Season 9 Power Poll -- 60-game update

Led by speedy first baseman Otis Lowell and the pitching of Jimmy Springer and Al Carreras, the Rochester Big and Tall are holding on to the top spot in the Season 9 Alexander Power Poll.

The Big and Tall, with a league-best 47-13 record, earned six of a possible seven first-place votes in the poll. Season 8 champ Indianapolis Lancers took one first-place vote.

Springer is a legitimate pitching triple crown candidate, leading both leagues in victories (12), ERA (1.31) and is second in strikeouts (83). He's getting stiff competition from Carreras, who has an 8-0 record, a 0.98 WHIP and a 2.84 ERA.

Offensively, Rochester is led by Lowell's world-best .355 average, 31 stolen bases and 69 runs.

There was plenty of movement since the pre-season poll, with the Charleston Vampires and Little Rock Radioactive Reindeer making big jumps from 19 and 20, respectively, to 7th and 8th place. The Helena Loggers weren't even in the preseason poll but now finds itself in the Top 10, and the Pawtucket Patriots jumped from 9 to 4th.

Texas Texas Rebels appears to be the biggest disappointment, dropping from 5 all the way to 18th. The Colorado Springs Field Mice fell from 7th to 11th and the Santa Fe Inferno fell from 12 to 19th.

Indianapolis holds down the No. 2 spot in the poll, followed by Montgomery Maulers, Pawtucket and Buffalo Blue. Today's ballots were cast by danmam, pengoman, zovakozi1, grissom97, ns220, evancavan and psanders84.

The next Power Poll will be at the 120-game mark.

ALEXANDER POWER POLL

1. Rochester (139 points, 6 1st-place votes)
2. Indianapolis (131, 1)
3. Montgomery (125)
4. Pawtucket (116)
5. Buffalo (112)
6. Ottawa (105)
7. Charleston (100)
8. Little Rock (83)
9. St. Louis (77)
10. Helena (75)
11. Colorado Springs (66)
12. NY Break Your Backers (65)
13. Honolulu (53)
14. Baltimore (41)
15. Augusta (34)
16. Jackson (30)
17. Richmond (28)
18. Texas (26)
19. Santa Fe (25)
20. Vancouver (17)

Also receiving votes: Montreal 11, Milwaukee 5, Kansas City 3, Oakland 2, San Diego 1.