We're just about halfway through the Marmonte League baseball schedule and things are really starting to take shape.

At least that's the way it seemed before last week when Simi Valley upset Agoura, who at the time was the No. 1 ranked team in the Baseball America/National High School Baseball Coaches Association Top 50 poll.

Agoura slipped to No. 3 in this week's national poll.

A day after beating Agoura, Simi Valley got shutout by Calabasas, 3-0. Go figure?

So who sits atop the league standings when it's all said and done? Before this afternoon's mega matchup at home against Agoura, the Marmonte's top dog was Newbury Park.

NPHS is one team in the league that can come close to matching Agoura's talent, although folks in Westlake would argue that the Warriors should be included in the conversation.

If I actually had any money, there are a few players in the Marmonte that I'd pay to watch play baseball, and Newbury Park junior first baseman/ pitcher Andrew Lambo is right near the top of that list.

SPEED KILLS-Westlake's Randy Harmala has 10 stolen bases. Sitting down to talk with Lambo a few weeks back, I came away favorably impressed with his candor as he discussed some of the off-field issues that caused him trouble in the past and ultimately led to his transferring from Grover Cleveland High in Reseda to Newbury Park.

Lambo can hit (.500 BA, seven home runs) and pitch (1.27 ERA, 34 Ks), and when you drop his big bat into the leadoff spot of a lineup that also includes Cody Fierro (.486 BA, 14 RBI), Jason Anderson (.370 BA, four stolen bases) and Anthony Montenegro (.370 BA, seven RBI), it's easy to see why the Panthers have been red hot to start the season.

Westlake's a squad that causes people problems because of its ability to pressure teams on the base paths. Prior to today's game against Thousand Oaks, Westlake had converted 37-of-45 steal attempts. Jeff Rapoport has 13 stolen bases, Randy Harmala 10, and Cutter Dykstra has swiped eight bags.

Remember how the Florida Marlins ran wild on the Giants, Cubs and Yankees to win the 2003 World Series? Or for the old-timers, think Whitey Herzog's St. Louis Cardinal teams of the earlyto-mid 1980s. Well, Westlake reminds me of those types of clubs- great speed, solid defense, timely hitting and pitching.

Thousand Oaks and Simi Valley have been inconsistent, and that can probably be attributed to their youth. With only five seniors on the roster, the Lancers are hovering around .500, but had a good chance to beat Newbury Park a few weeks back before letting the lead slip away in the late innings.

Simi Valley head coach Matt La Belle suspended several players for the remainder of the season following a violation of a team rule.

Senior pitcher/second baseman Nick Giarraputo has been outstanding for the undermanned Pioneers. He leads the team in batting average (.485), hits (16), RBIs (15), home runs (three) and ERA (.712).

Calabasas, Moorpark and Royal need to step up their efforts in order to challenge Thousand Oaks and Simi Valley for what will likely be the Marmonte's fourth and final playoff spot.

Having said all that, Agoura remains the league favorite regardless of the result against Newbury Park. When a team can throw Jason Stoffel (1.86 ERA, 38Ks) and Robert Stock (2.31 ERA, 46Ks) every other game, they always have a chance to win.

The Charger lineup is multidimensional, with J.T. Wright providing speed at the top, Stock and Nick Farinacci supplying the power, and Stoffel, Ben Yarin, Danny Gallinot, Steven Keller, Brandon Allen and Bill Sharpe consistently picking up key base hits.

And finally, here are my midseason baseball award winners for the Marmonte League:

MVP: Andrew Lambo,

junior 1B/P, Newbury Park

Lambo's made NPHS an instant contender in the Marmonte.

Cy Young: Jason Stoffel,

senior P/1B, Agoura

Big-game experience helps him beat out Westlake's Jake Fiss (.575 ERA) and Simi Valley's Nick Giarraputo (.712 ERA).

Silver Slugger: Robert Stock, junior C/P,

Agoura

Expected to be a high firstround pick in next year's draft. Golden Glove: Steven Keller,

sophomore 2B/C, Agoura

No errors while playing two critical defensive positions.

Rodney Dangerfield Award:

Stephen Notaro, senior

catcher, Westlake

Quietly batting .500 with 12 RBIs, three home runs and a .622 on-base percentage. Still, Notaro's name rarely comes up when discussing the league's premier players. Dangerfield would call that "no respect."

Coach of the Year:

Scott Drootin, Newbury Park

Drootin's squad is hanging tough with one of the top-ranked team in the nation. Handling enormous expectations has Agoura's Scott Deck right on Drootin's heels.

Stephen Dorman can be reached at sdorman@theacorn.com