MLB Showdown 2000-2001 Sim League: Games 41-80 Update

We are now around the halfway point in the sim league! For earlier posts, check out:

1. Introduction and Rules
2. Eastern Conference Preview
3. Western Conference Preview
4. First 40 Games Recap

The link to the full stats and standings after 80 games can be found here. I'll recap what happened in games 41-80 below. Unless otherwise noted, the stats in the team by team recaps are for games 41-80 only. 

Standings after 80 games

Eastern Conference

Williams Division

Providence extended their lead in the Williams division, going 28-12 as the top team in the entire league during the 40 game stretch. 01 BS Pedro Martinez (6-0, 2.05 ERA), 00 PR Vladimir Nunez (6-1, 2.12) and 01 PR David Wells (7-1, 3.63) led the way for the team. 01 BS Gary Sheffield dominated at the plate, hitting .389 with 16 HR and 44 RBI. 01 BS Ellis Burks (.325/11/25) was another major contributer.

Ottawa lost ground, despite having a great 23-17 stretch. 00 BS Scott Elarton (4-1, 1.24) was incredible and built on a great first 40 games, while 00 BS Brad Radke (2-5, 7.89) continue his slump. 

Buffalo went 20-20. Closer 00 BS Mike Timlin was 10/10 in saves with a 1.06 ERA, and 01 BS Geoff Jenkins (.355/9/37) was great at the plate. 

Columbus was the only team in the division to go below .500. 00 BS Roger Clemens (4-1, 2.96) was excellent, but 00 PR Denny Neagle (2-3, 7.19) evened that out by pitching horribly. Closer 00 BS Ugueth Urbina was 7/7 in saves, despite a 5.40 ERA, as 4 of the top 5 bullpen pitchers had ERAs above 4.75. League HR leader 01 BS Mark McGwire (.310/15/38) was one of the top hitters during this stretch. 

Musial Division

Memphis retained their division lead, despite a poor 17-23 stretch, as most of the division were below .500 as well. The top 3 relievers, 01 PR Tom Gordon (1.82 ERA), 00 PR Terry Adams (1.42), and 01 PR Rod Beck (2.05) all pitched very well, but the starters rarely pitched well enough for it to matter. 

Indianapolis was even worse, going 16-24. Power hitters 01 BS Jim Edmonds (.264/10/23) and 01 BS Barry Bonds (.260/10/20) had almost identical statlines, but the pitching was not good enough.

Louisville was yet another under .500 team, going 17-23. Co-aces 00 BS Kevin Milwood (2-4, 4.42) and 00 BS Curt Schilling (2-4, 6.27) were disappointing. 00 PR Blake Stein (5-2, 3.45) had another solid stretch. 00 PR Moises Alou hit .358, and 00 BS Dean Palmer hit 10 homers, but if the aces don't step it up, Louisville won't win much.

Nashville was the only team in the division to finish above .500 in the 40 games, but still sits in 4th due to their awful first 40. 00 PR Bobby J. Jones (3-1, 1.80) dominated at the top of the rotation, but the next 4 pitchers had ERAs above 4.50, with 3/4 being above 5.00. The bullpen was a similar story, as closer 01 BS Kazuhiro Sasaki (12/12 in saves, 0.89 ERA) was incredible, but the rest of the bullpen had ERAs above 5.00. Three hitters hit for 11 homers, (00 PR Ryan Klesko, 00 PR Shawn Green, and 00 BS Ken Griffey Jr.). Green hit .361, the other two hit around .232 (Klesko) and .252 (Griffey).

Aaron Division

Birmingham went 24-16 to retain their tie for first. 00 BS Mike Sirotka and 01 PR Ben Sheets had identical 3.23 ERAs. 01 BS Jason Giambi (.347/7/15), 01 BS Vlad Guerrero (.385/10/23), and 00 PR Juan Gonzalez (.279/11/27) all hit very well for the team.

Charlotte went 24-16 as well, staying tied with Birmingham. The rotation was excellent with the exception of 01 BS Harper (2-6, 6.49): 01 PR Barry Zito (5-2, 3.00), 00 PR Ryan Rupe (5-1, 1.79), 01 BS Darryl Kile (3-2, 3.05), and 00 BS Sterling Hitchcok (6-1, 1.98) were all great. The bullpen was atrocious with the exception of closer 00 BS Jeff Shaw, who was 9/9 in saves while not allowing a single run in his 18 innings. Five regular hitters (00 BS Sean Casey, 00 PR Al Martin, 01 PR Tony Gwynn, and 00 BS Cal Ripkin, and 00 PR Javy Lopez) hit above .310.

Jacksonville lost 4 games on the leaders as they went 20-20. 00 BS Kevin Brown (5-2, 1.83) was incredible as well, proving that the sim does not hate him as much as my dice do. 00 BS Vinny Castilla played only 15 games off the bench, but hit 5 homers and knocked in 12 runs. 

Orlando continued to be one of the worst teams in the league, going only 15-25 and falling to a league-worst 18 games out, despite ace 00 BS John Smoltz (2-1, 2.29). Closer 01 BS Bob Wickman blew 3 of his 6 save opportunities with a 4.91 ERA. 01 BS John Vander Wall (.318/15/35) and 01 BS Nomar Garciaparra (.392/2/13) were great, but the rest of the hitters didn't produce much. 

Mays Division

Calgary extended their lead from 1 to 5 games, going 22-18. 00 BS Jeff Suppan and 01 PR Paul Wilson both won as many games as they lost, despite pitching well (2.94 and 2.74 respective ERAs). 01 BS Gabe White (12/13 in saves, 1.44 ERA) was their only good reliever. Three hitters hit for double digit homers: 00 Promo Andruw Jones (.331/13/30, 00 PR Jeffrey Hammonds (.327/11/28), and 00 BS Matt Stairs (.287/12/28).

Anchorage went only 18-22, falling behind in the division. 00 BS Steve Traschel (3-0, 2.76) was a bright spot in the rotation. First 40 games MVP 01 PR Alex Rodriguez (.336/9/27) slowed down a little but was still hot with a 1.039 OPS, retaining his league lead in average, OBP, SLUG, and OPS. 

Vancouver helped make up for a bad first 40 games by going 24-16, and climbing into third place. Their top 4 starters all pitched well: 00 PR Ramon Martinez (4-2, 3.64), 00 BS Mike Thurman (4-1, 2.93), 01 BS Al Leiter (4-4, 2.95), and 00 PR Hideki Irabu (4-1, 3.07). DH/C 00 BS Dave Nilsson (.316/9/24) was their top hitter. 

Portland fell into last place by going 19-21. 01 BS Glendon Rusch (4-3, 2.65) was great in the rotation, and the top two relievers, 00 BS Scott Sullivan and 00 PR Dave Veres had sub 1.70 ERAs. 01 BS Trenidad Hubbard (.318/12/28) was their best hitter.

Gibson Division

Las Vegas went 22-18, increasing their division lead to a league-largest 10 games. They somehow accomplished this despite 4 of their 5 starters having ERAs above 4.50, and 3 of them above 5.00. The bullpen, outside of closer 01 PR Jeff Nelson, was not particularly amazing. The lineup, on the other hand, had four hitters above .300, including 01 BS Jeff Kent (.320/11/25) and league HR leader 00 PR Andres Galarraga (.368/13/31). In the 20 home games, three ended in walkoffs by Kent. 

Salt Lake City went 20-20, and now sits 10 games out of first. Three starters had sub 4 ERAs, and three hitters hit above .300, including 01 PR Ichiro Suzuki (.335/2/14) and 00 BS Mike Piazza (.331/5/24). There wasn't much power, outside of 01 BS Jeff Bagwell (.255/9/28).

Sacramento went 15-25, falling from second place into third. All five starters had ERAs above 4.00, with 4 above 4.75. The bullpen was great, outside of 00 BS Buddy Groom (8.44 ERA). 00 BS Billy Wagner (1.12), 00 BS Armando Benitez (2.16), 00 BS Pedro Borbon (1.12), and 01 BS Hasegawa (1.89) held the team in the games whenever the starters weren't awful. 00 BS Matt Williams (.344/10/26) and 01 BS Darin Erstad (.432/5/21) were their best hitters. 

Boise fell to a conference-worst 13 games out, going 16-24. All 5 starters were terrible, as the best ERA was by 00 PR Bret Saberhagen (2-4, 4.75), with two starters above 6.00. Three of the top four relievers pitched well, but it wasn't enough. 00 BS John Jaha (.188/8/21) led the team in homers, despite hitting below the Mendoza line. 00 BS Jeromy Burnitz (.194/5/12) joined him in the below Mendoza line group, and three other hitters hit below .240.

Koufax Division

The Koufax division is the closest. Albuquerque moved from third into a three-way tie for first, behind a strong bullpen performance by 00 BS Jeff Zimmerman (10/11 in saves, 1.80 ERA), 00 BS Trevor Hoffman (1.88), 00 PR Doug Brocail (2.59), and 01 BS Jim Mecir (2.37). League RBI leader 01 BS Todd Helton (.360/11/38) was their top hitter.

Oklahoma City went 19-21, losing sole possession of first to a three-way tie. 00 PR Tim Hudson (4-1, 2.44) led a rotation where the top 4 all pitched well. Closer 00 BS John Johnstone was shutdown, saving all 13 opportunities with an 0.68 ERA. 00 BS Eric Karros (.291/11/26) hit very well. 

Tucson went 20-20, and is the third team in the three-way tie. Strikeout leader 00 BS Randy Johnson (2-3, 3.39) remains on pace to finish above 350 strikeouts, and finished with the only complete game shutout in the stretch. 01 PR Ron Gant (.264/13/37) and 00 PR Daryle Ward (.309/10/24) were their best power hitters, with Gant having an 8 RBI game. Two regulars hit above .390, despite little power: 01 BS Jeff Frye (.392/1/6) and 00 PR Bent Mayne (.397/0/16).

San Antonio went 21-19, and is only 3 games behind the three-way tie, still in striking distance of the division themselves. 01 BS Jeff D'amico (3-2, 2.41) and 00 BS Kirk Reuter (3-2, 2.37) dominated in the rotation. Four regulars hit above .300 (01 BS Brad Fullmer, 00 BS Bernie Williams, 00 BS Chris Singleton, and 01 PR Jerry Hairston Jr.). 

Hitting Leaders after 80 Games

AVG:

HR:

RBI:

R:

SB:

OBP:

SLUG:

OPS:

Pitching Leaders after 80 Games

W:

SV:

IP:

K:

ERA:

WHIP: