SBL Notebook, Week 4

Like the elderly but plucky Plague victim in “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” who squeaked “I’m not dead . . . I’m getting better” as his son tried to throw him on the meat wagon, two of our most senior franchise owners have declared that reports of their demise were greatly exaggerated and appear well on the road to recovery. But before we get to Dan’s Cherry Valley Bombers and Paulo’s Zero’s, we pause for a word about the SBL’s most surprising story of the young season, the ascension of Bristow’s Batfaced Girls to heretofore uncharted heights, otherwise known as First Place. The Gals didn’t have the best week in the business -- in fact their pitching was as bad as we’re likely to see all season -- but they managed to scratch out a 4-2 mark and, on the strength of their month-long consistency, took over the top spot in the American division with an 18-7 record. It’s believed to be the first time Hizhonor has occupied the catbird seat unaccompanied, at least this late in the season. And looking at the impressive array of young, up-and-coming talent on his roster, there’s every reason to expect he can stay in contention for his first division title. The BFGs are the only team in the AL that hasn’t posted a losing week this season, and the fact they’ve done this despite injuries to several key players -- and despite their truly horrific 8.63 ERA, 2.13 BR stat and 0-4 WL this week -- has to bode well for their chances. Just think how high their ceiling may be once Nelson Cruz, Brad Hawpe and Huston Street return to active duty. . . . The Girls’ path to the AL mountaintop was cleared by Andy’s Badgers’ first toe-stub of the season, an 0-6 ker-plunk that dropped them all the way to third place, one game behind Mikee’s Moaners and three back of the BFGs. But the biggest noise of the week wasn’t the crashing of the Badgers but the roar emitted by the defending champion Zero’s as they awoke from hibernation. After staggering to a 5-14 start, the Z’s blasted out of their funk with a 6-0 surge fueled by a staggering 19 home runs, which their owner is claiming as a franchise record, and 49 RBIs. No fewer than five Zero’s players contributed multi-HR games to the cause, topped by a gimme-a-break-you’ve-gotta-be-kidding three-homer sub-in from backup catcher John Buck (!). It doesn’t get much better than that. . . . Over in the National division, the defending champion Bombers continued the resuscitation they began last week, putting together a second consecutive 5-1 performance fueled not by the monster offense that carried them in Week 3, but by sterling pitching that produced a 1.69 ERA, .94 BR stat and 5-1 WL, and lifted them to within a game of .500. Now seven and eight games, respectively, out of first place, the Zero’s and Bombers have served notice that they won’t give up their division flags without a fight. (Of course, that old Plague victim in “Holy Grail” ended up being clubbed to death by the meat-wagon owner at the son’s behest, so the Z’s and CVBs would be wise to keep the pedal to the metal!) Elsewhere in the NL, the Patton Inmates quietly went 4-2, improved their Best Record in Ball to 20-5 and maintained their lead at five games, albeit over a new runner-up -- Derek’s Derelicts (hooray, we remembered!), who assembled the best overall week (14 HRs, 43 runs, 42 ribbies AND a 2.05 ERA and 1.08 BR stat) to go 6-0 and displace DamianUnited from second place.