Week 3 - April 13, 2008

High-Flyin' Philly

The standings remained unchanged in the Hanover Division, but one team has broken ahead of the pack in the Morris as we wrap up another exciting week of DMBL action.

The Philadelphia Endzone Animals started the week just a game up in the Morris Division; now they have a 5½-game lead after a league-best 5-2 record this week. The Animals head into Sunday's doubleheader having won three straight games and are now tied for the league's best record... The Hillsborough Hired Hitmen improved to second in the division, and tied for 5th overall, after going 4-3... The D.C. Bushslappers fell all the way from 9-3 to .500 after going 1-6, including the league's longest active losing streak at six games... The Vancouver Iron Fist continue to crawl back up the standings, going 3-2... The Blue Ridge Bombers bounced back from a five-game losing streak to go 3-2 this week... The Carolina Mudcats finally stopped the bleeding after a 4-10 start to the season, going 3-3... The Arkansas Golden Falcons dropped three out of five to remain in last in the Morris and second-to-last overall.

The Hanover teams are exactly where we left them last week, although there is some more separation between the haves and the have-nots. The Las Vegas Rat Pack and Newark Sugar Bears continue to slug it out at the top of the standings; the Rats remain a game up after each team went 4-2 this week. The Pack had gone 0-2 against Newark but 13-0 against the rest of the league until Thursday night's game, when Las Vegas finally beat the Sugar Bears, 6-5. But since then, the Rats have dropped two straight against Hillsborough, while Newark has won two in a row against D.C. ... The surprising Tampa Bay Plunkers did a great job keeping up with the favorites the first two weeks, but they lost two games in the standings after a .500 week. We'll see if this week's 2-2 mark is the start of the decline most pundits predicted for the first-year franchise... The Hoboken Cutters posted the DMBL's best winning percentage (.750), albeit it was just four games. Overall, the Cutters moved up from a tie for 6th into a tie for 5th... Matthew's Mighty Men of Marietta continue to slide backward, dropping five out of six games this week... The Sardine City Straphangers finally had a winning week, going 4-3 -- good enough to move up from 13th place to a tie for 11th... Bringing up the rear, New Jersey Team Buddah dropped five out of seven, including two in a row to close out the week, to remain in dead last.

One and Dunn

Arkansas's Adam Dunn had a heck of a week - most of it coming in just one game! Dunn slammed three home runs and drove in 10 runs in a game against D.C., but it wasn't enough as D.C. pulled it out on the bottom of the 10th. The final score: D.C. 13, Dunn 10, Arkansas 2. Dunn had a grand slam and two three-run home runs as well as a walk and a strikeout in that game; in four other games this week, he had 3 hits (1 2B, 2 HR) and 4 RBI. The big week added up to a DMBL-high 14 RBI, 5 HR and 13.0 RC -- in just 12 plate appearances! His incredible production in a game the Falcons ultimately lost is becoming a familiar refrain for Arkansas fans, who have been frustrated to watch their team open the season at 5-13 despite trading for Dunn, Alex Rodriguez, Jonathon Broxton, Ian Snell and Jeremy Bonderman in a blockbuster deal with Hillsborough. Some analysts thought Dunn was included merely as a salary dump by the Hitmen, but so far he's been the Falcs' best return from the deal - all three pitchers have struggled, while A-Rod is off to a dismal 10-for-53 start (.189 BA, .705 OPS). But Dunn, despite hitting .255, has a 1.044 OPS with 6 HR and 16 RBI... and now has his team's first JRCigars.com Smoking Batter of the Week Award on the 2008 season.

This week's other top batters: Carolina's Aramis Ramirez (.364, 1.052 OPS, 1 HR, 7 RBI); D.C.'s Derrek Lee (.500, 1.221 OPS, 4 2B, 4 R); Hillsborough's Mark Reynolds (.357,  1.079 OPS, 2 HR, 5 RBI); Hoboken's Miguel Cabrera (.563, 1.588 OPS, 4 2B, 4 R, 15-game hitting streak); Las Vegas's Carlos Pena (.417, 1.398 OPS, 3 HR, 9 RBI); Newark's Carlos Guillen (.542, 1.560 OPS, 2 HR, 11 RBI); Philly's Jimmy Rollins (.429, 1.360 OPS, 3 HR, 7 RBI); Sardine City's B.J. Upton (.429, 1.143 OPS, 2 HR, 9 R, 2 SB); and Vancouver's Moises Alou (.500, 1.250 OPS, 3 2B, 9 RBI).

Philly's Fantastic Freshmen Phenoms

You know your rotation had a great week when Johan Santana and Brandon Webb are your worst pitchers! Santana, the reigning Ben McDonald Award winner, was Philly's only starter to lose a game, giving up 4 earned runs (including 2 HRs) in 7 innings against Carolina; Webb got a no-decision in his only start, giving up 2 ER on 5 H and 2 BB in 6.0 IP. Everyone else pitched great. Rookie Jason Bergmann had two brilliant starts, holding Vancouver to just 1 run on 6 hits and 2 walks in 7.0 IP; then he blanked New Jersey for seven innings, limiting them to 3 hits and 1 walk. On the week, he was 2-0 with 1 ER, 9 H, 3 BB and 12 K in 14.0 IP. But it's possible fellow rookie Yovanni Gallardo had an even better week. The 22-year-old first shut down the tough Blue Ridge squad, holding hitless for 7 innings; Eric Byrnes led off the 8th with a clean single up the middle, and Gallardo, having thrown 117 pitches, was pulled for a reliever. (Byrnes would come around to score on another single.) Gallardo's second effort, against New Jersey, also was impressive (1 ER, 4 H, 0 BB, 9 K in 8.0 IP). On the week, he gave up just 5 hits and 3 walks (4.8 R/9!) with 20 Ks in 15.0 IP. And finally, in his only start this week, 23-year-old sophomore Matt Cain gave up no runs on just 4 hits and 2 walks with 7 Ks in 8.2 innings before being lifted for a reliever. Considering the score was 16-0, you'd think they'd let him get the last guy for the shutout, but he'd already thrown 123 pitches. Some fans criticized pitching coach Dave Righetti for not letting Gallardo and Cain finish what they started, accusing him of "babying" the young starters. Rags was unapologetic. "They should be babied - they are babies!" he said. "We are going to have these three for a long time, and there's no need to pile on the innings in April. This organization is focused on October." The How Many 5-Year-Olds Could You Take In a Fight? Pitcher of the Week Award could go to any of the three, but we think Gallardo deserves special merit for his near no-no.

This week's other top pitchers: Blue Ridge's Juan Cruz (0 R, 1 H, 0 BB, 7 K in 5.1 IP); D.C.'s Jonathan Papelbon (1 W, 0 R, 0 H, 1 BB, 11 K in 5.2 IP); Hillsborough's John Lackey (1-0, 0.73 ERA, 13.1 R/9, 4 BB, 10 K in 12.1 IP); Hoboken's Jon Garland (CG W: 1 ER, 7 H, 2 BB, 3 K); Las Vegas's Francisco Rodriguez (1 ER, 2 H, 1 BB, 9 K in 4.2 IP); Marietta's Jon Lester (1-0, 0 R, 3 H, 4 BB, 5 K in 6.2 IP); New Jersey's Bobby Jenks (1 SV, 0 R, 2 H, 1 BB, 2 K in 1.2 IP); Newark's James Shields (1-0, 1 ER, 5 H, 0 BB, 10 K in 8.0 IP); and Tampa Bay's Lee Gardner (2 SV, 0 R, 1 H, 0 BB, 0 K in 1.2 IP).

Shawn of the Dead?

No matter how you spell it, the Bushslappers are having trouble with pitchers with a particular first name. First it was Shawn Hill going on the 15-day D.L. with a mysterious ailment doctors still can't explain; now it's Sean Mashall, who will miss at least two starts after being mauled by a savage dog... in the shower! Swing-man Shaun Marcum is understandably worried. "What if this is some kind of serial killer thing, huh?" Marcum started freaking out even more when he was unable to get Shawn Chacon, Shawn Camp or Sean Casey on the phone. Marcum suspects the culprit is long-time Honolulu Shark, now Blue Ridge Bomber Shawn Green. "I know he's pissed that there's a reliever named Sean Green in the minors. That was the first one to disappear," Marcum said. "Now he's just taking out all the Shawns, Shauns and Seans to cover it up. Watch out, Shawon Dunston! He might even go after Cha Seung Baek. The guy's crazy!"

This week's only non-Shawn-related injury was to Hoboken's Aaron Cook. The 29-year-old journeyman, who had previously gone 0-2 with a 6.43 ERA in four games for the Phoenix Dragons in '06, finally earned his first-ever DMBL win in impressive fashion, scattering six hits in an 8-0 blanking of Marietta. His next two starts for Hoboken weren't as impressive, as he gave up 8 ER on 13 H and 3 BB in 7.2 IP. "I knew I should have retired after that first game," Cook sighed. "My career ERA was all the way down to 4.29. Now it's back up to 5.65!" Cook said he's going to take some time off to tinker with his mechanics, but some think he's more concerned about Hoboken's upcoming schedule - Arkansas, Hillsborough and then Vancouver, all teams that average nearly 5 runs per game or better. "Let me know the next time we play New Jersey (2.7 rpg) or Marietta (3.7)," he said. "I'll be good to go for those games, definitely."

Hillsborough Hires New Hitmen

Frustrated by their 8-9 start, Hitmen owner Brent Campbell sent a message to the team by making some major changes. The catalyst was seeing Dmitri Young, Bengie Molina and Ryan Spilborghs laughing on the bench during the team's 7-4 loss to Tampa Bay. Campbell put Young on the 15-day D.L. and released Molina and Spilborghs, then brought in a couple no-nonsense veterans in Ramon Hernandez and Mike Cameron. They also signed Vancouver spring training cast-off Ryan Ludwick. The three are off to terrific starts in Hillsborough, collectively going 7-for-15 (.467) with 4 2B and 3 BB. Campbell is considering his next "tough love" move to affect the pitching staff, where stars Felix Hernandez, Justin Verlander and C.C. Sabathia are 1-6 with a 10.29 ERA. "These guys better shape up," a furious Campbell said. "I still have Adam Eaton's phone number and I'm not afraid to use it!"

This week's other comings and goings: Arkansas dropped Tim Wakefield and Emil Brown and signed Joey Gathright; Carolina dropped prospect Jacob McGee and added Corey Patterson; Hoboken signed reliever Joe Beimel; and Marietta picked up Bengie Molina from Hillsborough and dropped Yorvit Torrealba. "It turns out he's not actually related to Jessica," a disappointed GM David Landsman said.