Mid-Season Report - AL

Just past the halfway mark and coming up to the All-Star break, let's take a look around the league. There are some familiar story lines and a few interesting surprises:

AL North
After a few rebuilding years, Columbus has returned to prominence and leads the division by 6. The Criminals' balanced attack (note: Wilson Costello could be making an unlikely MVP bid at .340/21/72) is 2nd in the league in runs scored, but their pitching has been average. Cincy and Augusta are hanging 6 and 8 back, while Detroit is currently looking pretty good on its 70-win goal.

AL East
Cleveland is in its familiar first-place perch, but it's not dominating as in years past. It's pitching is great as usual, but the normally-potent offense has fizzled by their standards (4th in runs). Jaque Fitzgerald is having his usual great year (.324/21/52), but the rest of the lineup is under par. Despite a pitching off-year of its own and non MVP-type seasons so far from Morales and Brantley, D.C. is just 3 back. Pittsburgh is right there at 5 back; Rochester is headed for its 3rd straight cellar finish and is in full-blown rebuild mode.

AL South
Richmond and Jackson are locked in neck-and-neck battle here. The Poor Men are doing it with pitching - starters Juan Gil (9-2, 3.21) and (5-2, 2.96), and Josias Rodriguez, and closer Wiki Batista (8 saves, 2.58) lead the effort. For the Holes, LF Dennis Hewson has 24 homers and SP Johnny Collier is 6-2 with a 2.45 ERA.
Little Rock and Nashville are just 9 back but showing no signs of challenging.

AL West
Salem is threatening to lap the field - they've opened up a 10 game cushion on Portland. The Goonies' formula is positively Weaver-esque: tough pitching (3rd in Team ERA) and longballs (Escuela, Grant, Vargas and Krause are the top 4 homerun hitters in the AL). The Bar & Grillers remain in the thick of the wild card race - with roughly half the homer totals of Salem, they may be shopping for power at the deadline. Boise has fallen off last season's 85-win pace and San Diego remains in rebuilding mode.

A Look Back At the Season 9 Draft

As we look over the current draft class (and vomit), it makes us long for the good old days of Season 9, in which every first-rounder who signed is currently in the majors and a 23rd-rounder could make the Show. A nostalgic look back.

1	Alberto Pinzon	2B .912 career OPS, 1AS, 1SS
2	Robert Crawford	SS .754 career OPS
3	Charlie Cosby	P 83 wins, 3.49 career ERA, 2AS, 1 no-hitter
4	Erick Durbin	2B did not sign
5	Harold Bryant	P 81 wins, 4.42 career ERA
6	Vince Cross	P 39 wins, career 3.52 ERA
7	Quinton Iorg	3B did not sign
8	Jimmie Stokes	RF .823 career OPS, 1AS, 2GG
9	Alex Uribe	P 19 wins, career ERA 5.82
10	Jimmie Feliz	P 34 wins, career ERA 4.78, 1AS
11	Hugh Rivera	SS .747 career OPS
12	Trent Diaz	P 78 wins, career ERA 3.79, 1AS
13	Craig Hague	P 22 wins, 14 saves, career ERA 2.85,
14	Clark Jensen	P 54 wins, career ERA 3.86
15	Mickey Beckett	P 63 wins, 4.11 career ERA
16	Leonardo Hardy	CF .823 career OPS, 1AS, 1SS
17	Otis Langston	RF .913 career OPS, 1AS, 1GG
18	Lance Reed	RF .859 career OPS, 1AS
19	Ernest Farr	LF .858 career OPS, 1ROY, 1AS, 1SS
20	Larry Davis	CF .688 career OPS
21	Matt Flores	1B .834 career OPS
22	Carlos Javier	P 29 wins, 10 saves, 4.24 career ERA
23	Alex Garland	RF .944 career OPS
24	Derrek Betemit	P 48 wins. 4.57 career ERA
25	Flip Ingram	P 20 wins, 8 saves, 4.61 career ERA
26	Domingo Bautista	3B .718 career OPS
27	J.T. Burns	C .891 career OPS, 3AS, 1 SS
28	Matthew Haas	P 14 wins, 10 saves, 4.15 career ERA
29	Omar Freeman	SS .663 OPS, 2GG, 1AS
30	Enrique Velazquez	P 46 wins, 4.19 career ERA
31	Jason Griffin	C .749 career OPS, 1SS
32	Johnny Hernandez	2B .795 career OPS

Of 10 players signed with supplemental picks, 5 are in the majors currently. Round 2 has 13 major-leaguers, Round 3 has 5, Round 4 has 3, and Round 5 has 1.

The latest pick in the Season 9 draft to enjoy current big-league status: Helena's Jack Mieske, taken in the 23rd round with pick #739.

Elder Wants Out Of Detroit

3-time All-Star catcher Richie Elder has told Detroit sports-talk radio station WDFN ("The Fan") that he's demanded a trade.

"This place (the Detroit Retro Gangstaz) is a f____n' zoo...it's not what I signed up for," he told the Fan's Shep and Sharp. "You got Danny Perisho out there trying to play first base in a wheel chair...hell, we might not have a pitcher who can hit 75 on the gun. This is a joke."

Elder is hitting .340 with 8 homers and 21 RBI for Detroit.

When reached for comment, Gangstaz GM blanch13 confirmed Elder's demand, and said he would listen to offers from other teams. "I know Richie's frustrated," he said. "We all are. If we can make a deal that helps our team, he'll get his wish."

Hot Starts - AL Pitchers

ERA
Lorenzo Rodriguez (Cleveland) - 1.21
Mickey Beckett (Augusta) - 1.78
Jung Wanatabe (Pittsburgh) - 1.82

Wins
Ernest Terrell (Salem) - 7
Jung Wanatabe (Pittsburgh) - 6
William Inouoe (Augusta) - 5
Darryl McCorley (Columbus) - 5
Edgardo Valdes (Cleveland) - 5
Lorenzo Rodriguez (Cleveland) - 5
Luis Gabriel (Cleveland) - 5
Charlie Cosby (Richmond) - 5
Juan Gil (Richmond) - 5

Saves
Johnnie Hernandez (Pittsburgh) - 12
Roger Lawson (Cleveland) - 11
Tomas Martin (Augusta) - 10

NL Hot Starts - HItters

OPS Leaders
Gary Goodwin (Mexico City) - 1.071
Yeico James (Toledo) - 1.049
Sammy Gonzalez (Helena) - 1.014

HR Leaders
Luis Diaz (Baltimore) - 15
J.T. Burns (Oakland) - 14
Christopher Booker (New York) - 13

RBI Leaders
J.T. Burns (Oakland) - 39
Christopher Booker (New York) - 36
Luis Diaz (Baltimore) - 36

Stolen Bases
Quilvio Diaz (Syracuse) - 13
Andrew Recchio - (Burlington) - 12
Jim Olson (Sioux Falls) - 12

AL Hot Starts - Hitters

A little too early to say anyone's in the MVP race, but there certainly are some hot starts out there. Here's who's come out of the gate smokin':

Salem has a pair of sluggers atop the OPS standings. Jose Vargas is picking up right where he left off in last year's MVP season, at .375/8/17/1.225. Teammate Ray Krause is right there at .394/8/22/1.167. Detroit's Richie Elder is third at .380/5/14/1.154.

Cincinnati's Albert Munoz leads in HR's with 9 - 5 more sluggers are right behind with 8: Boise's Andrew Corino, Jackson's Carl Serrano, and the Salem trio of Vargas, Krause, and Carlos Escuela.

The Portland Bar & Grillers are getting some pretty timely hits from Frank Suzuki - he leads the AL with 34 RBI (that's a 220-RBI pace). Roy Drew of Augusta is second with 27 and the Criminals' Pascual Pena and D.C.'s Eric Brantley share third with 25.