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OPENING DAY ISSUE
Erie Start to New Season
Barons Win 11 Straight, Detroit Hot
CLEVELAND (Apr. 16) -- After being swept by Detroit to open the season, the Cleveland Barons rolled to 11 straight wins with sweeps over Manhattan, Brooklyn, and St. Louis. The Barons have dominated the league in nearly every aspect of the game, leading the league in batting, OBP, hits, stolen bases, starters' ERA, relievers ERA, and fielding percentage. The "Hitless Wonders" held opponents to two runs or less in 9 of the 11 games, led by Johnny Podres (2-0, 0.71), who has pitched 20 straight shutout innings over three starts, and Terry Fox (0.69 ERA in 8 appearances). And just two weeks into the season, four Barons have already notched saves.
   The streak began with a 10-3 blowout of Manhattan on Apr. 4, in which Curt Flood was 4-5 with a home run. Some dramatic moments during the streak include:
-- Frank Thomas' 10th-inning game-winning RBI in a 3-2 win over the Gray Sox on Apr. 5
-- A four-run rally in the bottom of the eighth to reverse a 0-3 deficit on Apr. 6
-- A combined 5-hit shutout by Podres, Fox, and Tom Acker in a 2-0 win over BRO Apr. 9
-- A two-run 9th to break a 1-1 tie against STL on Apr. 10
-- A 6-0 shutout of STL, anchored by Billy O'Dell on Apr. 11
-- A 4-hit, 4-RBI performance by Gene Freese in an 11-5 blowout of STL Apr. 12

Held Heats Up Griffins
DETROIT (Apr. 16) -- Woodie Held led the Detroit Griffins to their hottest start in recent memory, hitting .298-4-16, with a .967 OPS as Detroit won 10 of its first 14 games. The 35-year-old shortstop homered three times in four days Apr. 3-6.
   Rookie starter Bill "Froggy" Hands was 2-0, 1.46 in his first three starts, with Held providing a decisive grand slam in a 7-2 win in his Apr. 4 debut.
   Detroit completed a sweep of division rivals Boston Apr. 6 thanks to late heroics by Held and rookie Cesar Tovar. After blowing a 1-0 lead in the top of the ninth, Held's solo homer tied the game in the bottom of the ninth, and Tovar singled home the winning run in the 10th.

Rookies Shine and Flop
DETROIT (Apr. 16) -- Dick Hughes of Washington, the 13th overall pick, made the most impressive UL debut, pitching a two-hit shutout at Fenway Park on Apr. 2. Other rookies, like Detroit's Froggie Hands and San Francisco closer Paul Lindblad, had solid first games, while others, notably Atlanta's Steve Carlton and Chicago's Wilbur Wood, had forgettable debuts.

Draft/Development Update
by Glen Reed
The gary nolan upgrade post got me wondering, so i looked around at the first rounders.
Pick #1--carlton pitched poorly, then injured for two weeks. stormclouds gathering?
Pick #2--rod carew = upgrade city!!!! knew i shoulda taken rodney.
Pick #3--gary nolan has an ERA north of 5, but the player development page don't lie.
Pick #4--tom terrific? not so much. 3/4/4 6/8/7 one sim ago = 2/4/3 6/8/6 today. and i quote from a gurganus draft-related e-mail: "i took this guy because i thought he had the least downgrade risk."
Pick #5--singer goes 2-1 with a 3.1. he's doing what i thought carlton would put up.
Pick #6--wilber "wilbuh" wood wilgiveuphits: 29 hits in 18 innings gets you on your way to a 1.9 whip and 6.75 era. not what fancypants lance had in mind.
Pick #7--sideburns smith is lagging in AAA. .550 ops (albeit in just three games) has me worried. AA anyone?
Pick #8--MAN's other first-round SP holding up better. 1-0, 3.00 ERA in AAA. more importantly, no downgrades!!!
Pick #9--pat jarvis has big talent, but so far, not biggie results, unless you count a massive ERA. then again, if you look more closely at the numbers, he got absolutely killed in one start, and suffered defeats in two other pretty good starts.
Picks #10-12 (LA) -- Big Red McGlothin was deemed a dodgey pick by some at the time, but early returns okay. era around 4, two out of three quality starts. Hiller's line is this: 5 IP, 2 HA, 2 BB, 2 K with nothing across. and superjew has a 1.000 OPS, tho we're looking at only a dozen AAA at-bats.