The American League team of the week is once again the Sparta Hoplites. I tried to make a case for the 11-4 Carlisle "Mechanics" but Sparta simply had a better week, outscoring their opponents by 43 runs (76 RF, 33 RA) wich more than doubled Carlisle's run differential.
The Hoplites are firing on all cylinders. Their offense was good in Week 8 (.272 / .352 / .406) but it was their pitching that made them team of the week. Incredibly, just one pitcher - Jerry Reuss - had an ERA over 2.75 and his was well below the league average anyway. It's worth a list:
0.00 ERA - Eric Gagne (9 IP)
0.00 ERA - Andrew Bailey (1 IP)
1.59 ERA - Bobby Jenks (5.2 IP, and finally gave up a run!)
1.64 ERA - Greg Maddux (22 IP)
1.80 ERA - Warren Hacker (25 IP)
2.14 ERA - Kevin Brown (21 IP)
2.25 ERA - Kevin Saucier (4 IP)
2.45 ERA - Steve Howe (7.1 IP)
2.74 ERA - Frank Sullivan (23 IP)
3.46 ERA - Jerry Reuss (13 IP)
There were four offensive stars this week as well. Orator Shaffer hit .390 / .439 / .542, Chipper Jones had a .460 OBP, Rico Petrocelli smacked 5 home runs, and Edgar Martinez continued a quietly great season batting .339 / 397 / .464.
En route to their 11-3 record, the Hoplites swept the Green Sox, took 2 of 3 from the Fanclub, and 4 of 5 from the All Stars. They also split a 2 game series with the Beau Brummels and had sole victory over the Brews. Only once did they yield more than 4 runs.
Over in the National League, Spanish Harlem continued the torture on owner Justin P. A great team despite being prone to extended winning and losing streaks, the Pinata Beaters opened up a 9 game lead on the division thanks to a stellar 12-2 sim.
The opened the week with a 7 game winning streak, sweeping the Bears and Panda's after concluding rubber match with the Biscuits with a victory. After losing two in a row at the hands of the streaking Miners, they kicked off an in progress 5 game winning streak salvaging the last game against the Miners then taking two each from the Pretty Ladies and the Bears.
It's bad news for the league that the struggling Jesse Tannehill turned his season around this week. In three starts he went undefeated, completing two games, and gave up just 11 hits in 25 innings. John Tudor and Harvey Haddix were stellar too, combining to give up just 9 runs in 6 starts.
Oscar Charleston must be battling the flu as the star center fielder batting just .340 / .476 / .500. Not too worry as the team's infielders filled the roles of superstar. Cupid Childs batted .426 / .446 / .648, John Olerud led the team in RBI and Wade Boggs had a .932 OPS.
Wild Card Standings
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