The teams have played between 78 and 81 games, so these seems like as good a point to call midseason as any. So, in this report we’ll look more at the bigger picture and less at the specifics of this sim.

In the Platonic League, the Pisces finally figured out how to handle their Masters and Pittsburgh has now opened up a 13-game lead on Miami. Miami is eight games ahead of Ramapough Mountain and nine up on Stockholm for the wild card spot. Cairo has closed to within 2.5 games of fourth and Maryland is four further back in sixth.

In the Socratic League, the three-team race in Gotham continues. Brooklyn leads Jersey City by 1.5 games with New York two games further back in third. Seattle is now over .500 and six games behind the Knights. Gainesville is four further back and 8.5 ahead of Marietta.

The news of the sim was individual as Cairo’s David White recorded the first 20-game hitting streak of the season, only to see it snapped against Brooklyn at 20 games. Meanwhile, New York’s Abe Nix had the top pitching performance of the year with a one-hit complete game shutout. Nix walked only one while striking out eight. His wasn’t the only gem either as Ramapough’s Matt Truesdell gave up only an unearned run on three hits, no walks, and eight Ks to tie for the second-best performance of the year.

No major transactions this sim. No injuries either, even to Miami outfielders.

So, as we reach midseason, who stands out so far this year?

Well, Brooklyn has bounced back to a 100-win pace, which I will admit I didn’t expect coming in to the year. Of course, Ramapough Mountain’s third place standing is also a bit of a surprise, even if they have fallen off their early torrid pace. I also am surprised to see Gainesville in fifth, given their outstanding starting pitching. Just goes to show how variable pitching can be, I guess.

Enough about the teams. What about the players?

Well, this is the year that two young SL players have battled for the crown of best hitter in the league. Seattle’s Myles “Stretch” Horne has a .378 batting average, a .490 OBP, and a 1.097 OPS. Meanwhile, Gainesville’s Dan “The Man” Rushing, with a .367 average, a league-leading 26 home runs, a 1.153 OPS, and is on pace to be something like 12 wins over replacement level. What studs. If it’s clear to you which one is better, then you’re more discerning than I am.

In other notable hitting news, Jersey City’s Brandon Townsend is on pace to drive in 178 runs this year. Cairo’s David While is a great power-speed threat, hitting .286, on pace for 33 home runs, and is also on pace to lead the league with 46 stolen bases. Pittsburgh rookie Alberto “Nutso” Jimenez is on pace for 53 doubles and 162 RBI. While he seems to have the PL Rookie of the Year award sewn up, it will be a good race between Seattle’s Frankie “The Little Ticket” Garnett, Marietta’s Derrick Batie, and Brooklyn’s Gary Moeller in the SL.

The pitching story is centered entirely around Brooklyn. Tyler “Ex” Conn has ended any discussion as to the best pitcher in the game with his 1.03 ERA, 10 K’s per nine innings, .178 opponent’s batting average, etc. You name the category, and he’s at or near the top.

But the Bombers have brought more to the party. They have three of the five qualified starters posting ERAs under three. Nathan “Bring in the Funk” has a 1.93 ERA and Freddie Mendes is at 2.94. Can they keep it up? That question may determine the SL playoff race. The Bombers’ big three have led the team to an astonishing 3.02 ERA.

Ramapough Mountain’s rise has been fueled by Matt “The Truth” Truesdell who is second in the OEL in ERA at 1.88. After a 5-14, 5.49 campaign last year, few saw this breakout coming. Truesdell has allowed even fewer baserunners per nine innings than Conn.

Gabby Duran, known playoff choker, has excelled in the first half of this year with a 13-1 start, on pace for 27 wins. His 3.14 ERA shows it’s not just the Pisces’ hitters behind the gaudy mark. Five other pitchers (Pittsburgh’s Tashiro, Brooklyn’s Conn and Mendes, Seattle’s Carruthers, and Jersey City’s Pilla) are also on pace for 20-win seasons.

The top relievers have been in NYC, with Brooklyn’s Steve Corner’s 23 saves just ahead of New York’s Paul “Rockin’” Rollison’s 22. Jersey City’s William “Chrysler” Lebaron has the lowest ERA of any qualified reliever, at 1.20.

Use the blog entry to talk about your midseason successes and failures. I’d like to hear others’ stories.

League file is posted. I’ll get the webpages updated this weekend.

We’ll also be testing Nate’s ability to run sims on Sunday. When we do, we’ll send out an email advising people not to download the update until we say so. You’re clear to download it until we send out that email though. It’s just a test and we’ll let you know when it’s safe to download again. Hopefully this will mean that Nate can take up some of the simming duties again. Not that I don’t like doing it, but three times per week, every week, is a bit of a drain.