Week 8 - May 15, 2006

Carolina On My Mind

After tied at the top for two weeks, the Carolina Mudcats finally took sole possession of the Morris Division lead after winning five out of seven, and ended the week riding a four-game winning streak. Meanwhile, after a 4-4 week, the Vancouver Ironfist are now equidistant between the Morris Division lead and the final wildcard berth -- 1½ games... The Arkansas Golden Falcons missed a golden opportunity to make up ground after opening the week at 3-2. They finished it out dropping three in a row, but managed to hang onto 3rd place in the division... The Philadelphia Endzone Animals, Hillsborough Hired Hitmen and South Boston Gang all tread water as each went 4-4... The D.C. Bushslappers failed to build on last week's momentum, going 3-5.

At the end of Thursday's games, the Newark Sugar Bears had opened a 3½ game lead after opening the week at 3-1, while the Las Vegas Rat Pack were 2-2. But then the Sugar Bears dropped three out of their next four, and the Rat Pack ran the table. Now the Rats are riding a four-game winning streak and are just a game out of the league's best record -- with a three-game showdown in Las Vegas coming up this week... The Hoboken Cutters won four out of seven and are now in 5th place overall... The Phoenix Dragons started the week tied with Hoboken, but then lost five out of seven this week to fall a game under .500 and into a three-way tie for the league's 7th-best record... Joining that tie with Phoenix and Philly are the Marietta Mighty Men, who went 4-3.

For the first time since opening week, the Westwood Deductions aren't in last place in the Hanover Division! The Ducks went 4-3, but that was enough to power past the Honolulu Sharks, who went 2-6. The Sharks have lost five straight -- and 13 out of their last 17 -- to claim the league's worst record. Just three weeks ago, they were 2 games under .500!

Newark By 6½: On Friday night, the Sugar Bears and Bushslappers combined for 27 runs -- this year's highest scoring game. Newark ripped up eight D.C. pitchers for 16 hits, 10 walks and 17 runs, while the Bushslappers had 11 hits, 5 walks and 10 runs against four Newark hurlers. In addition, Newark's 17 runs tied for the most runs scored by any one team this year, matching Arkansas's 17-7 win over Hillsborough on March 28... Despite Newark's barrage on Friday, the Bushslappers got the last laugh, winning the other two games in the series.

Giles Gets Gipped -- Again!

Last week, Marietta's Morgan Ensberg got the OmahaSteaks.com Batter of the Week Award over teammate Brian Giles, who hit .406 (1.281 OPS) with 3 HR and 10 R. But while Morgan went into a tailspin this week (.148, .515 OPS), Giles just kept on truckin'. The Marietta left fielder hit an even .500 (1.390 OPS) with 3 2B, 3 HR and 9 R, and is riding a 14-game hitting streak. So, once again this week, the steaks are going to Marietta -- but not to Brian! Teammate Gary Sheffield was even better, hitting .419 (1.341 OPS) with 5 HR and 11 RBI. Giles led the league in batting average (.500) and hits (16), but Sheffield was tops in slugging percentage (.903) and home runs (5). The pair were at the top of the standings in runs created, OPS and total bases. When all the votes were counted, Sheffield finished just a couple ballots ahead. Despite being the bridesmaid in back-to-back weeks, Giles was all smiles for the reporters, saying he doesn't care about awards as long as the team is winning. "I'm just going to keep hitting until I win the damn thing for myself," he said. "I hear the little bacon-wrapped filets are awesome!"

This week's other top batters: Arkansas's Bobby Crosby (.367, 1.006 OPS, 5 2B, 5 R); Hillsborough's Adam Dunn (.357, 1.258 OPS, 3 HR, 11 RBI); Hoboken's Chad Tracy (.478, 1.219 OPS, 3 2B, 4 RBI); Las Vegas's Tony Clark (.290, 1.095 OPS, 4 HR, 9 RBI); Newark's Damion Easley (.435, 1.306 OPS, 3 HR, 8 RBI); Philly's Jose Guillen (.441, 1.147 OPS, 4 2B, 14 RBI); and Vancouver's David Ortiz (.333, 1.317 OPS, 4 HR, 8 RBI).

Bushslappin' With Benson

Anna Benson sure has a nice pair... of wins, turned in this week by her husband, D.C.'s Kris Benson. The 31-year-old righthander gave up just one run and five baserunners in 16 innings (0.56 ERA, 2.8 R/9), throwing a 2-hit, no-walk shutout in a 5-0 win over Honolulu in which he retired the last 20 men in a row. His next start may have been more impressive -- one run, two hits and one walk in a 10-2 win over the mighty Sugar Bear offense. At one point in that game, Benson retired 15 out of 16 batters. Those two sure were huge. Wins, I mean. Huge wins. Coincidentally, Benson's incredible week wins him the Who Is Baseball's Hottest Wife Pitcher of the Week Award. So far this season, Benson is 4-3 with a 3.94 ERA and 9.9 R/9 this season, showing flashes of the brilliance he displayed in his sophomore campaign with Brooklyn in 2001 (16-6, 3.84 ERA). After that season, Benson married Anna and then missed the next two seasons in order to devote himself full time to his husbandly duties. Finally, in 2004 -- and reportedly running low on Viagra -- Benson returned to baseball, signing a two-year deal with the Endzone Animals. He pitched in just 10 games the first year, going 4-2 with a 4.57 ERA; last year, he had just five appearances, going 1-3 with a 4.82. The Bushslappers wisely signed Benson to an incentive-laden deal with one very peculiar clause -- if he doesn't make a quality start, he has to spend the night not with Anna Benson, but with TV's Benson, Robert Guillaume. So far, it's working -- Benson leads his team with 7 quality starts (.636 QS%).

This week's other top performers: Arkansas's Roger Clemens (shutout, 3 H, 1 BB, 8 K); Carolina's Francisco Cordero (2 SV, 0 R, 3 H, 1 BB, 6 K in 4.2 IP) and Al Reyes (2 W, 0 R, 3 H, 1 BB, 5 K in 6.0 IP); Hoboken's Jon Garland (2-0, 2.25 ERA, 9.0 R/9, 2 BB, 9 K in 16.0 IP); Honolulu's Roy Oswalt (1-1, 0.57 ERA, 8.0 R/9, 4 BB, 15 K in 15.2 IP); Las Vegas's Freddy Garcia (2-0, 1.76 ERA, 7.0 R/9, 2 BB, 8 K in 15.1 IP); and South Boston's Dontrelle Willis (1-1, 1.84 ERA, 8.6 R/9, 5 BB, 13 K in 14.2 IP).

Medic!

It was a crazy week on the injury front as a number of players were struck down by a series of bizarre ailments ranging from avian flu to SARS to West Nile Virus. The Centers for Disease Control was even called in to investigate. The culprit turned out to be Newark's ill-advised "Vaccination Elimination" promotion -- free admission to every fan who has never received an innoculation. The result is extended time off the field for Newark's Chien-Ming Wang and Jeff DaVanon and Vancouver's Brandon Claussen. The Sugar Bear front office agreed the promotion probably wasn't a good idea, but that's not going to keep them from coming up with new ones. "Hey, give me a break -- we have to convince people to come to Newark. It ain't easy," assistant to the traveling secretary George Costanza said. "Next week we're sure to pack the house with 'Bring Your Dirty Underwear Night'. You bring 'em, we'll wash 'em! It can't miss!"

How tough a boss is Vancouver GM Yaro Zajac? Slugger J.D. Drew found out the hard way. Drew, who is leading the Ironfist in batting average (.348), on base percentage (.448), slugging percentage (.652) and OPS (1.100), and is coming off a week when he hit .350 (1.236 OPS) with 2 HR, 5 RBI and 8 BB, arrived two minutes late to a team meeting on proper hygiene. Zajac immediately placed him on the restricted list for violating team rules. "He is suspended without pay indefinitely," Zajac said. "I will consider reinstating him when he comes to my office with a 1,000-word essay on the value of punctuality and a note from his mother explaining his tardiness." Drew could not be reached for comment, as he was in detention.

The New Jersey Devils were eliminated by the Carolina Hurricanes, 4 games to 1, despite a terrific effort from Hoboken's Scott Kazmir. The 22-year-old lefthanded starter also is a stand-out defenseman, making him a two-sport star like Deion Sanders, Bo Jackson and Air Bud. Now that the Devils' season is over, Kaz will be returning full-time to the Cutters. Hoboken manager Wally Backman said he didn't have a problem with Kazmir following his hockey dream in the middle of the baseball season. "Hell, he can try out for basketball or dodgeball or whatever he wants," Backman said. Kazmir is 1-3 with a 7.99 ERA and 19.0 R/9.

Is There A Pitcher In The House?

With all the injuries this week, it's no surprise teams were searching the independent leagues for pitching depth. Las Vegas found veteran Brett Tomko (4-1, 2.93 ERA) pitching in Mexico; Hillsborough rescued J.J. Putz (1 W, 4 SV, 1.83 ERA) from a league in Pakistan; and Newark re-signed Todd Williams, the last player they took in this year's draft (#264 overall), after he picked up a win and a save with a 2.00 ERA in eight games for the Nippon Ham Fighters. Things didn't work out as well for Claudio Vargas, who was 4-1 with a 3.77 ERA in the Israeli professional baseball league when Philly signed him. But that night he made his final start for the Haifa Haymakers and was bombed for eight earned runs in three innings -- jumping his ERA over 5. He was released even before he got to the airport.

Other comings and goings: Hillsborough announced top prospect Delmon Young is quitting baseball to work on his bat throwing act; Las Vegas released Kyle Davies; Philly dumped Adam Kennedy and Jack Wilson, and signed Shannon Stewart and Carl Pavano; and Vancouver added Ryan Klesko.