2038: Shoot-Out at Sun Belt Corral

[RonCo]

There’s been lots of talk about the division that is the Frick Pacific being the best in baseball—and why not. I mean, the defending Frick Champion, San Fernando, is lounging around in last place in that loaded division. But let’s not sleep on the Sun Belt, a group of teams that has been looking beastly for the first month and a half of the season.

It’s an interesting division. On that's worth a quick spin through:

Starting at the ”bottom” means we have to talk about Wichita, who is, admittedly sitting at an ugly-looking 13-19. But, not so fast. Take away the drubbings they’ve gotten from Rockville, Phoenix, and Las Vegas, and you’ve got a team that’s sitting at 12-10. In other words, while they are clearly not up to par with the elite, they’re beating everyone else just fine.

GM Stu Hopkins has traded barbs with prognosticators, and in the process has made some boldish predictions. Of course, that’s the Genius at work, doing the old dipsy-do with his PR while he builds. So, really, while most folks aren't expecting greatness from the club just yet, just about anything could happen (and generally does around the Genius. Bottom line, though, is that the Aviator staff isn’t really awesome, and there are still holes in the lineup. But the club has young superstar Alex Ramirez to build with, and the Genius does his best thinking in the bars he frequents. So, the team right now is like a Russel Brand interview. No matter how weird it gets or how much you want to turn away, you kinda have to watch.

Next “worst” is San Antonio, whose 17-15 record would lead the JL Southeast and sit second in the Atlantic. Not to throw the jinx out, but guess which JL team’s rotation is 1st in JL ERA? The offense is still struggling to score, and it strikes out too often, but the arrival of young basher Tony Hernandez is going to help quick and the rest of the roster has some solid professional hitters on it.

Which rotates back to the staff, which top to bottom is pretty danged solid. Yrrigs Carpenter is turning into the guy CM Mike Calvaruso dreamed he’d be, and last seasons’ acquisition of Aki Kondo was the perfect fit. It’s as solid of a 1-2 punch as you’d need to compete. And it means that (fingers crossed) oft-injured Elliot Buckland has been able to be pushed back into the #3/#4 slot where the pressure to perform isn’t quite the same. This is a good baseball team that may need only a small break or two to find itself in lofty places.

Mexico City is sitting third right now, despite winning 19 games, including a sweep of Rockville and taking two of a three game series from Las Vegas. If there’s a pitching staff performing better than the Aztecs, it’s got to be in another league and another time.

Rotation ace Scotty Pendleton had one of the hottest months of April around, and now Pedro Rocha seems to have the hot potato now. Who will it be in June? The bullpen is beautifully balanced right/left, and equally deadly on both sides—and offensively, the Aztecs are a stereotypical Fred Holmes team, somehow ranking down-list everywhere except runs scored—and that’s with down years so far from Augie Plascencia and Hsin Mei.

Did we mention Mexico City won this division two of the last three seasons, and came in second last year? Yeah. Good team.

Now we get to talk about Las Vegas. You know? The Dynasty. Matt Rectenwald in the BBA is like Roger Penske in Indy car racing. He’s always got a full stable of fast cars, and he knows how to manage the full 500 miles. In this case, he’s come out of the gate at 20-12, hanging second and conserving fuel while waiting for the yellow flags to come around. This time, though, you wonder a little about the pitching. The team is second in the JL in both OBP and runs scored, but bottom half in most pitching categories.

Yes, unusual for for Vegas, that’s for sure.

That said, the bullpen is full of studs and flame thowers, and any rotation the runs though Mauroi Flores, Hyun-sik Chang, and Chin Kim has got to be expected to right itself. Add that to the offense being led again by Henry Rectenberg and Gervasio Ridder, and you’ve got a team ready to strike.

Which brings us around to the top dog in the Sun Belt, Sean Marko’s Phoenix Talons.

Marko recently asked if this moment has arrived at should be considered “Peak Talon.” The real answer is that if it’s not, Sun belt opponents don’t want to see what comes next. At 21-11, Phoenix has the best record in baseball. They have what is arguably the best offense in the league, and can at least make a debate of the question for pitchers. They have, for example, hit essentially two homers for every one they’ve allowed.

That the kind of ratio that wins games.

We love that LaLoosh is back and winning games, even if he’s not the Electric Crash that we once knew. We love that knuckleballer Charlie Iron-knife has thrown 18.2 innings of scoreless baseball. The offense has a hole at second base, except that Hyun-oo Yong is sublime with the glove—so Marko gets something out of everyone. And, really, who cares much about one hole in a lineup that has Thad Meyer, Bartolo Ortiz, Mario Deortez, and a whole phalanx of additional weapons.

Seriously. This is a team that is going to meet Rockville in two weeks, and those should be some revealing games. Oddsmakers might close the books when it’s all said and done.


So, there you have it. The Sun Belt division in a nutshell.

Can they compete with the Pacific? Are they, top to bottom, the best division in baseball? Well, your opinion can vary here, I suppose. That’s the beauty of the world. Bottom line: I don’t know. Need more data. The question could well hinge on how you view Wichita, and how the Aviators close the season out. Or it could purely hinge on injuries. Or who pulls the best strings at the deadline.

I can’t wait to see what happens.

[bigmike13]

I'm crossing my fingers for a little good luck

[jiminyhopkins]

As for second base, Arturo Barron (.308/.386/.641) is injured and due back in 5 days.

GOnna be a fun ride this year.

Great article.