Week 7 - May 7, 2007

Rise of the Landsmen

It was a relatively quiet week as the seven teams remained atop the standings and the same seven remained at the bottom, but things are only calm on the surface, as the two teams owned by the Landsman brothers made strides toward jumping from the bottom half of the standings to the top.

The Newark Sugar Bears went 5-3 to remain in first place overall and hang onto a 7-game lead in their division. They picked up a half-game in the overall standings on the Philadelphia Endzone Animals, who went 4-3; and the Animals, in turn, picked up a half-game on the team behind them in the division standings, the Vancouver Iron Fist, who went 4-4 during a tough week that included three games against Newark and three against Philly... The Honolulu Sharks are still in 4th place overall but have opened up a nice cushion on the teams behind them in the standings after going 5-3... The Hoboken Cutters split their eight games this week, but that was good enough to move up from 6th place to 5th. The Cutters sped past the slumping Arkansas Golden Falcons, who went 2-5, including a five-game losing streak to end the week. The Arks haven't had a winning week since Week 3, when they were 10 games over .500 and just a half-game out of 1st place overall. Since that point they've gone 10-18... Now just a game behind Arkansas for the final wildcard spot, Matthew's Mighty Men of Marietta went 4-3 to claim sole possession of 7th place and return to the .500 mark. The team that had been tied with them in the standings last week -- the Hillsborough Hired Hitmen -- fell off the pace after a 3-5 week.

The best week and the most dramatic rise in the standings was claimed by D.C. Bushslappers, who just a week ago were tied for the league's second-worst record. The Bushslappers jumped from 12th to 9th after going 7-1, and are now 4½ games behind Arkansas for 6th place... The South Boston Gang went 3-3 to hold onto 10th place... New Jersey Team Buddah went 4-3 to remain in 11th place... The Carolina Mudcats went 3-3 -- their second straight week of .500 baseball, which is an improvement from their 14-24 start to the season -- to remain in 12th place... The Sardine City Straphangers went 2-6 and now have the second-worst record in baseball... In last place overall are the Las Vegas Rat Pack, who went 1-5 for a second straight week, and the third week in a row in which they've won just 1 game. They're now on pace to go 50-112, which would be tied for the sixth-worst record in DMBL history!

Piazza Delivers

Some fans thought the Buddahs made a mistake when they took a 38-year-old catcher in this year's dispersal draft. After all, Mike Piazza appeared to be on the downside of his Hall of Fame career, coming off back-to-back years with a batting average below .240 and an OPS below .700 -- and he was never exactly known for his glove. But Piazza appears to have found enlightenment with his new team, posting his highest batting average (.284), slugging percentage (.516) and OPS (.819) in four years. This week, Piazza hit .400 (1.484 OPS) with 4 doubles and 4 home runs, good for 6 runs scored and 7 runs batted in. He's also had an extra base hit -- a double or a home run -- in six consecutive games. On the week, Piazza led the league in OPS (1.484), SLG (1.040), extra base hits (8), RC/27 (21.2) and total average (1.867), earning him inner harmony as well as a box of cigars as our JRCigars.Com Smokin' Batter of the Week, an honor he said will pale in comparison once he achieves nirvana. "The Buddha teaches us that you are only as young as you feel," a contemplative Piazza said. "And also, that you should lay off outside sliders."

This week's other top batters: Arkansas's Justin Morneau (.448, 1.259 OPS, 2 HR, 7 R, 6 RBI); Carolina's Bill Hall (.391, 1.333 OPS, 3 HR, 8 RBI); D.C.'s Carlos Beltran (.290, 1.309 OPS, 6 HR, 11 RBI); Honolulu's Brian McCann (.360, 1.429 OPS, 5 HR, 11 RBI); and Newark's Nick Johnson (.313, 1.317 OPS, 6 HR, 14 RBI).

Long ago, in a galaxy far far away... it's "Streak Wars" between Hoboken and Marietta! First  it was the Mites' Todd Helton with hits in 20 consecutive games. Then Helton was displaced by Hoboken's Miguel Cabrera, who had a 22-game hitting streak. But then Marietta's Victor Diaz did Cabrera one better, with hits in 23 straight games. Now it's Hoboken's Josh Bard aiming for Diaz, riding an 18-game streak. Apparently the feud is all about Morgan Ensberg, who hit .236 as a rookie with the Cutters in 2004, and then two years later as a Mighty Man set the all-time record with hits in 38 straight games. "Why didn't Morgan hit like that when he was here? Obviously he had something against the people of Hoboken!" an enraged Cutters fan said recently in a call to ESPN Sports Talk Radio. According to sources inside the organization, several Cutters spent the entire off-season playing Major League Baseball 2K6 in a bid to improve their hand-eye coordination and surpass Ensberg's record. Once Marietta players heard about the scheme, they too launched an all-out effort to retain the hitting streak record. Not participating? Ensberg himself, who has just 1 hit in 15 at-bats this season as a little-used reserve infielder.

His Holiness, the Papel

Last week we honored Billy Wagner as the Pitcher of the Week and he followed it up with a loss and two blown saves in two appearances (8.10 ERA, 24.3 R/9!). So this week we're getting right back on that horse and going with another closer -- D.C.'s Jonathan Papelbon, who led the league with 3 saves while allowing 0 R, 3 H, 1 BB and striking out an amazing 10 guys in just 5.1 innings. The Super Bon Bon's performance helped the Bushslappers go a league-best 7-1 this week. On the season, Papelbon has 7 saves (but 3 blown saves and 1 loss), with a 2.38 ERA in 19 appearances. He's also allowed just 14 hits and 10 walks (9.5 R/9) against 30 Ks in 22.2 innings. Papelbon leads one of the league's best bullpens, with Joe Nathan (4-2, 2 SV, 2.60 ERA, 8.0 R/9), Trever Miller (1-0, 2.53 ERA, 11.0 R/9), Hector Carrasco (2-1, 2 SV, 3.00 ERA, 9.0 R/9) and the late Josh Hancock (3-0, 3.55 ERA, 10.7 R/9). The only weak link in the 'pen is Dan Wheeler, who has been getting abused (2-1, 7.01 ERA, 15.8 R/9), but even he had a good week (2-0, 2 ER, 3 H, 0 BB, 6 K in 6.2 IP). "Wheelie's been having a tough year," pitching coach Frank Viola admitted. "It's probably because he doesn't like to warm up in the bullpen. He says he was abused by Phoenix's bullpen coach last year and now he just runs from the dugout to the mound." The team hopes with the help of therapy Wheeler will be able to overcome this handicap.

This week's other top relievers: Carolina's Kiko Calero (1 W, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 4 K in 2.2 IP); Hoboken's Juan Rincon (1 SV, 0 R, 4 H, 0 BB, 3 K in 4.2 IP); Newark's Cla Meredith (1-0, 0 R, 2 H, 0 BB, 3 K in 6.0 IP); Philly's Francisco Rodriguez (1 W, 0 R, 2 H, 0 BB, 8 K in 4.1 IP); South Boston's Huston Street (3 SV, 0 R, 4 H, 0 BB, 6 K in 3.1 IP); and Vancouver's Ramon Ramirez (2-0, 0 R, 3 H, 4 BB, 2 K in 6.0 IP).

New Jersey's Piazza isn't the only veteran refusing to act his age. Arkansas's Roger Clemens -- who joins Craig Biggio as the only player to have played in all 16 DMBL seasons -- is adding yet another terrific season to his Hall of Fame career. In fact, at age 44, Clemens is making a run at winning his second Ben McDonald Award. This week, Clemens went 1-0 in two starts (2.77 ERA, 10.4 R/9, 5 BB, 12 K in 13.0 IP), with the bullpen costing him a second win. On the season, Clemens is 6-3 with a 3.65 ERA, 10.9 R/9, .727 QS% and 69 Ks in 74.0 IP... This week's other top starters: D.C.'s Derek Lowe (2-0, 2.51 ERA, 11.9 R/9, 5 BB, 3 K in 14.1 IP); Honolulu's Jason Schmidt (2-0, 2.45 ERA, 11.0 R/9, 6 BB, 10 K in 14.2 IP); Las Vegas's Chris Young (1-0, 0.00 ERA, 7.7 R/9, 1 BB, 10 K in 7.0 IP); and Marietta's Francisco Liriano (1-0, 1.29 ERA, 10.3 R/9, 3 BB, 14 K in 7.0 IP).

Where's A-Rod?

For the past eight seasons, there hasn't been a game played without Alex Rodriguez -- until this week. The longest consecutive games played streak in DMBL history came to an end in  Tuesday's game against D.C. after A-Rod grounded into a fielder's choice to end the 2nd inning and left the game. The next day -- after 1,054 consecutive games -- Rodriguez brought out the lineup card that didn't bear his name for the first time in seven years. Nick Punto took over at third base for A-Rod (and went 0-for-4). Rodriguez said he just "couldn't bring himself to play" against D.C. after the Bushslappers' Josh Hancock was killed in a car wreck. "It's one thing to hear about that poor kid getting killed, but then to have to see him keep pitching? That's awful," Rodriguez said. "I'm still haunted by the sight of Darryl Kile in a Banditos uniform." Rodriguez's streak lasted through four franchises (including two based in Hillsborough), two positions (shortstop and third base) and eight years -- going by official DMBL game dates, from Aug. 19, 2000, to May 9, 2007. Now the longest active DMBL streak -- and possibly the second-longest of all time -- belongs to Honolulu's Miguel Tejada, who has played in 936 consecutive games. Next up is New Jersey's Ichiro Suzuki, who has played in 862 consecutive games. We're not sure if Tejada's streak ranks second or third all-time, because Austin's Albert Belle may have played in as many as 986 consecutive games. We do know he played in 648 straight games between 1997 and 2000 -- which would make it 5th all time -- and that it ended with the first game of the 2001 season, when Belle famously refused to take the field in protest of the team being sold and renamed the Harrison Rats. However, we're not sure when the streak began because games played data is sketchy before the 1997 season. It appears, however, that Belle played in every game in 1996 and in 1994 (no games were played in 1995 due to the strike), and that he played in 14 games in 1993. Giving him credit for every game in 1994 and 1996, and assuming the 14 games he played in 1993 were the final games of the season, Belle's streak is at most 986 games played.

On a related note, D.C.'s Jose Reyes also is sitting out eight games to remember Hancock. "I'm sitting shiva," Reyes said. "What are you talking about, first-degree relative. Relative shmelative. He was like a brother to me. He was a real mensch. For this you give me tsuris?" A reporter thought by "tsuris" Reyes was referring to Vancouver's Maicer Izturis, who then asked Iron Fist GM Yaro Zajac if it was true that he'd just traded Izturis for Reyes. A delighted Zajac had Izturis stuffed into a burlap sack along with Cesar Izturis and the keys to a Ford Taurus and sent them all to D.C., only to find out that the deal was all a misunderstanding. The package was sent back to Vancouver, and is at the moment lost in transit.

Comings and Goings

It was a busy week at the Commissioner's Office as the Iron Fist went to work in a bid to unseat the Endzone Animals at the top of the division standings. Vancouver cut veteran starting pitchers Randy Wolf and Carl Pavano, put Maicer Izturis on the disabled list and then signed pitchers Jason Marquis and Jorge de la Rosa and infielder Placido Polanco. The Iron Fist, coming off a week where they played three games against Newark and three against Philly, have three games against the arch-rival Golden Falcons this week. "Newark, Philly, yeah whatever," 1B/DH David Ortiz said. "When we play Arkansas, man, it's for blood."