Who's Hot, Who's Not

Who's Hot, Who's Not through Midseason

By: Nate Engelwood

All stats are included up until midseason.

Who's Hot

Player/Team Notes

Cody Wheeler, RF, New York Bombers Wheeler has been a huge beast for New York so far this season, hitting very well above .300 along with 26 homeruns, tied with Alex Reyes of Las Vegas for the league lead. What�s more interesting about this is that during a 8 game stretch leading to the All-Star game, Wheeler hit 6 homeruns during this period to earn himself a spot on top as well as an entry into the Homerun Derby. If he can continue to play at this level, he should be able to get 40 homeruns by the end of the season as well as 125+ RBIs, two feats that Wheeler has yet to accomplish in his career.

Colt Ciccone, LF, Boston Bears Ciccone or the �Milk Man� as teammates call him, has been hot for the Bears so far this season, hitting a remarkable .418 entering the All-Star break. Ciccone is only one homerun shy of his season-high, set last season and he is very well on pace to break his single season record for RBIs. Pitchers are recommended to avoid Ciccone at all costs, because Ciccone is just as good as anybody when it comes to getting hits and moving people around the bases for Boston.

Chicago Cardinals: 61-28, 1st in Midwest Division The Cardinals has kept the pace for rest of the teams in the Midwest and has a very good chance to repeat as Midwest Division Champions as well as possibly Northern League champions for the third year in a row. Their offense is based predominately on the stealing success of Deangelo Alberti, the ABL�s all-time stolen bases leader as well as James Collman and Ben Lapointe. As long as those three speedsters are able to get on base often and move the tables for the big hitters of the Chicago lineup, Franckowiak won�t have anything to worry about. Their pitching as always has been the strong point, led by Alfredo Aguilar who holds a 12-3 record entering the All-Star Break.

Boston Bears: 63-27, 1st in Northeast Division McGrath�s team has been on a hot roll the past month, jumping all the way from 4th to 1st in the division in a matter of a month, passing Philadelphia, New York and Connecticut. The Bears� offense is led by Colt �Milk Man� Ciccone who has been able to consistently produce for the Bears along with the returning Jay Walker who had 21 homeruns entering the month of June before getting injured. And with their pitching which seems to have improved with the recent addition of Delagarza, the Bears will be a force to be reckoned with for the remainder of the season.

Joey Gandolfo: SP, Miami Talons Just when everybody thought Joey Gandolfo couldn�t get any better than his remarkable 31-1 season with a 1.35 ERA last season, Gandolfo proves everybody wrong and continues to get better. So far Gandolfo has posted a remarkable record of 19-0 with a microscopic 1.08 ERA through the first half this season. Although Gandolfo will eventually get a loss tacked on against him this season (he did against CT this past sim), Gandolfo should be a lock for another 30+ wins against 1 loss season along with a measly 1.something ERA.
Gonzalo Torres, 3B, Miami Talons Gandolfo isn�t the only one chasing after an ultimate goal; Gonzalo Torres is too. Torres is currently in the chase for the elusive .400 batting average season. So far, Torres has posted a .421 average entering the All-Star break and has the best chance of any batter (including Ciccone) to post a .400+ average. And not to mention that Torres has packed power, hitting 20 homeruns as well as driving 90 runs in, both in the top 10 in the league.

Carolina Cobras: 59-30, 2nd Place in Southeast, 12 Games Back After a moderately slow start to the season, the Cobras has been on a roll, breezing through the schedule and slowly cutting away at Miami�s lead in the Southeast. At the same time, they currently hold the fourth best record in the ABL, only behind Boston and Miami. Expect the Cobras to get better as they continue their pursue at overthrowing Miami in the Southeast.

Las Vegas Scorpions: 59-30, 1st Place in Southwest Nick Alicea has done relatively well so far this season especially considering what he�s lost to injuries thus far. Sean Day out for the season, Steven Ice out for a month but yet the Scorpions have been able to stay near the top at least until Dallas Rattlers started to cool down right as the Scorpions snatched first place. Expect Nick Alicea to make some deals near the deadline to improve his team for the playoff push this year.

Who's Not

Player/Team Notes

Samuel Garofalo, Closer, Boston Bears Garofalo has been generally disappointing for the Bears so far this year despite racking up 16 saves. But in comparison to last season, Garofalo hasn�t been the shutdown closer that he once was, and that�s something to be worried about. His ERA is a bit over 6 and his WHIP is 1.61 and that�s not exactly good news for a team who needs a reliable reliever to close down games without allowing any runs.

Tim Schneider, 1B, Minnesota Monarchs Schneider�s age seems to be finally catching up to him. After having a career year last season at the age of 36 whereas Tim hit .304 along with 34 homeruns and 118 RBIs, Schneider has gotten off to a slow start this season, only hitting .244 with 13 homeruns and 58 RBIs. At the same time, Minnesota is slowly starting to fade out of the playoff race.

Cleveland Crusaders: 17-72, Last Place in Northeast, 45.0 Games Back As always, Cleveland is already out of it at the All-Star break, 45 games behind the division leader and seems to be headed for yet another 125+ loss season with no thanks to Scott Karamol. The fact that Karamol traded his only ML decent hitting player in Colton Short doesn�t help any.

Indiana Eagles: 30-59, Last Place in Midwest, 31.0 Games Back For some reason this team started out well and it seemed like Lapointe was actually going to be right about something for once. But this incredible run by Indiana didn�t last long as they eventually crashed and burned in the month of June where they underwent a 26-game losing streak. And to make things worse, Lapointe has already given up and is starting to build for the future yet once again.

Michael Taisho, SP, Atlanta Sun Devils After having a remarkable season, accounting for nearly � of the team�s victories, Taisho has struggled this season, posting a 4-9 record with a 3.80+ ERA compared to last season where he won 16 games against 12 losses and had a 2.38 ERA. The reason why Taisho lands on the �Not� section for the Southern League can be attributed to Taisho�s recent losing slide as he�s currently mired in a 9 game losing streak after starting off hot with a 4-0 record.

Hideko Ichijo, SS, Houston Outlaws After posting a respectable season for Houston last year as the regular shortstop, Ichijo has taken a complete dive this season, posting a horrid .172 average, 80 points lower than last season and has only hit 4 homeruns as well as 20 RBIs compared to last season�s 15 homeruns and 74 RBIs. Don�t expect Ichijo to play on a regular basis at least not in an Outlaws uniform next season if he continues to play at this pace in the second half.

Tampa Tigers: 22-67, Last Place in Southeast, 49.0 Games Back After edging Atlanta out last season to avoid the cellar of the Southeast, the Tigers haven�t been able to maintain the performance of last season. One primary reason could be attributed to the absence of an owner during the offseason after the former owner Ty Heath left to enlist in the Army. Without anybody to control the team, the Tigers have been flailing around, unable to get anything significant going. Despite getting a new owner in Cam Norris, this team looks to be in ruins already at least for this season.

Atlanta Sun Devils: 26-63, 4th Place in Southeast, 45.0 Games Back Atlanta has been in a similar position as Tampa did at least for a portion of the offseason before Ben Phillips took over the team from the mess left behind by Spencer Harrison. However, Phillips wasn�t exactly ready for what was about to face him, all the duties of the offseason maintaining the team. The only positive thing for the Sun Devils this season has been Robert Pinnock who has recently �taken his game to a whole new level� and should be the savoir of the Sun Devils if they can get their things in order soon enough. Until then, Pinnock won�t be able to carry the whole team by himself.

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Player/Team	Notes
Cody Wheeler, RF, New York Bombers	Wheeler has been a huge beast for New York so far this season, hitting very well above .300 along with 26 homeruns, tied with Alex Reyes of Las Vegas for the league lead. What�s more interesting about this is that during a 8 game stretch leading to the All-Star game, Wheeler hit 6 homeruns during this period to earn himself a spot on top as well as an entry into the Homerun Derby. If he can continue to play at this level, he should be able to get 40 homeruns by the end of the season as well as 125+ RBIs, two feats that Wheeler has yet to accomplish in his career.
Colt Ciccone, LF, Boston Bears	Ciccone or the �Milk Man� as teammates call him, has been hot for the Bears so far this season, hitting a remarkable .418 entering the All-Star break. Ciccone is only one homerun shy of his season-high, set last season and he is very well on pace to break his single season record for RBIs. Pitchers are recommended to avoid Ciccone at all costs, because Ciccone is just as good as anybody when it comes to getting hits and moving people around the bases for Boston.
Chicago Cardinals: 61-28, 1st in Midwest Division	The Cardinals has kept the pace for rest of the teams in the Midwest and has a very good chance to repeat as Midwest Division Champions as well as possibly Northern League champions for the third year in a row. Their offense is based predominately on the stealing success of Deangelo Alberti, the ABL�s all-time stolen bases leader as well as James Collman and Ben Lapointe. As long as those three speedsters are able to get on base often and move the tables for the big hitters of the Chicago lineup, Franckowiak won�t have anything to worry about. Their pitching as always has been the strong point, led by Alfredo Aguilar who holds a 12-3 record entering the All-Star Break.
Boston Bears: 63-27, 1st in Northeast Division	McGrath�s team has been on a hot roll the past month, jumping all the way from 4th to 1st in the division in a matter of a month, passing Philadelphia, New York and Connecticut. The Bears� offense is led by Colt �Milk Man� Ciccone who has been able to consistently produce for the Bears along with the returning Jay Walker who had 21 homeruns entering the month of June before getting injured. And with their pitching which seems to have improved with the recent addition of Delagarza, the Bears will be a force to be reckoned with for the remainder of the season.
Joey Gandolfo: SP, Miami Talons	Just when everybody thought Joey Gandolfo couldn�t get any better than his remarkable 31-1 season with a 1.35 ERA last season, Gandolfo proves everybody wrong and continues to get better. So far Gandolfo has posted a remarkable record of 19-0 with a microscopic 1.08 ERA through the first half this season. Although Gandolfo will eventually get a loss tacked on against him this season (he did against CT this past sim), Gandolfo should be a lock for another 30+ wins against 1 loss season along with a measly 1.something ERA.
Gonzalo Torres, 3B, Miami Talons	Gandolfo isn�t the only one chasing after an ultimate goal; Gonzalo Torres is too. Torres is currently in the chase for the elusive .400 batting average season. So far, Torres has posted a .421 average entering the All-Star break and has the best chance of any batter (including Ciccone) to post a .400+ average. And not to mention that Torres has packed power, hitting 20 homeruns as well as driving 90 runs in, both in the top 10 in the league.
Carolina Cobras: 59-30, 2nd Place in Southeast, 12 Games Back	After a moderately slow start to the season, the Cobras has been on a roll, breezing through the schedule and slowly cutting away at Miami�s lead in the Southeast. At the same time, they currently hold the fourth best record in the ABL, only behind Boston and Miami. Expect the Cobras to get better as they continue their pursue at overthrowing Miami in the Southeast.
Las Vegas Scorpions: 59-30, 1st Place in Southwest	Nick Alicea has done relatively well so far this season especially considering what he�s lost to injuries thus far. Sean Day out for the season, Steven Ice out for a month but yet the Scorpions have been able to stay near the top at least until Dallas Rattlers started to cool down right as the Scorpions snatched first place. Expect Nick Alicea to make some deals near the deadline to improve his team for the playoff push this year.

Player/Team	Notes
Samuel Garofalo, Closer, Boston Bears	Garofalo has been generally disappointing for the Bears so far this year despite racking up 16 saves. But in comparison to last season, Garofalo hasn�t been the shutdown closer that he once was, and that�s something to be worried about. His ERA is a bit over 6 and his WHIP is 1.61 and that�s not exactly good news for a team who needs a reliable reliever to close down games without allowing any runs.
Tim Schneider, 1B, Minnesota Monarchs	Schneider�s age seems to be finally catching up to him. After having a career year last season at the age of 36 whereas Tim hit .304 along with 34 homeruns and 118 RBIs, Schneider has gotten off to a slow start this season, only hitting .244 with 13 homeruns and 58 RBIs. At the same time, Minnesota is slowly starting to fade out of the playoff race.
Cleveland Crusaders: 17-72, Last Place in Northeast, 45.0 Games Back	As always, Cleveland is already out of it at the All-Star break, 45 games behind the division leader and seems to be headed for yet another 125+ loss season with no thanks to Scott Karamol. The fact that Karamol traded his only ML decent hitting player in Colton Short doesn�t help any.
Indiana Eagles: 30-59, Last Place in Midwest, 31.0 Games Back	For some reason this team started out well and it seemed like Lapointe was actually going to be right about something for once. But this incredible run by Indiana didn�t last long as they eventually crashed and burned in the month of June where they underwent a 26-game losing streak. And to make things worse, Lapointe has already given up and is starting to build for the future yet once again.
Michael Taisho, SP, Atlanta Sun Devils	After having a remarkable season, accounting for nearly � of the team�s victories, Taisho has struggled this season, posting a 4-9 record with a 3.80+ ERA compared to last season where he won 16 games against 12 losses and had a 2.38 ERA. The reason why Taisho lands on the �Not� section for the Southern League can be attributed to Taisho�s recent losing slide as he�s currently mired in a 9 game losing streak after starting off hot with a 4-0 record.
Hideko Ichijo, SS, Houston Outlaws	After posting a respectable season for Houston last year as the regular shortstop, Ichijo has taken a complete dive this season, posting a horrid .172 average, 80 points lower than last season and has only hit 4 homeruns as well as 20 RBIs compared to last season�s 15 homeruns and 74 RBIs. Don�t expect Ichijo to play on a regular basis at least not in an Outlaws uniform next season if he continues to play at this pace in the second half.
Tampa Tigers: 22-67, Last Place in Southeast, 49.0 Games Back	After edging Atlanta out last season to avoid the cellar of the Southeast, the Tigers haven�t been able to maintain the performance of last season. One primary reason could be attributed to the absence of an owner during the offseason after the former owner Ty Heath left to enlist in the Army. Without anybody to control the team, the Tigers have been flailing around, unable to get anything significant going. Despite getting a new owner in Cam Norris, this team looks to be in ruins already at least for this season.
Atlanta Sun Devils: 26-63, 4th Place in Southeast, 45.0 Games Back	Atlanta has been in a similar position as Tampa did at least for a portion of the offseason before Ben Phillips took over the team from the mess left behind by Spencer Harrison. However, Phillips wasn�t exactly ready for what was about to face him, all the duties of the offseason maintaining the team. The only positive thing for the Sun Devils this season has been Robert Pinnock who has recently �taken his game to a whole new level� and should be the savoir of the Sun Devils if they can get their things in order soon enough. Until then, Pinnock won�t be able to carry the whole team by himself.