Weeks 10-11 - June 1-June 14, 2008

And That's The End of the First Half

Well, almost. Technically the first half doesn't end for a few more days -- the official halfway point comes after Wednesday's games, when the league takes three days off for the 17th annual All-Star Game. Did your favorite players make the roster? Check out this year's All-Star rosters.

The top of the standings remains the same after the Newark Sugar Bears and Las Vegas Rat Pack posted identical 11-5 records over the last two weeks. The Rats actually took two out of three games against the Sugar Bears in Newark, but the Sugar Bears went 10-3 against the rest of the league, while the Rats went 9-4... The Vancouver Iron Fist have the third-best record overall and the best record in the Morris Division after going 9-5. But they've got to pay attention to the rear-view mirror -- while they're 4½ games behind Newark for the league's best record, the Philadelphia Endzone Animals are now just a game behind after going 11-1 over the last two weeks, including a nine-game winning streak that was snapped this weekend. The Animals  were 4 games out before the Commish left for Hawaii; now they can say "aloha" as they're just a game out... The D.C. Bushslappers were just 2 games behind Vancouver and 2 games ahead over Philly; now they're 6½ games out of first after going 5-10... The Tampa Bay Plunkers continue to quietly tread water, holding onto 6th place overall after going 9-7.

The Hillsborough Hired Hitmen are still in 7th place, but they lost some ground after going 5-8. The Hitmen had been a game out of the post-season; now they're 3½ back... Just a half-game behind them are the Blue Ridge Bombers, who went 8-6... The Sardine City Straphangers took the biggest leap forward in the standings -- they vaulted from 12th place all the way up to 9th after an 8-6 run. Believe it or not, they're just 6 games behind Tampa Bay for a wildcard berth... The Carolina Mudcats went 6-8 to fall into 10th place... The Arkansas Golden Falcons had went 5-9 and have fallen from a 9th place tie into 11th, 8 games out of the post-season... New Jersey Team Buddah went 6-10, but that was still good enough to move up a spot in the standings, from 13th place to 12th. That's because the Hoboken Cutters went 3-12 -- including an 8-game losing streak that was finally snapped Saturday -- and are now just 3 games out of the league's worst record. That mark still belongs to Matthew's Mighty Men of Marietta, who went 5-10 to remain in last place for a second straight week.

The Week Ahead: It's a short week as the All-Star Game will be held Friday at Sardine City. But there is a great series as Hillsborough and Tampa Bay lock up for three games in Hillsborough -- a key series for the Hitmen if they hope to get back into the post-season race. There's also drama at the bottom of the standings as Marietta and Hoboken meet for two games in Hoboken. When the games resume on Sunday, be sure to check out the huge Endzone Animals vs. Iron Fist series in Vancouver.

Brawn from Braun

Sardine City fans have been griping about their players not getting fair treatment from the sportswriters who contribute to This Week in DMBL. They thought they had this year's first winner in Week 8, when starter Cole Hamels went 2-0 with a microscopic 0.59 ERA and 15 K in 15.1 IP; instead, it went to Gil Meche (2-0, 1.88 ERA, 7.5 R/9). They're also wondering how we've thus far managed to avoid honoring either Fausto Carmona (9-3, 3.17 ERA, 12.5 R/9) or B.J. Upton (.333 BA, .403 OBP, .518 SLG, 15 HR, 60 R, 13 SB). Strap fans, you can stop your letter-writing campaigns. Ryan Braun has rewarded your patience and won the JRCigars.com Smokin' Batter of the Week Award with a monster week -- .414 (1.308 OPS), 8 2B. 6 HR, 13 R and 15 RBI. The 24-year-old rookie third baseman led the league in extra base hits (14), total bases (50), isolated power (.448) and tied for the lead in HRs (6); he was in the top 5 in BA, SLG (.862), doubles, hits (24), RBIs (15), RC/27 (13.5), AB/HR (9.7) and OPS. "The Hebrew Hammer" has certainly repaid the Hangmen for their faith in his ability, as they drafted him as an ineligible prospect in the 5th round (#58 overall) of last year's draft. So far this year, Braun is hitting .307 with a .363 OBP and .607 SLG, with 23 2B, 24 HR, 64 R and 54 RBI and he'll be going to his first All-Star Game on Friday as Chipper Jones's backup. While his offensive numbers certainly earned him a roster spot, no one voted for him based on his glove (an atrocious .853 fielding percentage!). In fact, there are already whispers among the Sardine City brass that Braun will be moving to left field next year to make way for uber-prospect Evan Longoria. "I will definitely move to left if it means I get to stare at Eva's ass for nine innings," Ryan said. "No offense, Tony!"

OK, so now that the Sardine City fans are happy, at least for one week, who will we be hearing from now? Cutter fans are outraged we snubbed Hanley Ramirez (.323, 1.061 OPS, 5 HR, 16 R, 10 RBI); Tampa Bay fans were sure it was going to Brian Roberts (.328, 1.054 OPS, 5 HR, 18 RBI, 3 SB); the Bombers were all set to throw a party for Prince Fielder (.358, 1.084 OPS, 4 HR, 11 RBI); and JRCigars.com had already received a phone call informing them of the favorite brands of Vancouver's David Ortiz (.390, 1.406 OPS, 4 HR, 15 RBI). And then of course there's the weekly round-up of Newark batters who could claim the award -- Bobby Abreu (.457, 1.389 OPS, 8 2B, 10 RBI), Carlos Guillen (.406, 1.172 OPS, 5 HR, 19 R), Jack Cust (.379, 1.133 OPS, 5 HR, 13 RBI) or Matt Stairs (.368, 1.154 OPS, 5 HR, 21 RBI).  Well, we're sorry, everybody -- send those angry cards and letters to Zane Smith care of the Commissioner's Office!

Get Behind Shields

Newark is rightly known for its tremendous offense -- but what a couple of weeks it has been for starting pitcher James Shields! The 26-year-old right-hander had four outstanding starts in two weeks, and in fact was the league's only 4-game winner over the stretch. Not only that, but he allowed just 3 earned runs -- an 0.85 ERA in 31.2 innings! He also struck out 35 while giving up just 5 walks (7.1 R/9, 9.9 K/9, 7.0 K:BB). Most impressive was Shields's complete game win complete game win over the Rat Pack in Newark, scattering 7 hits and 2 walks while striking out 10; he allowed just one (unearned) run. On the season, Shields is 10-4 with a 3.18 ERA, 11.7 R/9 and .693 OPS. He's proved to be quite a return-on-investment for the Sugar Bears, who took him in the 13th round (#182 overall) of the 2007 draft; he got a cup of coffee last September and was smacked around, giving up 9 hits, 1 walk and 3 runs in 5.1 innings to take a loss. There were thoughts he'd been rushed to the majors too quickly after a disastrous spring training this year was followed up by two ugly starts (16 H, 12 R, 6 BB, 2 HR in 12.1 IP) to start the season. But Shields has turned it up over the last month, and in fact has won his last five starts in a row, with an 0.91 ERA and 8.2 R/9 over that streak. The hot finish sent James to the All-Star Game (along with fellow Newark starter Javier Vazquez, who had a nice couple weeks himself -- 2-0, 3.00 ERA, 10.7 R/9, 3 BB, 27 K in 21.0 IP). The five-start winning streak sure has Newark fans excited, and it's also earned Shields the How To Deal With An Unwanted Erection Pitcher of the Week Award. Stand proud, James!

This week's other top starting pitchers: Blue Ridge's Ted Lilly (3-0, 1.99 ERA, 8.7 R/9, 10 BB, 13 K in 22.2 IP); Las Vegas's Chris Young (3-1, 3.46 ERA, 13.2 R/9, 13 BB, 24 K in 26.0 IP); New Jersey's Tom Gorzelanny (2-0, 3.05 ERA, 12.2 R/9, 10 BB, 18 K in 20.2 IP); Philly's Matt Cain (2-0, 0 R, 4 H, 4 BB, 19 K in 16.2 IP); Sardine City's Fausto Carmona (3-0, 1.37 ERA, 11.4 R/9, 4 BB, 13 K in 19.2 IP); and Vancouver's Ben Sheets (2-0, 1.69 ERA, 9.6 R/9, 4 BB, 9 K in 16.0 IP).

Marmol Is Magnificent

Las Vegas's Carlos Marmol continues to lead in the Dennis Eckersley Rolaids Reliever of the Year Award standings. (Remember, it's 2 points for each win and save, and -1 point for each loss and blown save.) The 25-year-old right-hander had 23 relief points (3 W, 10 SV, 2 L, 1 BS) in the first quarter; he's cooled off, picking up just 14 (2 W, 6 SV, 1 L, 1 BS) in the second, but that's still enough to give him a 7-point lead in the standings. The race for second is very tight, with Tampa Bay's Lee Gardner and D.C.'s Jonathan Papelbon tied at 30 points, followed by Philly's J.J. Putz with 29 and Hillsborough's Takashi Saito at 28.

First Half Relief Points Standings
Reliever	ERA	W	SV	L	BS	Pts
Marmol,LV	3.61	5	16	3	2	37
Gardner,TAM	1.39	1	15	1	1	30
Papelbon,DC	1.36	4	12	1	1	30
Putz,PHI	2.63	3	14	1	4	29
Saito,HIL	2.14	0	15	1	1	28
Street,BR	3.40	3	11	2	2	24
Jenks,NJ	1.95	3	10	0	2	24
Corpas,VAN	3.59	1	10	1	1	20
Izzy,HBK	2.33	3	8	3	1	18
Betancourt,LV	2.15	6	5	1	3	18
Benoit,NWK	5.52	3	8	3	1	18

The three-way tie for 9th place gives us a top 11 list. Tied for 12th at 16 relief points are Sardine City's Matt Capps (1 W, 9 SV, 3 L, 2 BS) and Tampa Bay's Brad Hennessey (4 W, 5 SV, 2 L, 0 BS); right behind them at 15 points is Marietta's Mariano Rivera (0 W, 9 SV, 2 L, 1 BS), coming off a very strong week (4 ER, 16 H, 0 BB, 18 K in 16.1 IP).

This week's other top relievers: Blue Ridge's Huston Street (2 SV, 0 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 12 K in 8.0 IP); Carolina's Justin Speier (2 SV, 0 ER, 8 H, 0 BB, 11 K in 11.0 IP); Hillsborough's Jeremy Accardo (1 W, 0 R, 3 H, 3 BB, 5 K in 5.2 IP); New Jersey's Bobby Jenks (1 W, 1 ER, 7 H, 3 BB, 12 K in 12.0 IP); Sardine City's Matt Capps (2 SV, 1 ER, 9 H, 0 BB, 10 K in 11.2 IP); and Tampa Bay's Pedro Feliciano (0 R, 2 H, 1 BB, 5 K in 4.1 IP).

Bad Break

For all but the 50 players who made the teams, the All-Star Break is a great chance for banged up players to take a few days off to recover from the aches and pains of a half-season of baseball. For some, the break came too late. The last two weeks got off to a rough start when four players went down on June 2 -- Blue Ridge's Edgar Renteria, Hillsborough's Dmitri Young, Las Vegas's Chone Figgins and Philly's J.D. Drew. Young will likely be back in a couple more days, while Figgins will be back sometime after the All-Star Break -- maybe not until the end of the month. Renteria and Drew, on the other hand, are already back -- which is great news for Renteria, who was voted onto the Morris Division All-Star team as a reserve.

Speaking of All-Stars, Carolina back-up catcher Johnny Estrada very nearly made the team thanks to a furious write-in campaign organized by former CHiPs star Erik Estrada. Johnny wasn't even on the ballot, but he finished tied for second in the Morris Division catcher balloting with four other guys. A recount eventually determined that Hillsborough's Russell Martin would be the backup behind Philly's Jorge Posada, but Estrada was so stunned that he even got some votes that he passed out, smacking his head on the concrete floor of the dugout. He'll be out until early July.

Tampa Bay has opened up a little lead in the playoff race -- they're in 6th place, but 3½ games up on 7th place Hillsborough -- but they took a couple hits this week as Jered Weaver and Akinori Iwamura both went down with injuries. Iwamura will be back right before the All-Star Break, but Weaver will likely miss four starts after developing a sore shoulder from too much Wii bowling... Hoboken also lost a starter, Aaron Cook, for the rest of the month. Cook, 3-7 with a 5.28 ERA, wanted some "me time" and the Cutters were only too happy to oblige... Joining Figgins on the D.L. will be reliever Pat Neshek, who will miss at least two weeks after tweaking a hammy.

Catching Up

There's been a lot of moves over the last couple weeks -- in fact, everybody made at least one move except for Blue Ridge and Tampa Bay -- so let's catch everybody up team-by-team:

• Arkansas released Chuck James and signed Randy Wolf.
• Carolina put Johnny Estrada on the D.L. and signed Javier Valentin.
• D.C. added Jason Giambi, Ray Durham and Ramon Vazquez and released Lastings Milledge, Coco Crisp and Franklin Morales.
  
• Hillsborough put Dmitri Young on the D.L. and picked up Kevin Millar; they also activated Felix Hernandez and released Jason Marquis.
  
• Hoboken signed Brian Giles, Mark Ellis and Matt Lindstrom; activated Travis Buck; put Aaron Cook on the D.L.; and released Carlos Silva and Mark Prior. They also put Ryan Freel on the D.L. but later released him.
  
• Las Vegas put Chone Figgins and Pat Neshek on the D.L. and activated Orlando Hernandez; they cut Jason Hirsh, Brett Myers and Chad Gaudin and signed Joe Beimel, Brian Wolfe, Greg Dobbs and Scott Spiezio.
• Marietta released Mark Teahen and signed Kyle Lohse.
• New Jersey activated Corey Hart and Alfonso Soriano and released David DeJesus and Garret Anderson. They also put Shane Victorino on the D.L. and signed Juan Pierre; when they got Victorino back, they activated him and released Pierre.
  
• Newark released Zach Miner and Roger Clemens; activated Jared Burton from the D.L. and signed Chris Ray.
  
• Philly activated Scott Rolen and Matt Cain and signed Franklin Gutierrez; they released Nomar Garciaparra, Hank Blalock and Kason Gabbard.
• Sardine City dropped Edgar Gonzalez and signed Taylor Buchholz.
• Vancouver released Matt Murton and activated Ryan Spilborghs from the D.L.