatory all-star appearance. Jose Offerman has been a great tablesetter (.389 OBA, 56 runs scored, 22 steals), and Carlos Delgado has helped hit him in (.19 homers, 54 RBI). All-star closer Tom Gordon has a 3.13 ERA and 15 saves, and starter Darren Dreifort is 8-5. It's not as if Boston's out of the picture. If the season were to end today, Boston would wind up with the #2 league wildcard. But they may need to add a little "oomph" to solidify their hold on the post-season. Carolina Lightning (38-40) - Pitching. That's the big anchor on Carolina's season. Randy Johnson is has a 3.45 ERA, but is only 7-7. Steve Reed did make the all-star squad with a 3.09 ERA and 16 saves, but the rest of the pitching staff is not up to snuff, with the team ERA a below-average 4.76. On offense, 1B Mo Vaughn is a one-man wrecking crew, hitting .346/.403/.657 with 26 homers, 54 runs scored and 73 RBI. Gregg Jefferies is putting in his best season since 1993, with 47 runs scored, and 3B Scott Brosius is hitting .289/.354/.471 with 47 RBI. But that's about it for hitting. If they can get their pitchers to hold the score down, Carolina could see their record rise in the 2nd half of the season. Miami Mangos (36-46) - Not gonna happen this year. The Mangos have a league-tying low in runs scored with 321. Kevin Young is their best hitter this year, hitting .288/.344/.509 with 43 runs scored and 44 RBI, but no Miami hitter has over 50 runs or RBI. Rod Beck made the all-star team with his 2.73 ERA and 15 saves, and the pitching has been able to keep up with the rest of the league .. but so far has not been enough to overcome the lack of hitting. Kansas City Sioux (32-49) - 22 1/2 games out, it's time to look towards '99 in KC (unfortunately for KC fans, the team probably won't be in KC next year!). C Jason Kendall made the all-star team (.436 OBA, .504 slg, 45 runs scored, 17 steals), and Fernando Vina is having a great year (.344 average, .401 OBA, 50 runs scored). Unfortunately, KC has several holes in the lineup, which gives them a below average 334 runs at the break. Ugueth Urbina made the all-star as a closer (14 saves, 2.15 ERA), but the rest of the staff has not had much luck. Esteban Loaiza has been very unlucky, going 1-10 with a 4.17 ERA. ******** Young Division: Arizona with a rocket, baby! Brookfield is fighting off Seattle for a league wildcar spot, while Sacramento looks forward to the #1 overall pick. Arizona Thunder (50-31) - Big Mac is back, and he's brought a few friends with him. Arizona is knocking the stuffing out of the ball, and it's not just McGwire (who has 28 homers, 67 runs scored and 75 RBI). The Thunder put 4 hitters on the all-star squad, including Jeromy Burnitz (.373 OBA, .581 slugging, 23 homers, 71 RBI), Matt Stairs (16 homers, 60+ runs/RBI), SS Carlos Hernandez (.373 OBA, 16 homers), and of course McGwire. Pitcher Kenny Rogers is getting the big benefit, going 11-2 and earning a trip to the all-star game. The rest of the pitching hasn't been too bad either, with an above average 3.96 ERA. As long as they can keep the Brouhaha and Moshers at bay (they have a 6 game lead), Arizona should see their 2nd consecutive pennant. Brookfield Brouhaha (44-37) - Smoke and mirrors? Brookfield have scored only 9 more runs than they've allowed, and yet they've won 7 more games than they've lost. Jim Edmonds (.307 avg, .481 slugging, 47 runs), 3B Jeff Cirillo (.320 average, .388 OBA, 45 RBI's) and Edgar Martinez (51 RBI's) have kept the team running, but no Brouhaha sluggers made the all-star team this year. Closer Billy Wagner has been solid (1.93 ERA, 10 saves), and Hideo Nomo & Mike Hampton have combined for 15 wins. Recent acquisition Kirk Rueter is only 1-2 in 4 starts with Brookfield, but does have a 3.38 ERA. Brookfield seems a little nondescript, but they are solid as a team .. which explains why if the season were to end today, Brookfield would make the playoffs as the #1 league wildcard. Seattle Moshers (41-37) - What's up with Seattle? Their runs scored - runs allowed spread is wider than Arizona's, yet their lagging 7 1/2 games behind. Seattle's 1-run game record is an abysmal 5-13. Scoring runs has not been a problem. CF Ray Lankford is contending for MVP honors, hitting .329/.415/.631 with 21 homers, 69 runs scored and 70 RBI. Tablesetters SS Damian Easley and 2B Delino Deshields (who also leads the league in SB with 33) each have scored 60+ runs, and Tim Salmon and 3B Ken Caminiti have each driven in 52 runs. Lankford, Deshields and Caminiti made the all-star team this year. The Moshers boast no less than *3* ace pitchers: Greg Maddux, all-star David Cone (10-4), and acquisition Roger Clemens, who is 7-1 in 8 starts. If Seattle can solve their clutch performance problem, they can still get themselves into the post-season. San Francisco Piazza's (38-41) - The Piazza's are being outgunned this year, yet still manage to hover around .500. It's not as of the Piazza's offense is _bad_, it's just that the other teams have put their teams into overdrive. Tony Clark (.472 slugging, 50 runs scored), Raul Mondesi (.529 slugging, 49 RBI's), and catcher Javy Lopez (.572 slugging, 54 RBI) are having decent seasons, but nobody is having a Mark McGwire-esque season, and quite a few players (Gary Gaetti, .294 OBA, .348 SLG, 25 RBI, Joey Cora, .284 OBA, .254 slg, 31 runs scored) are dragging the team down. Chuck Finley is having quite a good season, going 8-2 in the 1st half with a 2.46 ERA to make the all-star team. The rest of the pitching is pretty bad, with a team ERA of 4.64. Park City Climbers (34-45) - Park City's offense misses Coors field. Brian Jordan is doing fine (.365 OBA, .550 slg, 50+ runs/RBI), and Eric Karros is doing OK (.508 slugging, 18 dingers, 59 RBI), but nobody else has more than 50 runs or 50 RBI. Pedro Martinez has come down from his incredible '97 campaign, but still made the all-star game thanks to a 10-5 record and an ERA in the mid 3's. Still, the Climbers don't have the horses to make a run in the 2nd half, so Park City fans are already looking towards next year. Sacramento Fish (28-52) - Fish fans knew this season might have been a little rough, but they didn't expect it to be this rough. The Fish have the worst record in baseball, thanks to the 2nd worst ERA in the league. They have plenty of prospects, some of whom are paying off already (Vladimir Guerrero is slugging .565, with 23 homers, 53 runs and 66 RBI), but they're going to use the 2nd half of the season as practice for next year (when they should have the #1 overall pick!).