July 1, 1906
Code:
FLL STANDINGS W L PCT GB
Geneva 50 34 .595 --
Canandaigua 45 29 .536 5
Watkins Glen 45 29 .536 5
Seneca Falls 44 40 .524 6
Penn Yan 42 42 .500 8
Waterloo 26 58 .310 24
Two things stand out about the first half of the 1906 Finger Lakes League season. The race for the playoffs has never been more exciting, with five of the six teams in the running for a spot in the Seneca Cup Series. And, after a turn in favor of the offenses in '05, the pitchers have taken over in '06. FLL batsmen are hitting in the .240s as a league, while the league's pitchers have posted an aggregate ERA of 2.47.
The Geneva Green Sox, with the league's top mound staff (team ERA 2.01), are leading the pack, with four clubs battling hard for second. Sox ace
Hayden Williams has been unhittable (15-2, 1.27), and the Sox have received great work from their bullpen, featuring
Kent Allen and
Luis Gallegos. 3B
Tony Powell, who leads the league in RBI with 44, keys the Geneva attack.
Other players who are off to fine starts include Penn Yan CF
Francisco Rivera (.316-4-25), widely acclaimed as the league's best player; his Brawlers teammate, RF
Mike Young (.295-2-32), and Seneca Falls LF
Marc St. John (.331-0-18), who is finally enjoying the kind of year most experts thought he'd have.
Two previously unknown southpaw twirlers have exploded onto the scene this year. Watkins Glen's
Edward Daybell (15-3, 1.67) and Canandaigua's
Robinson Rodriguez (12-7, 2.03) pitched a total of 52 innings in 1905, and are now looking like aces. Other, more familiar names such as
Joe Norris of the Ice Cats,
Michael Watkins of the Bucks, and
Dennis Williams of the Sheepdogs are all struggling to reach the .500 mark, despite pitching well. Norris is on pace to shatter the league strikeout record; he has 118 Ks already.
Waterloo hopes the return of RF
Duane Blackburn and RHP
"Electric Billy" Patrick, both of whom missed significant time with injuries, will shake them out of their doldrums. Finches rooters are the only ones, however, who should be singing the blues right now.