Week 8 - May 14, 2007

Sugar Rush

The Newark Sugar Bears are fattening up on the competition, winning all seven of their games this week -- and nine straight games overall -- to open up a comfortable 9½ game lead in the division and a 5-game lead in the overall standings. went 5-3 to remain in first place overall and hang onto a 7-game lead in their division... The Philadelphia Endzone Animals, meanwhile, went 4-2 to open up a 5-game lead in the Morris Division... The Honolulu Sharks went 5-3 to slip into 3rd place overall, a half-game ahead of the Vancouver Iron Fist, who went 3-5...  Matthew's Mighty Men of Marietta jumped two rungs in the standings, going 5-3 to move from 7th to 5th.

There's a three-way tie for the sixth and final playoff berth. Fighting for that spot are the Hoboken Cutters, who went 2-5 to fall from 5th to 6th; the Arkansas Golden Falcons, who went 3-5 to remain in 6th; and the high-flying D.C. Bushslappers, who continue to leap up through the standings. Just two weeks ago, the Slappers were tied for the league's second-worst record; now they're tied for 6th after going 5-1, including three straight wins. Since Week 6, when they were 18-28, the Bushies have gone 12-2, a better record over than span than even the Sugar Bears (12-3).

Because of the three-way tie, the Hillsborough Hired Hitmen are all the way down in 9th place -- but just a game out of the final wildcard spot -- after a 4-3 week. The Hitmen rebounded from a 1-3 start to win their next three straight... The back of the pack remained unchanged. The South Boston Gang went .500 for a second straight week, going 4-4 to hold onto 10th... New Jersey Team Buddah went 2-4 but hung onto 11th... The Carolina Mudcats went 3-4, which meant they crept a half-game closer to the Buddahs... The Sardine City Straphangers went 2-6 for the second-straight week but they'll have to do better, er, worse than that if they want to get behind the Las Vegas Rat Pack for the worst record in baseball. The Rats also went 2-6 and are now on pace to lose 114 games.

D.C.'s Maine Man

Despite the fact that several teams won five or more games this week, just one pitcher was able to win twice -- D.C.'s John Maine. While most starters were complaining about hard-luck losses this week, Maine continues to live a charmed life. The 25-year-old rookie looked like the real deal in his second start, shutting down the powerful Iron Fist lineup (1 ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 8 K). But he probably should have lost his first start on the week, as he gave up 3 earned runs, 6 hits and 4 walks in 5 2/3rds innings against the Rat Pack. Maine finally left the game in the 6th inning after giving up a double, a home run and a single to make the score 4-3. But he was bailed out by his defense, as left fielder Matt Holliday gunned down Shane Victorino at third base. Then, with the tying run on first, Joe Nathan struck out Jeremy Hermida to close out the 6th, and the bullpen blanked the Rats for the next three frames to preserve the 4-3 win for Maine. But good fortune has been the story all year for Maine, who was selected with the 9th overall pick. His teammate and fellow rookie Anibal Sanchez -- the 2nd overall pick -- is 1-6 despite a 3.70 ERA, while Maine is 6-1 with a 3.96. The Slappers score Maine 5.7 runs per game, while Sanchez gets just 3.8. "What can we say, we like John better," shrugged D.C.'s Alfonso Soriano. "What kind of name is 'Anibal' for a dude anyway? It's kind of weird." On the week, Maine was 2-0 with a 2.63 ERA and 10.5 R/9 (6 BB, 13 K in 13.2 IP), earning him the Get Lucky Pitcher of the Week Award.

Around the rest of the league there were plenty of tough-luck losers, but none had a worse fate than Marietta's Francisco Liriano. Liriano lost his first start despite giving up just 2 earned runs; his team only scored 1. And in his second start, the Mites won, but after Liriano had already left the game; Marietta scored once in the 8th and twice in the 9th for a 4-3 win... Other sob stories: Hillsborough's Jeremy Bonderman (1 win, 1 no decision: 0.59 ERA, 8.2 R/9, 3 BB, 14 K in 15.1 IP); Honolulu's Roy Oswalt (1 win, 1 no decision: 2.70 ERA, 11.3 R/9, 3 BB, 13 K in 16.2 IP); Newark's Randy Johnson (1 win, 1 no decision: 0.00 ERA, 9.0 R/9, 3 BB, 10 K in 13.0 IP); and Vancouver's Ben Sheets (1 win, 1 loss: 3.38 ERA, 9.0 R/9, 0 BB, 15 K in 16.0 IP).

Manny Being Manny... In a Good Way

We've noted before that this Sugar Bear lineup may be the most potent force in the history of the DMBL. Once again, Newark blew out the competition, combining for 77 runs in just 7 games (11 rpg). When these Sugar Bears attack, everybody gets in on it: Jim Edmonds hit .464 (1.281 OPS) with 2 HR, 8 R and 15 RBI; Chipper Jones hit .462 (1.363 OPS) with 2 HR and 8 R; and Marlon Anderson hit .375 (1.006 OPS) with 1 HR and 6 RBI. Collectively, the team hit .328 (1.020 OPS). So who gets the award? This week's box of free cigars as the JRCigars.com Smokin' Batter of the Week goes to Manny Ramirez, who hit .433 with a .553 OBP and 1.133 SLG (6 HR, 10 R, 14 RBI). Manny led the league in OBP, extra base hits, runs created and RC/27, tied for the league-lead in runs and homers, and was in the top 3 in OPS, SLG, RBIs, walks, isolated power, total average, total bases, secondary average, AB/HR, etc., etc... plus he's got a 9-game hitting streak. "It's just me being me," Manny said after lighting up a stogie. On the season, Ramirez is hitting .327 (1.132 OPS) and leads the league in HRs (23) and RBI (63)... and we've played just 61 games. At his current pace, he'd finish the year with 56 HR, 127 R, 154 RBI and 381 total bases. None would be league records, however. "What?!" a distraught Manny said upon hearing the news. "I better pick it up!" Pitchers beware...

It was a good week for huge offensive performances. Arkansas's Lance Berkman put up some nice round numbers (.400 BA, .500 OBP, 1.200 SLG, 1.700 OPS) for 5 HR, 9 R and 15 RBI, but crooked numbers were just as nice for Marietta's Ray Durham (.455, 1.561 OPS, 6 HR, 10 R, 11 RBI) and Philly's Vernon Wells (.417, 1.298 OPS, 3 HR, 8 R, 10 RBI)... Manny aside, Carolina's Travis Hafner continues to look like the leading Kevin Mitchell Award candidate after another huge week (.304, 1.182 OPS, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 11 BB)... And who needs Alex Rodriguez as long as Hillsborough has Nick Punto (.583, 1.706 OPS, 2 3B, 4 R, 1 SB in 12 AB)? Other top batters: D.C.'s Carlos Beltran (.333, 1.366 OPS, 3 HR, 5 RBI); Hoboken's Miguel Cabrera (.385, 1.121 OPS, 2 HR, 6 R); Honolulu's Adrian Gonzalez (.310, 1.240 OPS, 5 HR, 10 RBI); Las Vegas's Joe Mauer (.441, 1.045 OPS, 4 2B, 7 RBI); South Boston's Rafael Furcal (.471, 1.396 OPS, 2 HR, 3 3B, 8 R, 6 RBI) and Vancouver's Mike Lowell (.394, 1.038 OPS, 2 HR, 11 RBI).

A Week Without Injuries

Just one minor injury to report this week. Philly's Vernon Wells will miss about four days after straining his eyes watching a Battlestar Galactica marathon on the Sci-Fi Channel. "Holy smokes, have you seen what the cylons look like now? This is the greatest show in the history of television!"

A Prince for a Carpenter?

In the biggest trade since Draft Day -- heck, the only trade since Draft Day -- Vancouver and South Boston pulled off an intriguing deal that will have significant ramifications for each franchise. Each team is hoping the player they received will benefit from the change in scenery. The Gang gave up ace pitcher Chris Carpenter, who was having a rough season (3-4, 5.20 ERA, 13.8 R/9, .333 QS%) but last year ranked among the league's top starters (17-10, 4.57 ERA, 12.6 R/9, .515 QS%). The Iron Fist gave up a young slugger in Prince Fielder, who was having a rough rookie campaign (.183, .543 OPS, 6 BB, 21 K in 71 AB), but is touted as a future star.

For South Boston fans, the trade was greeted with a mixture of frustration and hope for the future. Dealing away Carpenter -- just 60 games into the season -- means it will be yet another rebuilding year for the franchise, which appears headed for its third straight finish among the league's bottom four teams. On the other hand, the team gets a highly regarded 23-year-old power hitter in return for a 32-year-old pitcher who many thought was on his way out of South Boston at the end of the season. (In fact, there are some rumors that Carpenter will sit out the '08 season in order to devote himself full time to his other passion, Stick Cricket.) For Vancouver fans, giving up Fielder for what might be just 20 or so starts from Carpenter signals the team is going for it this year, even if the team is 5 games behind Philly in the division. And while many had high hopes that Fielder -- drafted in the 3rd round (#40 overall) of last year's draft and protected as an ineligible prospect -- would one day be the team's offensive center piece, so far this season the Prince had seen little playing time. In fact, he'd been passed on the depth chart by fellow rookies Conor Jackson (.344 BA, .407 OBP, .477 SLG, 11 2B, 24 RBI in 151 AB) and Curtis Granderson (.396 BA, .463 OBP, .542 SLG, 2 3B, 6 R in 48 AB). There also were whispers in the front office that Fielder, like his father, would soon eat himself into a one-dimensional player. "We see him in a few years as becoming just a big fat guy who can only hit home runs, and we already have David Ortiz," one scout said.

Of course, the superstitious folks around the league also noted that the Columbia franchise traded away Cecil Fielder -- then a 26-year-old rookie and the first overall pick in the league's inaugural draft -- and never recovered. Will the "Curse of Cecil Fielder" extend to the next generation? So far, the early returns are ominous. As it turns out, Vancouver and South Boston were playing each other when the deal was consumated, so each player had his first game with his new team against his old team. Fielder went 2-for-4 with a walk, while Carpenter gave up 4 earned runs on 6 hits in 5.2 innings.

Compared to the big trade, this week's other transactions were ho-hum. Las Vegas cut outfielders Chris Duffy and Cory Hart and signed pitchers Ryan Dempster and Randy Wolf; New Jersey activated Jose Contreras and released Matt Morris; Philly released Zack Greinke in order to sign Chad Gaudin, but then five days later cut Gaudin for Claudio Vargas; Newark dumped batters Scott Spiezio and Casey Blake and picked up pitchers Joe Saunders and Tim Wakefield; Hoboken activated Mike Napoli and released Yovit Torrealba; and Hillsborough cut Justin Frasor for Jeremy Accardo.

TWIB may have Ozzie Smith, but we have the better Smith! Zane Smith, former pitcher for the San Antonio Slingers and Sacramento Seahawks, now writes this column exclusively for the Diamond Mind Baseball League. Click Here for past articles.