Blog Roundup: June 11, 2012

We are not even to the All-Star break in our first year, and our 15 team blogs have, by my count, produced a total of 97 posts! Now add to that four posts written by Larry Diamond and 21 written here at the Dugout. Now that you are sufficiently amazed, enjoy this collection of links to blog posts from the far corners of the ABL blogosphere.

• Larry Diamond ranked the ABL offenses and pitching staffs, then combined these into an overall ranking. Make sure to check out his list of some of the best nicknames in the league.
• Steve has been covering the Ann Arbor Barn Owls each week. He introduced the organization and has reports on weeks one, two, three, and four. After a slow start, they moved into second place. They called up hot prospects Brooks Davis and Ki-Moon Pak.
• Archbishop William McAllister scribes letters to His Holiness at the solemn Boston Bull: here is week one and week two.
• Robert brings us the news from Dallas. Some early reports at the forums covered the Texans' preparations for opening day, their season outlook, and weeks one and two of play. Back at the blog site, you can let some pictures of the ballpark and Texas State flag bring a smile to your face. The Texans had a good April. Manager Arturo Roman didn't like his team's poor start to May, but good pitching soon gave them a boost. Roman also discussed some recent call-ups.
• Luke writes Eureka News from the Nest and has reports from weeks one, three, and five.
• Tim covers Kansas City in The Tornado Watch! Get swept away by his coverage of weeks three, four, five, and six. 
• Francois has a pair of posts about his Las Vegas Jokers: young Bob "Professor" Magee got off to a nice start this season, and the Jokers have performed much better at home.
• Trav reports on the Los Angeles here at the Dugout. Check out his report on the Empire's successful April (and Evan Warner's struggles) and disappointing May (and Evan Warner's dominance). Baseball is a funny game sometimes.
• Jason has a plethora of profiles on players throughout the Maple Marauders' organization. In Triple-A Astoria, Armando Torres hit for the cycle, Chris Stephens went five for eight (and earned a promotion), Greg Hammond slugged three home runs and went four for four, and Julian Hutchinson has been the Argonauts' best hitter. Beware of thieves in Triple-A. Double-A Sandy Springs features Bobby "Double-7" Hall, who was drafted in round 77. He got off to a very hot start, got injured, returned with a vengeance, cooled off, but is looking better since his switch to CF. Ed Nash is mashing the ball in Single-A, but the Kingwood Knights haven't been doing so well. Anthony Lewis was Maple's third round draft pick and went four for four before getting injured. Jeff Morgan went five for six. Frank Powers had the first hit in ABL history, had a strong April, and won a Player of the Week. Roberto Martinez was Maple's first round draft pick: he started the season strong. Anthony Shelton, drafted in round two, was the first Maple OF to go down with injury.
• Alex has been reporting on the Minnesota Berserkers over at the forums. They had a rough first week but finished April strong, then had a solid May.
• Doug has been writing for The Montgomery Sentinel. the Mountain Cats have had a pair of big injuries to their pitching staff: first they lost ace Jorge Cruz, then they lost Troy Baker. Chris Collins hits like a star but looks like a zombie, Craig O'Day slugged in May, and AAA pitcher Melvin Brown earned a promotion to the big leagues.
• Christian has several updates on the Montreal Bandits. They drafted superstars, looked forward to opening day, got hit by the injury bug, and play much better at home.
• If you want to learn about the New York Mafia's season, then Anthony welcomes you to his Speak Easy. April was a rough beginning. May looked better until they hit a losing streak. They swept division-rival Ann Arbor and have won nine of their last 14.
• The Astroturf Blonde brings us Rumblings from the Forest, which reports on Nottinghamshire. A quick update in preparation of the season can be found at the forums. At Rumblings, you can read how the Outlaws have had some struggles, especially with their pitching, and have lost some close calls. They have some exciting young players in Peter Kelly, Elvis Morgan, and Danny Burris (who has won both Player of the Week and Rookie of the Month). They swapped players with Mile High.
• Martín writes the Seattle Sasquatch Weblog. He has some early reports on the birth of the franchise, Sick's Stadium, and the team identity. Their first round pick was Steve Frend, and they won their inaugural game. You can read reports on weeks one, two, and three.
• Mike has built a sharp-looking blog for his So Cal Republic. While the present season is not going well, he has a reason to hope for So Cal's future, and that reason is young star Alfredo "Batman" Yánez.
• Gary writes the South Carolina Bomber Blast Report (and is reportedly having a blast doing so). A slow start meant the firing of a pitching coach, took a step forward and then a step back. The GM shared his thoughts on South Carolina's season so far.