A to Z League update: Coast Division

We're about a third of the way through the A to Z League season and our quest to determine which letter is better. We'll be taking a quick look this week at all of the teams, starting today with the Coast Division.

HOQUIAM: 34-22, leading the division

Roy Halladay 

Pitching has been key for manager Bucky Harris and the H's, whose 3.56 team ERA is fifth in the league. Roy Halladay leads the league in wins at 8-2 and has a 2.91 ERA, while Tim Hudson is 6-2 and 2.12. Trevor Hoffman, John Hiller, and Tom Henke have been a solid back end of the bullpen.

The success on the mound has come despite some setbacks. Carl Hubbell is just 4-4 and has a high ERA at 5.46. Hudson went down with an injury about a week ago is likely to be out for a couple more weeks, and Felix Hernandez, who has been sidelined for about two weeks, should be back soon.

Second sacker Rogers Hornsby leads the offense with a .343 average, seven home runs, 31 runs scored, and 36 RBI.

ABERDEEN: 30-25, second place, 3 1/2 games back

Pete Alexander

Sparky Anderson's club boasts the second-best team ERA in the A to Z League, at 3.23. The staff is anchored by Pete Alexander, who is 7-1 and sports a nifty 1.92 ERA. Ted Abernathy has won seven games out of the bullpen without defeat, and has notched three saves and sports a 2.93 ERA. Anderson is considering moving Abernathy into the closer's role, where incumbent Rick Aguilera has recorded a dozen saves but has an ERA of 4.98.

Aberdeen's offense ranks 13th in the league in scoring. Dick Allen has been the top hitter, with 14 home runs and 43 RBI, leading the club in both categories. Hank Aaron has hit eleven homers and driven in 40 runs. Roberto Alomar leads the team in runs scored with 37, one more than Allen.

FORKS: 30-26, third place, 4 games back

Jimmie Foxx

The F's offense ranks about in the middle of the pack in the A to Z League. They're 12th in runs scored. Manager Rube Foster's biggest sluggers are off to slow starts. Jimmie Foxx has a .262 average and nine home runs; he leads the club with 32 RBI. George Foster is hitting just .232 and has eight homers and 25 RBI.

Willie Foster has been the club's best pitcher in the early going. He's 6-3 with a fine ERA of 2.48. The hurlers expected to top the Forks rotation haven't hit their grooves yet. Bob Feller is 5-4 with an ERA at 3.62, and Whitey Ford is at 5-4 and 4.17. Rollie Fingers, Brian Fuentes, and Keith Foulke form the nucleus of a pretty good bullpen. Fingers has eleven saves and his ERA is 1.85.

JEFFERSON COUNTY: 28-28, fourth place, 6 games back

Reggie Jackson

J-CO has the seventh best team ERA in the loop at 3.66 even though their dynamic duo of Johnson and Johnson has yet to scare anybody. The Big Unit, Randy Johnson, has been out nursing an injury and has missed a couple of starts. Manager Hughie Jennings hopes to have him back in a week or so. Randy's record is 3-4 and his ERA sits at a respectable 2.77. The Big Train, Walter Johnson, is 3-2 with an ERA of 3.71. Fergie Jenkins has been Jefferson County's top pitcher; he's 7-5, 3.32.

Reggie Jackson stirs the drink for the Jays. Jackson is hitting .297 and has 14 homers and 39 RBI, leading the club in both categories. Derek Jeter leads the club in runs scored with 32 and is batting .291.

OCEAN SHORES: 27-29, fifth place, 7 games back

Mel Ott

O's manager Steve O'Neill has been trading away some defense to get a little more pop in his lineup. The biggest gamble was putting slugger Mel Ott at third, and David Ortiz has received the bulk of the playing time at first. The Ott move makes sense, as he has 14 home runs and 27 RBI and leads the club with 38 runs scored. O'Neill's other options at third are Danny O'Connell, Heromitsu Ochiai, Jose Oquendo, and Ken Oberkfell. Having Ott at third creates more at-bats for Tony Oliva and Magglio Ordonez in the outfield. The skipper would also like to find more at-bats for Sadaharu Oh, but that would likely come at the expense of Ortiz.

The clubs defensive alignment has proven to be a mixed bag. Ott has made 11 errors at the hot corner, and the club has the seventh most errors in the league. They're third, though, in double plays turned.

LONG BEACH: 20-35, sixth place, 13 1/2 games back

Kenny Lofton

The L's have the worst team ERA in the circuit at 4.73. The top of the rotation has been OK. Mark Langston is 6-3 with an ERA of 3.44, and Bob Lemon is 4-4, 3.67. However Dolf Luque is 1-7 and 5.01 and Dutch Leonard is 2-7, 5.04. The club is considering other options, though Ted Lyons, Cliff Lee, and Red Lucas have all been knocked around in brief stints with the team so far.

Manager Tony LaRussa has been platooning in seven of his eight lineup slots so far, with only Fred Lynn playing most every day, out in right field. The platoons have been mostly working out, though several are under reconsideration. At third base Carney Lansford is hitting .318 in 27 games, playing mainly against southpaws, while Evan Longoria is struggling at .203 against righties with only three homers. Look for Lansford to get more at-bats in the coming weeks. Barry Larkin also may receive more playing time. He's hitting .323 in 44 games over 96 at-bats. Pop Lloyd has been decent on the other side of the shortstop platoon at .282. Finally Kenny Lofton may soon become the full-time center fielder. He's hitting .250, leads the club with 30 runs scored, and has stolen 17 bases. Platoon partner Chet Lemon is batting just .224 with two home runs.