I think this season is doomed to failure. Something odd happened, and I lost my players.dat file after the May sim. Luckily for me, I back up the league before I start a new sim, so at least I only have to go back to May 1st rather than start the 2016 season for a third time. So in any case, Big Six, yes, the Spelunkers have to make a move quickly. Unfortunately, in the resim, they sunk even farther behind. The pitching has been dismal: even Kyle Richardson is struggling, with a 4.68 ERA. Hard to blame the guy: he's pitching with a strained tricep.
In any case, on to the new June 1st standings...
Code:
Team W L Pct GB Stk L10
Deepvale 12 5 .706 - W1 5-5
Elliott Springs 10 7 .588 2.0 W3 6-4
Gentry Hills 10 8 .556 2.5 L4 5-5
Silver Beach 9 9 .500 3.5 W4 6-4
Marsein 8 9 .471 4.0 L1 5-5
Allison 8 10 .444 4.5 L1 6-4
Tifton 8 10 .444 4.5 W1 4-6
Lorris 5 12 .294 7.0 L2 4-6
League News
Sometimes, to make history, all you have to do is be in the right place at the right time. There are a number of players you might expect to be the first Bay Leaguer to hit for the cycle, those with that rare blend of power and speed, players like Lorris's
Tega Smith or
Cliff Rock. But
Jeremy Johnson? Even the most dedicated of Bay League fanatics would have a hard time even telling you that the 29-year old second baseman plays for the Marsein Knights. Coming into the 2016 season, Johnson had just 4 hits in 37 at-bats, and only one extra-base hit, a homer last season. But on May 3rd, the fates aligned for Johnson. After Marsein third baseman
T.J. Ridnour got tossed in the 1st inning for arguing balls and strikes, Johnson took over at the hot corner. And we do mean hot: Johnson went on to collect 5 hits in 5 at-bats in a 19-2 pasting of the Tifton Generals, getting the triple to lead off the 8th inning. He'd bat again in that inning, a 9-run outburst for the Knights, roping his 2nd double of the game, a 2-run laser into the left-center gap. "Was I really the first guy?" Johnson said after the game. "I can't believe it. I mean, that's as many hits as I have in my entire career. I'm a lucky, lucky guy."
In other league news, the Deepvale Ferrymen stretched their undefeated start to 9-0 before the Marsein Knights dropped a 6-0 shutout on them. All-world first baseman
Ace Gervin is of course pacing the offense, but the encouraging sign for Deepvale fans is the lights-out pitching of
Jason Grant and
Bo Dissinger, 4th and 7th respectively in ERA. Grant has to be one of the early favorites for Top Pitcher, tied for the league lead in wins with 5 against just a single loss. He'll have to fight off Gentry Hills's
Broderick Earl, though. Earl continues to mow down Bay League hitters, allowing just a .199 opponents' average.
Is this finally the season that
Riyad Gomes breaks out? The second place Elliott Springs Tornadoes certainly hope so. Though his average is down from past seasons, Gomes is putting baseballs over the fence at a career-high rate in 2016, leading the league with 8 longballs through the end of May. Consider that Gomes has a career-high of 11 homers and you see the progress he's made. Long considered to have Top Batter-quality talent, Gomes has been a relative disappointment to Tornadoes fans, who thought they had the equivalent of
Ace Gervin anchoring their lineup.
Marsein's
Mario DeGray is the only thing separating Gervin and Gomes on the OPS leaderboard. The electrifying right fielder is riding a 13-game hitting streak, and is over halfway to Gervin's 23-game record. As usual, the sweet-swinging lefty is doing it in all aspects of the game, hitting for power (5 homers, over halfway to last season's 9), hitting for average (.394 puts him second in the league) and proving impossible to fool at the plate (7 walks against 3 strikeouts in 66 at-bats). The pieces are all there for the Knights to challenge for the Bay League title again, with the top-ranked pitching staff in the league and a quality offense.
League Leaders
Code:
Batting Average Stolen Bases
H. Gervin (DPV) .431 M. Smiley (TIF) 6
M. DeGray (MAR) .394 T. Smith (LOR) 6
E. Daniels (TIF) .375 E. Ashman (GEN) 5
M. Richardson (ESP) 5
OPS ERA
H. Gervin (DPV) 1.276 W. Brooker (GEN) 1.50
M. DeGray (MAR) 1.156 C. Bonner (TIF) 2.55
R. Gomes (ESP) 1.081 D. Phillips (LOR) 2.63
Home Runs Wins
R. Gomes (ESP) 8 J. Grant (DPV) 5
R. Harrington (GEN) 6 B. Earl (GEN) 5
M. DeGray (MAR) 5 5 Tied with 4
H. Gervin (DPV) 5
RBI Strikeouts
R. Gomes (ESP) 17 D. Odle (SIL) 76
H. Gervin (DPV) 16 B. Earl (GEN) 70
R. Harrington (GEN) 16 E. Hope (ESP) 63
Runs Scored
H. Gervin (DPV) 14
4 Tied with 13