April 28, 2003  

Falcons Flying High

The Arkansas Golden Falcons put some distance between them in the Morris Division. The Falcons won all seven games they played this week and are now sitting six games ahead of the second place Vancover Iron Fist, who enjoyed a 5-3 week. The Carolina Mudcats stayed at the .500 mark, going 3-4 on the week. The Philadelphia Endzone Animals moved up a notch with a 4-4 week, while the Hillsborough Destroyers fell after a 2-4 week. The Columbia Rattlesnakes roared back into contention, winning 4 of 5 this week, while the last-place Tijuana Banditos continued to struggle, posting a 1-6 record.

The Phoenix Dragons climbed up into fourth place after going 4-2 this week. The Newark Sugar Bears continued to hold first place after a 5-3 week, though the cushion is only two games over the second place Stanhope Mighty Men (4-3). The Honolulu Sharks held onto third place with a 3-3 week. The Hoboken Cutters slipped into fifth after going 2-5. The Brooklyn Bean Counters' struggles continued from last week, as the team only won one of six games this week. The Harrison Rats held onto last place, goign 2-4 this week.

Steaks for Giles

Hoboken's Brian Giles grabbed this week's OmahaSteaks.com Batter of the Week Award. The Cutter outfielder hit .474 this week (9-19) and slammed 3 home runs, scoring 9 runs and driving in 10 runners. Giles compiled a 1.670 OPS for the week, .565 on base and 1.105 slugging. Teammate Mike Piazza tried to help Giles carry the offnse, slugging 3 HR with 10 RBIs...The Barry Bonds fans won't be happy with the award this week, but they will be happy with his production this week: .435 (10-23) batting average, 4 homers, 10 runs scored, 7 RBI and a 1.681 OPS. Fellow Falcon Sandy Alomar hit .400 on the week in 20 at bats, with a homer and 4 RBI, while Larry Walker smashed 4 homers and scord 8 runs...Hillsborough's Carlos Delgado hit two homers in his first game back from injury...Harrison's Alex Sanchez had a speedy week, swiping six stolen bases this week to increase his lead in the category on the season by 12. Sanchez has 22 steals on the year, and Stanhope's Alfonso Soriano is next on the list with 10. Sanchez also it .400 this week in 25 at bats. Rat teammate Jose Vizcaino hit .407 (11-27) with 6 runs scored and 5 RBIs... Speaking of Stanhope, Derek Jeter had a good week, hitting .423 (11-26)... Vancouver's sluggish offense showed signs of life this week. Ageless Wonder Edgar Martinez hit .440 (11-25) on the week, with a .517 OBP and .880 SLG. Slumping Sammy Sosa hit .323 and hit 3 homers and 11 RBIS, while Jeff Kent hit 4 homers and drove in 14 runners...Newark's Jim Thome hit homers 19 and 20 this week to lead the league in that category...Carolina's Aubrey Huff and Mark Bellhorn had three homers each this week... Other hitters of note this week: Brooklyn's Chris Woodward (.409) and Mike Redmond(.389); Honolulu's Shawn Green (.370, 3 HR, 7 R, 14 RBI) and Miguel Tejada (.370, HR, 6 RBI); Philadelphia's Vernon Wells (.419, .742 SLG, 5 2B) and Albert Pujols (.353, 8 RBI); and Tijuana's Shannon Stewart (.526, 6 2B).

Lawrence of Canadia

Vancouver's Brian Lawrence had is share of ups and downs this season. After a rocky stretch and the excellent fill-in job by teammate Omar Daal, Ironfist manager Bud Black stated that if Lawrence didn't start pitching better, he would replace him with Daal in the rotation. Lawrence responded with two excellen starts this week, picking up wins in both appearances. His line on the week: 2-0, 1.38 ERA, 13 IP, 14 K. Lawrence takes this week's Snap Bubbles.com Pitcher of the Week Award...Pedro Martinez continues to return to form, going 2-0 on the week with a 2.25 ERA, 0.81 WHIP and 20 strikeouts in 16 IP. Teammate Kevin Brown also was 2-0, but sported a 4.22 ERA... Stanhope's Tim Wakefield extended his winning streak to 8 games Monday to improve his record to 8-0 on the season. However, Wakefield's streak was snapped as he took the loss Saturday against Brooklyn...Brooklyn's Odalis Perez was the hard luck loser of the week, going 0-1 despite a 2.25 ERA, 0.88 WHIP and a complete game... Philadelphia's A.J. Burnett was 1-0 with a 2.63 ERA and 18 strikeouts in 13.2 IP...It was a good week for closers: Trevor Hoffman (3 saves), Jose Mesa(2 SV), Jorge Julio (2 SV), John Smoltz(2 SV), and Billy Wagner(1-0, 1 SV). None of the closers gave up any earned runs.

The Tijuana Shuffle

The Banditos tried to do anything they could to reverse their fortunes. The Banditos made transactions in three consecutive days this week. The Banditos signed pitcher Carlos Hernandez to replace injured starter Randy Wolf in the rotation, but changed their mind the next day and opted to send John Halama to face the red-hot Arkansas Falcons instead. Halama was torched for five runs in 2.1 IP Sunday before earning his release today. Tijuana also sent reliever Chad Zerbe packing in favor of hard-throwing Oscar Henriquez. Harrison and Hoboken each got healthier this week, getting back Luis Rivas and Ben Davis respectively. Philly cut DMBL veteran Craig Biggio and prospect John Patterson to pick up pitchers Shawn Chacon and Jeff Suppan. Newark cut long time Sugar Bear and former World Series hero Charles Johnson to make room for Braden Looper. "Chas just wasn't fitting into our plans for the future anymore" said Sugar Bear manager Don Mattingly.

Wolf Becomes an Animal

Expressing disgust with the Banditos current struggles, pitcher Randy Wolf let loose a string of obscenities at the home crowd. Embarrassed by his own behavior, Wolf couldn't stop the swearing, sometimes shouting out words in his sleep. Bandito manager Gary Carter gave him a bar of soap to chew on until he learned to control his behavior. Unfortunately for the beleaguered Bandito pitching staff, this may keep Wolf out for a month. Honolulu suffered a blow as ace starter Mark Mulder's trip to a beekeeper friend's house proved to be devastating. Angered by Mulder's taunts, the bees attacked the pitcher, who refused to wear protective gear. The stings will keep the pitcher out two weeks. Newark Sugar Bear starter Andy Pettitte won't pitch for the next three weeks, citing that he had to go back to the year 1967 to find his "mojo" that Dr. Evil stole from him. Not sure what to make of it, the club placed Pettitte on the DL hoping that his time travels bring the lefty back to his senses.

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.