Week 22 - Aug. 22, 2007

The End Is Near!

The division races are over, but there are still eight teams fighting it out for four wild card spots as we head into the final week of what's been a wild season.

The Newark Sugar Bears went 5-4 this week, clinching their seventh straight Hanover Division title as well as their third straight Commissioner's Cup as the team with the best regular season record. But with their 43rd loss, the Sugar Bears can no longer catch the '02 Golden Falcons for the league's best all-time record (120-42), and they would have to run the table to finish second-best all-time ahead of the '97 Iron Fist (118-44). However, with just one more win, they will set a new franchise record for most victories in a season, breaking the record of 111-51 they attained in '03 and '06... The Philadelphia Endzone Animals won 6 out of 10 games this week to clinch their first-ever Morris Division title and the No. 2 seed in the post-season. The Endzone Animals  also have set a franchise record for wins, beating the 92-70 mark they set in 2005... Matthew's Mighty Men of Marietta went 5-4, cutting their magic number to clinch a post-season berth down to 1; their magic number to clinch home-field advantage in the first round as the 3rd or 4th seed is 4... The Honolulu Sharks went 5-3 to claim sole possession of 4th place. The Sharks are now a game ahead of the  Hoboken Cutters, who went 5-5 to fall into 5th... The D.C. Bushslappers went 4-5, their fifth straight losing week, but they're still hanging onto 6th place.

The next four teams are still alive and in the playoff hunt, but all failed to pick up ground -- none had a winning week. The Hillsborough Hired Hitmen started the week a game behind D.C.; despite the Bushslappers dropping 5 out of 9, the Hitmen actually dropped a game further back in the standings, as they went 3-6... The Carolina Mudcats went 4-5 to move up one rung in the standings to 8th place, still 4½ games out of the post-season... The Arkansas Golden Falcons in fact had the best week of any of the hopefuls, going 5-5. The Falcs moved up from 10th to 9th, and are 5 games behind D.C. for the final playoff berth... The Vancouver Iron Fist are in a free-fall after dropping eight out of nine games, including eight straight losses. They fell from a 7th place tie two weeks ago to 8th place last week to 10th this week, and their tragic number to be eliminated from the post-season is 3.

The other four teams have been officially eliminated -- even though three of them had winning weeks. The South Boston Gang went a league-best 7-3, but it wasn't enough to keep their playoff hopes alive. They can finish anywhere from 7th place to 12th place -- the DMBL's version of no man's land...  New Jersey Team Buddah went 3-6, the only basement-dwelling team not to post a winning record. The Buddhists can finish the season no worse than 12th place; they can, however, play spoiler this week with three games against the 6th-place Bushslappers... (3-6) also went 3-4 to remain in 12th place, 14 games behind D.C... The only race left at the bottom of the standings is for the best chance at the first overall pick in next year's draft. The Sardine City Straphangers went 6-4, good enough to creep a half-game closer to the Las Vegas Rat Pack for last place, as the Pack went 6-3. Each team has eight games remaining, and the Pack can "clinch" the league's worst record by winning no more than 5 of them.

The Playoff Picture

Let's take a closer look at how the wild card race will shake out.

Wild Cards	Rank	GB	Games	Opponents
Marietta (86-68)	3rd	+6½	8	@ NJ (1), @ HBK (1), SAR (3), ARK (3)
Honolulu (83-72)	4th	+3	7	NWK (1), @ HIL (1), @ HBK (2), VAN (3)
Hoboken (82-73)	5th	+2	7	LV (1), MAR (1), HON (2), SB (3)
D.C. (80-75)	6th	0	7	@ NJ (1), NJ (2), @ NWK (4)
Hillsborough (77-76)	7th	-2	9	CAR (1), HON (1), @ PHI (3), @ LV (4)
Carolina (75-79)	8th	-4½	8	@ HIL (1), @ VAN (1), @ ARK (3), @ SAR (3)
Arkansas (75-80)	9th	-5	7	@ PHI (1), CAR (3), @ MAR (3)
Vancouver (74-80)	10th	-5½	8	@ SAR (1), CAR (1), @ SB (3), @ HON (3)

Marietta can clinch a playoff berth with their next win or Hillsborough's next loss; their magic number to clinch the top wild card seed is 5... The Sharks are in 4th place, but they're actually closer to 6th (3 games) than they are to 3rd (3½ games). They have a tough schedule but can guarantee themselves a playoff berth by winning 4 out of 7 no matter what anybody else does... The Cutters have alternated wins and losses for seven straight games; if they continue that pattern over their final seven games, they'll finish the year at 86-76 -- and that would mean Hillsborough would have to run the table just to tie them for the final playoff berth (which would force a play-in game)... The Bushslappers picked up some much-needed breathing room by sweeping a two-game series against the Hired Hitmen. If they can take care of business against hapless New Jersey, they might be able to clinch the No. 6 seed before heading to Newark for the final four games of the season.

If they can run the table -- and if they get a lot of help -- Hillsborough could finish as high as the #4 seed. But realistically, they're aiming for the Bushslappers. The Hitmen picked a bad time to go into a slump, losing 6 out of their last 8 games -- including two games at home to D.C. -- and now find themselves two games out of the post-season. The Hitmen need to get hot again and stay within a game or two of the Bushslappers heading into the final weekend, when the Hitters play four games in Vegas and the Slappers play four in Newark... The Mudcats have a relatively easy schedule but all those games are on the road. They also don't have any games remaining against the teams currently holding wild card berths, so they need a lot of help from other teams... Arkansas is looking at a "tragic number" of 3 to be eliminated from the post-season for the first time since 1991. Perhaps even more worrisome, however, is that they need to win all seven of their remaining games to avoid finishing with their first-ever non-winning record... Last week, with 17 games to go, the Iron Fist were in 8th place, just 2½ games out of the post-season. Now, after an 8-game losing streak, their tragic number to be eliminated is 3. At this point, they need to run the table -- and hope the four teams between them and 6th place have long losing streaks of their own.

We Don't Just Pitch!

With the incredible seasons being turned in by Johan Santana (17-2, 3.48 ERA, 10.0 R/9), Erik Bedard (17-7, 3.62 ERA, 12.7 R/9), Francisco Rodriguez (4-5, 31 SV, 2.89 ERA, 10.5 R/9) and J.J. Putz (8-4, 7 SV, 17 holds, 2.06 ERA, 8.0 R/9), sometimes it's easy to forget the Endzone Animals also have some pretty good batters. Yes, the team ranks 1st in almost every pitching category, but they also rank 6th in runs scored. The Animals reminded everyone this week that their offense packs a punch as they scored 6.4 runs per game this week, third-most behind only Newark's 7.6 rpg (what else is new) and Vegas's 7.0 rpg (where'd that come from?)... Leading the charge was Albert Pujols, who is having an outstanding year even if he's been overshadowed by the pitching staff. Pujols hit .442 with a 1.385 OPS, smashing 6 HRs for 13 R and 14 RBIs. He led the league in SLG (.930), runs, RBIs, runs created (18.3) and total bases (40), tied for the league lead in HRs and extra base hits (8), and finished in the top 3 in BA, OPS, hits (19), RC/27 (20.6), isolated power (.488), total average (1.708) and AB/HR, good enough numbers to earn him the JRCigars Batter of the Week Award. Pujols may not win the Kevin Mitchell Batter of the Year Award -- he only leads the league in one category, total bases -- but he is having an excellent season even by his impressive standards, hitting .318 (1.022 OPS) with 41 2B, 51 HR, 115 R and 140 RBI... Pujols had an excellent week, but he can't do it alone. He'd be wise to share one of his cigars with Scott Rolen, who provided some protection in the lineup by hitting .425 (1.127 OPS) with 7 2B, 10 R and 8 RBI. Adam LaRoche (.385, 1.102 OPS, 4 2B, 7 RBI) and Reed Johnson (.357, 1.043 OPS, 5 2B, 8 RBI) also had good weeks.

He may not be able to carry his team into the playoffs this year, but Arkansas's Barry Bonds did what he's done all season long -- draw walks and hit for power. Though he hit just .243 this week, he still drew 6 walks (.356 OBP) and slammed 6 home runs (.784 SLG) for 9 runs and 10 RBIs... This week's other top batters: Hillsborough's Robinson Cano (.406, 1.129 OPS, 3 2B, 6 RBI);  Hoboken's Geoff Jenkins (.417, 1.242 OPS, 4 2B, 6 R); Las Vegas's Jhonny Peralta (.351, 1.107 OPS, 3 HR, 11 RBI); Newark's Chipper Jones (.464, 1.445 OPS, 3 HR, 9 RBI); and South Boston's Vlad Guerrero (.417, 1.107 OPS, 4 HR, 12 RBI).

The Amazing Zambrano!

As pilots are fond of saying, a good landing doesn't have to be pretty, you just have to be able to walk away from it. Carolina's Carlos Zambrano did a lot of walking away this week as he blanked the competition in both his starts this week for a perfect 0.00 ERA -- despite allowing 21 baserunners in just 11.0 innings! Zambrano allowed an astounding 12 walks (and 9 hits) for a 17.2 R/9, and yet he didn't allow a single run and in fact won both his starts. The sinkerballer bailed himself out of jam after jam thanks to 15 Ks and 3 GDPs in his two performances. In his first start, he allowed just 1 hit against Honolulu -- but he had to come out in the 5th inning after throwing 109 pitches, because he walked 8 batters! Zambrano survived all those walks, plus an error by Jose Vidro and a passed ball by Johnny Estrada, through the first five innings; then the bullpen took over and hung for the 4-0 win. Zambrano wasn't as wild in his second start, against Sardine City, though he did walk 4 batters -- but this time he allowed 8 hits, and again had to come out after throwing 112 pitches in 6 innings. The bullpen held it together a second time to hang on for the 3-1 win (closer Brian Fuentes gave up a solo home run in the 9th). Zambrano's two escape acts this week earned him the Escape With Houdini Pitcher of the Week Award. Zambrano, as you can see from this week, has had an erratic season, going 9-7 with a 4.53 ERA and 13.9 R/9 (and 104 BBs in 175.0 IP), but the Mudcats need big finishes from him and Roy Halladay (13-9, 4.53 ERA, 12.7 R/9) to keep their longshot playoff hopes alive. ut that was all the he bullpen gave up a 9th inning  to hang on for a 4-0 tter against This week's only other two-start winners put up more conventional lines: Newark's John Smoltz (1.32 ERA, 11.2 R/9, 5 BB, 15 K in 13.2 IP) and Philly's Josh Johnson (1.46 ERA, 13.1 R/9, 5 BB, 9 K in 12.1 IP).

This week's other top hurlers: D.C.'s John Maine (1-0, 3.60 ERA, 7.2 R/9, 2 BB, 11 K in 15.0 IP); Hillsborough's Takashi Saito (1 W, 0 R, 3 H, 2 BB, 11 K in 12.0 IP); Hoboken's Scott Kazmir (1-0, 3.45 ERA, 9.8 R/9, 15 K in 15.2 IP); Las Vegas's Kevin Gregg (1 W, 2 SV, 0 R, 5 H, 4 BB, 16 K in 9.1 IP); Philly's Erik Bedard (1-0, 2.25 ERA, 7.3 R/9, 0 BB, 15 K in 16.0 IP); South Boston's Ted Lilly (1 W, 1 SV, 0 R, 1 H, 0 BB, 6 K in 4.1 IP); and Vancouver's Jake Peavy (1-1, 2.02 ERA, 12.1 R/9, 4 BB, 12 K in 13.1 IP).

The Return of the King

Now let's take a look at the relief points leader board to see who's ahead in the race to win the Dennis Eckersley Rolaids Reliever of the Year Award. Remember, pitchers get 2 points for every save or relief win, and -1 points for every loss or blown save.

Relief Points Standings
Reliever	ERA	W	SV	L	BS	Pts
F.Rodriguez,PHI	2.89	4	31	5	6	59
B.Wagner,VAN	3.17	5	32	7	9	58
M.Rivera,MAR	3.36	6	24	4	7	49
Otsuka,SAR	2.23	9	18	3	5	46
Fuentes,CAR	2.21	3	28	7	10	45
Meredith,NWK	2.04	11	17	4	8	44
Rincon,HBK	4.60	2	24	9	5	38
Papelbon,DC	1.76	7	14	1	5	36
Street,SB	3.86	5	23	10	12	34
Gordon,HON	5.60	6	20	8	11	33
Saito,HIL	2.17	4	17	4	5	33

Honolulu's Tom Gordon and Hillsborough's Takashi Saito are tied for 10th at 33 points; in 12th place is D.C.'s Joe Nathan (7 W, 14 SV, 7 L, 4 BS) at 31 points... Philly's Francisco Rodriguez is back on top, just edging ahead of Vancouver's Billy Wagner in what is at this point a two-man race between Rodriguez, last year's winner, and Wagner, who won it in 2000. At the end of July, K-Rod trailed Wagner by 2 points, but pulled ahead after going 2-for-2 in save chances over the last couple weeks; Wagner could only manage one save and one loss... Sardine City's Akinori Otsuka actually has been the hottest closer recently, picking up 3 wins and 4 saves -- and no losses or blown saves -- since the end of July. The 14 relief points pushed Otsuka up from 7th to 4th in the standings. Otsuka is coming off a very impressive week in which he picked up 3 wins and 1 save while allowing 0 R on 4 H and 1 BB, with 8 Ks, in 5.2 IP.

Stumbling to the Finish

Two playoff contenders lost key players but hope to have them back in the post-season -- assuming they make it. The Mudcats' flickering playoff hopes just got a little dimmer as Jose Vidro will miss the rest of the regular season. Vidro has been battling injuries all season long -- he'd already missed 23 games due to injury before this latest problem -- and the team has tried a parade of infielders to back him up, including Ronnie Belliard, Mark Grudzielanek, Tadahito Iguchi and Mark Loretta. The current replacement is Julio Lugo, who is now with his fourth team this season (Hillsborough, Philly and Sardine City) -- actually his fifth, if you consider he was drafted by Arkansas, but cut in spring training. Lugo hit .293 (but with a .655 OPS and 3:14 BB:K ratio) in 86 plate appearances with Sardine City; he went 0-for-4 with Hillsborough and 1-for-8 with Philly. He's off to a great start in Carolina, hitting .417 (1.208 OPS) with 3 2B and 2 HR in just 24 AB, but was added too late to be on the team's post-season roster. Lugo thinks that's a B.S. rule and has been looking for a loophole. "Now let's just say, purely hypothetically of course, that Vidro was to have, say, a serious injury that would be considered season-ending, or maybe even career-ending, or what the heck, let's say a life-ending injury," he said as he fingered his pearl-handled Colt .45 revolver. "Would I then be eligible for the post-season roster?" The Commissioner's Office ruled that even in that extreme case, he still wouldn't be eligible. "Ah, I see. OK. Well how about if the Commissioner were to suffer some sort of horrible tragic accident that would make him, you know, incapacitated? Would the guy who replaced him say the same thing?" Um... we'll get back to you, Julio.

The Cutters are in much better shape at the moment as the 5th seed, but they lost an even more important player when Mike Napoli went down for the remainder of the regular season. The rookie catcher may only be hitting .254, but his .931 OPS (and 21 HR in 260 AB) show how valuable he is to the Cutters. His potent bat gives the team a chance to give slugger Josh Bard a "half day off" by serving as the DH; Bard, hitting .326 (.853 OPS) with 44 2B, 116 R and 100 RBI, has played in every game for the Cutters this year. Now he'll have to be the team's every-day catcher for their remaining 7 games, and fans are worried he'll be worn out by the time the playoffs get here. But Bard is confident he can shoulder the load. "I have the whole off season to rest up," he said.

This week's other injuries won't alter any playoff races, because they hit the two teams at the extreme top and bottom of the standings. The Sugar Bears are giving Carlos Guillen a week off after he won the team's Mike Caruso Award as the player with the most hustle. Guillen, hitting an amazing .350 (1.036 OPS) with 216 H, 56 2B, 154 R and 129 RBI, said he'll use the time off to spit-shine all the team's trophies and awards. Then he'll take in everyone's dry cleaning, set up next year's Spring Training schedule and moderate comments on the team's Web page. "Even when he's on vacation he hustles," manager Don Mattingly marveled... The other player to go down is Las Vegas's Edwin Encarnacion, who announced he will sit out the rest of the season to protest the war in Iraq. He's not against the war -- in fact, he wants the U.S. to invade again. "I think if we start over we can do it right this time," he said.

Take the Stairs Out

Only one roster move this week -- Newark got reliever Rafael Soriano off the D.L. and released veteran Matt Stairs. The 39-year-old 1B/OF had just one at-bat with Newark this year -- and struck out.

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.