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Midseason
Report Card
Eli Ringler
Tuesday, July 14th 2015
As
is customary with all sports journalism, I, Eli Ringler, hereby
submit my midseason review for Weaver League International:
Baseball
journalists are lucky. We may have to keep up-to-date with
thousands of players and statistics, but at least we get a
cushy all-star break to compose our vast baseball knowledge
and share it with the literate world. We make our mid-season
award selections, tell you who should be better and who should
be worse and above all: complain about the all-star rosters.
Well,
I'll try to keep the complaining to a minimum. After all,
the all-star game really is just a meaningless exhibition.
But the awards and the opinions, well, they are certainly
not meaningless when coming from an expert.
Awards
Selection
Inferno
League Most Valuable Player: Joe Morgan, Johannesburg
This award was simply between Morgan and Steelmen teammate
Chris Goodwin. Morgan and Goodwin, along with George Sisler,
Johnny Damon and Tracy Irwin, have formed the most feared
lineup in the league. Goodwin may be the bat who brings them
home, but Morgan is certainly the most valuable player on
the team. His .375 average is second only to Sisler's in the
IL. He leads the league in hits, runs, doubles, stolen bases
(for which he is tied with Irwin) and the most vital stat
of them all, slugging percentage. Add in the fact that he
is among the top 5 in home runs and RBI's and this award was
a no-brainer. Oh and by the way, he has yet to commit an error
at the games toughest position in his entire career.
IL
Cy Young: Lefty Grove, Johannesburg
Leads the Weavers with 17 wins and hasn't lost a game. ERA
of 1.16, 144 strikeouts in 139.1 innings and the league is
hitting a paltry .211 against him with a grand total of 5
home runs. There is no runner-up close enough to warrant discussion
and Grove gives Morgan a run for his money as the most valuable
Steelman.
IL
Rookie of the Year: Tracy Irwin, Johannesburg
Irwin's combination of speed and power has provided success
in a lineup where most rookies would be fortunate to pinch-hit.
Batting a point under .300 with 12 home runs is good enough
for any rookie, but his league leading 34 stolen bases and
42 RBI's from the six slot proves his production is dynamic.
Berlin teammates
Rod Lewis (.307-19-42) and Chico Buttery (.265-18-44) could
steal the award before season's end. Tehran
pitcher Andy Wall could also make a run for it if he remains
in the rotation.
IL
Manager of the Year: George Brett, Johannesburg
Completing Johannesburg's sweep of the midseason awards is
their skipper, George Brett. He may not be the most gifted
tactician in the game, but his ability to keep the energy
high and the egos low is a carbon copy of himself in his playing
days.
Blizzard
League Most Valuable Player: Ed Santos, Long
Beach
Santos wins by default basically. Carl Willets would be my
pick if I didn't have a bias against players who don't play
in the field. Darius O'Neal would be if Jamaica
wasn't so bad. Ryu Nobeoka would be if his average was at
least .300. Don't get me wrong, Santos is having a great year,
but not as good as a few other players. Long Beach's success
pretty much drives this decision, so it should be interesting
how this award pans out.
BL
Cy Young: Ron Guidry, Tokyo
Like the MVP, this is a close one. Guidry's 12-2 record and
1.55 ERA are impressive, but it's the fact that the league
is hitting .178 against him that clinches the Cy Young. Teammate
Steve Carlton is a close contender, as well as Long Beach's
Russ Ford and Mike Castro.
BL
Rookie of the Year: Floyd Lauer, Vancouver
Lauer has put up big numbers in the five slot and is the Mounties
only consistent threat to go deep. Lauer's 50 RBI is tied
for 6th in the BL and his 17 home runs tie him for 12th. Rio's
Lance Hinsley may be a better base runner and on a better
team, but again, the DH bias does him in.
BL
Manager of the Year: Robin Yount, Edmonton
Yount has guided the Orcas out of the bottom of the Roehm
and is only five wins away from matching last year's total.
The Orcas are above .500 despite a dearth of talent on the
roster and only one good pitcher. Yount and Tokyo's Sendai
Ashikaga have both given life to two recently lifeless franchises,
but Ashikaga actually has some talent to work with whereas
Yount does not.
Biggest
Surprise: Tokyo
The Tsunamis made some progress last year but are now all
of the sudden serious contenders for the Barnes pennant. Perennial
doormats no more as owner Mike Wilson has built a solid team
and Ashikaga has done a good job directing it. Plus, Carlton
and Guidry are both legitimate aces.
Biggest
Disappointment: Johannesburg
I'm still in disbelief that they have lost 17 games. Maybe
they'll come around in the 2nd half.
All-Star
Complaints: None
It's an exhibition. I don't get all fussy when Smokey Joe
pitches about 3 innings in spring training, so why should
I worry about George Sisler not being an all-star?
All-Star
Prediction: Johannesburg 6, Blizzard League 2
The Inferno’s losing streak continues as a team made
entirely of Steelmen wins the game.
Season
Predictions
- Johannesburg will win the Weaver Series 4-2 over Long Beach.
- Argentina and Sicily
will both make runs at their respective pennants and lose
in the championship series’.
- Smokey Joe Wood will make Rio
regret that they traded him.
- Tokyo’s bubble will burst. So will Edmonton’s,
they will finish with a losing record.
- George Sisler will not care about the all-star slight.
- Cairo and Amity
will lose a few more games.
That
was easy. Next time the Johannesburg bias won't be so strong.
I swear.
Eli
Ringler is a special correspondent for the Weaver
Times. He can be contacted at chelseblues21@yahoo.com
for questions or comments.
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