Week 13 - June 29, 2008

A Smack-Down From the Top-Down

The three teams at the top of the standings did a number on the rest of the league this week, combining for a 14-2 record. In fact, outside of those top three, just two other teams managed winning records this week! One of those two teams is battling for a wildcard berth and finally made its move, sliding into 6th place.

The Newark Sugar Bears (6-0) and Las Vegas Rat Pack are heading to a showdown Sunday night, with the first of a three-game series (in Las Vegas). Each team looks like it's ready for the challenge as each had a perfect week -- the Sugar Bears went 6-0, while the Rats won all four. Overall, Newark has one seven in a row while the Rats have reeled off eight straight. Because they've played two more games, the Sugar Bears pulled a game ahead of the Rats. The two teams have already played eight games this year and the Pack has won five of them; after these three games, they'll face each other just twice more, with two games scheduled in Newark on Sept. 1-2... The Vancouver Iron Fist went 4-2 for a second straight week, adding another game to their Morris Division lead. But they're now 6½ games behind Newark for the overall lead... The Philadelphia Endzone Animals have been treading water, splitting their six games this week; in fact, they've had an eight-game stretch of alternating wins and losses. And after a nine-game winning streak ended earlier this month, they've played 14 games -- winning seven and losing seven. But they're still in second place in the division and 4th overall, a lot closer to Vancouver (3½ games) than to the team behind them (7 games)... The D.C. Bushslappers continue to struggle, going 1-5. They're still in 5th place overall, but now have just a half-game lead. They've dropped eight out of their last 10 games.

The Hillsborough Hired Hitmen have been the hottest team outside of Newark or Vegas, winning four out of five games this week to finally regain a wildcard spot, six weeks after they fell out of the top six. The Hitmen have won eight out of their last 10 games and in fact are now just a half-game behind the Bushslappers for 5th... The Tampa Bay Plunkers had been hanging onto 6th place for dear life, but took the plunge this week, losing all four of their games. They've dropped five straight and 11 out of their last 13, and now all those pundits who doubted the first-year team are saying "I toldja so." But still, the Splashers are just 3 games behind Hillsborough, and 3½ behind D.C., for a wildcard berth... The Blue Ridge Bombers, this year's other first-year franchise, also are fading from the playoff picture after a second-straight losing week. The Bombers went 2-3 and are now 5½ games out of the post-season picture... The Carolina Mudcats went 3-3 for a second straight week, but that was good enough to move up one spot in the standings to 9th place.

The Sardine City Straphangers slipped one rung in the standings to 10th place after losing all four of their games this week, and five straight overall... The Arkansas Golden Falcons hung onto 11th place despite going 1-4. But at least Saturday night's win snapped their six-game losing streak... New Jersey Team Buddah split their four games this week to claim sole possession of 12th place, 1½ games behind Arkansas and a game ahead of the Hoboken Cutters, who went 2-4 to fall from a 12th place tie into 12th overall. The Cutters are now just 1½ games ahead of Matthew's Mighty Men of Marietta for the league's worst record after the Mighty Men went 4-1, ending the week riding a four-game winning streak.

The Week Ahead: If the Sugar Bear/Rat Pack series isn't enough for you, how about the Hired Hitmen playing a two-game set against the Endzone Animals in Philly? There's also the Plunkers trying to get back into the wildcard race with a six-game road trip -- three in Hoboken followed by three in Vancouver.

Hip Hip... Jorge!

For a couple weeks now, sports columnists have been writing that they've been hearing whispers about Philly catcher Jorge Posada getting dealt. The rumors don't make a lot of sense -- the Endzone Animals are in the thick of the division race, Posada is one of their best hitters, and they'd given up a 1st, 3rd and 8th round pick to land him this off-season. Yet the story keeps getting repeated, never attributed to anything more substantial than "front office sources" or "baseball insiders." Well, Jorge had a huge week, either putting those rumors to bed -- or driving up his trade value even higher. Either way, if Posada is leaving, he'll be bringing a box of cigars with him as our JRCigars.com Smokin' Batter of the Week. Jorge was this week's Triple Crown winner, leading the league in batting average (.565), home runs (5) and RBIs (11); he also led the league in OBP (.615), SLG (1.348), OPS (1.963), hits (13), total bases (31), extra base htis (8), RC (18.6), RC/27 (45.7) and total average (3.182). That's one heck of a week for a guy who's been worrying if he'll have to find a new school for Jorge Jr. in September. "I'm not worried about it," the former Dragon and Mighty Man said. "As long as I'm playing I'm happy." Jorge certainly has been seeing plenty of PT in Philly, where he's played in 82 of the team's 87 games, plus the All-Star Game. If he's fatigued, he's certainly not showing it -- he's hitting .320 (.405 OBP, .553 SLG) with 14 HR and 57 RBI this year.

Let's go streaking! Blue Ridge's Edgar Renteria saw his 24-game hitting streak snapped Monday night in Carolina by Carlos Zambrano. Renteria went 0-for-5, but the Bombers pulled out the 2-1 win anyway. "Winning is what's important, I guess," an obviously frustrated Renteria said. "I mean, we're only 9 games under .500, so every win is really important. Woo hoo." Renteria had a 31-game hitting streak in 2004, when he was with Tijuana; at the time was just one shy of the DMBL record. Now it ranks fourth overall, behind Morgan Ensberg's record 38-game hitting streak with Marietta in 2006, Ichiro Suzuki's 33-game hitting streak with Phoenix in 2005 and Jim Eisenreich's 32-game run in 1997. This year's longest active streak now belongs to Las Vegas's Jeff Keppinger, who has hit safely in 11 games; Kepp is on the D.L., so that streak is safe for at least another week.

This week's other top batters: Arkansas's Alex Rodriguez (.368, 1.268 OPS, 2 HR, 3 RBI); Hillsborough's Nick Markakis (.429, 1.568 OPS, 3 HR, 8 RBI); Las Vegas's Carlos Pena (.333, 1.407 OPS, 3 HR, 7 RBI); Newark's Hideki Matsui (.368, 1.636 OPS, 5 HR, 8 R); Tampa Bay's Torii Hunter (.400, 1.371 OPS, 2 HR, 5 RBI); and Vancouver's David Ortiz (.391, 1.462 OPS, 4 HR, 6 RBI).

A Big Week From Big Z

Carolina's Carlos Zambrano was the only pitcher to make two quality starts this week -- and he got just one win to show for it! Zambrano was the tough luck loser in a 2-1 defeat at the hands of the Bombers. (But at least he got to snap Edgar Renteria's hitting streak at 24 games!) Zambrano didn't give up a hit until the top of the 5th inning; he'd give up just two more in the game. (Oddly enough, all three were doubles.) But all three batters, as well as the five guys Zambrano walked, were left on base as Zambrano cruised with the help of 10 ground ball outs and 10 strikeouts. Zambrano left with a 1-0 lead, but it was promptly squandered by the bullpen; Bobby Seay gave up an RBI double to tie it up in the 8th, then a sac fly in the top of the 9th to give the Bombers the lead. The Bombers' Huston Street then struck out the side in the 9th to preserve the victory. Five days later, Zambrano held the opposition scoreless again, this time blanking the Bushslappers. But the bullpen held it together and the Mudcats pulled out the 4-0 win. On the week, Zambrano pitched 13.1 innings without allowing a run (6 H, 9 BB, 9 K), for a 0.00 ERA and a 10.1 R/9. Zambrano obviously needs to work on his control, but as long as he's getting ground balls -- just 4 out of his 40 outs this week were made by outfielders! -- he's going to be successful. Carlos's ability to wiggle out of jams earned him the Crate Escape Pitcher of the Week Award.

This week's other top starters: Blue Ridge's Josh Beckett (no decision: 1 R, 3 H, 4 BB, 12 K in 8.0 IP); Hillsborough's C.C. Sabathia (1-0, 2 ER, 6 H, 2 BB, 11 K in 7.0 IP); Las Vegas's Tim Lincecum (1-0, 2 ER, 5 H, 1 BB, 9 K in 7.0 IP); Marietta's Micah Owings (no decision: 0 R, 5 H, 1 BB, 6 K in 6.0 IP); and Newark's Chien-Ming Wang (2-0, 3.60 ERA, 12.6 R/9, 2 BB, 3 K In 15.0 IP).

At least Zambrano got one win to show for his two strong outings. D.C.'s Jonathan Papelbon got nothing -- even though he was perfect in three appearances. Papelbon retired all 12 men he faced this week, 6 by strikeout, but didn't earn a win or a save. On the other hand, Marietta starter Ervin Santana was pressed into emergency service as a reliever this week and came up with two wins, despite giving up a run and 6 hits in 4.2 innings... This week's other top relievers: Blue Ridge's Tim Byrdak (1 W, 0 R, 1 H, 1 BB< 10 K in 5.1 IP); Hillsborough's Takashi Saito (1 SV, 0 R, 0 H, 1 BB, 5 K in 4.2 IP); Hoboken's Rafael Perez (1 SV, 0 R, 1 H, 1 BB, 6 K in 5.0 IP); New Jersey's Bobby Jenks (2 SV, 0 R, 1 H, 1 BB, 2 K in 2.1 IP); Newark's Manny Delcarmen (2 SV, 0 R, 4 H, 2 BB, 5 K in 3.2 IP); Philly's J.J. Putz (1 W, 1 SV, 0 R, 3 H, 0 BB, 2 K in 3.0 IP); and Vancouver's Manny Corpas (1 W, 1 SV, 0 R, 3 H, 1 BB, 2 K in 3.1 IP).

Whacked in Jersey

It's been another rough season for the New Jersey Buddahs, and it's not helping that the injuries have been piling up. Once again the team will be without star Alfonso Soriano, who was placed on the D.L. with what appears to be a bad case of the euphemisms. "I tweaked my groin... if you know what I mean," Soriano said with a wink. "I really pulled something... you know?" Uh... take it care of yourself, Sori. He'll be joined on the shelf by David DeJesus, who said something about "grabbing his rosin bag." We didn't even ask... It was a bad week for veterans as both Marietta's Derek Jeter and Sardine City's Ken Griffey Jr. succumbed to injuries. Griffey says he'll need a couple days off to recover from an arthritic knee while Jeter was placed on the 15-Day Disabled List after he fell and couldn't get up.

Wheeling and Dealing in Hoboken

Nick Doesn't Stick

The 2006 Kevin Mitchell Award winner will be a free agent next season. The Sugar Bears parted ways with Nick Johnson after it was announced the 30-year-old first baseman would miss the entire 2009 season after undergoing wrist surgery. Newark knew Johnson would miss all of this season after breaking his leg but protected him anyway; a second straight lost year proved too much for the Sugar Bears to take. "Nick is an incredibly talented player, but with medical insurance costs rising all the time, we just can't afford him anymore," Assistant GM Penny Nickles said. Johnson is already aiming for a 2010 comeback, followed by a major injury in 2011. The Sugar Bears replaced Johnson on the roster by bringing back lefty reliever Matt Thornton, who posted a 3.46 ERA in 45 games with the team last year.

The Cutters continue jerking around with Joel Pineiro, signing him on Monday, releasing him on Wednesday and signing him again on Saturday. It's the fourth time this season the Cutters have released him, only to bring him back again. "At least I'm getting a lot of frequent flier miles," Pineiro said. The Cutters made room for Pineiro by cutting Aaron Fultz -- oddly enough, it's the third time they've flipped Fultz and Pineiro on the roster. Conveniently, they both wear the same number.

Other comings and goings: Arkansas released Mark Grudzielanek and signed Tim Wakefield; D.C. dumped Justin Germano and signed Chad Gaudin; Hillsborough released Alex Gonzalez and signed Aubrey Huff; Hoboken signed Jason Bartlett and Gerald Laird and released Wilson Betemit and Jeff Niemann; Las Vegas put Jeff Keppinger on the D.L. -- for the third time this season -- and activated David Eckstein and Pat Neshek, plus they signed Lyle Overbay and released Greg Dobbs and Scott Spiezio; Marietta put Derek Jeter on the D.L. and signed Julio Lugo; New Jersey put Alfonso Soriano on the D.L. and signed Garret Anderson; and Philly cut Mark Loretta and signed Adam Lind.