Cakes Leads Barons Pennant Bid
No-Hitter Among Four Straight Wins
WASHINGTON (Aug. 1) - Cleveland ace Jim Palmer put his 5-11 start behind him, winning four straight starts since July 13, including a no-hitter against Washington on July 24.  The Barons failed to gain momentum, however, losing their next four games and finishing the month of July tied with Washington atop the East Division, 1.5 games ahead of Detroit.  After losing their Rivalry Week series to Detroit 4-2, the Barons split six games with the Mons.  Cecil Cooper was the club's hottest hitter in July (.345-4-19, .924 OPS) and is on track to become the franchise's first 100-RBI man since 1955.

Palmer, 27, the first overall pick of the Atlanta Hilltoppers in 1966, has compiled a 105-58 record in eight seasons with Atlanta and Cleveland.  His .644 winning percentage ranks fourth among active pitchers with at least 50 decisions.

Béisbol Sur de la Frontera
Louisville Slighted Again
LOUISVILLE (July 20) -- Louisville baseball suffered another in a long line of setbacks and slights today, when the forthcoming IL expansion team was shifted to Monterrey, Mexico after league officials learned that Parkway Field had been demolished in 1969.  Louisville, a surprise selection as one of the UL’s eight founding cities, lost its beloved Colonels to Atlanta in 1965, suffered the indignity of serving as the farm club to the Hilltoppers, then lost their minor league team to Montreal freaking Canada, of all places.

When the IL announced a four-team expansion to accommodate the UL’s expansion in 1974, Louisville rejoiced went it finished fourth place in the balloting, a single vote ahead of upriver rivals Cincinnati.  But when IL officials came to town today to visit club officials and meet with city dignitaries, they were shocked to find that all that remains of the old ball yard is a section of the brick monster in right field, which serves as the property line of a new Lincoln/Mercury dealer.

The league scrambled to find a suitable location for the club when Mexican businessman Eugenio Laguera made a personal appearance at league headquarters in midtown Manhattan with color postcards of the 27,000-seat Estadio de Béisball Monterrey, the largest baseball stadium in Mexico and the third largest in Latin America.  Monterrey has a sister city partnership with Dallas, Texas and will be the Texans’ Triple-A affiliate.