Week 4 - April 20, 2008

The Best of Times, the Worst of Times

It's shaping up to be a very interesting year. Obviously a lot is going to change over the next five months, but as we wrap up Week 4 in the DMBL, we have to note that it is looking like a year of extremes: There's three teams with winning percentages over .750 or higher, and four teams with winning percentages under .350! If this keeps up, we could see history made at both the top and bottom of the record book. The feast-or-famine pattern kept up this week as eight teams won at least five games, but four teams lost six or more.

The Philadelphia Endzone Animals once again had the best record in the division to extend their lead. With their 5-1 week, the Animals are already up 6½ games, and remain tied for the league's best record... The Hillsborough Hired Hitmen hung onto 2nd place in the division and moved up to 4th place overall after going 5-3... The D.C. Bushslappers bounced back from last week's ugly 1-6 week. This week they won 6 out of 9 games to jump back over .500, just a game behind Hillsborough... The Vancouver Iron Fist also had a big week, going 5-3 to finally reach .500 for the first time since they opened the season at 2-2... The Carolina Mudcats went 3-4, but that was enough to move up one spot in the standings... The Blue Ridge Bombers took a huge step backward, dropping 7 out of 8 games... The Arkansas Golden Falcons continue to struggle, going 2-4. But that was still good enough to move up from 13th to 11th!

The Hanover Division continues to look like a two-team race. The Las Vegas Rat Pack went a league-best 7-1 this week; the Newark Sugar Bears could only manage a 5-2 mark, leaving them 1½ games out. The Rats are tied with the Animals for the league's best record; the two teams meet on Saturday night for the first time this season... The Hoboken Cutters continue to be one of the league's hottest teams, going 5-2 to take 3rd place in the division, and sole possession of 5th overall. They've won 8 out of their last 11 games... The Tampa Bay Plunkers are fading after a terrific start, going 2-6 this week... New Jersey Team Buddah reversed last week's record, going 5-2, which was good enough to improve from 14th overall to 12th... Matthew's Mighty Men of Marietta had another awful week, dropping seven out of eight. They've gone 2-12 over the last two weeks... The Sardine City Straphangers dropped into last place overall after losing all seven games this week.

He's Peav'd!

So who's the early favorite for the Ben McDonald Pitcher of the Year Award? Well, there's Hillsborough's John Lackey, who leads the league in ERA (1.71); Newark's Chien-Ming Wang, a perfect 5-0 to start the season; Las Vegas's Erik Bedard, who leads the league in strikeouts with 50; or Carolina's Barry Zito, who ranks first in BA, OBP and SLG allowed (.177, .233, .258). Mention those names and you'll get an earful from Vancouver's Jake Peavy, who is 4-1 with a 2.57 ERA, 10.9 R/9 and 43 K in 42.0 IP. "What do I have to do to get noticed in this league - start carrying around a ram's head?" a frustrated Peavy said after pitching two gems this week (0.67 ERA, 8.1 R/9, 6 BB, 12 K in 13.1 IP). "Write it down - I'm winning the Big Ben this year!" It may be too early to be talking about the McDonald, but Peavy's two great starts were enough to win him the Warholizer Pitcher of the Year Award.

Sardine City's Daisuke Matsuzaka came very close to a no-hitter... but wound up with a loss. Dice-K was perfect for the first six and two-thirds innings against D.C., including seven strikeouts. He finally allowed his first baserunner with two outs in the seventh -- a walk to Scott Hatteberg. But he then got out of that "jam" with a ground-out to second. The 8th also went down in order, including two strikeouts. But meanwhile, his opponent - the unheralded Shaun Marcum wasn't having much trouble with the Straphangers' lineup, scattering five hits and a walk over the first eight innings to leave the game scoreless. Finally, in the top of the 9th, the Hangmen knocked Marcum out of the game when Raul Ibanez lined a one-out single to center. Closer Jonathan Papelbon then came on, and rookie Ryan Braun smoked a 2-1 pitch to almost the same spot - Jose Reyes made a leaping catch to snare the line drive. Papelbon then struck out Jason Kubel on three straight pitches to end the threat. Even the hometown Bushslapper crowd was buzzing about how long into extra innings Dice-K would be allowed to continue. But the drama ended quickly -- just one pitch into the bottom of the 9th.  Adrian Beltre hammered Matsuzaka's first offering for a home run -- ending the no-hitter, the shutout and the game! Dice-K's interpreter refused to translate his post-game comments, saying his mother might see the broadcast.

This week's other top pitchers: Arkansas's Scot Shields (0 R, 4 H, 0 BB, 8 K in 6.1 IP); D.C.'s Jonathan Papelbon (2 W, 1 SV, 0 R, 3 H, 0 BB, 10 K in 6.1 IP); Hoboken's Jon Garland (2-0, 3.21 ERA, 10.9 R/9, 5 BB, 7 K in 14.0 IP); Las Vegas's Carlos Marmol (1 W, 3 SV, 0 R, 1 H, 3 BB, 9 K in 5.0 IP); New Jersey's George Sherrill (2 W, 0 R, 1 H, 1 BB, 5 K in 3.2 IP); Philly's Brandon Webb (2-0, 2.25 ERA, 8.4 R/9, 6 BB, 8 K in 16.0 IP); and Tampa Bay's Kevin Correia (1 W, 2 ER, 4 H, 1 BB, 4 K in 6.0 IP).

No. 1, Meet No. 2

The top pick of this year's draft has so far lived up to the hype. Carolina's Dustin Pedroia is hitting .303 (.856 OPS) with 9 2B, 6 HR, 17 R and 18 RBI, he's riding a 13-game hitting streak, and he's playing terrific defense at second base, leading the league in total chances (6.22). This week the rookie hit .433 with an 1.100 OPS, collecting 2 doubles and a home run for 5 runs and 3 RBIs. Unfortunately, No. 1 will have to step aside for No. 2. Las Vegas's Carlos Pena had a monster week, hitting .407 with a 1.741 OPS, with 3 2B, 6 HR, 9 R and 12 RBIs.  He led the league in OPS, HRs, SLG (1.185), extra base hits (9), total bases (32), runs created (19.1), RC/27 (32.2), isolated power (.778), total average (2.563), secondary average (1.111) and AB/HR (4.5). On the season, he's hitting .306 (1.148 OPS) with 11 2B, 12 HR, 29 R and 30 RBI. Pena, a 30-year-old journeyman, had brief cups of coffee in the DMBL, hitting .246 with a .755 OPS in 167 ABs scattered over three seasons since 2003. He showed glimpses of potential when he hit .316 with a .921 OPS (and 7 HRs in just 95 ABs) with Newark in 2006, but he's finally getting the chance to play every day in Vegas. Now he'll also get the chance to puff away as the JRCigars.com Smoking Batter of the Week Award winner.

This week's other top batters: Arkansas's Alex Rodriguez (.444, 1.413 OPS, 2 HR, 4 R); Carolina's Ryan Garko (.464, 1.123 OPS, 1 HR, 9 RBI); D.C.'s Carl Crawford (.357, 1.010 OPS, 3 HR, 8 RBI, 3 SB); Hillsborough's Ryan Howard (.300, 1.256 OPS, 5 HR, 13 RBI); Hoboken's Kelly Johnson (.464, 1.250 OPS, 2 HR, 6 R);  Marietta's Josh Hamilton (.400, 1.204 OPS, 3 HR, 9 RBI); Newark's Jack Cust (.321, 1.151 OPS, 3 HR, 6 RBI); Philly's Albert Pujols (.500, 1.228 OPS, 2 2B, 7 RBI); and Vancouver's David Ortiz (.393, 1.374 OPS, 3 HR, 12 RBI).

See You Next Year...

Fed up with slow starts -- or just in need of immediate help -- several teams cut young batting prospects from their minor league farm systems and replaced them with (slightly) older pitching prospects. Las Vegas dropped Matt Antonelli and signed Gavin Floyd; Newark cut Asdrubal Cabrera and brought back former Sugar Bear Joe Saunders; Philly sent home Gio Gonzalez and signed Scott Olsen; and Arkansas dropped Steve Pearce in favor of Cliff Lee. Hoboken also cut Joe Beimel to bring back their 2002 Pat Listach Rookie of the Year Award winner, Joel Pineiro.

Most of this week's other moves were injury-related. Summing up the trend was Philly's Ryan Spilborghs. Cut by the Hitmen last week, Spilborghs was scooped up by the Endzone Animals after Mark Teixeira landed on the 15-day Disabled List. But just four days later, Spilborghs himself went down with an injury. Now he too is on the D.L., and has been replaced by Xavier Nady, who had been cut by Sardine City. "The great thing about the DMBL is you rack up a lot of frequent flier miles," Nady quipped... Other D.L. casualties: D.C.'s Sean Marshall, replaced by Justin Germano; Carolina's Mike Redmond, replaced by Javier Valentin; and Arkansas's Brandon Phillips, replaced by Mark Ellis.

But sooner or later D.L. stints end, and usually that means a pink slip for journeyman replacements. D.C. activated Shawn Hill and cut Andruw Jones; Las Vegas brought back Joe Mauer and cut John Buck; and Newark activated Yadier Molina and released Gregg Zaun.

Don't Ask, Dontrelle

Marietta gave up on enigmatic lefty Dontrelle Willis after two starts in Triple-A. Willis allowed just 1 hit, but also 9 walks, in a total of just five innings for the Kennesaw Kangaroos. Marietta took a flier on the lefty, drafting him in the 13th round and signing him to a minor league deal; by cutting him before May 1, the team avoids a clause in his contract that would have required paying him a hefty bonus. "We're still intrigued with Dontrelle's stuff, but with the Mighty Men off to such a bad start, we're focused as an organization on Kennesaw winning the Triple-A championship, and he wasn't helping," a source in the Marietta front office said. It's quite a fall from grace for Willis, who, at age 21, was the first overall pick by Tijuana in 2004. He had a disastrous rookie year (4-16, 6.05 ERA, 1.75 WHIP). He finally showed that potential in 2006 (14-13, 3.92 ERA, 1.38 WHIP), but otherwise has to be regarded as a bust, particularly after taking a huge step backward last year (7-13, 6.60 ERA, 1.84 WHIP). When Tijuana/South Boston owner Paul Barbosa sold his team this off-season, the new ownership quickly cut ties with Willis. The southpaw's agent, Arliss Michaels, says Willis is weighing his options. "We're hoping another team will call soon, or, barring that, maybe Dontrelle will invest some money in getting Barbosa another DMBL franchise."

Oddly enough, Willis was replaced on the Mighty Man roster with another former No. 1 pick: Zach Duke. The 22-year-old lefty went 8-8 with a 4.74 ERA and 1.48 WHIP for Westwood in 2006 before being traded to Newark, where lived up to the hype by going 5-1 with a 3.40 ERA and 1.46 WHIP. But then last year he couldn't even crack South Boston's atrocious rotation, going 10-15 with a 4.47 ERA in Triple-A. Before signing with Marietta, he had three starts -- all no decisions -- for a semi-pro team in Poughkeepsie. The Duke/Willis signings fit with Marietta's overall theory of signing a number former uber-prospects in the hope that just one pans out. In addition to Willis and Duke, the team has 2006 second rounders Francisco Liriano and Cla Meredith and perennial Supplemental Draft favorites Gil Meche, Edwin Jackson and Daniel Cabrera. "All those other owners had to be right about at least one of these guys," GM David Landsman said.