Streaks and Swoons

As we head toward the end of the first half, the men are starting to separate from the boys. There's just a handful of games left before the All-Star Break -- probably not enough to drop down the six teams at the top of the standings or move up the six at the bottom. There's just two teams hoping that a hot streak will propel them over the .500 mark at the end of the half.

It's been an interesting first half for the Philadelphia Endzone Animals. After going 4-10 to start the season, the Animals roared back into contention, going 34-21 (.618 W%) over the next six weeks. But recently the Animals have fallen on hard times, losing eight out of their last nine, including six in a row. Tonight's 7-4 loss to the Newark Sugar Bears dropped the Animals to .500 at 39-39, 2 1/2 games out of the final playoff spot. Chipper Jones led the way for Newark, going 3-for-4 with two home runs and a stolen base. The Sugar Bears will be looking for the four-game sweep tomorrow.

It doesn't get any easier after that for the Animals -- after Newark, they close out the first half with a three-game series in Georgia against the first place Marietta Mighty Men. The Mites are the hottest team in baseball right now -- their 8-6 win over the Carolina Mudcats was their fifth straight win. Ervin Santana picked up the win despite allowing 13 hits, 5 walks and 5 earned runs in 6 innings.

With the win, the Mighty Men remain a game ahead of the Sugar Bears for the Hanover Division lead (and the league's best record). Also keeping pace, 2 games behind Marietta, were the las Vegas Rat Pack, who put away the D.C. O-Bombers by a score of 5-1. Las Vegas's Tim Lincecum was dominant, allowing just 1 run on 4 hits and 1 walk while striking out 11 in 8.0 innings pitched. He's now 10-1 on the season.

Carolina's loss opened the door for the Hillsborough Hired Hitmen, who are now just a half-game out of first in the Morris Division after a wild 10-9 win over last place New Jersey Team Buddah. The Buddahs jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the 2nd, only to watch the Hitmen come back with 3 runs in the 3rd; the Buddahs picked up 3 more in the 5th, but then the Hitmen scored 2 in the 6th and 5 in the 7th to finally take the lead, 10-7. But the Buddahs cut the lead to one on a two-run shot by Ian Stewart -- his second home run and 6th and 7th RBIs on the game. But Mike Gonzalez struck out David DeJesus to finally end the game and give the Hitmen the victory.

The Vancouver Iron Fist, meanwhile, are heading in the opposite direction as they dropped their second in a row, a 3-1 loss to the Hoboken Cutters. The Iron Fist are now 4 games out of the Morris Division lead and remain 2 1/2 games ahead of Philly for the final wildcard berth.

The Arkansas Golden Falcons failed to take advantage of the losses by Vancouver and Philadelphia and remain in 8th place, 3 games out of the playoffs, after a 2-0 loss to the Amityville Ant Slayers. Amityville's Jon Lester gave up 10 hits and a walk but escaped from every jam with the help of some outstanding defense -- the Ant Slayers turned four double plays and didn't commit an error. Arkansas's Ricky Nolasco was the tough-luck loser.

Today's final game was between two teams still trying to get back to .500 -- the Blue Ridge Bombers and the Sardine City Straphangers. The Hangmen had been hot recently, having won four in a row and seven out of their last nine, but couldn't recover after a seven-run 3rd inning by the Bombers capped by a grand slam by Mark DeRosa.

If you're waiting 'til the last minute to vote for your All-Stars... this is the last minute! The results will be announced early next week. So fill out your ballot before it's too late! If you're not sure who to vote for, check out the write-ups of the batting candidates and pitching candidates.