2021 Mid-Season Reports - North

Halifax Sailors

The Sailors boast the best record in the league and a comfortable 8 game lead in the North Division. The normal formula of good pitching coupled with a solid lineup has put Halifax in line for its 5th straight division title. The team lost Rand McPherson and Andrew Miller in the off-season, but have gotten great contributions from Randall Graves (11-4) and "good enough" pitching from Brazelton and Carroll. The offense is lead by the bats of Archibald and Brezovan, but there has been production from every spot in the lineup this year. It's a team lacking stand out stars, but the team concept has made the Sailors the favorite out of the AL.


Cleveland Dawgs

Despite trailing Halifax by 8 games, the Dawgs lead the wild card race and have a real shot at their 2nd straight post-season appearance. It's a team of thumpers, with 7 players with 10+ homers. This is probably one of the best offensive infields in SLB, combining for 72 HR and 224 RBI. The biggest surprise is Matt Bush, a former #1 overall draftee who has never lived to his potential. Now, at age 31, he's finally showing the production the old Las Vegas Rounders thought they'd be getting 13 seasons ago. The starting rotation is pretty unremarkable here, but the bullpen has done surprisingly well.


Philly Fever

It's been a nice bounce-back season for the Fever, who finished 2020 with the worst record in SLB. Now they're just 1.5 games out of the wild card spot, thanks to an offense that ranks 4th in runs and 2nd in HR in SLB. Jay Bruce is having an MVP caliber season, with over 1/2 of his 140 hits going for extra bases (holy moley). Rookie catcher Calver Alkoa is slugging .764 with double digit HR's, but he can't stay healthy. On the pitching side, former Sailor hurler Rand McPherson is 9-1, 2.76 and squarely in the middle of the Cy Young race. The rest of the staff is not so hot, as the Fever rank 3rd worst in team ERA. Can they acquire another arm or two to push for the playoffs come October?


Bedford Crunch

It's the team that can't hit. Never has. Doesn't matter what stadium you put them in or what players you add to the lineup, but this team seems destined to not hit and not score runs. So it goes in 2021, as the Crunch rank dead last in team batting and are tied with Scotland for the fewest runs. The power has been decent, but team leader Alexander Avila has just 42 RBI to go with his 23 homers. Seems nearly impossible. Luke Hochevar has been good on the mound, as has youngster Si Miller (who leads the team with 9 wins), but too many other members of the staff have been bad.