SHL II–What’ll it Take to Win

Neither the race for the top or bottom of SHL II is near a decision. Clinging to first, Montreal is handicapped by the total ineffectiveness of one-time staff ace Dennis Martinez. San Diego looked like they were ready to pull away, then lost four in a row to Milwaukee. GMs Keri and Young are looking for recipes to bring home the bacon in September.

Northern Expo-jour (64-62): The sum of the parts is coming together now despite two of the most important components, pitching ace Dennis Martinez and slugger Rusty Staub, showing signs of wear. In Martinez’s last seven starts, he has gotten out of the sixth inning only twice and has an ERA in double digits–10.5 to be exact. Staub is 3-for-30 for his last few weeks, though he is still hitting .325 for the season.

Pascual Perez, 11-8, has stepped into the ace role and is doing fine with it, but Pedro Martinez and Steve Rogers are pitching very well also. The bullpen has also been steady, and that is the word for the Expos overall. They are in the middle on almost every pitching and hitting category and that may be enough to win SHL II.

As Staub has cooled, other players have picked up the slack. Gary Carter has been on fire, going 15-for-38 in the last nine games that have seen the team edge ahead of San Diego by a single game. Andre Dawson has been carrying his share of the weight along with Larry Walker. But again it is consistent performance up and down the lineup that has kept Montreal above water.

GM Keri’s challenge is knitting together a pitching staff that has lost its leader and getting the bedrock of the team–Staub–going down the stretch. It is hard to imagine the Expos winning the division without “Le Grand Orange” leading the way.

Friar Fever (63-63): The Padres are riding their hot offense, led by one of the best hitters in the game. Tony Gwynn had an eighteen game hitting streak broken by Jerry Koosman on August 29th, and was hitting close to .400 over that stretch. But he is still just part of the best attack in the SHL. Up and down the lineup, the Friars are hitting at a feverish pace and show no signs of tiring or letting up.

The offense carries the team, but Bruce Hurst is doing his part as well. Behind Randy Johnson (16-8) Hurst (14-7) is one of the best pitchers across the three Expansion Divisions. He looks like he still has a lot left as he shutout St. Louis for nine innings and won his 14th game by a 6-0 score. Of course he has the advantage of an offense that is still scoring 5.5 runs per game, though they have fallen off their league leading pace in late July.

The Padres have been winning recently with their pitching. Andy Benes had a good outing on the 28th, beating the Mets 6-2 on a complete game win. Andy Ashby has been steady in his recent starts, and when the team has lost in the last two weeks, it was not the pitching that failed, but the offense. If they can get them both going in these last few weeks, they can catch Montreal.

Milwaukee (56-70): “He’s got some good stuff, but we should have done better than that,” said the SD skipper after the 5-0 loss to the Brewers. Teddy Higera cooled off the Padres offense and it has had trouble re-igniting in the aftermath of their four losses to the Brewers. The real standout for the Brewers has been Ben Sheets. He was named SHL Pitcher of the Month, with a 2.44 ERA for August. Like Bruce Hurst, Sheets is atop the SHL Expansion division with a 15-11 record. In August he had 43 strikeouts and only 8 walks in 48 innings.

The other good news was the four game sweep of the Royals that boosted the team from any real concerns about finishing last. As good as the series was, it was marked by the loss of Boxcar Bosio for two weeks to “dead arm.” But the always ready Brewers bullpen stepped in for Bosio in the first inning and Dan Plesac and Larry Sorensen pitched eight innings in the 8-3 win. Doug Davis will take Bosio’s roster spot, but he will not be able to replace the Boxcar.

The Brewers still have the best bullpen in the SHL. Francisco Cordero has nine wins in relief. Overall the Brewers staff is the 10th best in the SHL with a 4.37 team ERA. But the team has lost seven of its last eight games and if they cannot find their hitting shoes, they will slip beneath the Royals in the last month.

Kansas City (49-77): The Royals may be staking a claim to the cellar of SHL II in the past week. Milwaukee came to town and swept four to extinguish much of the hopes Kansas City had for avoiding the bottom. The teams are very similar, built around pitching and an anemic offense.

Kansas City’s pitching staff has found itself in the second half. Behind Bret Saberhagen they have pulled themselves to respectability. Saberhagen has pitched over 210 innings and has a month to go. But after Carlos Beltran and George Brett, the Royals hitters cannot break glass. They have four weeks to climb over the Brewers out of last place to really find respectability, but no one is taking that bet.