United League Baseball

Gromek, Jansen Win 20, Again
Monuments Build Comfortable Lead
WASHINGTON (Aug. 15) -- Washington's trio of pitching phenoms turned up the heat in August, as Steve Gromek and Larry Jansen again reached 20 wins, and Stu Miller won four straight starts, including his third shutout, to reach 19. The Mons extended their lead over second place St. Louis to 8.5 games with a 10-4 fortnight.
   Washington made history last year when they became the first major league team with three 20-win pitchers since the 1931 Philadelphia Athletics of Lefty Grove, George Earnshaw, and Lefty Walberg (Grove won a career-high 31 and the Athletics won a franchise record 107).
   Gromek looked like the weak link in the early going. The 34 year-old Michigander won "just" ten games in the first half before going 7-0 in July. Gromek is 10-0 since July 1, and has pitched 26.2 innings without an earned run (3-0, 0.00, 26.2 IP, 10 H, 2 R, 0 ER, .114 OBA). Jansen and Miller have also had 10-game winning streaks in their careers.
   Jansen's 6-3 win over St. Louis on Aug. 12 was a double landmark. It was his 20th win of the season, making him the first United League pitcher to win 20 games three years in a row. But it was also his 80th career win, making him the first ULer to reach that milestone.

"Big Three" Unbeatable Since July
   Even by their own lofty standards, Washington's "Big Three" have had a remarkable six weeks. Since July 1, Gromek, Jansen, and Miller have a combined record of 26-2 in 31 starts, with an aggregate ERA of 2.26. Alone among the "Big Three," Stu Miller's ERA actually went up since the midsummer break, despite an 8-1 run that included his best start of the year, a two-hit shutout of Detroit on Aug. 14.

FIRST HALF		SECOND HALF		CAREER
Gromek	10-8, 4.38	Gromek	10-0, 1.72	Gromek	75-39, 3.08
Jansen	12-4, 3.10	Jansen	8-1, 2.39	Jansen	80-36, 3.25
Miller	11-5, 2.25	Miller	8-1, 2.66	Miller	63-26, 2.46
	33-17, 3.24		26-2, 2.26		218-101, 2.96

Colt Rookie Injured in Debut
"You've Got to Be Shitting Me!" Mueller Bemoans
CHICAGO (Aug. 5) -- Just five days after placing his best pitcher on the disabled list for an extended stay, Chicago manager Lance Mueller saw his top pitching prospect fall to injury. In the absence of staff ace Whitey Ford, who strained his elbow ligament on July 19 and is out until at least mid-September, Mueller opted for a five-man rotation, putting Saul Rogovin (4-7, 6.72) back in the rotation, and promoting 20-year-old Camilo Pascual from AAA Cincinnati, where he was 8-6 with a 3.67 ERA in 19 starts.
   Pascaul got his first major league start on Aug. 5 against St. Louis at Wrigley Field. He pitched a three-up, three-down first inning, and then induced a Roy Campanella groundout to lead off the second. But Campy was the last pitcher he faced, as he left the mound with pain in his shoulder. Dizzy Trout and three other relievers filled in admirably, but the Maroons prevailed 3-1 on Vern Law's three-hitter. Pascual was later diagnosed as having an inflamed rotator cuff, an injury that will sideline him for 4-5 weeks.
   As for Chicago's rotation, Mueller is running out of options. He could revert back to a four-man cycle, or recall veteran Murry Dickson from Cincy, where he is 11-7 with a 3.87 ERA. Cliff "Lefty" Chambers, the former Colonel, is also having a good season in AAA (9-4, 3.22).
   Since July 31, Chicago has had two five-game losing streaks, has dipped below .500 (57-59), and has dropped two places in the standings to fifth.

Antonelli Fans 16 in 4-Hit Shutout
CHICAGO (Aug. 8) -- Johnny Antonelli (8-9, 4.44) struck out 16 Colts in a four-hit shutout, as Louisville avoided a sweep with a 7-0 win in the series finale. Billy Cox homered in the three-run first, and Nellie Fox drove in a pair in the four-run fifth as the Colonels handed Bill Henry his 14th loss of the campaign. Antonelli, 24, leads Louisville in wins, and innings pitched, and has the second highest strikeout total in the league (203).

EXPANSION DRAFT PREVIEW
On the eve of the United League's first expansion draft, Charlie Qualls offers his opinions and prognostications

	Gromek should be the first pick overall. Which actually bodes well for WAS! This means the two best catchers in the draft are safe, as well as Perkowski. Look for BRO to be the next target, Brissie and Hutch are quite solid. In fact, pitching should be the priority watch for Parnell, Raffi and Rogovin and maybe Maglie to be early targets. The weakest group 1, ironically has the biggest (pitching) names: BOS. Lopat, Branca and Lemon sound tempting, but a quick glance at their histories will show that none have contributed much lately. Garver may be the least offensive choice of this group as he is the youngest. In LOU, Garcia and Newhouser should be sweating, hoping to God that they will be picked!!
WASHINGTON MONUMENTS 78-39 -- 10-4	Take my Gromek, please. When you're a winner, you've got the most to lose. Watch for the West Coast Vultures to pick this squad clean first. At least they should, because it's clear that JK knew what he was doing when he drafted these guys! Top unprotected prospects (league prospect ranking): Ray Crone, MR (#21); Tom Umplett, CF (#24); Frank House, C (#37); Bob Skinner, RF (#40); Hank Foiles, C (#41); Bill Sarni, C (#44); Lou Berberet, C (#46)
ST. LOUIS MAROONS 69-47 8.5 6-7	Monte Irvin may be enough to protect Maglie and Raffi (again, if that's what Tim wants). Or maybe Mags and Raff are the bait to try and proctect Monte. Chipman, Keegan and Ridzik are worth a look and all in different groups. Top unprotected prospects: Chuck Stobbs, SP (#14); Frank Bolling, 2B (#25); Del Crandall, C (#26); Gordon Jones, MR (#30); Andy Carey, 3B (#43); Sammy White, C (#45)
NEW YORK GOTHAMS 60-57 18 8-6	Scheib and Blackwell should be a tough choice for a newbie squad. As with CHI, many fine pitchers in separate groups: Hearn, Friend, Loes and Cain. Top unprotected prospects: Jerry Lynch, LF (#22); Bobby Del Greco, CF (#38); Milt Bolling, SS (#50)
BROOKLYN SUPERBAS 59-58 19 9-5	Will be lucky to only lose one in the premiere group, probably Hutch or Brissie. Westrum looks tempting with WAS catchers safe. Glen has positioned himself pretty well, the draft shouldn't hurt him too much. Top unprotected prospects: Paul Foytack, SP (#12); Norm Zauchin, 1B (#23); Dick Williams, LF (#29); Bill Tuttle, CF (#33); Willard Nixon, SP (#39)
CHICAGO COLTS 57-59 20.5 3-10	Great top group as well, any of these guys will be a leader on their new team, probably Rogovin. Pitching could be the target with Trout, Dickson, Chambers and McDonald in separate groups. Top unprotected prospect: Gus Triandos, C (#9)
BOSTON BEACONS 52-65 26 6-7	Should be expecting to lose many fine OF's with Philley, Abrams, Hermanski, Clark and Mueller on the block. Relievers will take a hit as well with Konstanty, Borowy, Liddle and Moore flapping in the breeze. Top unprotected prospect: Reno Bertoia, 3B (#56)
LOUISVILLE COLONELS 48-69 30 7-6	Many fine looking pitchers available in Garcia, Newhouser, Kretlow, Herbert, Jones, Houtteman, Brown, Gomez, Lown. Sid Gordon is the big bait on this squad, however. Maybe the fact that these pitchers haven't done much, coupled by some decent available OF's may keep some of these arms in LOU, but is that what Mark wants or needs? Top unprotected prospects: Ron Kline, SP (#13); Tex Clevenger, SP (#32); Russ Kemmerer, MR (#34); Billy Klaus, SS (#42); Dick Schofield, 2B (#49)
DETROIT SOUND 44-73 34 5-9	Priddy and Marion could be someone's double play combo. Otherwise, not a lot to lose from this recent cellar dweller. Top unprotected prospect: Daryl Spencer, 3B (#35)