Week 1 - March 27, 2006

Picking Up Where They Left Off

The Newark Sugar Bears ended last season as league champions, and this year got off to the same start as they rode a five-game winning streak to the league's best record at 7-2. But there's also some fresh blood at the top of standings, as the Hoboken Cutters and Las Vegas Rat Pack find themselves in a second-place tie in the Hanover Division after going 6-3 in the opening week. Behind them is another tie, between the Phoenix Dragons and Matthew's Mighty Men of Marietta, who went 4-5. A game behind them are the Westwood Deductions, who went 3-6. Bringing up the rear, and in last place overall, are the Honolulu Sharks, who started out 2-7, including a 1-4 record at home.

But while the Sugar Bears are riding high atop the league again, the team they faced in the last four World Series stumbled out of the gate this season. The Arkansas Golden Falcons are last in the Morris Division, and tied for second-to-last overall, after a 2-4 start. In fact, the only Morris team to have a winning week were the Carolina Mudcats, who took six out of eight. The D.C. Bushslappers, Philadelphia Endzone Animals and Vancouver Ironfist all split their first eight games to land in a three-way tie, followed by the Hillsborough Hired Hitmen, who went 3-4. The South Boston Gang got off to a great start in their new home, opening the season at 3-1, before losing their next four in a row to fall to 3-5, just percentage points ahead of Arkansas.

One is the loneliest number: What's with all the one-run games so far this year? Twenty-three out of the 58 games played the first week were decided by one run. That's nearly 40 percent! Last year, only about 26 percent of the games were one-run affairs. It could be the result of more parity in the league, first-week jitters, or just a fluke caused by a small sample size. In any event, the Dragons have been in the most tight games, seeing six of their first nine decided by one run. They also lead the league in one-run wins, with four. Five of the Philadelphia's eight games have been one-run games, and they've gone 3-2. Marietta, which has played nine games so far, also has had five one-run games, going 2-3. Percentage-wise, Newark has the best record in one-run games, a perfect 2-0; South Boston and Hillsborough have yet to win one, going 0-3 and 0-2, respectively.

The Taxman Cometh

 His team isn't off to a great start, but you can't blame Derrek Lee. The 30-year-old first baseman was a one-man wrecking crew for the Deductions this week, hitting .382 with a .488 OBP and .824 SLG (4 HR, 10 RBI), leading the league in OPS (1.311) and TB+BB rate (.854).  Lee's performance is all the more incredible when you consider without him, the rest of the team hit .233 with a .614 OPS. He also had the game-winning RBI in two of Westwood's three wins this week. Lee's performance wasn't enough to get the Deductions off to a strong start, but it was enough to win him this season's first Omaha Steaks Batter of the Week Prize. Lee, a career .245 hitter in 2,064 DMBL at-bats before this season, said he spent the off-season working out with renowned fitness guru Richard Simmons. "I'm in the best shape of my life and I just love the way I look in these tiny shorts," Lee said before heading to lunch with his deck of Deal-A-Meal cards.

The Rat Pack also had some impressive performances, including an astounding nine stolen bases from Chone Figgins (.333, .467 OBP, 10 R). Figgins, who hasn't been caught yet, is on pace to steal 162 bases this year! The Rats appear to have scurrying on their minds this season, with Carl Crawford (3 SB, 1 CS), Ryan Freel (2 SB, 0 CS) and Joe Mauer (2 SB, 0 CS) all off to the races. Jhonny Peralta (.389, 1.211 OPS, 4 HR, 10 RBI), Mark Teixeira (.394, 1.201 OPS, 3 HR, 6 RBI) and Tony Clark (.282, .967 OPS, 4 HR, 14 RBI) have enjoyed seeing all those runners in scoring position as the Rats exploded for the second-highest offensive output the first week (7.1 runs per game)... Who came in first? The Sugar Bears, who else. The Crunch With Punch scored 67 runs this week (7.4 rpg), hitting .333 with a .404 OBP and .512 SLG as a team. Carlos Guillen, who set a league record by hitting .398 last year, is off to another great start, hitting .513 (1.149 OPS) with 10 R and 9 RBI. Nick Johnson (.429, 1.198 OPS, 11 RBI) has had a hit in all nine games so far this season, while Manny Ramirez (.306, .931 OPS) chipped in with 10 runs and 8 RBIs... This week's other top batters: Hoboken's Cliff Floyd (.333, 1.178 OPS, 1 HR, 4 RBI); Marietta's Brian Giles (.361, 13 H, 1 HR, 7 R); Philly's Albert Pujols (.367, 1.240 OPS, 3 HR, 5 RBI); and Vancouver's Jeff Kent (.406, 1.147 OPS, 2 HR, 5 R).

Please Sir, I Want Some Mo

Week one featured a lot of great pitching performances. But while 10 pitchers are tied for the league lead in wins at 2-0, Marietta's Mariano Rivera has staked an early claim to the saves title with a nearly perfect week. Big Mo saved all four of Marietta's wins this week, giving up just 1 hit and 1 walk while fanning five in his four appearances, earning him the Homeless or Jesus? Pitcher of the Week award. Rivera's four saves are twice as many as anybody else; six guys are tied for second, with two. In fact, no team has more than four saves!

This week's other top relief performances: Hillsborough's Kyle Farnsworth (1 SV, 0 R, 2 H, 0 BB, 10 K in 8.0 IP); Hoboken's Jason Isringhausen (2 SV, 0 R, 2 H, 2 BB, 4 K in 4.2 IP); Las Vegas's Justin Duchscherer (2 SV, 1 ER, 4 H, 0 BB, 12 K in 7.2 IP); Newark's Tom Gordon (1 W, 1 SV, 1 ER, 4 H, 0 BB, 6 K in 6.0 IP); South Boston's Wil Ohman (1 SV, 0 R, 1 H, 1 BB, 5 K in 5.2 IP); and Westwood's B.J. Ryan (0 R, 2 H, 1 BB, 6 K in 4.1 IP).

This week's top starter was Carolina's Roy Halladay (2-0, 2.76 ERA, 7.7 R/9, 12 K in 16.1 IP), who very nearly threw a no-hitter in his second start of the season. Halladay, facing the Gang, didn't allow a hit until Orlando Hudson led off the seventh by lining a clean single between first and second. Hudson was promptly erased on a double play, and was the only hit Halladay would allow. He'd allow just two other baserunners, both on walks, and didn't allow a batter to reach second base in the 2-0 victory. Other top starting performances: Honolulu's Jason Schmidt (2-0, 2.81 ERA, 7.9 R/9, 16 K in 16.0 IP); Las Vegas's Rich Harden (2-0, 1.93 ERA, 7.7 R/9, 14 K in 14.0 IP); Marietta's Jon Lieber (2-0, 1.80 ERA, 9.0 R/9, 6 K in 15.0 IP); Phoenix's Gustavo Chacin (2-0, 1.69 ERA, 10.1 R/9, 6 K in 16.0 IP); and Vancouver's Jake Peavy (2-0, 1.69 ERA, 6.8 R/9, 13 K in 16.0 IP). 

Brokeback Sweeney

If two cowboys can fall in love, why not two first basemen? Honolulu's Sean Casey and Hoboken's Mike Sweeney apparently don't know how to quit each other as the two have taken a leave of absence from their respective teams for a little "we time." The pair met during the World Baseball Classic and have been inseperable ever since. "I admit I've had a couple hits against Hoboken that could have been doubles but, you know, with Mikey playing first base, I just wanna stop and chat," a dreamy-eyed Casey said. But there may be trouble in paradise as Sweeney's old college roommate, Brad Radke, has disappeared, reportedly to win back the heart of his former partner.

Radke's jumping ship couldn't have come at a worst time for the Endzone Animals, who have already been staggered by injuries in the early going. The first hit came in the second inning on Opening Day,  when Frank Catalonotto took himself out of the lineup. The Cat, who made his debut for Philly in 2000, singled in his first at-bat in his return to the City of Brotherly Love and was greeted with cheers. He smashed a hot shot to short in his second time up, but it was ruled an error by the official scorer. Seeing his batting average drop from 1.000 to .500, the crowd erupted into boos and jeers. "These fans are crazy. They booed Santa Claus and now they're booing me," said a sobbing Catalanotto, who vowed not to return until every fan who attended the game sends him a hand-written apology. Four days later, shortstop Clint Barmes -- just 1-for-10 in his first four games -- was hit in the face with a Rusty Greer bobblehead doll and will miss most of April. To replace Catalanotto and Barmes on the roster, the Animals signed Bobby Kielty and Abraham Nunez.

Super Cuts!

TWIB may have Ozzie Smith, but we have the better Smith! Zane Smith, former pitcher for the San Antonio Slingers and Sacramento Seahawks, now writes this column exclusively for the Diamond Mind Baseball League. Click Here for past articles.