Week 1 - March 25, 2007

And We're Off!

Hello and welcome back to This Week In The DMBL.  It's our seventh season of bringing you the week's highlights from around the DMBL! And remember, this year, you can get up-to-the-minute DMBL news through the DMBL News Blog. Remember to subscribe today!

The 2007 season got off to a fast start as over the first five games six teams had perfect records -- three without a loss and three without a win! But by the end of the first week, everybody had at least one in the W column and one in the L column.

Picking up where they left off, the three-time defending league champion Newark Sugar Bears won their first five games -- by a combined score of 67-18! They went 2-3 over their next five games to finish the week at 7-3 -- more than enough to claim the best record in the Hanover Division, where no one else has a winning record. Newark's closest pursuers are the two teams the Butchsims thought would be right behind them in the standings all year long -- Matthew's Mighty Men of Marietta and the Honolulu Sharks, who are each 4-5... Just a game behind them are the Las Vegas Rat Pack at 3-6... Welcome to the DMBL, Sardine City Straphangers! The team opened the year with seven straight losses, but bounced back nicely with three straight wins... The Hoboken Cutters also have had some rough patches in the early going, with two three-game losing streaks in their first nine games.

It took them nine games and extra innings, but the league's other new team, New Jersey Team Buddah, finally won their first game. Ironically, the Buddahs first win was also the first loss for the Morris Division-leading Philadelphia Endzone Animals, who ran off nine straight wins to start the season before running into the Buddahs. The dream of 162-0 may be over, but the Animals still have a one-game cushion over the Arkansas Golden Falcons, who started the year with seven straight wins before losing two of their last three... A half-game behind the Falcs are the Hillsborough Hired Hitmen and the defending Morris champion Vancouver Ironfist, who both went 7-2. The two teams don't just have identical records -- they've matched each other exactly over the first nine games: three straight wins, a loss, three straight wins, a loss, and then a win... Just one team in the Hanover has a winning record, but in the take-no-prisoners Morris Division, the Carolina Mudcats' 5-4 record is only good enough for 5th place... Bringing up the rear in the Morris are the D.C. Bushslappers and the South Boston Gang, tied at 3-7. Both got off to rough starts -- the 'Slappers started 0-4, the Gang 0-5 -- but were showing signs of life by the end of the week.

All is Wells in Philadelphia

For several years now, the question in Philadelphia has been -- who's our second-best hitter? After all, Albert Pujols can't do it all by himself! This year, the answer just might be Vernon Wells, who put up huge numbers this first week to power the Endzone Animals to the league's best record. Wells led the league in batting average (.476), hits (20), runs (15), runs created (19.3) and total bases (35), and is tied for the league's longest active hitting streak, with a hit in each of his team's 10 games. Wells also in the top 5 in OBP (.522), doubles (6), extra base hits (9), stolen bases (2-0), total average (1.864) and OPS (1.355) -- a great week to earn him the honor of winning the very first Smokin' Batter of the Week from our new sponsor, JRCigars.com! "JRCigars.com, the ONLY address you need for buying cigars on the web." Speaking of cigars, Vernon ought to be sharing some of his stogies with some of his red-hot teammates, including Matt Murton (.471, 1.029 OPS, 7 RBI), Jose Lopez (.349, 3 2B, 7 R, 8 RBI) and of course, the big dog himself, Pujols (.459, 1.295 OPS, 2 HR, 9 R, 12 RBI).

This week's top rookie batter was Newark's Mark Teahen, who led the league in OPS (1.368) and RC/27 (24.7). Teahen, who somehow lasted all the way until the end of the third round in this year's draft, hit .467 with 3 2B, 2 3B and 1 HR, good for 11 R and 5 RBI. Bobby Abreu (.400, 1.097 OPS, 3 2B, 10 R), Gregg Zaun (.342, 1.033 OPS, 3 HR, 11 R) and Manny Ramirez (.306, 1.324 OPS, 6 HR, 15 RBI) also had huge weeks as the Sugar Bears continue their annual tradition of mauling the rest of the league's pitching staffs -- as a team, they hit .334 with a 1.006 OPS, and so far they average 9.2 runs per game.

This week's other top batters: Arkansas's Lance Berkman (.432, 1.151 OPS, 2 HR, 9 R); Hillsborough's Carlos Delgado (.355, 1.283 OPS, 4 HR, 12 RBI); Hoboken's Josh Bard (.405, 1.002 OPS, 4 2B, 4 RBI); Honolulu's Jason Giambi (.261, 1.327 OPS, 5 HR); Las Vegas's Joe Mauer (.368, 1.257 OPS, 5 HR, 14 RBI); Marietta's Wes Helms (.324, 1.174 OPS, 3 HR, 9 RBI) and Jim Thome (.438, 1.884 OPS, 4 HR, 7 RBI in just 5 games!); and South Boston's Greg Norton (.429, 1.226 OPS, 3 HR, 8 RBI).

Reyes Is King

Joining Teahen at the front of the freshman class is Las Vegas rookie hurler Anthony Reyes, who came within three outs of throwing a no-hitter in his DMBL debut! The 25-year-old right-hander, taken as an ineligible prospect in the 6th round (#80 overall) of the 2006 draft and protected this off-season, didn't display any rookie jitters in his first start, retiring the first 12 men he faced. Then, after a walk to lead off the 5th, he kept the no-hit bid alive until the top of the 9th, when Bill Hall led things off with a clean single up the middle. Johnny Estrada then followed it up with a bouncer that eluded the diving try of Kaz Matsui. But Reyes then bore down, getting Grady Sizemore to fly out to center and Rocco Baldelli to bounce into the 4-6-3 double play to end the game with a 4-0 win. Incredibly, Reyes then followed up that effort with another strong outing, blanking the Hitmen for 6 innings. Once again, the only offense against Reyes proved to be a pair of ground-ball singles; he also walked 3 and struck out 6. On the week, Reyes is 2-0 with 0 ER, 4 H, 5 BB and 13 K in 15.0 IP, about as auspicious a debut as recorded in the annals of DMBL history! Reyes's awesome debut in his getting his DMBL cherry popped earned him, appropriately enough, the Guess The Virgin Pitcher of the Week Award.

It was a good week for rookies, as Honolulu's Jered Weaver (2-0, 2.57 ERA, 7.1 R/9, 4 BB, 15 K in 14.0 IP) and Marietta's Jeremy Sowers (2-0, 1.20 ERA, 7.2 R/9, 3 BB, 10 K in 15.0 IP) and Francisco Liriano (1-0, 1.59 ERA, 11.9 R/9, 3 BB, 19 K in 11.1 IP) all looked awesome the first time around the league... This week's other top starters: Arkansas's Pedro Martinez (2-0, 1.29 ERA, 9.6 R/9, 3 BB, 11 K in 14.0 IP) and Roger Clemens (2-0, 3.07 ERA, 5.5 R/9, 1 BB, 17 K in 14.2 IP); Hillsborough's Felix Hernandez (2-0, 3.77 ERA, 10.7 R/9, 5 BB, 15 K in 14.1 IP); Philly's Johan Santana (2-0, 1.13 ERA, 6.2 R/9, 1 BB, 26 K in 16.0 IP); and Vancouver's Ben Sheets (2-0, 2.25 ERA, 7.3 R/9, 2 BB, 16 K in 16.0 IP).

Arkansas won 8 games this week -- and Justin Duchscherer was responsible for more than half of them! The 29-year-old reliever pitched in five games and recorded two wins and three saves, tying for the league lead in relief wins and for second place in saves. "The Duke" pitched 5.0 innings and gave up 7 hits, but no walks, while striking out 6... The Swami predicted Newark would have "A" relievers but "C" starters, a report card that would be good enough for a seventh straight Hanover Division title. All is going according to plan so far, as the starters combined for a whopping 7.25 ERA and 17.9 R/9 -- but the relievers gave up just 2 ER (0.48 ERA) and a 9.1 R/9... This week's other top relievers: D.C.'s Trever Miller (1 W, 0 R, 6 H, 1 BB, 6 K in 7.1 IP); Marietta's Trevor Hoffman (1 W, 0 R, 5 H, 1 BB, 6 K in 5.2 IP); Philly's J.J. Putz (2 W, 0 R, 7 H, 0 BB, 8 K in 8.1 IP); South Boston's Huston Street (1 SV, 2 ER, 8 H, 1 BB, 14 K in 9.0 IP); 2-0, but 5.27 ERA, 15.1 R/9, 6 BB, 12 K in 13.2 IP); and Vancouver's Billy Wagner (1 W, 4 SV, 3 ER, 7 H, 1 BB, 11 K in 6.0 IP).

But You Just Got Here!

Spring Training is supposed to be the time when players shake off the rust and prepare for the long season ahead, but it also can be the time that an injury pops up. We're just a week into the season but already five players have problems that will keep them on the shelf for at least a week. Marietta has been the hardest hit by injury woes, losing Bengie Molina and Jim Thome. Trying to kill two birds with one stone, the team signed 1B/DH and former catcher Scott Hatteberg to replace Thome, but adding insult to injury -- or adding injury to injury, actually -- Hatteberg then immediately went down himself after it turned out he's allergic to the Alabama creeping blend used in the Marietta infield... Jake Westbrook reached the post-season with Carolina as a 25-year-old rookie in 2004. Since then, however, he's gone backwards -- he was with the Mudcats when they finished 8th in 2005, and with Westwood when they finished 11th in 2006. Now he's with the Buddahs, who appear well on their way to a last-place finish after a 1-8 start. Westbrook is doing his best to embrace his new team's philosophy. "I have to stop worrying about winning or losing. Enlightenment comes from internal tranquility, not external strife." The team has given Westbrook permission to miss a few starts as he seeks to discover his "inner Jakeness"... It was a good week to be a rookie starter in the DMBL, unless you're Cole Hamels. The highly touted Straphanger -- this year's third overall pick -- abruptly confessed to manager Bucky Dent that he's terrified of enclosed places, including dugouts. He's going to miss the first week while the team tries to add a skylight... Another year, another injury to Newark's Nick Johnson. The injury-plagued first baseman used to be known as "Nick the Stick", but after missing 51 games in 2005 and 46 games last year due to various ailments, he's become known in some circles as "Nick the Sick." But that's just fine with Johnson, who is hitting .393 (1.128 OPS) with 3 2B, 2 HR and 8 RBI in his first 6 games this season. "Hey, last year I missed all those games and I won The Mitch," Johnson explained. "Why mess with success?"

Comings and Goings

With teams having to chop down their rosters to 30 players, there were way too many cuts to list them all here. (See the Full Transactions page for the nitty-gritty details.) However, we'll take a look at the highlights.

On second thought, I don't want you! Some players who were good enough to protect last month have already found themselves out of jobs. New Jersey cut SP Aaron Sele and Gustavo Chacin; Hoboken dumped C Damian Miller; and Las Vegas decided not to wait for the return of ineligible OF Gary Sheffield. Meanwhile, one of the first 100 players to be drafted has already been handed his walking papers: Chris Burke, taken by New Jersey in the 6th round (#83 overall), was released before the end of spring training. Other players who were selected in the first 10 rounds and have already been cut: D.C.'s Xavier Nady (9th, #115); Hillsborough's Alan Embree (9th, #120); Carolina's Brandon Phillips (9th, #122); Honolulu's Taylor Tankersley (10th, #127); Arkansas's Julio Lugo (10th, #137); and Newark's Joe Saunders (10th, #140).

One man's trash... Arkansas and Las Vegas paid close attention to the waiver wire in the early going. The Falcons grabbed C Dioner Navarro from Vancouver, 2B Brandon Phillips from Carolina, 1B/OF Xavier Nady from D.C. and SS Orlando Cabrera from Sardine City, while the Rat Pack picked up 2B Marcus Giles from Vancouver, RP Taylor Tankersley from Honolulu and RP Will Ohman from Hillsborough; The only other team to go dumpster diving this week was Hillsborough, who picked up Julio Lugo from Arkansas... Although not technically waiver-wire claims, several released players have already found new jobs: Brandon Inge was cut by Marietta but then signed by Sardine City (but has since been released by them as well); Jose Vidro was cut by Arkansas but then signed by Carolina; and Casey Blake was cut by Hillsborough but then inked by Newark.

Trouble at the top: The Mudcats have been the league's top wildcard seed in two out of the last three seasons, but apparently that wasn't enough to satisfy GM/Owner Chris Pucci. He announced at the end of spring training that he would "demote" Lenny Dykstra from manager to third base coach, and hire Mark Carreon as manager. Carreon was a minor league journeyman who saw limited action in two years in the DMBL with Vancouver and Lisbon (.239, .717 OPS in 134 AB) and was perhaps best known for his Chris Berman nickname, "Carreon My Wayward Son." He might have a hard time overseeing a staff full of former star players, including Dykstra, hitting coach Howard Johnson, pitching coach Sid Fernandez, bench coach Darryl Strawberry, first base coach Keith Fernandez, bullpen coach Dwight Gooden and catching instructor Todd Hundley. Adding to the confusion, HoJo is already the hitting coach for D.C. and El Sid is the manager for South Boston. "The other Sid is a clone... or ours is, I'm not sure," Carreon said. "As for HoJo, the one we hired is the hotel guy. We figure we'll get great rates on road trips."