JUNE comes to a close ...

That was an interesting month! Owners must be getting outside more this month as there were more series turned in on the very last weekend this month than the rest of the month combined! Whew! I'm glad that is over. Hopefully, July will see the results spaced more evenly.

With the close of June, we have played 75 games, or about 46% of the season. We are staying on pace with MLB. We have two teams with 50+ wins (OTT and QUI) while MLB has three (Tampa, Boston and Chicago-N). However, they've played 7-10 more games than we have.

Bloomington (BSK) continues to lead the BR-A with 37 wins and a sub-500 record. BSK is last in the Babe Ruth in hitting and 4th in pitching. Eric Byrnes is its lone newspaper headliner, ranking 3rd with 28 steals. ARK is four games back. The other two teams, ALT and EAT, are on 100-loss paces.

Fairfax (FFF) has stretched its lead in the BR-W to 8G. FFF is 7th in hitting and 1st in pitching in the Babe Ruth. FFF has a trio of 9G winners (Cain, Webb and Hamels), the saves leader (Soria), and strikeouts leader (Webb). Webb is also second in ERA with 3.05. Soria and Cain are 1-2 in Cy Young voting as well. FFF is one of three BR teams on a 100+ win pace. RBC is a distant second.

Quincy (QUI) has pulled away in the BR-M. After a 22-2 month, QUI went from 2G back to 5G up! They lead the BR in hitting and are 6th in pitching. QUI has "Big Papi" as a potential triple crown winner (2nd AVE, 1st HR, 1st RBI), along with another hitter in the top five of each of those categories. Papelbon is second in saves, Wang 5th in ERA and Reyes is leading in SB. QUI touts the BR's best record (52-23). BAY is sitting in second place.

Bay State (BAY) has a comfortable lead, 6G, in the wild card race. But, they have to be shaking their collective heads after going 15-9 in the month and falling 7G in the standings! BAY is 3rd in hitting and 2nd in pitching in the BR. BAY is the third BR team on a 100+ win pace and is lead by A-Rod (28 HR, 71 RBI), second behind Ortiz in the MVP voting. BAY also has Abreu 3rd in BA, Cordero 3rd in saves and Hernandez 3rd in ERA and Cy Young voting.

Ottawa (OTT) holds a commanding 19G lead in the CY-K. On pace to shatter the DBA record for wins, its no suprise OTT leads the DBA in hitting and pitching. Jones and Crawford sit 1-2 in BA and 3-2 in MVP voting, Maddux and Kazmir sit 1-2 in Wins, Putz is tied for the saves lead, Beckett is 2nd in ERA, Crawford and Jeter are 2-5 in steals and Kazmir and Beckett are 1-2 in K's. OTT also has the top three Cy Young candidates, Putz, Maddux and Kazmir. WHW moved past ELR for second.

Lebanon (LEB) shot into first place in the CY-G by going 16-8 in June. LEB is 8th in hitting and 3rd in pitching. Nathan is 3rd in saves, Bannister 5th in ERA and Shields 4th in strikeouts. CDC falls to second, just 3G over 500.

Jacksonville (JSC) leads the CY-J by 13G. JSC is 5th in hitting and pitching. They are led by leading MVP candidate, Carlos Pena (27 HR, 65 RBI). Dice-K and Zito are 4-5 in wins and Saito leads the CY in saves. BDD holds onto second.

Carbondale (CDC) leads the CY Wild Card by 2G over WHW. CDC is 2nd in hitting and 6th in pitching. Young, 3rd in BA, is CDC's lone newspaper rep. WHW is riding the arm of Jeremy Guthrie (3rd in wins, 4th in ERA) to make the CY Wild Card a race.

Lottery Teams: LAS, EAT, ALT, BDD, RID, ILL/ARK

JUNE SIGNS -- ILL (Cantu), FFF (Redman), JSC (Howell, Peralta), ALT (Vazquez)

JUNE CLAIMS -- none

JUNE TRADES -- ILL sends Bonds and 5M to JSC for Ethier and Morgan.