We’re on June 25, and Short-season A and Rookie ball are about to kick off. In the majors, nothing really changed.

In the Platonic League, Pittsburgh split the final two games of the showdown with Miami, giving Miami the series win 2-1. But, Miami still lost two games off the pace due to the rest of the sim, and is now nine games back. Plus, as detailed below, Miami continues to irritate the injury gods. Ramapough is in third, 8.5 behind Miami and one game ahead of Stockholm. Cairo has gotten hot and is now four clear of Maryland and just four behind the Sluggers.

In the Socratic League, Brooklyn still clings to a half-game lead over Jersey City. New York remains in third, but picked up a half-game and is now 2.5 behind the Bombers. Seattle is .500 and 7.5 games behind first. The Purple Porpoises have dove 1.5 games behind Seattle. Marietta, hearing its owner’s cries for more losses, has obliged with a six-game skid, has moved behind Cairo and is now just a game ahead of Maryland.

In league news, Cairo’s David White and New York’s Carlos Araoz took home Player of the Week honors. No significant league transactions.

Some more injuries occurred. New York’s Daniel “Buffalo” Nicholes is day-to-day for 1-2 weeks with a strained back muscle. Gainesville’s Ed Redding sprained his ankle running the bases and is out 2-3 weeks. Marietta’s starting pitcher Walter “Times New Roman” Font has a dead arm, which will be revived in 1-2 weeks. Finally, Miami’s plague continued, as outfielder Jose Santiago suffered a scratched cornea when hit by a pitch, and will be out 1-2 weeks. Whichever voodoo priestess Miami irritated should be apologized to, like right now.

On to the game action.

On June 20, Maryland got seven shutout innings from Charles Flores and two home runs from Willie Williams to beat Ramapough 5-0. Miami’s Constantino Martinez had a “perfect” day with two home runs and three walks in five plate appearances to lead the Masters to a 7-4 win over Pittsburgh.

On June 21, Larry “Turtle” Jensen went 4-4 with a home run, but saw his Miami squad come up short in a 4-3 loss to Pittsburgh. Gainesville beat New York 2-1 behind Ulises Sala’s 12 Ks. Cairo thumped Stockholm 12-2.

On June 22, Cairo beat Miami 4-3 on Charles Fordyce’s tenth-inning RBI single. A ninth-inning RBI groundout by Gary Croce pushed Pittsburgh past Maryland 4-3. Seattle’s William “World B.” Freeman won his eighth game of the year in the Pilot’s 8-1 victory over Marietta.

On June 23, both Ramapough Mountain and Brooklyn came back in the eighth and ninth innings to beat Stockholm and New York, respectively. Claude “Two Shoes” Carruthers got his ninth win with eight strong innings in Seattle’s 5-1 win over Marietta.

On June 24, Abe Nix went eight innings in New York’s 3-1 win over Brooklyn. Stockholm’s Michael Pellerin matched the feat in the Slugger’s 5-1 victory over Ramapough. Cairo got back-to-back singles with the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the ninth to shock Miami 6-5. Masters’ closer William Carner’s record fell to 1-6, with a 5.45 ERA on the season. Basil Gomez’s ninth inning RBI single gave the Skeeters a 4-3 win over Gainesville. Pittsburgh broke a 2-2 tie in the ninth by scoring five runs to sweep Maryland with a 7-3 win. The Pisces have now won 23 games in a row against teams not located in Miami.

Now, a brief look at the minors, since we’re past the all-star break in those leagues.

In AAA, the Tacoma Rainiers (Seattle) lead the teams in Imperial and Sarasota by a game in one division. In the other, the Brooklyn Trolley Dodgers (NY) lead Anaheim by four games. Ramapough’s top prospect Carlos Lara leads all AAA with a .933 OPS while New York’s prospect hurler Robert Mahone paces pitchers with 10 wins and a 37.0 VORP.

In AA, the San Angeles Celestial Teapots (RAM) lead one division by two games over Peerskill while the Churchill Icebreakers (GAI) have a six-game advantage over Marion. Miami’s Francis Decesare has a .892 OPS at second and a 25.6 VORP while Marietta’s Willie Gowans has been the most valuable pitcher at a 24.5 VORP.

In A-ball, the Bloomington Troopers (JC) top one division by eight full games while the Las Vegas Low Rollers (NY) have a three-game gap back to Ithaca. Jersey City’s second sacker Jose Puente has a minors-best .967 OPS (bolstered by 28 doubles) while Stockholm’s Kenneth Hale has 10 wins and a 1.84 ERA.

League file is posted. Next sim is Friday, when we’ll have all five levels of the minors in action.

As fair warning, when I run sims, I may start them as early as around 4:00 or 4:30 pm Pacific. Just so you know.