Voyage to the Top of the League
Second-Year Montréal Inching Closer to Playoffs
MONTRÉAL (Aug. 16) -- Second-year Montréal is hitting on all cylinders, rolling to a 12-2 mark in July and tightening their grip on first place in the league.  Bobby Grich, an offseason pickup from the Detroit Griffins, is batting .434-4-14 with a .755 slugging percentage in his last 14 games, leading a V's offense that produced 6.2 runs per game over that stretch.  Andre Thornton leads the league in RBIs (18) and runs (16) in August, and new ace Bill Singer, acquired in a trade for Ron Guidry, Ben Oglivie and a raft of picks, won his first three starts in claret and blue, posting a 3.32 ERA.  Dock Ellis was even more dominant, going 3-0 with a 1.90 ERA in August.  The V's swept Cleveland and San Francisco, and took series from Atlanta, St. Louis and Manhattan, the last two being their chief rivals for the President's Trophy.


Eight Clubs in Hunt with Five Weeks to Go
Last Year's Playoff Clubs Face Difficult Path to Postseason
SAN FRANCISCO (Aug. 16) -- Even with the expanded playoff format to four teams, playoff teams are finding it increasingly more difficult to find their way back to the postseason.  The Cleveland Barons are well behind the pack and San Francisco and Atlanta, last year's World Series teams, find themselves on the very fringe of the playoff picture.  Only Manhattan currently sits in a playoff spot, and their grip on the playoff spot is tenuous at best, with a mere two-game slump enough to knock them from their perch.  Meanwhile, second-year Montréal and surprising St. Louis and Detroit are keen to crash the playoff party, showing once again that parity in the United League is alive and well.

With six weeks to go, we take a club-by-club look at the eight contenders and assess their chances of sealing the deal and playing October baseball, using quality starts from the 1-3 starters and offensive rank as a guidepost.

Montréal is the only club with more than 50 quality starts from its 1-3 starts and a top 5 offense.  GM Glen Reed has pieced together a rotation of Bill Singer, Ernie McAnally, and Mike Nagy, who have combined for 53 quality starts in 74 starts, and Dock Ellis and Jim Rooker add another 33 QSs.  Add in the circuits most prolific offense with 4.8 runs per game, and what a couple months ago was a potential contender now must be considered the favorites to capture the second President's Trophy.

St. Louis is a balanced club, the only team besides Montréal in the top five in both hitting and pitching.  Their low number of 1-3 QSs belies their depth throughout the rotation, but the loss of shortstop Jim Fregosi is a killer.

Manhattan, the lone 1974 playoff team in a position to return, lost starting righthander Bill Gogolewski for the season on Aug. 7, but GM Eric Holthaus has been persistent in his quest to add depth, and Don Sutton, who will likely move from 4th to 3rd in the rotation, brings 17 QSs and 9 complete games, which should nicely complement Steve Rogers and Steve Carlton's combined 29-10 record.

Detroit has the second best offense, but the loss of Jerry Reuss has exposed the lack of depth at starting pitcher.  The rookie Bruce Kison has exceeded all expectations with a 14-9 record and 16 quality starts, but Ken Holtzman at #2 has just 9 QSs in 25 starts.  Still, a lineup that features Dick Allen, Brian Downing, and Otto Velez will score runs in bunches.

Washington sits a game out of the playoff spots, but boasts the best starting rotation in the league.  The Mons' 52 QSs for its 1-3 starters is just one behind Montréal, but the starting five have 83 and have been very durable.  The offense has been below average, but if Al Bumbry and Bernie Carbo snap out of their funks, Washington could climb the league table.

Los Angeles remains very much in the playoff mix, despite the career-ending injury to Ken Henderson and the season-ending injury to Ken Singleton.  Peterson, Dierker, and Niekro have thrown not only well, but long, with 23 complete games and 4 shutouts to adorn their 52 QSs.  And that's not even counting Dennis Leonard, a leading rookie of the year candidate and a secret weapon in the #5 slot.  The offense is technically average, but they can score in bunches, plating 12, 11, 7, and 9 in their last 10 games.

Playoff teams a year ago, both Atlanta and San Francisco are on the outside looking in heading into the last five weeks.  Atlanta's attack is so prodigious that even Ed Halicki (6.38) has a winning record (4-3).  But with only one starter with an ERA under 3.70, can the offense score enough for the Toppers' to gain ground?  San Francisco is the lowest scoring team among the contenders, but with the return to health of Bob Moose, they feature perhaps the best 1-2-3 in the league.  Their 49 QSs are despite Moose missing 11 starts, and Mike Hedlund and Fergie Jenkins are 1-2 in the league in ERA.
 

Team	1-3 QSs	Offense Rank
Montréal	53	1
St. Louis	37	5
Manhattan	49	4
Detroit	30	2
Washington	52	9
Los Angeles	52	8
Atlanta	42	3
San Francisco	49	10

Most Career Hits, Active Players under 30 1803 - Rod Carew, DAL 1134 - Reggie Smith, STL 1001 - Thurmon Munson, SF  988 - Willie Crawford, CLE  965 - Carlos May, CHI Highest Career Batting Average without Winning a Batting Title, All Active Players .331 - Rod Carew, DAL .315 - Steve Garvey, MAN .311 - Curt Flood, MAN .302 - Thurmon Munson, SF .300 - Ron Blomberg, WAS