[Nick Soulis]

Season 4
April



Awards
Batter of the month AL: Paul Goldschmidt (2013 Diamondbacks)
Batter of the month NL - Dots Miller (2014 Cardinals)
Pitcher of the month AL - Bryn Smith (1985 Expos)
Pitcher of the month NL - Virgil Barnes (1924 Giants)

Injuries
Fran Healy (1975 Royals) - Hip (5 weeks)
Brian Lawrence (2002 Padres - Ankle (3 months)
Adam Eaton (2013 Diamondbacks) - abdominal (3 weeks)

American League East

1999 Chicago White Sox - Frank Thomas and the Chicago offense came out hot as the Big Hurt is hitting .400 with good support from Magglio ordonez and Ray Durham. Keith Foulke has 6 saves already as Chicago doesnt seem to be sheepish on their chances in the East.

1975 Kansas City Royals - The Royals lost their starting catcher til likely the All Star Break and the offense has been slow to rise. The Royals are last in OBP but they are first in steals with 33. Early signs in the Royals pen are not good with no one taking the initative.

1985 Texas Rangers - Good hitting and terrible pitching is already the hallmark of this club. A 5.22 team ERA in April lead to the 16 losses as the team will likely lean on 37 year old Charlie Hough. Oddibe McDowell and Buddy Bell have combined for 7 HR and 27 RBI.

1969 Pittsburgh Pirates - The slowest starters of the contenders is surely the Bucs. Jim Bunning and Doc Ellis have been blasted in the rotation and the loss of Steve Blass to injury keeps the pressure on. After sweeping the 2002 Padres on the road to open the season, the club went 6-17 the rest of the opening month.

American League West

2013 Arizona Diamondbacks - Paul Goldschmidt is on fire and won player of the month honors hitting .375 with 25 RBI. The DBacks are determined to be a factor in this division and the start shows it. Ian Kennedy is 4-1 and Brando McCarthy 4-0 while they are supported by Eric Chavez and a stellar defense.

1985 Montreal Expos - Last in home runs and last in average may have had you think the Expos started terribly, but a 14-13 record has them relevant. Bryn Smith was a big bright spot winning pitcher of the month with 4 wins and a 2.37 ERA. As expected, the Spos have looked much better at home early on.

1919 Chicago White Sox - They were having a good month until they lost their last four as all eyes remain on the 1919 Sox. Joe Jackson revives the legend hitting .371 with 8 home runs making it all look easy. They Sox pen is a problem as expected but the starters, Eddie Cicotte and Red Faber keep the scores down and the games close. The Sox should have a much better record.

2002 San Diego Padres - Jake Peavy is looking fresh and throwing hard and Trevor Hoffman has 8 saves as the Padres don't expect to be anyones pushovers. Still, hitting for average will be an issue and waiting on home runs seemingly the only hope on offense. The injury to starter Brian Lawrence until the All Star Break is not a good development.

National League East

2018 New York Mets - Wow! The Mets came out of the gate flying and at one point won 10 in a row including a 21 run outburst against the Astros. Still the Mets did lose four in a row to end the month but still have alot to build on. Jacob DeGrom already has 5 wins and looks great while Jeff McNeil batting fourth has 27 RBI. Can the Mets keep it going?

1954 Detroit Tigers - Solid pitching and nothing spatacular have the Tigers off to a decent start. Bob Nieman is hitting .346 with 5 HR but Al Kaline is off to a slower start with only 8 RBI ; remember he is only 19. The Tigers are 0-5 against leftys which is a concern. Dick Donovan looks like the real deal as the closer of this club early on.

2015 Pittsburgh Pirates - No 4th starter was an issue for the Pirates in April as the club struggled after their big three lead by Gerrit Cole were resting. Andrew McCutchen has been super early on as has Starlin Marter both in the field and at the dish. On the down side Francisco Cervelli went 3 for 38 to end the month and Gregory Polanco went 2 for 27. Some real holes for a team that won 98 games for Clint Hurdle to deal with.

2008 Houston Astros - Jose Valverde was lit up late in games as the Astros found their bullpen and then some to be an issue in only an 8 win month. The team ERA is 5.51 as the club went 0-7 to start the year and lost 6 of 8 to finish it. The Astros are also last in home runs and dont pick it on defense very well. This could be a long hot summer in Houston.

National League West

1924 New York Giants - A sweep of the Tigers to start the season and the Giants were on their way to an 18 win month. John McGarw has told his team he has only the pennant on his mind. George Kelly hit .372 and Travis Jackson drove in 21 while Hack Wilson hit 8 long ones. The Giants are first in almost all offensive catagories, it is early but still..

1914 St. Louis Cardinals - Dots Miller was batter of the month hitting an eye opening .425 as the Cardinals has a good start. Bill Doak is 4-0 and Slim Sallee also looks good giving St. Louis a very good 1-2 punch. The Cards did lose the last two games of the month badly at the Polo Grounds, they will have to show more against New York if they expect to really compete.

1944 Chicago Cubs - The Cubbies took 16 games in April as the likes of Andy Pafko had a read hot start. Hank Wyse was hit hard with an ERA over 6 but the rest of the Cubs rotation was steady with Paul Derringer and Claude Passeau tough cookies to break. Chicago is poised to be one of those teams that is better then most people expect.

2021 Arizona Diamondbacks - Last in OPS and average it was no suprise that this team won only 10 games. The Arizona pen is good lead by Joakim Soria but along with the weak bats the snakes rotation has not pitched well as Luke Weaver and Merrill Kelly have been murdered for the most part. Trayce Thompson hit .175 for the month at the top of the lineup and Daulton Varsho with Carson Kelly also finished April under the Mendoza line.