Good Looking Prospect

Orlando promoted Justin Zoolander, the 3rd overall pick from last year's draft, to make a start vs Miami. Under last year's rules, they would not have done this as it would have started Zoolander's free agency clock. Under current rules, as long as Zoolander pitches less than 100 major league innings, his free agency clock begins next year. Although a player has up to 3 years of minor league eligibility, Orlando was willing to make the move because they project Zoolander to be a part of the 2007 rotation.

His first pitch was greeted by a line drive triple into the right field corner by Brian Kaat. Zoolander was able to settle down, pitch 6 2/3 innings, allowing 3 runs, 5 walks, and 7 strikeouts. He took the loss.

Zoolander had trouble finding the strike zone at times, but was clocked up to 99 MPH and showing a devastating curveball. Miami's Geoff Favre, who struck out twice, said Justin is definitely going to be one of the top starters in the Superior League.

Orlando made the move because they have 2 pitchers, Bryan Curtis and George White, on the disabled list at the same time. When either comes back, Orlando plans on sending Zoolander back to the minors.

Boston traded for DH Billy Corgan today, sending RHP Luke Reese to Charlotte. To make room for Corgan, the slumping Jeremy Gambini was sent to the minors.

Texas is top team in west so far

Brett Wagner leads the pitching staff with an 8-0 record. Mark Crawford has been worth every penny of his contract, hitting .342-12-40. Rookie Nick McConroy is hitting .285-11-37, with 31 walks and a .394 OBP.

Reliever Rick Cooper continues to pile up the innings, he's got 37 so far with a 35-12 K-W ration. He also has 4 wins after a 15-3 2005 season.

Last year was the Frank Lewis show in Utah, Frank hit .329-30-104 even while piling up 152 walks and 19 HBP for a .489 on base percentage. Its not that Frank is having a bad year (.304-9-32, .447 OBP) but so far he's played second fiddle to Ryan "Pujols" Ballard. Ballard is hitting .331-23-67, and has a .796 SLG.

Lou Zamuda (.361-5-39) shows no signs of slowing down at age 38. He now has 3225 career hits. Carlos Merejo (.305-15-60) is probably the best 6th place hitter in baseball.

Phoenix hasn't had a season to brag about, but 44 year old Sunsurf keeps on winning. After becoming the 2nd pitcher in league history to reach 300 wins, he is 6-4 with a 3.42 ERA and 4325 career strikeouts. He trails only Randy Johnson, Roger Clemens, and Nolan Ryan.

Las Vegas is a bad team. Their defense is worst in the league, and their bullpen might be the worst of all time, but they just might have the best pitcher of 2006 in Joe Callahan. Joe is 6-1 with a 2.40 ERA. In 75 innings, he's allowed only 53 hits, 28 walks, and 73 strikeouts.

3B Bill Judge (.339-8-31) is having an all star type season.

Mars has gone from first to worst, and nobody has been a bigger bust than Dan Johnston (3-5, 7.48) who came to the team in a trade for Cy Young winner Pedro Lewis. The approval ratings of GM George Bush continue to sink to new lows, and a regime change may be in order.

Central Notes

Toledo has one of the youngest teams and lowest payrolls around (other than Don Law). They have one OF hitting above .200 ( Steve Freeman, .244) Vern Terrell, a 39 year old DH, is the only productive power hitter (.249-10-27). So of course they are in first place.

They owe that to a weak division, where a .500 record is good enough for 1st. Elvis Rodriguez is 6-2, 3.58 and closer Paul Williamson has an ERA of 0.88 and 13 saves.

Springfield had back to back games with a 3 HR player. First it was Adama Dunn (.281-15-39) . The next day rookie Larry Mo Pena (.225-6-12) did the trick.

Charlotte hasn't been the same team as last year's world champs, as the pitching staff has been ravaged by injuries. Parker Brouthers (.318, .415 OBP, 12 SB, 33 runs) continues to be a top leadoff hitter.

Chicago's Mike Jolley has shown signs of becoming an ace pitcher. His curveball has become a great strikeout pitch (72-22 K-W in 74 innings). The offense has struggled, none more than 2B Gumby Reese (.210) who may lose his job to Mike Chavez (.279), who is nowhere near as good defensively.

Cleveland's Alex Maldonado is becoming a superstar. He's hitting .332-9-37 with a .574 SLG. He doesn't have ideal center field range, but would make a great RF with his strong arm. Last year Maldonado hit only 6 homers in 503 at bats, but it was inevitable that some of his 49 doubles would eventually find their way over the wall.

Rest of the East

Boston has struggled mightily this year. Ryne "el jawa" Solo jr. is 37, appears much smaller than in the past, and is hitting only .222. Nomad Garciajawa is hitting .264 with a .388 SLG. They have had little production from DH - Jeremy Gambini is hitting .183 - and 3B German Gonzalez has been a poor replacement for Mahatma Russell.

The pitching has been weak as well. Johnny DeMario (4-4, 4.83) has been inconsistent, and Rick Vaughn (3-5, 7.50) is done. Only John LaRusso (18 svs, 0.89 ERA) has kept this team respectable.

New York is going nowhere, but don't blame the old Utes. 37 year old Kermit Holmes has a .377 OBP from the leadoff spot, and at 2954 hits is closing in on 3000. 38 year old Conan is hitting .267-13-55, and his career totals stand at 739 homers, 2199 RBI. He should pass Hank Aaron in homers this year, and RBI next. Tom Groovine, 37, is still one of the best at 7-4, 2.62

Orlando has a big bat this year in Joseph Greble (.344-9-45) Shortstop Leopold Stotch has been butteriffic at .291/.362/.508 RF Keith Cerrano (.306/.324/.486) is finally earning some regular playing time.

Bubba is an old jawa

Bubba Lewis at 34 is a shadow of his former self. Once the top hitter in APBA baseball, Bubba is hitting .235-8-27, with a .327 OBP and .421 SLG. His 55 strikeouts are near the top of the league, so far the saying "jawas don't age well" appears to be true.

While Bob Belardi has struggled in his first season as a closer, Joel Shapiro is having a great season in middle relief. He's allowed 14 hits in 31 innings, and has a 26-6 strikeout walk ratio and a 1.74 ERA. His control has always been good, and he's added sink to his fastball.

Strong pitching puts Baltimore in second place

Letting Storm Morris and Rufus Anderson pitch every 4th day has given Baltimore much better results than last year. Rufus is 7-3, with a 3.47 ERA, and 99 strikeouts in 85 innings. Morris is 6-2 with a 2.66 ERA, and Enrique Aguayo, who had a 6.75 ERA last year, is 6-1, 3.88 in his second season.

Last year's MVP Joe Young is having another big year at .320-13-37. Kobe Jones (.272-2-25) has continued the power outage. He dropped from 34 homers to 19 after signing a megamillion dollar contract before the 2005 season.

Second year players Darin Elam (.335) and Jesse Myers (.338) have greatly improved the offense, and they provide gold glove quality defense in center field and catcher as well.

Slugger milestones

Rob Block and Nicholas Dark were members of the origional Louisville Slugger team of 1992. While Dark has spent most of his career for other teams, Block has been a lifelong Slugger. Dark returned for this season, likely his last. On May 16 Block hit his 700th career homerun. Six days later, Dark hit #500 in a 17-5 loss to Utah.

Dark, currently on the disabled list, is hitting .210 with 3 homers in 162 at bats. At 37, he is unlikely to play another season, and unless he starts hitting, unlikley to even get an offer.

Block, 36, is also leaning towards retirement. He hasn't hit above .250 since his MVP season in 2000, and is currently hitting .193 with 10 homers (702 career) and an on base percentage of a mere .279. Block looks forward to working on his Lexington horse farm with his wife Sandra, and coaching his son Chip, a 6'2, 260 pound designated hitting hish school freshman, who one day might pass Rob on the homerun list.

Current Standings

East

LOU 32-22
BAL 31-22
MIA 28-25
BOS 26-28
NYK 26-28
ORL 23-31

Central

TOL 27-27
SPR 27-27
CHA 25-28
CHI 25-29
CLE 24-29

West

TEX 34-19
UTE 31-22
PHO 25-28
LVG 23-30
MAR 21-33