Newark - Vegas battle for Hanover, round 1...

Newark took the first game of their series against Las Vegas with a 6-3 win in the House yesterday. The Sugar Bears scored 6 runs in the final three innings to grab the lead. Recently activated Pat Neshek took the brunt of the damage, surrendering 4 runs in 2.1 innings. Newark stretched their division lead to 2 games. Game two is later tonight.

Tampa Bay has gone as cold as their manager recently, dropping 12 out of their last 15, falling four games under .500 and out of a playoff spot. Tampa is now two games behind Hillsborough for that 6th spot and they're looking over their shoulder as fellow first-year franchise Blue Ridge is only 2 games behind them.

Jake Peavy won his league-leading 14th game of the season against Arkansas, clinging to a 3-2 victory. Peavy surrendered only 3 hits in his 7 innings of work, while striking out 9. Peavy is now in striking distance of the "Pitching Triple Crown" - third in ERA with 2.97 (.21 behind leader Ted Lilly) and 9 strikeouts behind Las Vegas' Erik Bedard.

Greinke streak over

Well it had to happen eventually, but I think Greinke was hoping it wouldn't go down like this. The D.C. Bushslappers had enough and throttled Greinke to the tune of 7 runs in 5 innings to hand the youngster his first loss of the season. Vancouver went on to lose 14-4 after Billy Wagner let up 6 more runs in 2/3 of an inning. "Actually it's a huge monkey off my back" said Greinke after the game. "All those reporters and the paparazzi hanging around..."

Marietta and Blue Ridge played a marathon 16-inning match yesterday that took them into the wee hours of the night. Blue Ridge took the initial lead in the first inning on a Prince Fielder 2-run single, but Marietta came back in the 5th when Orlando Hudson tied it up with a 2-run single of his own. Derek Jeter gave the Mighty Men the lead in the top of the eighth, but his counterpart Edgar Renteria tied it up in the bottom half. Soon the teams were off to extra innings. Marietta was forced to go to starters Kyle Lohse, who pitched 3 scoreless innings, and Ervin Santana. Meanwhile Blue Ridge got a gutty performance out of reliever Tim Byrdak (4 IP, 1 H, 7 K). Derek Jeter once again broke the tie in the 15th with an RBI-single, but it was short lived as Dan Uggla scored on a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 15th. Matt Diaz singled with the bases loaded in the top of the 16th and Blue Ridge escaped further calamity by inducing Derek Jeter into a strikeout-double play. Santana then finished off Blue Ridge for the win.

Ping Ponged Pineiro

Crazy game down in Vegas yesterday as the Plunkers pulled out to an 8-1 lead after two innings. But Vegas pounded out 8 runs in the 6th to take a one-run lead. In the top of the ninth, the Plunkers tied it up, but Placido Polanco hit a single with the bases loaded to give the Rats the 10-9 win. The win was the Rat Pack's 7th straight, keeping them in a first-place tie with Newark.

Felix Hernandez is now 2-0 since returning from the DL last week. King Felix pitched 7 strong innings against Arkansas en route to a 7-2 win. Hillsborough picked up yet another game over 7th place Tampa Bay and moved to one game back of 5th place D.C. Meanwhile Arkansas lost their 5th straight and is only 1/2 game out of 12th place.

D.C. is losing ground rapidly with another loss to Vancouver. Michael Young went 4-4 and Andre Ethier hit a key 2-run home run to propel the Fist to a 6-3 win. Vancouver widened their division lead to 4 1/2 games.

Hoboken meanwhile kept playing yo-yo with pitcher Joel Pineiro, releasing him after his latest start. At one point Pineiro got so fed up with owner Mark Hrywna that he began to choke him after a heated conversation. "He got all up in my face and pushed my buttons" said Pineiro. With Aaron Cook still expected to miss at least one more start, the Cutters may yet ask Pineiro to come back one more time. "Yeah, he choked me" said Hrywna, "but we'll still probably take him back."

Hitmen move into wild card spot

Jake Peavy won his league-leading 13th win yesterday as Vancouver cruised to an 8-2 victory over D.C. Curtis Granderson was 3-5 with 3 RBIs and hit his 19th triple of the year. Granderson appears poised to obliterate Jose Reyes' DMBL-era record of 24 triples set last year.

Hillsborough moved one game over .500 and into sole possession of 6th place overall with their third straight win and sixth in seven tries. C.C. Sabathia struck out 11 in 7 strong innings and Carlos Lee had 3 RBIs. Hillsborough has been going back and forth about selling their players, but now sitting in the final playoff spot, they may become buyers.

Las Vegas and Newark remain tied for first in the Hanover Division after both teams won their games yesterday. Javier Vazquez improved to 11-1 in Newark's 5-4 edging of Hoboken, while Tim Lincecum propelled the Rat Pack to a 5-2 win over Tampa Bay.

Mike Lamb hit 3 home runs in Philadelphia's 7-1 rout of fraternal rival Carolina. Jason Bergmann limited the Cats to 3 hits over 7 innings and struck out 9. Philly still trails Vancouver by 3 1/2 games in the Morris.

Lots of movement going on in the league yesterday as the trading deadline looms closer. Arkansas shuffled out Mark Grudzielanek in favor of Tim Wakefield, who had pitched in 4 games in an earlier stint with the team. Hillsborough cut scrub shortstop Alex Gonzalez in favor of DMBL veteran Aubrey Huff, who was cut earlier this year by Carolina. Hoboken dumped prospect Jeff Niemann for former Vancouver backstop Gerald Laird. Las Vegas shook up their AAA squad by cutting Greg Dobbs and signing former D.C. first baseman Lyle Overbay. Finally, Philadelphia signed Adam Lind who Carolina cut a month ago.

Greinke keeps undefeated streak alive

Philadelphia executed their second deal of the season today, trading reliever Rafael Perez, second baseman Aaron Hill, and two picks to the Hoboken Cutters for Jason Isringhausen, second baseman Kelly Johnson, and a late draft pick. Isringhausen, who had been with the Cutters since their inception in 2001, will likely move into a setup role on the Endzone Animals, as J.J. Putz has the closer role locked down.

Zack Greinke improved to 9-0 on the season with a 3-2 win over Philadelphia yesterday. Greinke pitched 8 innings of 2-hit ball, surrendering 2 runs and striking out 7. Vancouver's first round pick in this year's draft is now second in the league in ERA (2.93) and is now the sole undefeated pitcher in the league (Tampa Bay's Andy Pettitte lost his first game last week).

D.C. and Hillsborough took turns shutting each other out. In the first game, Kelvim Escobar had an incredible game, shutting out the Hitmen on 7 hits in 7.1 innings and striking out 14. The Hitmen pitchers also pitched well, despite John Lackey being ejected for throwing at Jeff Kent and triggering a benches-clearing brawl. "I probably wouldn't have minded so much" said Kent after the game "if the ball wasn't laced with explosives." Kent will miss the next three weeks recuperating and reliever Mike Timlin, who tried to dive over the combustible device, will miss two weeks. Hillsborough came back and shut out D.C. 7-0 in the second game. Justin Verlander pitched 7.2 innings of 3-hit ball to improve to 9-7. D.C. got some vengeance by taking out third baseman Mark Reynolds. Catcher Brian McCann snuck up behind Reynolds as he was taking practice swings and hit his knees with a lead pipe. Why would the Slappers intentionally target one of the worst producers in the lineup? "I thought it was [Ryan] Howard" said McCann. "They look so alike."

All-Star Game tonight

Tonight is the 17th annual All-Star Game, sponsored by JR Cigars and Omaha Steaks - probably later in the evening, so check your local listings. Special guest announcers include Kevin Maas, Charles Johnson, Mark Mendicus, and Chris Nabholz, among others. Look for a brand new This Week in the DMBL - All-Star edition to go up today too.

At the half...

Well the first half is officially over. Let's take a quick look at the surprises and disappointments so far.

Surprises:

Sardine City Straphangers. Even though they've leveled off a bit lately, the Straphangers are still only five games out of a playoff spot. No one gave them much of a chance early on, but the Hangmen caught fire midway through the first half. The biggest factor has been the emergence of their pitching staff. Cole Hamels and Fausto Carmona have been the obvious studs, but Dice-K Matsuzaka and Phil Hughes have had some good moments too. And we haven't even mentioned rookie stud Ryan Braun yet...

Tampa Bay Plunkers. Their latest 4-game skid has left them at .500, but the first-year Plunkers are sitting in position for the final Wild Card spot. The team has been up and down so many times that analysts aren't sure if they're for real or just flirting with success.
Disappointments:

Hillsborough Hired Hitmen. After all the bravado in the offseason, the Hitmen have sputtered into 7th place. It took them quite a lot of work just to get to 1/2 a game out of the final playoff spot, but the Hitmen might have finally righted the ship. There's a lot of talent on the team that hasn't lived up to its promise. In particular the pitching staff has looked pretty mediocre, but C.C. Sabathia and Justin Verlander seem to be waking up.

Hoboken Cutters. Ok the Cutters didn't exactly have lofty expectations for this season, but they didn't expect to be in 13th and threatening for last place. Maybe a terrible finish is what the team needs though to truly rebuild. At least they got Brian Giles back though!

Guerrero cycles past Philly

You've probably already noticed that Vlad Guerrero hit for the cycle in Blue Ridge's 8-1 victory over Philly yesterday. Guerrero got the hardest one out of the way immediately, with a triple in the first inning that gave the Bombers a 1-0 lead. Guerrero led off the 4th with a double, scoring when the next batter, Prince Fielder, drove him in. Things looked bad when Guerrero grounded out in the 6th, but bounced back big time in the 8th with a two-run homer. With the hardest ones out of the way, Guerrero hoped for one more chance in the ninth. Thanks to the Bombers offense coming alive, Vlad got his at bat in the ninth and lined the needed single to right field. Guerrero is the first player to hit for the cycle since Philly's Albert Pujols and Vancouver's Eric Chavez achieved the feat in back to back days in 2006.

Roy Oswalt and Justin Verlander dueled it out to a double-complete game 1-0 final. The score was 0-0 right up til the 9th inning when Brad Hawpe led off the bottom half of the inning with a fly ball that just cleared the fence. Verlander gave up only three hits and three walks in his nine, while striking out 6. Verlander, who got an awful start to the season, has been excellent lately, giving up one run or less in four of his last five starts. Oswalt was also very effective, giving up one run on 4 hits and 3 walks while striking out 9.

Arkansas and D.C. slugged it out for 13 innings yesterday, with the Falcons emerging on top of an 8-7 decision. After D.C. established a 7-4 lead, the Falcons had to rally in the 6th and 7th to tie up the game. It would remain tied for another five innings until Brandon Phillips hit a nubbler to the left side of the infield that Jose Reyes was unable to get to in time. David Wright, breaking with the pitch, scored easily from third.

John Smoltz, who was demoted for three days to AAA Dublin, came back in full force by shutting out the Straphangers 4-0. Smoltz held the Hangmen to only five hits and struck out 12. B.J. Upton and Kurt Suzuki had four of the five hits. The Sugar Bears were held to only 6 hits in the game, but Phil Hughes and the Sardine City pen gave up 8 walks.

The first deal during the 2008 regular season was just completed today. The Philadelphia Endzone Animals exchanged farmhand pitchers with division rival Vancouver. Vancouver re-acquired lefty Scott Olsen, who had struggled with the club last season. Philadelphia received Kyle Kendrick in return. Kendrick was drafted to give the Fist some rotation depth, but with the strength of the rotation and Rich Hill available to spot start, Kendrick was expendable. Philly will send Kendrick to AAA Trenton for the time being, but he may be called up if Yovani Gallardo or Jason Bergmann continue to struggle.

Blue Ridge, Sardine City rallies fall short

D.C.'s Shawn Hill held the Falcons scoreless for 6 innings, allowing only 2 hits, despite 5 walks. Bobby Howry kept the shutout intact, recording his third save of the year, as the Bushslappers won 6-0. Carl Crawford was 3-4 and the bottom five in D.C.'s order each had one RBI (the other run scored on a wild pitch).

Hillsborough, finally healthy after a string of unfortunate injuries, drowned the Plunkers 6-1. All-Star backup Russell Martin was 4-5 and Ryan Howard had a pair of homers and 3 RBIs to lead the Hitmen's offense. Dan Haren picked up the win with 7 strong innings.

Blue Ridge rallied to score 4 runs to tie up their game with Philadelphia, but ended up losing 7-6 in 10 innings. Prince Fielder hit a grand slam in the ninth off ace reliever J.J. Putz to send the game to extra innings. Jimmy Rollins hit a bases-loaded single with two outs in the bottom of the 10th to win the game for the Animals.

Finally, another extra inning game was played between Newark and Sardine City. Newark took a two-run lead into the eighth, but Ken Griffey, Jr. hit a 2-run shot to tie the game up and force the extra frames. Unfortunately for Sardine City, Jack Cust hit a triple to give the Sugar Bears the lead and would eventually score to give them a 6-4 lead. Jared Burton sent down the Sardines in order in the bottom half of the inning, including two strikeouts.

2008 All-Star Snubs

So the votes are in and there was a good turnout for voting (12 votes). Now let the controversy begin!

Fausto Carmona, Sardine City. Carmona is the ace of the rejuvenated Sardine City pitching staff. With a 9-3 record and a 3.17 ERA, it's truly puzzling why Carmona couldn't get enough votes to make the All-Star squad, while his statistically inferior teammate, Cole Hamels (5-6, 3.54), squeaked on to the roster.

Jim Thome, Las Vegas. Thome, traded from Marietta to Las Vegas in the offseason, has been a top producer in Vegas' explosive lineup. Thome has bashed 19 homers with 51 runs and 52 RBIs in the first half to go along with a hefty 1.054 OPS. Thome had some stiff competition from Newark's Jack Cust and Hoboken's Miguel Cabrera among the DH candidates. His lack of positional flexibility likely hurt his chances.

Matt Stairs, Newark. With the large anti-Sugar Bear sentiment among voters this year, it's no surprise that one of their players would end up on the short end of the votes. Stairs has a 1.039 OPS, 16 HRs, 82 RBIs, and 37 doubles. Being a career journeyman didn't help his name recognition and going against the much younger, first round selection Carlos Pena was another strike against Stairs.

Dustin Pedroia, Carolina. Pedroia was Carolina's first round pick and has so far earned that lofty status. Too bad he didn't play in the Hanover Division, where he'd be a shoe-in at second. Unfortunately Jeff Kent and Chase Utley proved to be too stiff of a competition for the youngster. Well maybe next year!

David Wright, Arkansas. Wright was slotted at the unenviable DH position on the ballot, pitted against Vancouver's David Ortiz, but still managed to garner a 3B vote from a write-in voter. Unfortunately the fact that Wright played mostly DH this year did him in, as far as making the All-Star team.

Andy Pettitte, Tampa Bay. All that Pettitte's done is go 7-0 in the first half, but that wasn't enough to get the veteran more votes for an All-Star invite. Maybe it's because his other numbers were fairly mediocre (4.04 ERA, 1.40 WHiP) but plenty of worse candidates got more votes.

Jason Isringhausen, Hoboken. Izzy is having another fine season with the Cutters, but his team is mired in a lengthy slump lately. With a 2.33 ERA and 8 saves, Isringhausen has been the anchor of the Cutter bullpen, but his lack of save opportunities made him invisible to many voters.

Francisco Cordero, Philadelphia. Cordero has been overshadowed by teammate J.J. Putz, but Cordero has a good claim to a roster spot as well. The righthander is 6-0 with a miniscule 1.71 ERA in 30 games so far this season while striking out 53 in 42 innings.

Cutters, Buddah battle for 13

Don't forget this is your last chance to vote for the All-Stars this year!

Hoboken finally broke their 8-game losing streak, but it took some work. Starter Jon Garland battled Buddah's Joe Blanton through 8 shutout innings. The game was knotted at 0-0 until in the 13th inning, Travis Buck hit a solo home run to give the Cutters the lead. Jason Isringhausen pitched 5 innings of relief to earn the win.

Vancouver came right back from being shutdown yesterday, to post a shutout of their own. Jake Peavy held the Hired Hitmen to 2 hits, while striking out 11 to improve to 11-2 on the season. It's the third shutout for Peavy this year.

Vancouver picked up a game on Philadelphia, as their 9-game winning streak came to an end at the hands of D.C., 6-4. Adrian Beltre was 4-4 with 2 RBIs and Carl Crawford was 3-4 to lead the D.C. offense.

Newark took revenge on the Mudcats yesterday as the series shifted to Carolina. Javier Vazquez improved to 10-1 with a complete game effort, striking out 11 and surrendering only five hits and one run. Hideki Matsui was 2-4 with 3 RBI and 2 doubles.

C.C. the Slump Buster

C.C. Sabathia shut down the Vancouver Iron Fist in a 5-0 victory yesterday. Sabathia held the Fist to only 4 hits and struck out 6. With the loss Vancouver slips back to a tie with idle Philadelphia. Hillsborough gains a much-needed win and breaks their 5-game losing streak.

Meanwhile, Carolina stuns the Sugar Bears in Newark with a 10-7 victory. Jeff Francoeur was 4-5 and Cliff Floyd was 3-6 with 3 RBIs to lead the Mudcat offense. Starter Carlos Zambrano did not do much to help (3.2 IP, 9 H, 6 ER), but the Mudcat bullpen pitched 5.1 innings of shutout ball to give the Cats a chance to score some runs. They responded by scoring 8 runs in three innings to take the lead back.

Meanwhile, Las Vegas welcomed back shortstop Jeff Keppinger, who had been on the DL twice already this season. Kepp responded with a 3-5 night, leading the Rat Pack to a 9-1 victory over Marietta. Brian Wolfe took one for the team, replacing A.J. Burnett after he was ejected for challenging Casey Kotchman to a knife fight. Wolfe pitched 5.1 innings in relief, giving up only one run on 3 hits and striking out 4, while earning the win. The Rats are now only one game behind the first-place Sugar Bears.

Vegas takes difficult series against Newark

Vegas took game three against the Sugar Bears, winning two of three in the series in Newark. It is only the second home series the Sugar Bears have lost all year. The Rats won a 9-7 decision in 11 innings, scoring 3 runs in the top of the 11th and holding off the Crunch with Punch in the bottom half of the inning. The Rats move to within 2 games of first place in the Hanover Division. The Rats also lost reliever Pat Neshek in the game for the next two weeks. The Rats hold steady at 4 disabled players, though shortstop Jeff Keppinger is due back shortly.

Tampa Bay paid Hoboken their 7th straight loss by an 8-5 score. Akinori Iwamura was 2-4 with 4 RBIs and Jeff Francis pitched 7 solid innings to pick up the W. Ian Kinsler was 4-4 with 2 homers in defeat for the Cutters.

New Jersey pounded D.C. to an 8-1 tune and moved up ahead of Hoboken in the standings. Brad Penny gave up only an unearend run on 4 hits in 7 innings to pick up the win. Ivan Rodriguez (3-4, HR, 3 R) starred on offense for Team Buddah.

In the final game of the day, Carolina and Arkansas battled for 13 innings. Carolina held a 3-1 lead for most of the game, but the Falcons scored a run in each of the final two innings to knot the game at 3. Back-to-back RBI doubles by David Wright and Justin Morneau gave the Falcons a 2-run lead, but Dustin Pedroia's 2-run double in the bottom tied the game again at 5. Finally in the 13th, Aramis Ramirez hit a 3-run walkoff home run to win the game for the Cats.

Raised Cain extends scoreless streak

Matt Cain is at it again. In his last start - his first since his return from the DL - Cain pitched a 2-hit shutout. Yesterday, Cain again held his opponent scoreless in 7.2 innings, allowing only 2 hits and striking out 10. This time it was the Hillsborough Hired Hitmen, who lost the match 4-0. Cain will try to extend his shutout streak Monday against Blue Ridge. The win was Philadelphia's ninth straight.

James Shields and the Sugar Bears exacted revenge for their loss in yesterday's slugfest by routing the Rat Pack 16-1 yesterday. Shields went the distance, yielding an unearned run and striking out 10. Meanwhile Rat starter Chris Young was shelled, surrendering 15 runs (9 earned) on 17 hits in 4.2 innings.

Tampa Bay dealt Hoboken their 6th straight loss as Mark Buehrle pitched 6 strong innings (3 hits, 3 ER, 2 BB, 6 K) and Brian Roberts was 3-5. Tampa Bay padded their lead for the final wild card slot, but the Cutters fell deeper and are now only 1/2 game ahead of Team Buddah for 13th place overall.

Vegas and Newark face off in scoring explosion

Wow what a game between the Rat Pack and Sugar Bears Sunday evening. With sweat pouring down their faces, the two teams battled to a 21-19 final as the Sugar Bears missed the two-point conversion with seconds to spare...baseball, right? For the Rats, Jeremy Hermida was 6-6 with 3 runs and 3 RBIs. He becomes the 11th player to have six hits in a single game - a DMBL record. Joe Mauer was 4-7 with 4 RBIs, Placido Polanco and Cesar Izturis each had 3 RBIs, and Ichiro had 3 hits. Meanwhile for the Sugar Bears, Bobby Abreu was 4-4 with 3 RBIs before being mysteriously lifted for a pinch hitter. Four other Sugar Bears had 3 RBIs each. Every starting player got at least one hit. The Rats went up in the game early with a 9-run second inning, taking an early 14-3 lead in the middle of the third, but the Sugar Bears scored 7 in the next two innings to bridge the gap. With a 16-11 lead in the eighth, the Rats gave up 8 runs to the Sugar Bears to give them their first lead of the game, 19-16. But in the top of the ninth, the Sugar Bears fell apart, ceding 5 runs to the Rat Pack, capped off by a Joe Mauer 2-run double. Oh and the Sugar Bears shouldn't have called a draw play when their tight end was wide open in the end zone...

Meanwhile, Tampa Bay's Andy Pettite improved to 7-0 with a 3-hit 10-0 win over Marietta. Pettitte joins Vancouver's Zack Greinke as the only two undefeated starters left in the DMBL. Greinke settled for a no-decision in his game, though the Fist eventually won.

Philadelphia shut down the Hired Hitmen 4-1 to win their 8th straight game. The Endzone Animals have been keeping pace with Vancouver, narrowing the division lead to just 1/2 a game. Brandon Webb improved to 8-4 with 6.2 innings of solid ball, striking out 10 and surrendering only one run on 4 hits. Hillsborough fell to one game under .500 with the loss.

Don't forget, this is the final week to vote for your favorite All-Stars!

Sheets, Shields deal

Newark got their revenge for the Cutters' audacity with a 10-0 shellacking. James Shields pitched a complete game, 3-hit masterpiece, in which he struck out 12 and walked only one. Jack Cust and Nick Swisher each had 3 RBIs and Chipper Jones was 3-5, raising his league leading average to .395.

Todd Helton was 2-3 with 4 runs scored, a homer and a triple and Chase Utley went 2-3 with 4 RBIs to lead Vancouver to a 12-0 slapdown of D.C. Ben Sheets went the distance, holding D.C. to 5 hits and winning for only the second time all season.

Meanwhile Las Vegas and Tampa Bay duelled it out to a 2-1 final. The Plunkers were winning 1-0 for much of the game, but Matt Holliday and Frank Thomas hit back-to-back home runs to give the Rats a 2-1 lead. The Rats held the Plunkers to 4 hits in the game.

Rock you like a Hurri-Cain

Matt Cain came roaring back off the disabled list, shutting out the Mudcats on two hits and striking out 9 in 9 innings. Cain improved to 3-3 on the season. Cain had missed two starts and was replaced by Kason Gabbard, who was released to make room.

Vancouver's Zack Greinke improved to 7-0 on the season with a solid effort against the Bushslappers yesterday. Greinke pitched 7.2 innings, surrendering two runs on 5 hits and one walk. Vancouver's number one pick in the 2008 draft started out in the bullpen this season, but got his first shot in the rotation when Chad Billingsley was hurt early in the season. He returned fulltime to the rotation after Rich Hill's disastrous starts and never looked back. Greinke and Tampa Bay's Andy Pettitte (6-0) are the last two undefeated pitchers in the league.

Jason Hirsh pitched his final game as a Rat yesterday, a solid effort, but a no-decision. Hirsh ended up 0-2, with a 3.71 ERA in 4 starts. He was released to make room for Orlando Hernandez's return from the DL yesterday. Speaking of the Rats, reliever Brett Myers cost the team for the second straight game, blowing a 6-5 lead Tuesday and a 4-3 lead yesterday. Myers now has an 8.87 ERA in 17 appearances this season. How long can the Rats stick with the disappointing Myers?

Hoboken stunned Newark with a 14-10 victory at the Cereal Bowl yesterday, only the fourth home loss for the Sugar Bears. Hanley Ramirez was 5-6 with 4 runs scored and 3 RBIs and came up a double short of hitting for the cycle. Miguel Cabrera also had 4 RBIs. The loss snapped Newark's 6-game streak.

Newark, Sardine City gaining steam

Uhoh don't look now but Newark is on a seven-game winning streak after yesterday's 12-4 rout of Hoboken. With the win, the Sugar Bears climbed over the .700 win percentage and now sport the league's top record and a two-game lead on the Rat Pack. Javier Vazquez improved to 9-1 on the season and Hideki Matsui was 3-5 with 4 RBIs in the game.

The other hot team in the league is the Hired Hitmen, who just a few weeks ago announced that they would hold a fire sale. The Hitmen beat up on their rivals, the Falcons yesterday 9-5. Nick Markakis was 4-4 and new signee Kevin Millar was 2-3 in his season debut. The Hitmen have now won four in a row and seven of their last nine to move percentage points behind 6th place Tampa Bay and three games over .500.

Meanwhile Philadelphia is slowly creeping up on slumping Vancouver, moving to within one game of first place after a 7-2 win over Carolina. Mark Teixeira was 3-5 and Jorge Posada drove in three in the win. Meanwhile Vancouver dropped their third straight, a 6-4 loss to D.C. Vancouver starters have been getting pummelled in the last four games. It began when Ben Sheets gave up 6 in 3.2 innings against Carolina before the break. Then Greg Maddux gave up 5 earned runs in 6.2 in the first game against Philly, while Jake Peavy was smoked in the second game to the tune of 7 runs in 3 innings. Yesterday it was Chad Billingsley giving up 6 in 5.2 innings. Will Zack Greinke end the run or will he receive his daily dose tonight?

Finally, Sardine City fans have had a lot to cheer about in the last month or so as the Straphangers have played themselves into wild card contention. The Sardines won a 5-2 contest against Team Buddah yesterday, their third straight. The Sardines are 22-12 since (game day) May 1st. Sardine City owes a lot of their success to their young pitching staff, finally coming of age - Cole Hamels (5-6, 3.42), Fausto Carmona (6-3, 3.60) and Phil Hughes (3-3, 3.63) have all been solid, and Daisuke Matsuzaka has shown glimmers of hope. With a little more help in their bullpen and perhaps a couple of bats, the Straphangers could be in the mix for their first post-season berth.

More injuries hit several teams

Another bad day for injuries as several players tried to shake off the rust from the week layoff.

Hillsborough beat D.C. 7-6 but lost 1b/DH Dmitri Young. With starting first baseman Ryan Howard already on the shelf, this will leave the Hitmen very thin at the position. Billy Butler is expected to take over full time until Howard returns later this week.

The most injury-plagued team in the league this year is Las Vegas, who can't seem to keep their squad healthy. The latest casualty is third baseman Chone Figgins. The Rats picked up journeyman Scott Spiezio who will split duties with rookie Alex Gordon at the hot corner. The Rats have a league-high four players on the DL now (David Eckstein, Jeff Keppinger, and Orlando Hernandez are the others).

Philly took a 12-9 victory over first-place Vancouver to move to within two games of the Fist, but the Animals lost outfielder J.D. Drew for a week.

Finally the Blue Ridge Bombers lost shortstop Edgar Renteria, also for a week. Rafael Furcal will assume full-time duties.

Brian Giles hit his first homer in a Cutters uniform since the summer of 2004, prompting a standing ovation for the Hoboken icon. Giles pinch hit for third baseman Brandon Inge in the eighth inning and delivered a three-run blast. The Cutters ended up losing the game to Sardine City 9-5.

Aaaand we're back

Still a little tired, but rest assured that the Honolulu Sharks fan uprising has been quieted. The Sharks fans have been enrolled in the same support group as the Waikiki Keys fans attended way back in 1996. We'll resume regular blog activities tomorrow.

Aloha!