Griffins Fly into First
DETROIT (May 16) -- The Detroit Griffins used the league's hottest pitching staff to climb into first place in the East for the first time in years.  Detroit pitchers held opponents to three runs or less in 13 of their last 17 games, and sweep Brooklyn Apr. 28-30 for probably the first time in a long time (though we can't be sure because our intern Billy in the research department didn't show up today).  Six weeks into the season, Detroit boasts the only staff with three 5-game winners: Pedro Ramos, Joey Jay, and Sandy Koufax.  Koufax has been a pleasant surprise for GM Sean Holloway this season, going 5-1 with a 3.33 ERA through 8 starts.  He has allowed just five hits and one run in his last 15 innings, striking out 13.  The highly-touted southpaw was the first overall pick in 1957, but has only won more than 8 games one time in 13 seasons.  His 73-133 record surely stands as one of the most disappointing careers for a first overall pick, but at age 34 he is on pace for the best year of his career.

Other surprises have been catcher Charlie Lau and lefthander Tommy John.  Lau, 37, has driven in 25 runs in 37 games, tying him with Reggie Jackson for the team lead.  Coming into this season, Lau was a career .242 hitter who had cracked 50 RBIs just two times in 11 seasons, but in mid-May he is already half way there.  John, another Detroit first round pick (1965) gone bust--it seems only fitting that a ballpark named after Ralph Kiner would be the bane of pitchers--was 18-35 with a 4.55 ERA in the last three seasons and was expected by many to spent a good chunk of 1970 in Toronto.  But after a rocky start out of the bullpen (5.91 ERA in 5 games), he has sparkled in a starting role.  John shut out Brooklyn on five hits April 28 and has a 1.08 ERA in three starts filling in for the injured Bob Gibson.

Led by Joe DiMaggio, Detroit finished three games short of the UL championship in 1951 and came in third the following season, but has had just four winning seasons in the last 17 years.  The club is currently third in offense and tied for 5th in runs allowed, and will get slugging CF Don Demeter off the DL just in time for the pennant push, if they are still around.

Feds Mulling 2-Inning Games As Cost-Cutting, Health Measure
Harris Asks: Why Not Start Games in the 8th?
by Brendan Harris
BOSTON (MAY 15) - A month and a half into the baseball season, new Boston Federals GM Brendan Harris is considering a proposal to shorten United League games to two innings, plus extra frames as required.  This season, his Feds club has appeared to live and die by its late-game performance, with 18 of its 41 games (44 percent) decided in the 8th inning or later.

Speaking to the press after Boston's latest thriller, a 10-inning 3-2 win at Cleveland, Harris said, "I think it's great that we're competing so hard, but frankly, I don't know if my heart can stand this kind of excitement."  Experts at Massachusetts General Hospital seem to agree, noting a slight uptick in coronary complaints since the beginning of the season, and especially between April 30 and May 8 when the Feds played 7 games decided in the final innings.

Asked specifically about rumors that he would propose shortening games, Harris also said that such a move would help the league remain fiscally responsible by cutting high starting pitching salaries.  "There's a war….I mean, conflict….I mean, enforcement action…whatever….going on," he noted.  When pressed on whether the move would benefit his own team -- which has gone 11-7 in those late-decision games and has a decent bullpen -- Harris refused to comment.

Slumping Spiders' Runs Dry Up
SAN FRANCISCO (May 16) -- The San Francisco Spiders are earning a reputation as the league's least offensive ballplayers, and its not a compliment.  A team that scored only 598 runs last year, the fewest in the majors in five years, in on pace to score just 507 this year, which would set a new league record.  How bad is the collective slump?  The Arachnids scored just 10 runs in their last six games, losing all six in sweeps by Chicago and Detroit; five of six qualifying batters are hitting below .220 in May; Bob Moose is 1-4 in his last 5 starts despite a 3.10 ERA; and Billy Williams was homerless in 17 games from Apr. 24 to May 13; three of the six lowest OPSs in the league belong to Spiders; Lou Brock, coming off five straight .300 seasons, is hitting just .246; and newcomers Ron Hansen (.205-0-13, .556 OPS) and Thurmon Munson (.228-2-10, .579) have provided little relief.  But the biggest offender in being non-offensive is first baseman Willie McCovey.  Last year's club home run leader has just three longballs in 109 at bats, and is hitting at an anemic .193 clip and .312 slugging.  The pitching has been decent, with three starters under 3.00, but unless and until the Spiders start hitting the ball, it is going to be a very long season by the Bay.

Fair to Middling: Oddity or Parity?
How's this for weird?  The two hottest teams this sim were the two last place teams, and seven of the top eight teams were clustered around 7-7 and 8-6.