WEEK 2, 1932 FREMONT STAYS ON TOP Fremont (9-4) ontinued on their winning ways, as they lowered their team ERA to a league best 1.54. The pitching has to hold out, for the team is batting a collective .216. Newcomer Cuccinello is hitting .308 and Lou Gehrig is hitting .333. Other then that, the offense has been virtually absent. Ed Brandt, Charlie Root and Dazzy Vance have been outstanding from the hill. But the surprise team in the NorthEast so far has been the Sahara Jihad (9-4). Emphasizing speed in the first two weeks, rookie Kiddo Davis has 9 of the team's 25 stolen bases. First sacker Jack burns is just blistering the ball, hitting .362. Add in Dick Bartell and babe Herman, along with good pitching from Blaeholder and Meine, and Sahara finds themselves playing very well. Harlem (7-5) has been beset with the loss of last years best rookie, Larry French (1-1 3.48). French will be sidelined for a month, but Alvin Crowder (3-0 1.38) and Red Lucas (2-0 0.00) have both been admirable additions to the rotation. Chuck Klein off to a good start yet again, tops in the league in slugging (.647) and home runs (4) along with teammate Lefty O'Doul. Pawtucket (6-6), despite being 7th in hitting and 6th in slugging, have played good baseball, thanks to pitchers like Huck Betts, who only gave up two hits in 15 scoreless innings in one game last week against Fremont. But no one on the Dutchmen has homered twice, and Joe Vosmik is the top hitter at .250. North Dallas (6-6) is in first place in the SouthEast, thanks in part to hot starts by Ernie Lombardi and Mel Ott. Last year's batting champ Bill Terry is only hitting .200, and the shortstop platoon of Luke Appling and Johnny Burnett is hitting a paltry combined .075. However, despite a team that isn't hitting too badly, their pitching is currently the worst in the league. Montgomery (5-8) has hit a little skid. Tony Piet (.289) and Paul Waner (.300) are both playing well, but Manush, Traynor, Cochrane and McManus have all been hitting terribly. Rookie pitcher Tex Carleton looked good in his two starts, and Tommy Bridges, despite control problems, has fared well, too. St Louis (5-8), a team notorious for slow starts, has to be pleased with rookie pitcher Johnny Allen (2-0), but Dizzy Dean (0-3), Guy Bush (0-2) and George Pipgras have yet to win (0-2). Grumblings continued in St Louis when Guy Bush bobble-head dolls were burned in effigy. And who would have thought that a team with sluggers Al Simmons and Jimmie Foxx would be lead in round-trippers by Charlie Gelbert. Problems continue to mount for Hattiesburg (4-9), despite some fairly decent pitching from the likes of Flint Rhem (2-0 0.75). The rest of the staff has been beaten up. There is no doubt that this team might be the worst one the DBS has ever had, but they still manage to not get blown out, having 4 one-run losses already this year. The hitting has been just brutal, with Hartnet being the only "star" at the plate with a .243 average and 2 home runs. Yes, this will be a long season for the D-Wides.. SUGA SMACKS Fritz Smith of the Fremont Gazzette sat down this week to get some insight with Suga on what is going on. Fritz asked Suga what he thought about Dizzy and has he taken a good look at him yet. Suga's response "I haven't seen him yet but I have tickets to see him at Sugar Ray's when we go to Harlem. He sure does blow a mean horn." Frtiz replied I meant Dizzy Dean the pitcher for St. Louis. Suga's response "Must not be that good if he didn't catch Suga's eye" Fritz Smth asks Suga for some post game thoughts after going 2/3 of inning for the save "I own the inside corner." Fritz asked what about the dance after the last out? "That was the Suga shake and if GQ doesn't like he can kiss my butt!" (GQ = Grandpa Quinn) PAWTUCKET RESPONDS TO SUGA April 15, 1932 - Pawtucket Manager Honus Wagner was recently quoted in regards to Suga Cains remarks in his recent interview: "Its too bad that Suga did not get his turn at bat after his little dance the other night, because if he did he would be dancing on his back. We look forward to him pitching against us in the future and hopefully batting." Player captain Johnny Fredrick stated: "It was a Bush League act by a Bush League player, I don't think he will be around long enough for us to play against him again." Look for some future fireworks between these division rivals. PLAYER OF THE WEEK Heinie Meine Player of the week for (April 10th – April 16th) is SP Heinie (The Count of Luxemburg) Meine of Sahara. For the week Heinie was 2-0 with two complete game shutouts allowing only six hits and striking out two in those eighteen innings. Currently this season Heinie is 3-0 with a 1.71 ERA and slowly becoming the ace of the Jihad staff.