A to Z League Update: Coast Division

We're 98 games into the the A to Z League's 168-game season and our quest to determine which letter is better. We'll be taking a quick look this week at all of the teams and division races. Today: the Coast Division.

Two weeks ago Hoquiam led the division, four games ahead of both Aberdeen and Jefferson County. But Aberdeen got red hot, Hoquiam got ice cold, and the Jays were stuck in the middle. The A's won eight in a row at one point with four-game sweeps of both of their closest division rivals, and went 10-4 over the last two weeks. Hoquiam has lost three straight and ten of its last eleven. Jefferson County, though swept by Aberdeen, went 7-7 the last two weeks.

ABERDEEN: 55-43, leading the division

Dick Allen

The A's are 12 games over .500 and their ace starter, Pete Alexander, is eleven games over, sporting a 12-1 record and a sparkling 2.54 ERA. His 12 wins are the most in the league, and his ERA ranks third. Ted Abernathy is 10-3 out of the bullpen and has recorded four saves to boot. The A's have the best team ERA in the A to Z League at 3.27.

Offensively the Aberdeen trio of Henry Aaron, Dick Allen, and Joe Adcock have smashed 26 homers each, putting them in a tie for tenth in the league. Allen's 78 RBI rank sixth in the league and Aaron's 74 are ninth. Overall the A's are seventh in the league in runs scored.

HOQUIAM: 52-46, tied for second place, 3 games back

Rogers Hornsby

Pitching woes have been at the heart of Hoquiam's recent slide. Starter Tim Hudson has been on the shelf with an injury since June 22 and will probably be out for another week or so. He's 7-5 and his 2.61 ERA ranks fourth in the league. Roy Halladay had a tough month in July after a strong start. He was 9-3 and had a 2.96 ERA at the end of June. He went 1-5 in July, losing his last five in a row, and his ERA has gone up to 3.75. Relief ace Trevor Hoffman missed a couple of weeks with an injury and has just been reactivated.

Rogers Hornsby leads the Hoquiam offense. His .336 average is second in the league, and he's hit 13 home runs and driven in 62 runs. He's sixth in the league in OPS. The H's are 15th in the league in runs scored.

JEFFERSON COUNTY: 52-46, tied for second place, 3 games back

Ferguson Jenkins

The Jays have the second=best ERA in the league at 3.43, but the dominant staff expected with Randy and Walter Johnson has not yet delivered as many thought it would. Randy is 6-9 and has a 3.50 ERA. Though he missed some time with an injury, he's still third in the league with 146 strikeouts. Walter is 7-4 and 3.55. Fergie Jenkins is the staff's big winner. He's 10-8 with an ERA of 3.37 and is seventh in the league in strikeouts with 119.

Offensively Jefferson County is in  the middle of the pack, 11th in the league in runs scored. Derek Jeter sets the table; he's 6th in the league in batting at .318, has 13 homers and has scored 70 runs. Reggie Jackson leads the club with 23 round trippers and has 69 RBI. Chipper Jones is batting .308 with 16 homers and 60 ribbies.

FORKS: 49-49, fourth place, 6 games back

Willie Foster

Forks has had trouble at the plate, ranking just 16th in the league in runs scored. Home run leaders Jimmie Foxx and George Foster have 15 round-trippers each, somewhat less that hoped for with about sixty percent of the schedule completed.

They're keeping on the periphery of the race with a decent club ERA at 3.76, eleventh in the league. Willie Foster is seventh in individual ERA a 2.82 and has a 7-3 record. Whitey Ford is the club's big winner at 9-6. Bob Feller has been a disappointment at 6-11, and his ERA is 4.72.

OCEAN SHORES: 42-56, fifth place, 13 games back

Sadaharu Oh

The O's, like their division rivals the F's, have decent pitching but have struggled at the plate. Their club ERA ranks 12th in the league at 3.80, but they're 20th in the loop in runs scored.

Roy Oswalt and Akinori Otsuka anchor the pitching staff. Oswalt is ninth in the league in ERA at 2.90 and is 8-6, while Otsuka is 7-5 and 3.86.

Mel Ott paces the offense with 25 homers and 50 RBI. Some think his numbers would be better if he was playing outfield instead of third base. Player-manage Steve O'Neill put Ott at third because his other options at the hot corner aren't so hot at the plate. O'Neill is also vexed by having both Sadaharu Oh and David Ortiz on the roster. He'd like both bats in the lineup, but first base is really the only position for either, unless one rolls the dice and puts one of them in left field, which would be a real adventure. Ortiz has gotten most of the playing time so far and has 18 homers and 41 RBI, but is hitting only .227. Oh is hitting .313 mostly as a pinch hitter and spot starter. He has 12 homers in 144 at-bats.

LONG BEACH: 41-57, sixth place, 14 games back

Buck Leonard

It's been a tough season for Long Beach, 21st in ERA and 14th in runs scored does not add up to a very good record.

Buck Leonard has been the standout for the offense, batting .275 with 17 homers.

From the moundsmen Mark Langston has been solid at 9-8 and 3.40, as has Bob Lemon who is 9-7 and 3.83. Dutch Leonard and Dolf Luque are both 4-10 and one wonders how long manager Tony La Russa will stick with either.