Embedded Files
Circuit Clouts
June 1, 1994
June 1, 1994
Red Blob Redemption
Toppers Hitting on All Cylinders After 22-7 Month
Not content to be the league's top pitching team, the Atlanta Hilltoppers surged to a 22-7 record and claimed the top spot in the league's batting table along the way. Atlanta is scoring 4.6 runs per game and allowing 2.5 runs per game—that's an astronomical 2.1 run differential per game, putting this year's Toppers on a similar path as the 115-win 1963 Brooklyn Superbas.
The starters' ERA of 2.05 is led by not one, not two, but THREE pitchers with ERAs under 2.00. Ed Whitson is 8-2, 1.95 and is arguably the third best pitcher on the staff. Meanwhile, the offense ranks 1st in runs, OBP, OPS, bWAR, and wOBA. Wade Boggs is batting .338, Manny Ramirez has 13 home runs, and Rondell White had 38 RBIs.
The Toppers are 20-4 since losing back-to-back games May 4-5, swept San Francisco, Los Angeles, Denver, and Montreal during a 12-game win streak, and swept Havana to close the month, including a 13-1 rout on May 31 in which Pedro Martinez tossed a five-hit complete game with 3 homers and 14 hits of support. And they did all this despite losing one of their top pitchers, John Smoltz, for the season on May 1.
As impressive as all those stats are, they are even moreso when one considers that this is a team coming off six straight losing seasons. The closest parallel is perhaps the 1967 Hilltoppers, who improved 43 games from 56-106 to 99-61 in the third year under GM Glen Reed.
"Who the" Hillegas Authors No-No
First Maroon No-Hitter Since Jim Clancy in 1981
There have been plenty of unlikely no-hitters through the years, but Shawn Hillegas' gem on May 1 ranks among the unlikeliest. Hillegas, a 28-year-old righthander from Dos Palos, Calif., split the last two seasons between St. Louis and Triple-A Memphis and pitched for the Double-A Fresno Grizzlies as recently as 1992. He was undrafted in 1987 draft and came into this season with a 7-8 career UL record. But the No-No was not a fluke, at least not for this year's version of Hillegas, who is 3-2 with a 1.72 ERA in 6 starts.
The Night Chicago Sucked
Haugh Losing Control of Colts Dressing Room
"Fuck That Guy!" exclaims Captain Mulholland, speaking off the record
by Steve Haugh
Things are rapidly falling apart in the Second City as the Colts waddled and jiggled to a 22-20 record at the new season's quarter pole, and GM Steve Haugh is taking fire from all directions.
The latest brouhaha occurred after SS and future first ballot Hall of Famer Alan Trammell was ordered to wear a pair of spandex clown pants onto the field after an embarrassing pants-splitting episode during the previous evening's game. This reporter was told in confidence that Haugh then went on to further alienate the locker room by banning players from nearby restaurant Milt's Barbecue For the Perplexed, where players have been eating for free since last October's title. This reporter is looking into allegations that huge bags of brisket are still being handed off to waiting cars in the back alley, so there may be more to come on this particular story.
Haugh, too, has seemingly outgrown a belt or two since the team finally overcame the Curse of Mueller and returned to the winner's circle last year. Whispers are also in the air about his recent dalliance with an extremely attractive, suntanned blonde who seems to favor spider costumes. I must say the costumes suit her, but at the same time I can only echo my colleague Steady On Holloway in exclaiming, WHAT IN THE FUCK IS GOING ON AROUND HERE?
"The 'Curse of Mueller'!?! That ‘curse’ brought Chicago it’s first two championships! Fuck that guy indeed! — Former Colts GM Lance Mueller
Mis-steps, Errors and Underperformance - Oh, My!
UL World in Chaos! Colts Fans Apoplectic!
by Sean Holloway
Shortly after the League learned that Beat Reporter Holloway and Griffins GM Holloway are the same Holloway, we now have this bombshell to report: being a Beat Reporter is more difficult than it seems. Chicago Steve "I've forgotten more about music than you currently know" Haugh, GM of the Chicago Colts, stepped in to try his hand at discerning how the Colts have gotten off to a rough start.
Haugh scored points by correctly spelling "brouhaha", and then he followed that up with a delightful yarn about a pants-splitting incident, before executing a perfect segue into a most delectable restaurant riff that also referred to MON GM Brian Gryka. Unfortunately for Haugh, he got tripped up on a Vays reference, which is no disrespect to him as that is where most of the League has trouble as well. I do wholeheartedly agree with his comment about what I exclaimed, as I cannot for the life of me sort out what is happening in Chicago at the moment on or off-field. Wacky, wacky stuff happening at the moment.
The interesting part of this story has yet to play out, though, as my sources state that HAV GM Mueller purchased a ticket to Chicago after telling his staff that he'll "be out a couple of days" and that in the meantime, they should stop all EET shipments to the Colts. Hmmmm......talk about playing hard ball - or in this case, soft ball......
Furry Fun in Frisco!
Fracas at a Frisco Furry Fun Frolic Foretells the Future?
by Sean “He’s the same guy as the Griffins GM!” Holloway, UL Beat Reporter
Chicago Colts fans are still apoplectic. The team, despite being laden with star power, isn’t firing on all cylinders as expected. Some are rumbling that it’s time for a new stadium, while still others are concerned about payroll. More concerning, though, is the recent string of absences by Chicago Steve “my 3-4-5 hitters will drive in more runs than your entire lineup” Haugh, the Colts GM.
Colts insiders have anonymously and quietly begun to express concern about the “troubling” number of times that Haugh has been absent. “No one is sure where he’s going, but he certainly seems to be racking up the miles, so we’re guessing its somewhere not too close. And he seems tanner as well, which is odd. With the team not living up to projections, we believe some fans are starting to turn against him, so it’s possible this is just Haugh getting away from the pressure and blowing off steam.”
If this isn’t enough to raise concerns, I have reached out to my sources that cover the seedy underworld of the UL. They have stated that I should pay particular attention to what happened at an unnamed Furry club in San Francisco. One of my sources even sent me a police report on an arrest that he said would blow the doors off the UL. Nothing is being released to the public, but my source insists that a UL GM was at the heart of the fracas at said Furry club, allegedly kicking another patron in the groin.
But what could this mean? Stay tuned, UL fanatics! There is more to come as this story develops!
League Standings
League Standings
West W L GB Last R RA
Atlanta 40 17 - 22-7 1 1
Los Angeles 37 20 3 21-8 9 2
Havana 33 23 6½ 17-12 10 7
Florida 31 26 9 19-10 4 9
St. Louis 31 26 9 17-12 5 6
Chicago 29 28 11 13-16 12 3
Denver 23 33 16½ 8-21 14 13
Seattle 22 35 18 14-15 16 15
San Francisco 18 39 22 11-18 13 18
East W L GB Last R RA
Detroit 35 22 - 17-12 2 5
Boston 32 25 3 15-14 8 10
Keystone 31 26 4 16-13 3 12
Brooklyn 30 27 5 16-13 6 4
Toronto 28 29 7 12-17 10 6
Montreal 27 30 8 11-18 7 17
Manhattan 25 32 10 12-17 15 13
Cleveland 20 37 15 11-18 18 11
Washington 20 37 15 9-20 17 16
League Leaders
League Leaders
Batting Average
Dave Nilsson DET .359
+Bip Roberts MON .358
Matt Williams BRO .341
Wade Boggs ATL .338
Juan Gonzalez TOR .336
Howard Johnson HAV .335
Shane Mack HAV .329
+Stan Javier LA .325
+Dion James BRO .325
+Larry Walker MON .323
RBIs
Tim Salmon KEY 55
Ryan Klesko DET 53
Bret Boone MON 50
Joe Carter MAN 42
Frank Thomas LA 42
+Mike Piazza BOS 39
7 tied with 38
Home Runs
Eric Karros TOR 19
Ryan Klesko DET 19
+Mike Piazza BOS 16
+Bret Boone MON 15
+Sammy Sosa BOS 15
+Barry Bonds STL 14
Tom Brunansky MAN 14
+Mark McGwire FLO 14
+Tim Salmon KEY 14
bWAR
Andy Van Slyke LA 4.0
Dave Nilsson DET 3.6
Wade Boggs ATL 3.4
+Tony Phillips STL 3.4
Shane Mack HAV 3.4
+Roberto Alomar FLO 3.3
Howard Johnson HAV 3.1
Sammy Sosa BOS 3.1
+Geronimo Pena BRO 3.0
+Tim Salmon KEY 2.9
Infield Zone Rating
Cal Ripken Jr MAN 8.9
Alan Trammell CHI 5.8
Robin Yount BRO 5.3
John Valentin MAN 5.0
+John Olerud CHI 4.0
Earned Run Average
Pedro Martinez ATL 1.51
Mike Mussina FLO 1.55
Darryl Kile ATL 1.56
Greg Swindell LA 1.89
+Joe Magrane STL 1.93
Ed Whitson ATL 1.95
+R. Martinez BRO 2.04
+Steve Cooke CHI 2.23
+Mike Scott BOS 2.32
Steve Avery BRO 2.37
Strikeouts
Pedro Martinez ATL 111
Floyd Youmans LA 100
Mike Mussina FLO 96
F. Valenzuela ATL 96
Scott Sanders DET 88
+Jon Lieber BOS 87
+Steve Cooke CHI 86
Roger Clemens HAV 84
W.VanLandingham KEY 82
Dwight Gooden TOR 80
+Butch Henry KEY 80
Outfield Zone Rating
+Eric Davis CHI 8.1
Stan Javier LA 6.8
+Gar. Anderson SF 5.0
Shane Mack HAV 4.3
+Jerry Browne BRO 4.2
Wins
Mike Mussina FLO 10
Joe Magrane STL 8
+Ed Whitson ATL 8
+Brian Anderson BOS 7
Steve Avery BRO 7
+Steve Cooke CHI 7
Darryl Kile ATL 7
+Pedro Martinez ATL 7
Chris Nabholz DET 7
+Greg Swindell LA 7
pWAR
Pedro Martinez ATL 3.2
Mike Mussina FLO 3.1
+Darryl Kile ATL 2.8
Erik Hanson CHI 2.6
Charlie Lea WAS 2.5
+Jon Lieber BOS 2.4
Fern Valenzuela ATL 2.3
Greg Swindell LA 2.2
+Steve Cooke CHI 2.0
+Dwight Gooden TOR 2.0
Awards
Awards
Batter of the Month
APR Raffy Palmeiro STL
MAY Tim Salmon KEY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
Pitcher of the Month
APR Mike Mussina FLO
MAY Mike Mussina FLO
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
Rookie of the Month
APR Aaron Sele KEY
MAY Jon Lieber BOS
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
Player of the Week
4/11 Kal Daniels BOS
4/18 Tim Salmon KEY
4/25 Shane Mack HAV
5/2 Jeff Bagwell KEY
5/9 Greg Colbrunn ATL
5/16 Ken Griffey Jr BRO
5/23 Andy Van Slyke LA
5/30 Matt Williams BRO
Milestones
Milestones
Sep 29 - ATL Tony Gwynn 2,500 hits (#18 all-time)
Apr 8 - ATL Wade Boggs 2,500 hits (#19 all-time)
Apr 16 - MAN Otis Nixon 500 stolen bases (#18 all-time)
Apr 20 - CLE Rance Mulliniks 1,000 RBIs (#47 all-time)
Apr 24 - LA Andy Van Slyke 2,000 hits (#50 all-time)
Apr 25 - CLE Rance Mulliniks 1,000 runs (#56 all-time)
Apr 29 - WAS Charlie Lea 2,000 strikeouts (#40 all-time)
May 14 - HAV Lenny Dykstra 500 stolen bases (#20 all-time)
May 16 - ATL Tony Gwynn 500 stolen bases (#21 all-time)
May 18 - LA Andy Van Slyke 700 stolen bases (#5 all-time)
May 25 - TOR Dwight Gooden 2,500 strikeouts (#22 all-time)
Injuries
(*min 4 wk; bold=this sim)
Injuries
(*min 4 wk; bold=this sim)
ATL RP Todd Worrell 2 mo
BOS SP Julian Tavarez 7wk
DEN SP Bill Swift 3 mo
LA SP Jose Lima 7 wk
MAN RP Heathcliff Slocumb 6 wk
SF SP Steve Trachsel 2 mo
SF LF Garrett Anderson 7 wk
SEA SP Joey Hamilton 9 mo
SEA 3B Bill Almon (4 wk)
East Division
East Division
1992 MVP Fred McGriff is slumping roughly 400 points off his MVP OPS number (.646), but the new star in Motown is 24-year-old catcher Dave Nilsson (.359-12-38, 1.016), who is leading the batting race and is 2nd in bWAR... Remember when Chris Nabholz was the surprise ERA champion in 1990? He's putting up similar numbers this year, with a 7-2 record and 2.68 ERA in 11 starts. At age 27, Nabholz is quietly putting together a top-flight resume, with a career record of 56-35 and a 3.11 ERA.
Jon Lieber won Rookie of the Month with a 3-1 record and 2.88 ERA in 4 starts. The #3 overall pick is 6th in strikeouts and WAR... Three batters are having career high OPS seasons: Sammy Sosa (.893), Jim Thome (.924), and Joe Carter (.908). Carter is hitting .355-3-10, 1.097 in his first 11 games as a Fed.
Keystone's record on June 1:
1990: 21-36
1991: 23-34
1992: 25-32
1993: 21-36
now: 31-26
The Starlings' #3 offense is powered by May Batter of the Month Tim Salmon, who is hitting .268-14-55. Jeff Bagwell is having a breakout year with a .308 average and .939 OPS, 40 and 100 points above his career averages, respectively.
Brooklyn is 5th in runs and 4th in runs against and features two top batter and two top pitchers. Ken Griffey Jr (.281-10-38) and Matt Williams (.341-10-38) are one of the best 3-4 combos in the league, while Ramon Martinez (6-3, 2.04) and Steve Avery (7-2, 2.37) are both in the top 10 in ERA.
Toronto stumbled in May (12-17) because of the worst pitching month of Dwight Gooden's career (0-5, 4.82) paired with the light hitting of leadoff man Mickey Morandini (.219) and 3B Chris Sabo (.148)
Two-time batting champ Bip Roberts is a single point behind batting leader Dave Nilsson of Detroit... Bret Boone is turning into one of the best cleanup hitters, with 15 HR and 50 RBI in 57 games. Boone hit a homer hat trick May 25 against San Francisco.
The Gray Sox .233 team batting average would be a club nadir. Manhattan has not batted below .250 since 1973, the year before their run of six-straight playoff appearances, including the four-year dynasty. Tom Brunansky's .266 leads the team.
Allen Watson (0-9 in 12 starts) is on pace to break a 31-year-old record of futility. His 27-loss pace would equal Herm Wehmeier's 27 losses in 1963.
Which is more concerning: that the Monuments rank 16th in offense or that their top batter is one of their oldest players? Ryne Sandberg, 33, is batting .286-8-30 and leds the club in all three categories.
West Division
West Division
On a team of superlatives, the most surprising contributors have been 1B Greg Colbrunn (.299-11-30, .841 OPS; .698 OPS last year) and RP Arthur Rhodes (1.61 ERA in 23 games; 3.93 career ERA)... Charles Johnson hit a homer hat trick May 25 against Seattle.
Andy Van Slyke became the 5th member of the 700-steal club on May 18. AVS is having his best hitting season since his 1984 MVP campaign and leads the league with 4.0 bWAR...
Cory Snyder hit a homer hat trick May 24 against Chicago.
Havana's outfield merits consideration for one of the league's best: CF Lenny Dykstra has a .378 OBP, 34 runs, and 12 steals; LF Shane Mack is batting .329-10-32 with a .881 OPS; and RF Dan Pasqua is batting .295-9-27, .863... Doug Drabek is 6-0, 2.45 in 11 starts and Roger Clemens is 5-4, 2.68—both have career-low ERAs at age 30 and 31, respectively.
Mike Mussina is on the inside track for the Cy Young Award and is not far off the pitching Triple Crown. Mussina is a perfect 10-0 in 12 starts (well, I guess perfect would be 12-0, but you get the point), with a 1.55 ERA, 7 CGs, and 3 shutouts—all of which lead the league.
St. Louis' 1-2 pitchers both have ERAs under 2.00: Joe Magrane (8-3, 1.93) figures to be in the Cy Young conversation, while Shawn Hillegas (3-2, 1.72) seems ripe for an implosion.... 3-4 hitters Barry Bonds and Rafael Palmeiro are both having off-years. Bonds' .826 OPS is down 140 from last year, while Raffy's .833 is down 60... New catcher Rich Gedman is adjusting well, with a .295 average and .823 OPS in 54 games.
What's wrong with the defending champs? At 29-28, the Bondage Ponies sit 4.5 games out of the Hex, thanks to a lackluster offense that ranks just 12th in the league. #2 and 4 hitters Alan Trammell (.234, .619 OPS) and Gary Sheffield (.222, .674) have slumped 130 and 200 OPS points, respectively.
Denver's stunning 15-12 April turned into a much-more-plausible 8-21 May. Jeff Kent has flopped as a hitter (.203, .611 OPS) and Anthony Young has flopped as a starter (3-6, 5.43), but the bullpen has been solid, led by Norm Charlton (9 SV, 2.05) and Bryan Hickerson (0.84 in 23 games).
Seattle's rotation has been strong, ranking 10th with a 3.78 ERA. Wilson Alvarez, age 23, leads the staff with a 2.88 ERA in 14 starts... The Rainiers' 76 stolen bases is more than double the league average, led by Delino DeShields (36), Rickey Henderson (19), and Willie McGee (12)... Chris Brown had a 24-game hitting streak through May 21.
The Spiders suffered a 2-17 skid thru May 16, then somehow managed to go on an 8-1 win streak. Their few bright spots have been Mark Grace (.309), Bernie Williams (34 RBI), and rookie starter Kevin Foster (3.19 ERA). Off the field, Stanford University has offered Sunken Diamond as a temporary home for the Arachnids if Seals Stadium is condemned.
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