Alfonzo launches 3

Julius Alfonzo, not known for his power, hit 3 homers and knocked in 4 in a 9-6 Louisville win over Texas.

Streak over

Baltimore finally lost one. They took a 7-3 lead against Miami to the 9th. Miami started a rally. Brandon Cohen doubled in a pair, and Briam Kaat's 2 run single tied it. After the next two batters failed to bring the winning run home, Bubba Lewis belted one over the head of center fielder Darin Elam to win the game.

Baltimore wins 15th straight

We aren't sure what the longest winning streak in league history is, but the Colts have to be getting close. They are 18-3 after a 5-3 win over Miami. Joe Young started things off with his 11th homerun in the first. Miami tied the game at 3 in the 7th, but Jesse Myers doubled home the go-ahead run in the 8th and scored when Miami reliever Rafael Garcia uncorked a pair of wild pitches. Storm Morris (3-0) went the distance for the win.

Baltimore leads the league by far with a 2.14 ERA, ans by one in runs scored (106), though their other hitting stats indicate an average offense.

Miami Stars hire bench coach

The Miami Stars have hired the youngest coach in league history, Stella Smith, who has not even reached her first week birthday yet. Although she is too young to talk, a series of burps, gurgles, and farts signal the players when to bunt, steal, or hit and run.

Veteran left fielder Damon Nkik praises her judgement. "Jawas have a superior ability to detect scents. By her fart, I could tell that she thought the third baseman was playing a bit deep and I should bunt in that direction. It was good information, though I ignored it and swung for the fences anyway." Nkik hit 2 homers and knocked in 4 in the 8-4 victory over Mars.

Superior League Updated Stats

Through Saturday April 19th. Check out Baltimore at 15-3, due to starting pitching and the power of Mighty Joe Young. http://home.comcast.net/~briankaat/.

Still waiting on the first stat update for the major league...

Around the Major League

New York is 4-3 but has struggled offensively. Ricky Buckley is hitting .227 and has 3 errors already. Manfred and reigning MVP Brett Solo are hitting .143 and new addition Jason Foster is at .067 and will miss the next 5 games due to injury. Keith Lee and Chad White have hit fairly well, but the offensive highlight has been reserve 3b Jerrod Smith. Smith only plays against left-handed pitching and also pinch hits. So far he is 6-11 with 3 extra base hits and 4 RBI's. The story for this team has been in the bullpen. Bernie Grayson started the year as the closer and recorded a shaky save in his first outing. In his second save attempt, Grayson blew the game. The next day, Jaret Benser was called on for the save and he delivered. He may not ever give the job back. In fairness to Grayson, he is not in Eddie or Brad's doghouse. However, he is clearly the inferior pitcher to Benser, and more importantly, no longer has the ability to pitch on consecutive days (or even 2 out of 3 days). Because of this, its really not practical for him to be a full-time closer anymore. On the year, Grayson has a 3.86 ERA and has yielded 4 hits, 2 walks, with 1 strikeout in 2 1/3 innings. Benser has saved 2 games and has not yielded a run in 3 innings to go against 2 its no walks, and 2 strikeouts.

Philadelphia is also at 4-3 to start the year. Corey Sloan has hit .450 so far, to ease the pain of losing Zandar Dukakis. The pitching has been fairly good so far. Lee Harvey Oswalt, acquired in the Zandar trade, threw a shutout in game 2 and is 1-1 with a 1.13 ERA so far. Zito is 2-0 with a 2.25 ERA and Steve King has not allowed a run in his 2 saves.

Florida is also 4-3 and Jake Cisco seems to have found the fountain of youth. Cisco is hitting .333 with 4 homers, 8 RBI's and 6 walks. Ray Brooks is also playing well with 2 homers. On the mound, Bryan Brooks is 1-1 with a 2.13 ERA with 9 K's in 12 2/3 innings. Also, 3 different pitchers have saved games for Florida as they are going with a closer by committee this year.

Toronto is 3-4 and they look pretty smart with their acquisition of Ryan Kashiwada and Everett Jimenez from Miami as a salary dump. Kashiwada is hitting .391 with 3 homers, and Jimenez is hitting .375 with 1 homer at shortstop. J-Rod has 3 saves but a 9.82 ERA. Amazingly, in long relief, Chick Norman has pitched 8 1/3 scoreless innings with only 1 hit and 4 walks allowed, vs. 8 strikeouts.

Alaska is off to a 5-2 start with their solid young team. Ryno has established himself as a possible front-runner for manager of the year with his unconventional strategy of batting his pitcher 8th. As a team, they are hitting .282 but have only 3 homers. Johnny Tusken is becoming a fan favorite with his .346 average and league leading 6 stolen bases. On the mound, Bill Lombard and Andy Randle have pitched 15 scoreless innings in the #4 and #5 spots in the rotation. Thomas Fasten is 2-0 with a 1.29 ERA in 14 innings. Jojo Lewis is 1-1 but has pitched very poorly, 6.00 ERA and 18 hits allowed in 12 innings. On the plus side, he does have 14 K's. Alaska has also found a solid closer in George Cunningham, 4 saves in 4 appearances with a 0.00 ERA.

Denver is 4-3 and has sported one of the best offenses in the league. Surprise player of the year is Joey Renseller, who seems to finally be putting it all together and then some with a .387 avg 6 homers and 16 RBI's. New additions Keith Cerrano (.389 2 homers), Butters (.364 1 homer), and Jack Hollis (.333 1 homer) have also played well. On the mound, standouts have been Steven Hyde (1-1 2.08 ERA, 13 innings 7 hits 2 walks and 11 strikeouts) and Luther Trautwein (3 saves 0.00 ERA).

St. Louis is 3-4 but still a very bad and boring team. Bobby Morris is hitting 13-26 to provide the offensive highlights. On the mound, rookie closer Jonathan Papelbrad has been shaky with 1 save and a 3.86 ERA.

Green Day is just as bad as St. Louis and has no chance to contend but is somehow 3-4 as well. The only team highlight is Ruben Carter hitting .412 with 2 homers and 7 RBI in 17 at bats. On the plus side, Jek Lewis is dominating AAA pitching right now....

Defending division champ Detroit is off to a 2-5 start. They are hitting only .194 with 2 homers. It hurt that cleanup hitter Travis Steele missed the team's middle 5 games due to injury. On the mound, new closer Fernando Benitez has not imploded yet, registering 2 saves and a 0.00 ERA in his first 3 appearances.

The Hawaii Hounddogs are a league best 6-1. They are doing it with timely balanced hitting, as 7 players have hit 1 homer apiece. Yoda Skywalker, .391 1 homer 6 RBI's has been the best offensive player. On the mound, Jared DeMario is 2-0 and has yet to allow an earned run in 15 1/3 innings. He's also allowed only 7 hits and 5 walks. The bullpen has been awesome with a 2.63 ERA in 13 2/3 innings. Torrealba has been dominant as a setup man with a 1.93 ERA in 4 2/3 innings with 8 strikeouts. Troy Lewis has appeared in 4 games and saved them all. He's got a 2.25 ERA and 2 hits, no walks, and 6 strikeouts in 4 innings.

Los Angeles is 4-3 and is getting solid production from all of their hitters. Crowell is .276 2 homers and 7 RBI's and Alex Salazar is hitting .444 to match his age. For the staff, newcomer David Mulder has been awesome, 2-0 with a 0.66 ERA and only 4 hits allowed in 13 2/3 innings with 13 strikeouts. Randy Wagner has saved 3 games with a 0.00 ERA.

Portland is 3-4 and lucky to be that good. Rookie Justin Headley made the team and starts at third base. He has been a bright spot with a .357 average. The team is hitting only .226 with 2 homers. Zandar Dukakis, the key piece in the Oswalt trade, is looking overmatched at the plate with a .125 average and 5 strikeouts in 16 at bats. The team is also 0-1 in stolen base attempts...yuck. Roger Lewis was torched in his 2nd outing, but he is 1-1 4.20 and 5 hits, 10 walks, 15 strikeouts in 15 innings. Joel Camels has pitched well, 1-0 1.00, 9 innings, 8 hits, 0 walks, and 11 strikeouts through his first 2 starts. Unfortunately, his last start was cut short in the 4th inning due to arm problems. He will be out for about 15-20 games.

Bay Area is 3-4 and has looked clueless at times. Otto Tingley is hitting .333 with 2 homers and 6 RBI's and might be the best catcher in the league. Bryan Curtis is looking much better in year 2 of his big contract at 1-1 0.56 and 16 innings, 9 hits, 4 walks, with 13 strikeouts.

Hollywood is 1-6 after losing 6 in a row. Miguel Tejawa looks good at .318 with 1 homer and 4 RBIs, and Geoff Favre is still hitting, .318 with 3 homers, 8 RBIs. Elvis Dixon is only hitting .160. They have a 4.50 team ERA and no players have pitched signifcantly well. Pitching phenom RD Phillips had a quality start with 7 innings, 8 hits, 1 walk, and 6 strikeouts.

After first 10 games of season...

Superior League Stats and Standings are up.

Orlando at 7-3 is tied for the league's best record. Rookie closer Jerome Gonzalez is perfect so far, not allowing a baserunner in 4 1/3 innings and picking up 5 saves. George Wallace White leads the starters with 2 wins and an 0.56 ERA.

Baltimore has also won 7 games, with Joe Young hitting 5 homeruns already. Chicago so far is outscoring the rest of the league. Ray Hamilton struggled in 2007 but is off to a quick start at .324-3-9. The force is strong in rookie Luke Ford. He's a hitting machine at .351-2-10 and also 5 doubles and a triple.

Mars leads the west on the strength of their pitching. Paul Finch (1.72) and Bob Zimmerman (1.15) have been stingy. Las Vegas (6-4) have vastly improved their bullpen, bringing in veteran arms John LaRusso and Heathcliff George. Their talented young starters have been unspectacular so far, but if they get hot this team could be a contender. First baseman Steve Anderson, a 31 year old who's never had more than 125 at bats, leads the league in batting (.462) and onbase percentage.

While the team has not played well, Phoenix rightfielder Miguel Fernandez is off to a hot start (.364-5-11). His potential is unlimited, with one scout describing him as "Dirk Lindros without the walks".

Kermit Holmes, with a hamstring pull, will be out for another week. It is uncertain how much the frog has left. Everyone is pitching around Dirk Lindros (12 walks, 1 RBI). Conan has 2 homeruns, bring his career total to 786.

Trade

After opening day, Hollywood agreed to a swap of outfielders with Toledo. The B's send rookie Brett Jansen and Bob Reilly to Toledo for George Rivera and Rich Weatherspoon. Hollywood had an excess of left handed bats and needed to pick up some righthanded hitting. Rivera will compete for playing time in center field.

Superior League Openers

Baltimore 10, Utah 2

The defending world champs got off to a bad start as Jesse Myers had 4 hits and 3 RBI, and Joe Young homered. Mark Richards went 6 innings for the win.

Miami 8 Boston 3

Miami scored 5 in the 9th to beat Boston. Brian Kaat had a double and triple.

Louisville 6 Las Vegas 5

John LaRusso blew a save opportunity for Las Vegas and lost the game in the bottom 10th on a Quilvio Gato single.

Cleveland 5 NY Knights 0

Sonny Burnett pitched a 3 hitter over 8 innings and Bruce Berano added a 3 run homer. Having Conan, Kermit Holmes, and Dirk Lindros in the same lineup is no guarantee of run production.

Springfield 7 Charlotte 0

Derek Howe pitched a complete game shutout, striking out 12 and walking 1. Adama Dunn and Mike Solar each homered.

Mars 4 Toledo 1

Paul Finch allowed 3 hits and 1 run over 8 innings. Jerry Tugwell had 2 hits and scored twice.