It's been a tough chapter for Jim Thome and the Rocks so far.

June 29, 2008
Falling Like Rocks
CLEVELAND, OH - The Cleveland Rocks are off to a 1-7 start in Chapter Four, dropping them four games behind the Chicago Black Sox in the Hrbek Division.  Cleveland lost three of four to the Kansas Law Dogs, and were swept by the St. Louis Apostles.  Cleveland has managed to stay in the race this season despite a back-end of the starting rotation that includes Edwin Jackson (6.48 ERA in 82 innings) and Cliff Lee (7.27 ERA in 52 IP.)

June 28, 2008
Almost Perfect
ALLENTOWN, NJ - With his robot manager lovingly calling the shots from the dugout, Jake Peavy became the 12th player in BDBL history to pitch a no-hitter on Saturday.  If not for a fifth inning walk to Assdrubal Cabrera, Peavy's no-hitter would have been the first perfect game in league history.  As it was, Cabrera was later retired on a double-play, allowing Peavy to face the minimum number of batters to record his historic accomplishment.  Peavy struck out eight in the game, and needed just 84 pitches to seal the deal.

June 14, 2008
Ozzie Rules...Again
AKRON, OH - The Ozzie League upped their all-time all-star record to 6-4 by thrashing the Eck League by a score of 9-2 in the midsummer classic.  Las Vegas' Chase Utley and Bear Country's Alex Rodriguez share the game's MVP award, as both delivered multi-hit games, with A-Rod hitting the game's only home run.  The Ozzie League has now won the last three all-star games in a row.

June 13, 2008
Atlanta Fired Up Over Beckham
SALEM, NH - The Atlanta Fire Ants made Gordon Beckham the first player selected in the ever-popular, always fun Chapter Four free agent draft.  Beckham, a shortstop from Atlanta GM Gene Patterson's home state, was the eighth player selected in MLB's June draft.

June 13, 2008
Put Another One in the Books
SALEM, NH - Chapter Three came to an official close today, and the 2008 season officially reached its halfway point.  The Salem Cowtippers (18-6), Ravenswood Infidels (17-7) and Cleveland Rocks (17-7) enjoyed the best chapters, while the Manchester Irish Rebels (7-17) and Great Lakes Sphinx (7-17) suffered through the worst chapters.

After suffering through a humiliating year in 2007, the Ozzie League redeemed themselves this season by going 103-81 in interleague play.

There are two tight division races at the moment.  In the Griffin Division, the Bear Country Jamboree took full advantage of a horrendous chapter by the Los Altos Undertakers (9-15), posting a 14-10 record to capture first place in the division by a game.  And in the Hrbek Division, the Chicago Black Sox stumbled with a 12-12 record, allowing the Akron Ryche and Rocks to creep within a game of the division lead.

In the Higuera Division, the Allentown Ridgebacks also stumbled in Chapter Three, going just 10-14.  But the Kansas Law Dogs were unable to take advantage, and went just 11-13 to increase their lead to only four games.

New Hope's David Ortiz (.398/.486/.892) and Cleveland's Jim Thome (.421/.511/.791) won the OL and EL Hitter of the Chapter awards, respectively.  New Hope's Chris Young (4-0, 0.82 ERA) and Chicago's Roy Oswalt (3-0, 2.45 ERA) were the Pitchers of the Chapter.

June 2, 2008
Undertakers Bury the Lead
LOS ALTOS, CA - The Los Altos Undertakers have stumbled on the way to their seventh division title, as they have gone just 7-13 in Chapter Three.  They held a four-game lead in the Griffin Division heading into this chapter, but that lead has disappeared, and they are now tied atop the division with the Bear Country Jamboree.