Week 20 - Aug. 24, 2008

A Note To Our Readers

We continue filling in for long-time host Zane Smith, who was last seen reporting from the Olympic Games for Al Jazeera. Sources tell us Zane tried to get an exclusive interview with some protesters on Tiananmen Square and hasn't been seen since. We're hoping Zane will turn up soon, because he has the key to the bathroom here at TWIDMBL Studios. In the meantime, here's our latest guest host, former Waikiki Key outfielder Dwight Smith.

In Focus

The playoff picture is really starting to take shape, with three teams in and three teams out. The Newark Sugar Bears added 3 games to their Hanover Division lead after winning 5 out of 8 games; the Las Vegas Rat Pack fell to 8½ back with a 2-6 mark. However, that was just good enough to clinch a wildcard spot after the 7th place team dropped both ends of Sunday's doubleheader. The Sugar Bears -- who last week became the first team to clinch -- have whittled their magic number for the division title to 11; for the Commissioner's Cup, it's 12. The Pack's magic number to clinch the No. 3 seed is 11... The Vancouver Iron Fist went a miserable 2-6 this week, including at one point a 6-game losing streak. But they're still a comfortable 10 games up in the division, and like the Rat Pack also clinched at least a wildcard spot. Their magic number to claim the Morris title for the second time in three years is 10 with 19 games remaining, meaning they'd have to go worse than .500 the rest of the way -- and someone else would have to run the table -- to not take the crown... Their closest pursuers, the Philadelphia Endzone Animals, split their 10 games this week, hanging onto 4th place. Their magic number to clinch at least the 6th seed is 9.

The Hillsborough Hired Hitmen are the hottest team in baseball right now after going a perfect 9-0 this week, moving up a half-rung in the standings to land in a 5th-place tie with the D.C. Bushslappers, who went 4-3. The Tampa Bay Plunkers also ripped off nine straight wins, including a three-game sweep of the Rat Pack, before dropping two in a row to end the week. The 7-2 performance was enough to climb all the way back to .500 -- but they actually lost 2 games in the wildcard race thanks to Hillsborough's even better week. The Plunkers are now 5 games back of both the Hitmen and the Bushslappers.... The Arkansas Golden Falcons continue to sneak up in the standings, going 5-4 to move up another spot in the standings to 8th place. The Falcs  are a whopping 13 games out with just 20 games left on their schedule, but they still have 3 games left against Hillsborough and 2 games against D.C., the two teams occupying the final two playoff spots.

The Hoboken Cutters moved two spots in the standings, claiming 9th place, after going 7-3. Overall, they've gone 22-17 over the last month. But it may be too late to save the '08 season; their "tragic number" to be eliminated from post-season contention is down to just 6. In fact, they'll have to go 13-6 over the final 19 games just to avoid setting a new franchise record for most losses (88)... After a late surge that had them within 5 games of the wildcard, the Sardine City Straphangers have gone 1-8, dropping two spots to 10th place. Their tragic number for elimination is 5... The Carolina Mudcats finally stopped the bleeding, going 5-3 to halt a freefall that had seen them plummet from 8th to 12th. They actually crawled up one spot to 11th place, but will be eliminated with 3 more losses and/or wins by the 6th place team.

Well, it finally happened: New Jersey Team Buddah has passed Matthew's Mighty Men of Marietta for the league's worst record. The Buddahs went 3-6 while the Mites went 5-4, putting New Jersey a half-game worse than Marietta. At stake is the most balls in the lottery hoppery for the first pick in next year's draft (not to mention the first pick in every other round). But don't go counting your lottery balls before they hatch -- the Blue Ridge Bombers went 1-8 this week, including five straight losses, and are now just 3 games ahead of the Buddahs for the worst record. In addition, 13 of the Bombers' final 19 games are against playoff opponents! All three teams have been eliminated from any chance of post-season play, so this is the only race they've got.

Batter, Pitcher of the Week Awards

In addition to the key to the bathroom, Zane also took with him all the ballots for the Batter of the Week and Pitcher of the Week Awards. As a result we've had to turn over the selection of those awards directly to the Commissioner's Office. Check out this week's winners in an upcoming entry in the DMBL News Blog.

Hobroken

As the Cutters hope to avoid what could be the worst finish in franchise history, they're not getting a lot of help from the trainer's table. First Mike Napoli went down with a bruised big toe, then Ryan Church had to sit out with a sore thumb, and now Hanley Ramirez has been excused after coming down with what he calls "a case of the Mondays." Are the Cutter players giving up on the 2008 season? Not everybody, says new addition David Ross, signed to replace Napoli. "Yeah, some of the big-name guys may be taking a breather, but me and the other guys are looking at this as a chance to step up and get some playing time," he said. "Now's my chance to prove that I belong on a DMBL roster next season!" In his first 4 games with the Cutters, Ross has a home run -- but that's his only hit, going 1-for-12.

This week's other moves: D.C. added a veteran bat in Cliff Floyd; Las Vegas put Erik Bedard on the D.L. and activated Tim Lincecum; and Blue Ridge put Adam Wainwright on the D.L. and signed Tim Redding.