Cloverland Leagues: July 5th Update

OK, since most everything is just the same but a few weeks later, I'm going to keep this relatively short. The All-Star Game itself was actually a really good game, with a 3-0 AL lead turning into a 5-3 NL lead over the course of innings 4-5, and an improbable 9th inning comeback starting with two outs when Bret Boone singled, Jose Canseco was hit by a pitch (with 2 strikes), and Xander Bogaerts hit a 3-run walkoff home run to seal it for the AL.

Otherwise, as noted, things are kind of status quo in the big picture sense: the Red Sox and Blues continue to battle for first place in the AL Northeast with the Yankees hanging a bit behind; the Twins, Tigers, and White Sox continue to battle in the AL Central while all remaining firmly below .500; Texas has the best record in the AL and has a stranglehold on the AL Southeast; Seattle has the advantage in the AL West, with the A's and Royals close behind. The NL races, save for the Central battle between the Reds and Cardinals, appear basically over, as they have for weeks. 

I will add few general statements, which again I have made before, but feel compelled to reiterate. I clearly need to change the run environment. I don't know if that's the only problem, but it can't help. I'll also need to see whether things are weighted too heavily toward...well, whatever Atlanta does well. It is bananas to have a team playing at a 115-win pace (over 162 games) when 14 of its 15 opponents are among the best teams of all time and the 15th is at least a .500-level team. 

By that same token, the Knights have been an interesting control. They are the worst team in the NL, for sure, but not by much. Also, they are doing just a bit better than the 1982 Milwaukee Brewers over in the AL. There are all sorts of ramifications for what that implies about luck in this game. It also is interesting to see that while there are no teams in the AL doing nearly as well as in the NL (The Rangers would be in 4th in the NL) the Brewers are clearly getting it from all sides--they are just playing so, so much worse than the next-worst AL team.

To close for now, I'll note that I've also started a different OOTP project.  I'll write about it here soon enough I'm sure, but for now I'll note that it's a replay starting in 1915 with a bit of a change in history with respect to the Federal League.