SHL American Midwest: Pale Hose Putting “Big Hurt” on Rivals

White Sox first baseman Frank Thomas and pitchers Ed Walsh and Eddie Cicotte have the White Sox off to a rousing 9-2 start.

Chicago White Sox (9-2, 1st place, 0 GB):

With a league leading .332 team average and 78 runs through 11 games, the White Sox offense is the class of the SHL so far.  Frank Thomas is fourth in the league in hitting at .457, second in OBA (.548), slugging (.971) and home runs (5), and first in OPS (1.519).  But he’s not carrying the offense by himself—Carlton Fisk is hitting .438 and has 10 RBIs in nine games; Tommie Agee is batting .395 with four homers, all of which have come in his last six games; Joe Jackson is batting .386, and Magglio Ordonez is hitting .351 with seven runs scored.

The pitching, though not the league’s best, has been outstanding as well, especially at the top of the rotation.  Ed Walsh is 3-0 with a 0.69 ERA and tossed a three-hit shutout at the Mariners in his second start.  Eddie Cicotte is also 3-0 and boasts a 1.96 ERA, and combined with Hoyt Wilhelm to shut out the Orioles in the team’s second game of the season.  Early Wynn has been solid (1-0, 3.68 ERA in two starts), but Billy Pierce and Wilbur Wood have struggled, combining for a 5.31 ERA, and Pierce is having trouble keeping the ball in the yard, allowing five home runs in only 12 innings.  In Pierce’s defense, he’s surrendered long balls to three of the best power hitters in baseball—Johnny Bench, Ted Kluszewski, and Frank Robinson, who’s taken the southpaw deep twice already.  That could prove problematic, as the Orioles look to be Chicago’s prime competition in the early going.

The White Sox’s bullpen is also struggling (with the exception of Wilhlem) and has a 7.71 ERA in 15 appearances.  Wilhelm is 4-for-4 in save opportunities and hasn’t allowed a run; the rest of the pen—Red Faber, La Marr Hoyt, and Gary Peters—has an ERA of 11.17.

Who’s Hot: Frank Thomas, Ed Walsh, Eddie Cicotte, and Hoyt Wilhelm.

Who’s Not: The aforementioned relievers.  If I was going to pick a batter it would be Buck Weaver, who’s batting “only” .277 with an anemic OBA of .292, and a weak .383 SLG.  But that would be a little unfair to the third sacker (certainly not the first time Weaver has dealt with inequity), as he’s currently on an eight-game hitting streak, leads the team with five doubles, and is third with eight runs scored.

On the Farm: Robin Ventura is hitting .368 with three homers and 14 RBIs and Jack McDowell is 4-0 with a 2.20 ERA.

On the Horizon: Thursday, April 17 at Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.  The Sox will face either lefty Jim Abbott, who will be making his first major league start after going 1-1 with a 2.63 ERA for Salt Lake, or Frank Tanana, who’s 0-2 with a 6.00 ERA in two starts.

St. Louis Browns/Baltimore Orioles (8-3, 2nd place, 1 GB):

Offensively, the Orioles are the antithesis of the White Sox—they’re last in the division in AVG with a .278 mark and in steals (11), and third in just about everything else.  Their pitching is solid at 3.90, but not spectacular, and their glove work is good (.982), but not among the league’s best.  So how is it that they boast one of the SHL’s best records?  Timely hitting and just enough runs to beat the other guys—they have two wins by one run, one by two runs, and two by three runs, and one of their wins was a stirring come-from-behind effort in which they plated two runs in the bottom of the ninth and three in the bottom of the 10th inning to beat the Marlins/Rays on April 10.

Among the regulars, only Eddie Murray (.432), Ken Singleton (.320), and Don Baylor (.300) are hitting .300 or better.  Frank Robinson is hitting only .256, but he’s pacing the team in homers with four and RBIs with 11 and is slugging .558.  Paul Blair (.333) and Boog Powell (.375) are doing well in reserve roles.

Not surprisingly, the starting pitching has been very good for the Orioles.  Mike Flanagan paces the staff with two wins and a 1.80 ERA; Robin Roberts is also 2-0 with a 2.81 ERA and has yet to walk a batter, and Mike Mussina is 1-1 with a 3.66 ERA.  Jim Palmer has been shaky, going 0-2 with a 4.91 ERA, but he leads the staff in strikeouts with 19, and Milt Pappas was shelled in his only start so far, allowing five runs in five innings to the Marlins/Rays.

The bullpen has been a crap shoot so far—Dick Hall, Tippy Martinez, and Hoyt Wilhelm have a combined 2.77 ERA in eight appearances; Stu Miller is 3-for-3 in save opportunities, but has a 5.40 ERA, and Randy Myers earned a win on April 16 despite allowing two runs in 1 1/3 innings (13.50 ERA).

Who’s Hot: Murray is hitting .432, is leading the team in OBA (.468), SLG (.568), hits (19), and total bases (25), and has a nine-game hitting streak.

Who’s Not: Roberto Alomar is hitting only .213 and slugging .298 and has yet to steal a base.  Chris Hoiles is hitting .211 and all eight of his hits have been singles, so he’s also slugging .211.

On the Farm: Jim Gentile is hitting .255 with three homers and 11 RBIs and Scott McGregor is 3-0 with a 3.00 ERA.

On the Mend: Mike Mussina suffered back spasms in his start against the Reds on April 16 and is expected to be out for one to two weeks.

On the Horizon: Thursday, April 17 vs. the Braves.  John Clarkson (0-1, 9.00 ERA) is due to start soon, but the O’s may get Greg Maddux instead, which would not be in their best interests as Maddux is 2-0 with a 1.59 ERA and a shutout.

Cleveland Indians (6-5, 3rd place, 3 GB):

The Tribe fits neatly in between the top two teams in the division in terms of statistics—they have a better AVG and OPS than the Orioles, but haven’t scored as many runs, and their team ERA (4.15) is slightly higher.  They’re the best fielding team in the SHL, though, boasting a fielding percentage of .993 after committing only three errors in 11 games (one of those was by pitcher Addie Joss).

Except for Nap Lajoie who is hitting .386/.438/.568, the Indians don’t have anyone with eye-popping numbers, but they have batters with very good numbers.  Hal Trosky is hitting .320 with a .520 SLG, Joe Sewell is hitting .310, and Tris Speaker is hitting .304 with a team-leading five doubles.  Johnny Romano’s numbers are off the charts (1.611 OPS), but he’s splitting time behind the plate with Sandy Alomar (although probably not for long).

The top of the rotation has been outstanding.  Stan Coveleski (2-0, 2.12), Joss (2-0, 2.67), and Bob Feller (2-1, 3.60) are a combined 6-1 with a 2.87 ERA, four complete games, and five quality starts in eight trips to the hill.  The back end of the rotation, however, has been awful, as has most of the bullpen.  Doug Jones is 3-for-3 in save opportunities and has a 0.00 ERA, as does Don Mossi, but the rest of the bullpen has allowed nine runs in 11 innings (7.36 ERA).

Who’s Hot: Lajoie has recorded a hit in every game this season and drove in seven runs in the team’s first five games, knocking in at least one run in five straight to start the season.  He’s also played two different positions (2B and 1B) and has yet to record an error.

Who’s Not: The pitching staff has a K/BB ratio of 1.02, and three of the starters have more walks than strikeouts, including Feller who’s walked 14 while fanning eight.  Offensively, Lou Boudreau is 0-for-12 in seven games.

On the Farm: Buddy Bell is hitting .404 with three homers and 12 RBIs and Luis Tiant is 2-0 with a 2.25 ERA.

On the Horizon: Thursday, April 17 at the New York Mets.  Johan Santana is the Mets’ scheduled starter, which, oddly enough, could bode well for the Indians.  Santana was lambasted by the Red Sox on April 11 and lasted only two innings in a 12-1 loss, putting him at 0-1 with a 22.50 ERA.

Detroit Tigers (5-6, 4th place, 4 GB):

The Tigers don’t have much going for them right now and they could be in trouble.  They’re hitting .298 as a team, but have only two home runs, the fewest in the SHL, the lowest OPS in the division (.748), the highest ERA (5.56), and the worst fielding percentage (.972).  They’re also 1-4 at home.

Their starting lineup is one of the more formidable in the league and some of Detroit’s batters have impressive numbers—Harry Heilmann is hitting .404 and reaching base at a .453 clip; Charlie Gehringer is hitting .362 with 12 runs, four doubles, three triples, and a .574 slugging percentage; Ty Cobb is hitting .333 and is 4-for-4 in stolen base attempts; Alan Trammell is at .324 and Al Kaline .300.  But Mickey Tettleton has both of the team’s home runs and, though Hank Greenberg is leading the squad with 13 RBIs, he’s not providing the power the team expects from him.

The pitching has been somewhat problematic, especially in the rotation where ace Hal Newhouser has been battered around to the tune of a 9.60 ERA in three starts (how he’s 2-1 is anyone’s guess), and Tommy Bridges who’s 0-2 with an 8.44 ERA.  Joel Zumaya and John Hiller have each recorded saves (Zumaya has two to Hiller’s one), and neither has allowed a run in 11 2/3 innings.  Dick Radatz has been solid (3.68 ERA and averaging almost a strikeout per inning), but Willie Hernandez and Firpo Marberry have been terrible, posting a 12.00 ERA in 12 innings of work.  Marberry has already allowed three home runs in four appearances, including to Albert Belle and Earl Averill of the rival Indians.

Who’s Hot: With a bat in his hands, few are hotter than Heilmann.  He has six multi-hit games and has reached base in every game except one (and in that game he drove in a run).  He’s been especially good on the road, going 14-for-26 in away games.

Who’s Not: With a glove on his hand, few are colder than Heilmann, who already has three errors and is fielding at an .850 clip.  His range factor is also a sluglike 1.55 (hence the nickname).  Of the starters, the only one not hitting his weight is George Kell, who is hitting .238/.319/.262).

On the Mend: Cobb suffered a bruised hip while diving for a ball in the outfield, but is listed as day-to-day.  Zumaya strained a muscle in his back and is also listed as day-to-day, although he’s not expected to be back to full health for another week or two.

On the Farm: Bobby Veach is hitting .475 and Kirk Gibson is hitting .403 with a homer and 12 RBIs; Schoolboy Rowe is 1-0 with a 2.20 ERA.

On the Horizon: Thursday, April 17 at the Washington/Texas Rangers.  It looks like the Tigers will get Fergie Jenkins on Thursday, which is too bad.  Jenkins is 1-0 with a 3.00 ERA and a complete game against the Giants.  The rest of the Rangers rotation is 1-6 with a 7.97 ERA.

Note: The photos on the player pages aren’t completely done yet, so not all players look the way they should or are wearing the correct uniforms.  I hope to have those done by the end of the weekend.