[thehatfield]

ABL STANDINGS

August 1, 2012

Washington League East (WLE)
#1 Baltimore Pit Bulls 68-43, 0GB, #1
#2 Detroit Street Toughs 66-45, 2GB, #2
#3 Queens Horses 60-51, 8GB, #3
#4 Bronx Mutineers 60-51, 8GB, #4
#5 Indianapolis Cows 56-55, 12GB, #5
#6 Brooklyn Sycamores 54-57, 14GB, #6

Washington League West (WLW)
#1 Phoenix Imperials 64-47, 0GB, #1
#2 Tucson Omelets 56-55, 8GB, #2
#3 Los Angeles Buskers 51-60, 13GB, #3
#4 San Antonio Keys 49-62, 15GB,#4
#5 El Paso Biscuits 42-69, 22GB, #6
#6 Chicago Violins 40-71, 24GB, #5

Washington League Batter of the Month: SS Jim Greer – Tucson Omelets
32-year old infielder Jim Greer picked up the Washington League Batter of the Month Award by hitting .348 with three home runs, 31 RBI and 25 runs scored. On the season Greer is batting .273 with 13 home runs, a Washington League-leading 90 RBI, and 3.0 WAR. Greer, who makes $18.2MM this season and is under contract for $24.2MM next year, is having a subpar season when considering his pre-season projections and may be one of the main culprits in Tucson lagging behind Phoenix in the WLW.

Washington League Pitcher of the Month: CL Robert “Redbeard” Nix – Indianapolis Cows
All-Star closer Robert Nix took the Washington League Pitcher of the Month Award for July. Nix made 13 relief appearances for the Indianapolis Cows, throwing 15 innings, with 6 saves, a 4-0 record, 23 strikeouts, and a 0.00 ERA. On the season Nix is 4-2 with a 0.32 ERA (1134 ERA+), 45 appearances, 51.2 innings pitched, 0.60 WHIP, .136 OAVG, .220 BABIP, and 28 saves in 28 save opportunities with a 2.3 WAR.

Notes: The WLE tightened up a bit in July, but teams remained in the exact same position in the standings as they were at the beginning of the month. The Queens Horses and Bronx Mutineers are both sitting on the outside of the division race, 8-games behind the division leading Baltimore Pit Bulls (68-43) and 6-games behind the Detroit Street Toughs (66-45). Baltimore couldn’t follow up on their excellent month of June and went 13-14 since we last looked at the division standings, opening the door for Detroit who shaved two games off the lead with their 15-12 month. It should be a tight, two-team race for the division crown over the next six weeks. Out West, the Phoenix Imperials went 19-8 and made a couple of trades near the trade deadline to strengthen the club as they look to win the division going away, doubling their lead over the second-place Tucson Omelets to 8 games since the beginning of July. Phoenix is an example of a complete team as they don’t lead the league in any one category but rank between 2nd and 6th on all of the major Washington League team stats leaderboards. The magic number for the Imperials is 32. The Chicago Violins were in free-fall for much of the month, posting a 7-20 mark since the last standings and dropping into last place as the El Paso Biscuits managed to go 11-16 and sneak into fifth position.

Fillmore League East (FLE)
#1 New Jersey Sentinels 76-35, 0GB, #1
#2 Jacksonville Cannons 68-43, 8GB, #2
#3 Philadelphia Motorcycles 59-52, 17GB, #3
#4 Columbus Pants 59-5, 17GB, #4
#5 Charlotte Copper Kings 48-63, 2GB, #5
#6 Manhattan Monocles 46-65, 30GB, #6

Fillmore League West (FLW)
#1 Seattle Hilltops 59-52, 0GB, #1
#2 San Jose Victorians 59-52, 0GB, #2
#3 Gilbert Airplanes 59-52, 0GB, #3
#4 Ft. Worth Highwaymen 52-59, 7GB, #4
#5 San Diego Golden Hats 45-66, 14GB, #5
#6 San Francisco Sawdust 36-75, 23GB, #6

Fillmore League Batter of the Month: 1B George “Boss” Beasley – San Diego Golden Hats
George Beasley is in the final year of his contract with San Diego and today added a timely piece of hardware to his trophy case. Playing in 26 games in July the 35-year old first baseman ripped Fillmore League pitchers for a .398 batting average, nabbing him the Batter of the Month Award. Beasley also added nine home runs, 26 RBI and 28 runs scored. On the season Beasley is batting .281/.404/.496 with 18 home runs, 62 RBI, 68 runs scored and 2.8 WAR.

Fillmore League Pitcher of the Month: SP Jeff Burns – New Jersey Sentinels
One of the biggest surprises in the ABL this season has been the pitching performances of Jeff Burns, an unheralded 26-year old right-hander from Los Angeles, California taken in the 14th round of the ABL Inaugural Draft (325th overall). Despite his rather high draft selection, Burns has been able to stay under-the-radar for much of the season, even starting the year at AAA. Now that underground hero status might be under threat since he was named the Fillmore League Pitcher of the Month by going 5-0 with a 1.62 ERA in six starts in July. In 44.1 innings Burns allowed 36 hits and fanned 49 batters. Burns is 11-5 on the season with a 2.22 ERA (178 ERA+), 1.07 WHIP and 5.7 WAR.

Notes: In the FLE, New Jersey put up a ridiculous 23-4 record since we last looked at the standings on July 3 and put seven more games between themselves and the second-place Jacksonville Cannons who still managed a good 16-11 showing. It just illustrates how strong the Sentinels have been lately. The Columbus Pants actually had the second best month, going 17-10 to get into a third-place tie with the Philadelphia Motorcycles. Even the Manhattan Monocles in last place weren’t putrid, going 11-16 and actually closing the gap on the fifth-place Charlotte Copper Kings to two games from four games. The FLW continues to be a mess, with the division-leading clubs posting records of 11-16 (Seattle & San Jose) and 13-14 (Gilbert). The division has been so volatile that even the Ft. Worth Highwaymen who are seven games back at 52-59 in fourth-place aren’t yet officially out of the post-season discussion. The San Francisco Sawdust remains the worst team in the ABL, going 9-18 in July.