The competitive situation in the
Seamheads Laundry League (SLL) National League has tightened considerably since the last report on Nov. 16. The
Pittsburgh Pirates started the season 27-5 but hit an 11-16 skid that saw their division lead shrink to four games over the
Chicago Cubs. The latest Weekly Team Power Rankings saw the Bucs in fifth while the surging
San Diego Padres, owners of an NL-best 40-21 record, are in first place on that list.
The Padres have opened an eight-game lead over the second-place
Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West, the best margin of any SLL club, but that hasn't dampened the enthusiasm of new
San Francisco Giants GM
Steve Corino, who inherited a team with an SLL-worst 19-42 record. The Giants are 21 games out of first place, the biggest deficit of any team.
"It truly is going be a trial-and-error period for me and the Giants," said Corino, who only recently started playing Out of the Park Baseball but has become addicted to the game. "Learning the game from the ground up, I know I am going to make mistakes, but you can only go up, right?"
Corino is no stranger to intense competition: he's a professional wrestler with four world heavyweight championships to his credit. Asked why he began playing OOTP, he replied: "I have been a huge baseball fan since I was about 4 years old. Die-hard Phillies fan and grew up with the Cubs on WGN. For years I played the old APBA Baseball dice game but was excited when a fan of mine via Twitter turned me onto OOTP. I downloaded it on Thanksgiving and haven't stopped playing since!"
Barely ahead of the Giants are the
Arizona Diamondbacks, whose 20-40 record has them 19.5 games behind the Padres. While the team has mostly underperformed on the pitching mound and at the plate, the Diamondbacks have also been the victim of several injuries, with left fielder George Stone and starting pitcher Bruce Hurst both lost for eight to nine months, second baseman Bip Roberts sidelined for three weeks, and reliever Rich "Goose" Gossage out for three months.
"I hate to make excuses, but the injuries have killed us," said Diamondbacks GM
Michael Dobreski. "On paper back in Spring Training, it was clear to us that we were one of the best teams in the league, but it just has not worked out so far. We will get healthy and we feel that our talented players will start to produce like they are supposed to. We are definitely in a hole but it is a long season. For now, we are calling up Hoot Evers and Heine Groh, who are just killing the ball down in Reno. We will give them a shot and hopefully they can inject a little life into us."
Frustrations at the plate and on the mound have also plagued the
Philadelphia Phillies, who are hanging around in a tight NL East race that has them at 28-34, 6.5 games behind the first place
Miami Marlins. GM
Eric Karabell commented: "Very disappointed in the Phillies so far. Can’t do much about losing Mickey Mantle for seven weeks, but to be 15th in the NL in OPS stinks. I’ve tried nearly all hitters and pitchers by this point, and will continue tinkering, but this team has no plate patience, speed or starting pitching depth."
The
Atlanta Braves currently reside in the NL East basement (24-37, 10 games out), despite having Cy Young, Hank Greenberg, and Joe DiMaggio on the roster. Young has disappointed so far with his 2-10 record and 5.64 ERA, while Greenberg's 11 home runs lead the team despite his .194 batting average. DiMaggio, however, has posted a respectable .286 batting average with 60 games under his belt.
"The pitching is the key to our turnaround," said Braves GM
Michael Engel. "You look up and down and those are some serious names on our roster, but for whatever reason, nobody's turned the light on this year. Losing Bucky Walters is rough, but I think we'll get things going in the right direction. It's a long season and talent rises to the top." Walters had a 3-4 record with a 7.58 ERA before being sidelined for five months.
In other NL news of note:
The St. Louis Cardinals' Nellie Fox saw his hitting streak reach 29 games before an 0-for-3 performance against the Cleveland Indians during interleague play.
The Los Angeles Dodgers' Robin Yount came close to matching Fox's feat: he hit safely in 26 straight games before an 0-for-4 against the Houston Astros ended his run.
The SLL NL Batter of the Month Award for May went to the Houston Astros' Cy Seymour. He hit .397 for the month, with three home runs and 12 RBI. The center fielder is hitting .387 for the season.
The SLL NL Pitcher of the Month Award for May went to Pittsburgh Pirates starter Al Downing, who posted a 5-1 record with a 2.44 ERA and 17 walks and 42 strikeouts in 44.1 innings. He's 7-2 overall with a 3.11 ERA.