Pastime Baseball League
September Review (cont.)
Southern League Report
The Orlando Orcas improved 13 games this season for a variety of reasons, starting with a lineup that went from hitting .249 last season to .280 this year. They went from scoring 693 runs to 879. The offense improved so much that Ryan Howard, who hit 24 homers in 86 games for the Orcas, was deemed expendable. Rookie 1B Buck Freeman (.319-24-76) will get major consideration for Rookie of the Year, while RF Sam Crawford (.335-22-90) and 3B Ezra Sutton (.312-27-122) should lead the way moving forward. Pitching regressed slightly, though rookie Larry Cheney won 14 games and Francisco Liriano improved from an 18-loss campaign a year ago to win 17 games this year.
Besides the marvelous Oscar Charleston, the Memphis Strummers saw a virtually universal regression. The top four starters all slid in ERA: Jesse Tannehill (15-6, 4.32), Tim Lincecum (13-12, 3.97), Lady Baldwin (13-717, 4.30) and Sadie McMahon (11-19, 5.17). Similar declines happened on offense, led in their floundering by 1B Cap Anson, who fell from .338-26-118 to .282-5-51; and C Deacon White, who slipped from .327-20-110 to .259-11-77. One big step forward was 3B Ryan Braun, who went from .255-17-71 to .283-25-104, despite an assorment of back and shoulder injuries throughout the year. A symbol of the Strummers' season: In game 159, Braun was hit with a pitch, breaking his hand.
The title of worst franchise in the PBL's two-year history goes to the Alabama Airmen, who fell from 72 wins to 63. Their team ERA got worse by nearly a full run, rising from 4.01 to 4.97. This despite the fact they drafted pitchers with their first four picks in last year's amateur draft. The only positives were RF Mike Tiernan (.283-20-92) and C Joe Mauer (.318-10-69).
The Los Angeles Idols went 80-82, fitting given their trend of bad month/good month: From April to Sept. - 7-15, 14-12, 12-16, 17-11, 12-17 and 18-11. C Cal McVey (.347-5-57) would have won the Southern League batting title were it not for Oscar Charleston's campaign. CF Mike Donlin (.309-30-109) became one of the league's most potent offensive forces, and Billy Rhines rebounded from a 24-loss campaign to win 15 games.
Dealing for Ryan Howard was the highlight for the Arizona Sandmen, who hope they can be set up for next season. The Southern League's next-to-worst offense picked up support for Nap Lajoie (.248-24-97), who suffered this year with no force behind him. 2B Jose Reyes (.323-10-85) improved dramatically, setting himself up as the team's catalyst of the future. The man Reyes moved over for, SS Willie Wells (.297-9-84).
The Las Vegas Bosses saw the tremendous rise of 1B Lip Pike (.314-36-118) but little else go right. The team lost Carlos Zambrano with a torn rotator cuff in spring training. Amazingly, even Pike's excellent season won't get him the Outstanding Hitter award, given Charleston's performance.
AWARDS
Player of the Week
9/6 CF Jimmy Ryan - Las Vegas Bosses
9/13 1B Buck Freeman - Orlando Orcas
9/20 LF Harry Stovey (2) - Los Angeles Idols
9/27 3B Evan Longoria - New Orleans Knights
Batter of the Month
RF Sam Thompson - New Orleans Knights
Pitcher of the Month
SP Tim Lincecum (2) - Memphis Strummers
Rookie of the Month
1B Buck Freeman (3) - Orlando Orcas