1 (2)- Norfolk Whiskey Jacks (93-32)- The Jacks have been winning all season long. And for all of their success, and the praise of their dynamic duo of Leonard and Matos, those two might not even be having the best season on the staff. Veteran Ken Hooper, signed just this offseason, is having the best season of his career. He was named to the AL All Star team and so far has converted 31 of 34 save chances with a WHIP of 0.90 and an ERA of 1.57 in 34 innings.
2 (1)- Baltimore Revolution (88-37)- Thanks to the strong season of Norfolk, the Revolution find themselves in unusual circumstances. Second place. If they fail to catch the Jack and reclaim their division, they may now have to play in the Wild Card round of the playoffs for the first time since Season 9. Bruce Donovan continues to be the favorite to win the MVP. He ranks 1st in the AL in HRs with 58, 1st in RBI with 134 and 2nd in AVG at .360.
3 (3)- Pittsburgh Polar Bears (83-42)- Business as usual in Pittsburgh. They are on their way to being the #1 seed in the NL yet again. Benji Armas, despite having an off year by his standards, made SP history this season, by tossing the first perfect game the league has ever seen.
4 (10)- Milwaukee Titans (77-48)- Despite a rocky start and feisty competition from Iowa City, the Titans are poised for yet another division title. Apparently the rumors that the players were distracted by the teams pending sale to new ownership were grossly exaggerated. The Titans pitching has been strong all season, and they are ranked 2nd in lowest team ERA at 3.31.
5 (4)- New Orleans Jazz (77-48)- The surprise of Season 16 has been the great play of the New Orleans Jazz. All season long, the pundits have been waiting for them to come back down to Earth. Instead, they just keep on winning. They have clearly been the 3rd best team in the AL all season long. However, Norfolk and Baltimore are still the heavy favorites to come out of the AL. The Jazz will need to upset one of those two powers before they really start raising some eyebrows as potential AL Pennant contenders.
6 (5)- San Diego Wiley Coyotes (69-56)- The Coyotes are in a great battle with Vancouver (and don't forget about Los Angeles) for the NL West crown. While Sosa has been the team's catalyst, Joel Sutton has also been a huge contributor. Acquired from New Orleans, he has ascended to the team's most dependable starter, after Sosa. In his 17 starts with San Diego, he is 10-5 with a 3.13 ERA.
7 (7)- Anaheim Hitmen (69-55)- The Hitmen seem to have secured their division and will soon start to set their sights on the playoffs. Normally one of the favorites to win the AL, this season the Hitmen will get to play the role of underdog. Jullian Belliard is having another All Star season, currently at 12-7 with a 2.70 ERA.
8 (8)- Vancouver Tragedy Twins (68-56)- The Twins find themselves in two tough races this season, winning the NL West and also the NL Wild Card. The pitching staff, which didn't have an established ace going into Season 16, is being led by Johnnie Lukasiewicz. He is 14-5 with a 3.16 ERA.
9 (11)- Chicago Gray Stockings (67-57)- The major injury to Wayne Spence forced the aging Julio Telemaco back into the rotation. He is unable to go deep into games like he used to, but while he is on the mound, he has been pitching pretty well. In his 84 innings, he has an ERA of 3.61. The Gray Sox have kept it together, and are in their usual position as a Wild Card winner.
10 (9)- Iowa City Badgers (66-58)- The Badgers are having a very good year. Midseason, with the Titans slumping, it looked like the might even be able to pull of the upset special and take the NL North from Milwaukee. Now that the Titans have returned to form and re-claimed the division. The Badgers have their eyes on the Wild Card. It should be a close race right down to the final games of the season between Iowa City, Vancouver, San Diego, Chicago and Los Angeles.
11 (14)- Philadelphia Stomp (66-59)- The Stomp have been playing better of late, and put themselves in a position to secure the final AL Wild Card spot. They'll have to hold off a fading Salem team, and the veteran Camels of Scottsdale. The midseason acquisition of DH Jim Andrews seemed to be the spark that got the team going. In his 89 games with the Stomp, he is hitting .323 with 31 home runs and 73 RBI.
12 (16)- Los Angeles Sharks (65-60)- This is the team that won't quite go away, but can't quite seem to get over the hump either. They seem to be hiding just below the surface. Don't be surprised if this veteran laden team makes a late season surge and gets close to either a Wild Card spot or the NL West crown. And, as usual, its been the pitching that's been keeping the Sharks in the W column. Their team ERA of 3.46 is good enough for 4th in the NL.
13 (12)- Cleveland Lake Shores (63-62)- After a hot start, the Lake Shores have slowly faded in the NL standings. On a team with a number of offensive stars, its surprising that its largely the offense that has been the problem. The team OBP of .316 is well below the NL average. The biggest culprit is probably Glen 'Super Mario' Dawkins. For the second season in a row, he is having disappointing production. He is hitting .266 with 21 home runs and 57 RBI and only has an OBP of .309.
14 (6)- Salem Mighty Ducks (63-61)- Despite the career resurgence of Jesse Miller (.306, 24 HR, 83 RBI), the Ducks have been in an absolute free fall since the All Star break. They are 10-23 since that time. They are still in the hunt for the Wild Card, but if they don't pick it up soon...
15 (-)- Minnesota Storm (60-64)- The Storm are taking advantage of the decline of the Redbirds and trying to win the division that nobody seems to want to win. It could be that the winner of the division is likely to play Baltimore in the Wild Card round so the players just want to get an early start on their vacation rather then play the Revolution. Career Storm player Adrian Boyer is having the best season of his career and leading the way in Minnesota. He is hitting .310 with 27 home runs and 86 RBI.
16 (13)- Scottsdale Camels (60-65)
17 (15)- Memphis Belles (60-65)
18 (-)- Houston Buushwackerz (59-65)
19 (-)- Honolulu Rainbow Warriors (59-66)
20 (-)- Scranton Wild (57-67)
Bounced Out:
Atlanta Soda Poppers (17), Monterrey Charros (18), St. Louis Redbirds (19), Helena Bighorns (20)
