Week 7 - May 10, 2008

Yo Momma!

Happy Mother's Day from the staff at This Week in the DMBL. Many players will use pink bats this weekend to raise awareness and funds for Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Let's all go to bat against breast cancer!

For the third straight week, the Las Vegas Rat Pack saw their Hanover Division lead shaved by a run. The Rats went 3-2, but that wasn't enough to hold off the  Newark Sugar Bears, who tied for the league's best record this week by winning four out of five games. The Sugar Bears now have the league's second-best record and sit 1½ games behind the Rats for No. 1 overall...  The Tampa Bay Plunkers finally got back on a winning track, going 3-2 this week to get back above .500. The Splash is 3rd in the Hanover, but 7th overall, a game and half out of the post-season... The Hoboken Cutters kept pace with the Plunkers, going 3-2, and moved up one rung in the standings to 10th place... The Sardine City Straphangers also went 3-2, and that was good enough to claim sole possession of 12th place overall. The Hangmen had been tied with New Jersey Team Buddah and Matthew's Mighty Men of Marietta for the league's worst record; the Buddahs moved up to 13th after going 2-3, while the Mighty Men claimed last place after going 1-4.

It was an odd week in the Morris Division - six of the seven teams had 2-3 records! The Philadelphia Endzone Animals were one of them. They had their third straight losing week and are no longer have the second-best record in baseball, falling a game behind the Sugar Bears. After going 22-5 in the first four weeks of the season, the Animals have gone 9-12 over the last three... The only Morris team not to go 2-3 this week were the Vancouver Iron Fist, who tied the Sugar Bears for the top performance of the week by going 4-1. The Iron Fist lost Saturday to snap a nine-game winning streak, but they've been perhaps the best team in baseball over the last six weeks - after starting the season at 3-8, they've since gone 27-12 (.692 W%), which would tie them with the Rats for the league's best record... The Hillsborough Hired Hitmen and D.C. Bushslappers remained tied for 5th, but are now 3 games behind the Fisters, after going 2-3... Also posting that same record: The Carolina Mudcats, still in 8th overall; the Arkansas Golden Falcons, still in 9th; and the Blue Ridge Bombers, who fell one place to 11th, half-a-game behind the Cutters.

Iron Men

We thought the complete game was a dying art form? It was a short week, as most teams had just five games (and no starter had more than one game). Yet five guys went the distance, plus  one unlucky hurler went 9.1 innings - only to take the loss! The best performance was turned in by Arkansas's Curt Schilling. The veteran proved he's still not too old to go all the way as he  blanked the Buddahs in a 7-0 win. Schilling gave up a single to Shane Victorino to start the game, but erased that batter on a 4-6-3 double play; in the 2nd, he gave up a two-out single but got out of the jam with a fly out. And that was it for the next 6 innings as Schilling retired 21 men in a row before, with two outs in the 9th, Victorino came through with another single, but was stranded on first as Schilling got the final out on a fly ball. It was Schilling's first complete game this year (and just the second for the Golden Falcons). He was also happy to note that it was his 20th career shutout, breaking a tie with teammate Pedro Martinez (who is sitting out this season to concentrate on his cockfighting team) and putting him just one behind former teammate Kevin Brown. He's still 11 shutouts behind the all-time leader, Greg Maddux (and eight CGs behind Maddux for the all-time lead.) Maddux doesn't have any complete games this year for Vancouver; his first one will be his 100th all-time. Appropriately enough, Schilling's durable start earned him the Iron Man Pitcher of the Week Award.

Carolina's Roy Halladay pitched more than 9 innings, but he didn't get a complete game - just a loss! Halladay gave up a first-inning run to Marietta's Casey Kotchman, then held the Mites scoreless for the next eight innings. Meanwhile, Mighty Man Boof Bonser kept wiggling out of jams against the Mudcats, holding them without a run over the first seven innings despite giving up 8 hits, 4 walks and hitting a batter. Bonser was lifted after loading the bases in the 8th, and reliever Carlos Villanueva gave up a sac fly to tie the score at 1. Then, in the bottom of the 10th, Halladay got the first out but then hit Matt Diaz on a 1-1 pitch. Manager Mark Carreon called on Justin Miller, who gave up a double to Derek Jeter, but with only one out, Diaz was held up at third. Halladay hid his face behind a towel in frustration as Miller intentionally walked Orlando Hudson to set up the force at any base. That brought up rookie sensation Josh Hamilton - who struck out on three pitches. Miller then got ahead of Kotchman, 1-2. Halladay just had enough time to peek out from under his towel when Casey came through with a clutch two-out walk-off single - and of course, the run was charged to Halladay, so he got credited with the loss. Sometimes this is not a fair game! This week's other iron men: Hillsborough's John Lackey (1 W, 1 ER, 5 H, 0 BB, 9 K); Hoboken's Jeremy Guthrie (1 W, 1 ER, 4 H, 1 BB, 6 K); Tampa Bay's Jeff Francis (1 W, 1 ER, 7 H, 2 BB, 7 K) and Roy Oswalt (1 W, 1 ER, 7 H, 3 BB, 5 K).

Looney for Loney

Honolulu Shark fans were understandably saddened by the news that the franchise was being sold and moved clear across the country to Tampa Bay. Many wondered if any in the 50th state would continue to follow the team, considering the time difference - a 7 p.m. start in Tampa would be on at 1 o'clock in Hawaii, while most day games would start before 8 a.m.! But new owner Bill Levesque, not wanting to give up on 1.2 million potential fans, made a concerted effort to reach out to the Aloha State by keeping Plunker games on a local television station, granting exclusive interviews to the Honolulu media and scheduling a handful of spring training exhibition games in the old Shark Tank stadium. (Levesque also made sure to keep selling Honolulu Sharks merchandise, as it remains one of the most popular logos in DMBL history.)

But by far, their most successful marketing tool was slugging rookie 1B/DH James Loney. Although the 24-year-old was born and raised in Texas, he and his fiancee live in Hawaii during the off-season and have quickly become favorites around the islands. Loney, drafted #232 overall in the 2007 draft as an ineligible prospect and then protected this off-season, got off to a rough start this year (.244, .712 OPS in 180 AB), and fans in Tampa wanted to see the rookie benched in favor of a little-used veteran like Miguel Tejada or Johnny Damon. But the front office was reluctant to make the move as his cheering section in Honolulu kept calling for the team to stick with him. Loney finally rewarded their faith this week as he put up some monster numbers (.474, 1.598 OPS, 3 HR, 5 R in 5 G). "Now if only we can get Jered Weaver straightened out," Levesque sighed. Weaver has volunteered to live in Hawaii if the team wants to buy him a house there. Loney will be sharing his Cohibas with his island friends as the JRCigars.com Smoking Batter of the Week.

Mighty Papi: What does Vancouver's David Ortiz have against the Mighty Men? Big Papi put a big hurting on the Mites in back to back games this week. Maybe Ortiz was annoyed that he went 0-for-3 (but with a walk and a run scored) in the first game of the three-game set, which snapped a seven-game hitting streak. It's not a good idea to make Shrek angry. In the second game, Ortiz went 2-for-5 (2B, HR) with 6 RBI as Vancouver cruised to a 15-3 win; the next night, he laid it to them again, going 3-for-5 (1B, 2 HR) with 7 RBI, helping the Iron Fist to a 14-5 victory. For the series, Ortiz was 5-13 with 1 BB, 4 R, 3 HR and 13 RBI; for the rest of the week, he was a respectable 4-for-9 with 2 2B, 1 HR, 4 R and 3 RBI.

This week's other top batters: Arkansas's Ryan Ludwick (.421, 1.311 OPS, 2 HR, 4 RBI); Carolina's Grady Sizemore (.333, 1.200 OPS, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 2 SB); D.C.'s Matt Kemp (.500, 1.350 OPS, 2 HR, 3 RBI); Marietta's Casey Kotchman (.400, 1.289 OPS, 2 3B, 6 RBI); Newark's Chipper Jones (.417, 1.465 OPS, 2 2B, 3 RBI); Philly's Mike Lamb (.538, 2.010 OPS, 3 HR, 7 RBI in 13 AB!); and Sardine City's Ryan Braun (.458, 1.313 OPS, 2 HR, 6 RBI).

Another Spill for Spilborghs

For the second time this year, Ryan Spilborghs was signed as a free agent - only to almost immediately go on the Disabled List. Spilborghs, a 27-year-old rookie outfielder, was drafted by Hillsborough in the 3rd round (#34 overall), but was cut soon after the season started after going 1-for-9. He was then signed by Philly, where he went 1-for-4 (with a home run), but then got hurt and went on the Disabled List. By the time he was ready to come back, the Endzone Animals no longer needed his services, and he was released. The Iron Fist claimed him off waivers and put him into a centerfield platoon. This time, he lasted 14 at-bats, picking up 6 hits (including another home run) before getting hurt again. Some are beginning to suspect that Spilborghs is just signing DMBL contracts for the healthcare benefits... Is it open season on middle infielders? Newark's Marco Scutaro and Las Vegas's Jeff Keppinger were both taken out on hard slides this week. Each is expected to return by the end of next week. And how badly does New Jersey's Alfonso Soriano want to move back to second base? In the wake of the Scutaro and Keppinger injuries, he tried to demonstrate the proper technique to avoid a sliding runner - and managed to hurt himself as well. He should be back next week... Joining Scutaro on the shelf for the Sugar Bears is middle reliever Jared Burton. Team doctors say Burton is suffering from blurred vision - perhaps that's why he's walked 22 batters and hit four more in 28.2 IP. They hope two weeks off will be enough time to fix whatever's wrong with his eyesight -- or give Newark enough time to find a replacement... The Golden Falcons will have to make due without the services of Yorvit Torrealba for about a week. But considering he's hitting .182 (.485 OPS) in 33 AB, maybe they'll be better off without him.

Let's Blame... YOU!

The Bushslappers and Hired Hitmen are locked in a tie for 5th place, so it's not a surprise each owner is looking to shake things up and spark the team to a winning streak. On the other hand, no one wants to shake things up too much, as both teams are just a game and a half ahead of the 7th place team. The right move could mean a post-season berth, while the wrong move could result in nothing more than one or two balls in the draft lottery. So each owner sent his team a wake-up call by cutting an underachieving, popular veteran -- but not one in a key role. The Bushslappers made the first move, dropping 1B/DH Jason Giambi. The long-time Shark hadn't seen much action as a pinch hitter this year, going 3-for-22 (although to be fair, two of his three hits were home runs). Giambi, taken with the #231st pick in this year's draft, is in his 12th DMBL season, nine of them with Honolulu. While he says getting released is never fun, he's hoping it will be a mixed blessing and he'll sign on with a team that will give him some more playing time - he's close to several milestones, including just 2 doubles shy of 300 and 11 walks away of 1,000. The following day, the Hitmen took out their frustrations on little-used utility man Mark Loretta, who had gone 1-for-11 this season. Loretta, a 10th round pick (#133 overall), was prized for his versatility as he can play anywhere in the infield, but the Hitmen also have Yunel Escobar, who can play three positions and is hitting 135 points higher (.226). Loretta, who has been in the DMBL for 11 seasons, was hoping to make a triumphant return to Hillsborough, where he had a huge year in 2005 (.343 BA, 224 H, 50 2B, 102 RBI). Loretta's agent said he's already entertaining offers from several "much better" teams, and that the Hitmen will rue the day they cut his client. "By the end of next month they'll be a lot of talk from the fans in Hillsborough. They'll say, 'Get back Loretta,'" he said. "They'll say, 'We have to get him back to where he once belonged.'"

The Hitmen replaced Loretta with Alex Gonzalez (no, the other one), who played briefly for D.C. last year. In his first two games, Gonzalez went 2-for-5 -- giving him twice as many hits as Loretta had. Giambi's replacement was speedy outfielder Juan Pierre, who is pretty much the opposite of Giambi in every conceivable way. Perhaps to drive that point home, he's wearing No. 52, instead of Giambi's No. 25.

This week's other comings and goings: Las Vegas put Jeff Keppinger on the D.L. and signed David Eckstein, and activated Placido Polanco and released Luis Castillo; New Jersey picked up Garret Anderson after putting Melky Cabrera on the D.L.; Newark put Jared Burton on the D.L. and signed Zach Miner; Philly released Jason Frasor and picked up Al Reyes; and Vancouver put Ryan Spilborghs on the D.L. and inked Matt Murton.