Week 5 - April 23, 2007

Got A Quarter?

Believe it or not, we're just a couple games away from officially hitting the end of the first quarter of the season, when every team will have played about 40 games. Wasn't it just yesterday we were crowding into the commissioner's basement for the draft?

For the second straight week, the Honolulu Sharks came within a single game of catching the Newark Sugar Bears for the Hanover Division lead -- only to watch the Sugar Bears pull away with a big finish. The Sugar Bears closed out the week riding a four-game winning streak to go a DMBL-best 6-2 this week, holding onto 1st place in the division and overall. The Sharks, who had come within just 1 game of the Sugar Bears after taking the first two games in a four-games series, finished 4 games out after dropping three of their last four games, including the final two against Newark, to go 4-4... The Hoboken Cutters jumped into 3rd place in the division, and 6th overall, after going 5-2 this week... Dropping behind them, and into 8th overall, are Matthew's Mighty Men of Marietta, who went 3-5... New Jersey Team Buddah leap-frogged three teams in the overall standings after a 4-3 week, springing from last in the division and12th overall to 5th and 9th, respectively... The Sardine City Straphangers went 2-4 for a second straight week, falling to 6th in the division and third-worst overall... The Las Vegas Rat Pack continue their roller-coaster season. Just a week ago, they were tied for 9th overall; now they have the league's worst record after a 1-6 week, including six straight losses.

The Philadelphia Endzone Animals briefly claimed the best record in the DMBL, but finished the week a full game behind the Sugar Bears. Still, it was a great week for Philly fans, as they went 5-2 to open up a 3½ game lead in the division... The Arkansas Golden Falcons, who had been fighting for the best record in baseball last week, went 2-5 to fall into a tie for second in the division, and 4th overall, with the Vancouver Ironfist, who went 3-2...The Hillsborough Hired Hitmen went 4-3 for a second straight week, moving a half-game behind Hoboken for 6th place overall... The South Boston Gang and D.C. Bushslappers each went 4-3 to remain tied, but now they're sharing the 10th spot overall (with the Straphangers). Last week, the Gang and Slappers were tied for last, but they moved up courtesy of lousy weeks by the Rat Pack and the Carolina Mudcats, who went 2-5 to sink to last in the division and just a half-game ahead of Las Vegas for last place overall.

He's Haf-Man, Haf-Ner!

Arkansas's Justin Morneau, who hit .577 with a .633 OBP, 1.154 SLG and 1.897 OPS -- and finished second in all four categories. Ordinarily numbers like that would make Morneau a slam dunk for a box of cigars, but he'll be fuming. Instead, it will be Carolina's Travis Hafner puffing away on those stogies as our JRCigars.Com Smokin' Batter of the Week. (Remember, sports fans, "JRCigars.com is the ONLY address you need for buying cigars on the web.") Hafner hit a ridiculous .611 with a .731 OBP, 1.167 SLG and 1.898 OPS.  He also led the league in walks (8), runs created per 27 outs (63.6), total average (4.143) secondary average (1.000), and has the league's second-longest active hitting streak at 12 games. "Pronk" also smacked 4 doubles and 2 home runs, scored 7 runs and knocked in 7 more. Hafner's teammate, Grady Sizemore, also had a big week, hitting .400 (1.037 OPS) with 5 2B, 9 R and 3 SB. Despite their heroics -- and the team scoring an impressive 41 runs in just 7 games -- the Mudcats went 2-5 this week as the pitching staff was pounded, giving up nearly 8 runs per game. Hafner says he's looking to address that side of the ball as well. "I figure instead of using me as DH, they could let me pitch," Hafner said. "I've been working on a knuckler with Mark Lemke."

Morneau also might want to learn how to pitch. Despite his incredible offensive production (which included 4 HRs, 9 R and 9 RBI), the Falcs also went 2-5 after the pitching staff posted a 5.43 ERA. Justin was supported in the lineup by Lance Berkman (.385, 1.082 OPS, 2 HR, 6 R, 1 SB).

Travis and Grady and Lance and Justin -- what is this, a boy band? -- weren't the only dynamic duos this week. Also proving to be double trouble were Hillsborough's Carlos Lee (.462, 4 2B, 9 RBI) and Ryan Howard (.444, 2 HR, 10 R); Hoboken's Mike Cameron (.385, 2 HR, 9 RBI) and Josh Bard (.308, 3 2B, 7 RBI); Honolulu's Jason Giambi (.476, 2 HR, 6 RBI) and Brian McCann (.400, 3 2B, 9 RBI); Marietta's Bengie Molina (.583, 2 HR, 3 RBI) and Jim Thome (.526, 3 HR, 6 RBI); Honolulu's Jason Giambi (.476, 2 HR, 6 RBI) and Brian McCann (.400, 3 2B, 9 RBI); Newark's Carlos Guillen (.382, 2 HR, 8 RBI) and Michael Barrett (.348, 4 HR, 8 RBI); and Philly's Albert Pujols (.406, 4 HR, 10 RBI) and Reed Johnson (.357, 4 2B, 7 RBI).

Hoboken's Miguel Cabrera had his hitting streak snapped at 22 games, which is this year's longest. Cabrera had a tough week, hitting .241 with a .566 OPS, but he's still hitting a league-best .392 on the year. Meanwhile, Marietta's Matt Diaz has a hitting streak up to 21 games and counting. Diaz's DMBL career off to an excellent start as he's hitting .341 (.814 OPS) with 7 2B, 24 R and 23 RBI in 167 AB. Interestingly enough, Diaz is a 28-year-old rookie, while Cabrera is four years younger but already in his fourth DMBL season. Diaz has been toiling in the minors since 2003, playing in 48 games (119 AB) before finally becoming eligible for the DMBL last year. Did he have the longest apprenticeship in the minors before finally making The Show? Not even close! Find out who is this year's Jeff Reboulet Perseverance Award winner in an all-new edition Did You Know?

Pitching a Fit

Francisco Rodriguez was perfect this week, going 3-for-3 in save opportunities and retiring all nine batters he faced. "Yeah, too bad I can't win the Pitcher of the Week award," K-Rod said. Excuse me? "Johan Santana, man. He's been kicking ass this year. Give the boy his due."  Well, when the reigning Eck Award winner speaks, we listen! The 28-year-old Venezuelan had  one of the most dominating weeks of any pitcher this season: two complete game wins, allowing just 3 runs, 9 hits and 1 walk, while striking out 18! His dominant performances earned him the Aren't You Glad Alec Baldwin Isn't Your Dad? Pitcher of the Week Award! But Rodriguez is right that Santana has been kicking ass all year. He leads the league in wins (6-1), ERA (1.99), R/9 (7.7), H/9 (5.7), strikeouts (77), K/9 (10.9), innings (63.1), shutouts (2), complete games (4) and OPS allowed (.556), and is tied for the league lead in quality starts (7) and quality start percentage (.875). Santana won the McDonald Award two years ago; could another Big Mac be in his future?

This week's other top starters: Arkansas's Pedro Martinez (2-0, 2.87 ERA, 8.6 R/9, 2 BB, 12 K in 15.2 IP); D.C.'s Kelvim Escobar (1-0, shutout, 5 H, 1 BB, 11 K); Marietta's Mike Mussina (1-1, 1.93 ERA, 9.6 R/9, 5 BB, 10 K in 14.0 IP); New Jersey's Brad Penny (2-0, 1.29 ERA, 14.1 R/9, 8 BB, 4 K in 14.0 IP); Newark's Chien-Ming Wang (2-0, 3.60 ERA, 12.6 R/9, 2 BB, 6 K in 15.0 IP); and South Boston's Josh Beckett (1-0, 2.70 ERA, 11.5 R/9, 7 BB, 6 K in 13.1 IP).

K-Rod is kicking some ass himself this season. As we close in on the end of the first quarter of the season, Rodriguez is tied for the league lead in both saves (9) and relief points (19) -- and he's given up just 1 run (0.66 ERA) in 12 appearances! Let's take a look at the first quarter relief points leader board as K-Rod looks to win his second straight Eck Award.

First Quarter Relief Points Standings
Reliever	ERA	W	SV	L	BS	Pts
F.Rodriguez,PHI	0.66	1	9	1	0	19
Meredith,NWK	2.30	4	7	1	2	19
Otsuka,SAR	2.50	2	7	0	0	18
B.Wagner,VAN	4.82	3	9	2	5	17
T.Gordon,HON	4.84	2	8	1	3	16
Fuentes,CAR	2.25	2	8	3	3	14
Duchscherer,ARK	3.34	2	8	3	3	14
Street,SB	2.51	1	7	0	1	13
Rincon,HBK	3.60	0	7	2	0	12
Rodney,ARK	1.42	0	6	0	1	11

This week's other top relievers: D.C.'s Joe Nathan (2 W, 1 ER, 1 H, 4 BB, 11 K in 6.0 IP); Hillsborough's Luis Vizcaino (1 W, 0 R, 0 H, 2 BB, 6 K in 3.2 IP); Hoboken's Juan Rincon (3 SV, 1 ER, 4 H, 1 BB, 6 K in 8.0 IP); Honolulu's Tom Gordon (1 W, 0 R, 1 H, 1 BB, 2 K in 2.2 IP); South Boston's Huston Street (2 SV, 1 ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 5 K in 5.1 IP); and Sardine City's Akinori Otsuka (1 W, 1 SV, 0 R, 3 H, 0 BB, 6 K in 2.0 IP).

Oh, Snap!

Three of the league's top starting pitchers went down last week; add two more to the list. Joining Marietta's Francisco Liriano, South Boston's Chris Carpenter, and New Jersey's Jake Westbrook are Hillsborough's C.C. Sabathia and Honolulu's Jered Weaver, who are each expected to miss multiple starts.

Weaver, like Liriano, is considered one of the early favorites for the Pat Listach Rookie of the Year Award. The first overall pick in this year's draft was off to a sensational start (4-1, 2.40 ERA, 9.1 R/9, 14 BB, 45 K in 48.2 IP) until this week's unfortunate encounter with a Snapalope. "Some days you get the Snapalope and some days the Snapalope gets you," the 24-year-old right-hander philosophized. He's expected to miss up to three starts... Meanwhile, Sabathia -- a five-year DMBL veteran who is still just 26 years old -- was so inspired by Weaver's story that he will miss up to a month after embarking on a worldwide tour speaking out against Snapalope hunting. "These poor creatures deserve our protection," Sabathia said. "I will not rest until Randy "Macho Man" Savage agrees to join me in preventing the needless snapping of these young Slim Jims."

Two infielders also got some time off after signing up for the TV show Drive. Things didn't go exactly as planned, however, for Hoboken's Mark Ellis and South Boston's Ty Wigginton. "We actually thought it was a golfing show," Ellis confessed. "We found out too late that they meant drive as in, drive a car, not drive a golf ball. Unfortunately we only brought a golf cart, so we didn't do so good." The golf cart's batteries ran out somewhere in the Mojave Desert and the two are walking back to civilization. They expect to rejoin their teams in a week to 10 days... we hope.

Frantic Philly

It was a busy week as several teams shuffled their rosters. The busiest team was Philadelphia, which made three moves this week -- and once again, made headlines by cutting a former star. Last week, the Animals released veteran catcher Jason Varitek; this week, they gave up on Mark Prior, a player they'd protected every year since drafting him as an ineligible prospect in the 7th round (#85 overall) of the 2002 draft. Prior, who has a 41-35 record, a 4.12 ERA and 1.32 WHIP over his four-year injury-plagued career, will miss the entire DMBL season due to a shoulder injury. For insurance purposes, the Animals cut him rather than keep him on the roster all year. "Mark knows this was a difficult decision but it was strictly a financial one," a front office executive said. "We hope he'll come back to his Philly family next year." Prior couldn't be reached for comment. He was replaced on the roster by reliever Francisco Cordero. "We thought Francisco Rodriguez might like having another guy around with the same first name, so the other guys will have to stop calling him Sam Francisco," pitching coach Dave Righetti said... The Animals then released Rod Barajas, just five days after signing him to replace Varitek as the platoon partner for rookie David Ross. Barajas had just 2 hits in 19 at-bats (.105 BA, .255 OPS), and had thrown out just 2 out of 5 baserunners in six games. He's been replaced by switch hitter Javier Valentin, who so far has gone 1-for-8... Philly's third move was just as interesting as the first two. The team cut Khalil Greene, the shortstop the team has been flirting with for years, and replaced him with Julio Lugo, who is already with his third team this year. Lugo was drafted by Arkansas in the 10th round (#137 overall), but cut before the season started; he was then signed by Hillsborough, but was released after going 0-for-4 with a walk in his first four games. It remains to be seen how and where Philly will use Lugo, who can play second, short or third.

A historic move also was made by Hoboken, who signed veteran Craig Biggio while Mark Ellis is on the shelf. Biggio hasn't gotten into a game for Hoboken yet, but once he does, he will add another year and another franchise to his long DMBL resume. Biggio, a career .267 hitter, will join Roger Clemens as the only players to have played in all 16 DMBL seasons. In addition, Hoboken would be his seventh franchise, after Vancouver, Kentucky, Honolulu, Columbia, Carolina and Westwood. (The record is 10 franchises, held by Jay Bell).

Other moves: Hillsborough put C.C. Sabathia on the D.L. and signed Kyle Lohse; Vancouvern signed Randy Wolf and cut Fernando Nieve; Newark released Brad Wilkerson and signed Chad Gaudin; Las Vegas added Shawn Green and released Willy Aybar.