Pucci takes control of Plunkers

The third Pucci brother has officially taken over the Tampa Bay Plunkers. Nick Pucci has been approved by the Commissioner's office to wrest control of the Plunkers from Bill Levesque, who has stepped aside due to health and personal reasons.

The Pucci family first came to the States from Italy back in the 1920s with nothing but a dream - to somehow be a part of a computer sim baseball league. But Grandpa Pucci couldn't speak English too well, so he toiled away as a groundskeeper for the Southern League Carolina Mudcats. Grandpa Pucci used to read to Papa Pucci from the Baseball Prospectus every night before going to bed. On his 18th birthday, Papa Pucci set out to New York with the dream of working for a DMBL franchise. But it proved harder than he thought. He spent many months sending out resumes and trying to intercept GMs and owners as they left the stadiums at night. Despite his failures, he imparted his dream onto his sons. Papa Pucci made sure they were familiar with Earl Weaver Baseball, Hardball, Microleague, and RBI Baseball. Chris Pucci was the first of the Brothers Pucci to gain a DMBL franchise back in the Expansion of 1997. Pucci's Carolina Mudcats have been up and down, but he has made the playoffs 5 times in his 12 seasons. In 1998, Anthony "Bocci" Pucci took over the reins of the failed Lisbon Diabos franchise, but it took him 8 years to make the playoffs. Bocci did beat his brother to a division title, when last year he won the Morris Division title. Nick makes the Pucci family the leader in most brothers as owners, ahead of the Landsmans, Zajacs, Days, and possibly Calvosas. Grandpa Pucci would indeed be proud!

Basement Battle Royale

Philadelphia toppled D.C. 6-2 in a key divisional battle. Philly has been in a bit of a slump lately and needed the win to re-assert their position as the 4th place team overall. Johan Santana (7 IP, 2 R, 7 K) duelled Shawn Marcum (6.2 IP, 2 ER, 5 K) but neither would wind up with the decision. With the score tied 2-2, Philadelphia rallied in the top of the 9th for 4 runs, capped by a 2-run Jorge Posade home run. J.J. Putz retired the Bushslappers in the bottom of the 9th to preserve the win. The Animals' magic number to clinch a playoff spot is now 4.

The race at the top may not be all that interesting but the race at the bottom is neck-and-neck. Marietta dropped a 5-3 decision to Las Vegas yesterday to tie New Jersey for last place. The Buddahs actually hold a slight "lead" percentage-wise, having played two less games than the Mighty Men. After making several deals, the Blue Ridge Bombers have also plummeted to the bottom of the standings and are only 3 1/2 games out of last place. And let's not rule out the Carolina Mudcats who, at only 5 1/2 games out, can also break up the party for any of the other teams.

Hitmen's streak comes to an end

Hillsborough's streak finally came to an end yesterday with a 4-2 loss to the Endzone Animals. The Animals broke their own 4-game losing streak as well. Brandon Webb improved to 14-10 with 8 solid innings (8 H, ER, 8 K, 1 BB). Jorge Posada was 2-5 with 3 RBIs and Mike Lamb was 3-3. Philadelphia had some bad luck in the game, however, losing Adam Dunn for a week. His replacement, rookie Adam Lind also was injured pinch hitting for Dunn. Philadelphia considered picking up Adam Kennedy to fill their Adam void, but reconsidered the decision when they realized that Kennedy sucks.

A wild game broke out in Tampa Bay, with the Plunkers winning 17-11 over the Cutters. Right from the kickoff...er, first inning, both teams broke out scoring. Hoboken started with 4 runs in the first and Tampa countered with 3 of their own. The Cutters scored 3 more in the second and stretched the lead to 10-5 after their half of the 5th. Then all hell broke loose. The Plunkers scored 11 runs in the bottom of the 5th, going through 5 Cutters pitchers and taking a 16-10 lead. Though the Plunkers amassed 22 hits in the game, the Cutters scored their 11 runs on only 10 hits and three walks.

D.C.'s Derek Lowe pitched a complete-game, 6-hit shutout of Team Buddah yesterday as the Slappers reclaimed sole possession of 5th place overall. Derrek Lee was 2-4 with 3 RBIs and 2 homers in the contest for the Bushslappers.

Hitmen, Bushslappers race to playoffs

Hillsborough and D.C. are neck-and-neck in the playoff race. Hillsborough edged Philadelphia 4-3 yesterday to extend their winning streak to 10 games. Felix Hernandez gave the Hitmen 7 quality innings (4 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 7 K), while Ryan Howard and Robinson Cano each drove in 2 runs. Meanwhile, D.C. took New Jersey to extra innings, but beat the Buddahs 8-7 when Jose Reyes hit a solo homer in the top of the 10th. The Slappers rallied from a 7-4 deficit in the 9th to tie the game and send it to overtime.

Vancouver broke their losing streak Sunday, but fell again yesterday. The Fist held a 5-2 lead going into the 7th, but the Bombers scored 5 runs in the 7th and 8th innings to take the lead. Jeremy Hermida was 3-5 with 5 RBIs to lead the Bombers. Vancouver has clinched a playoff spot, but has lost 7 of their last 8. Their magic number to clinch the Morris Division is 9.

The battle for the Hanover Division is coming to an end. Newark pounded on Las Vegas 13-8 yesterday to open up a 9 1/2 game lead on the Rats. Both pitchers were taken out early in the game, but Newark's pen outlasted Vegas', holding the Rats to only 2 runs on 5 hits in 5.2 innings. Newark's magic number is also 9.

Tampa's playoff ship has seemingly sailed with their third straight loss. Hoboken stymied Tampa with an 8-6 victory, knocking the Plunkers 6 games out and 1 game under .500 again.

Batter and Pitcher of the Week

With Zane Smith missing in action, we've been charged with awarding the weekly prizes. Since the Olympics have just ended we'll do this in an Olympic fashion...

Batter of the Week

Bronze Medal - Akinori Iwamura, Tampa Bay - The Plunkers have been red hot this week, winning nine in a row before dropping two yesterday. Iwamura has been just as hot over that stretch. He was tied for second in the league with 10 RBIs over the past week and batted .385/.500/.692 with 7 runs scored.

Silver Medal - Troy Tulowitzki, Carolina - Carolina had given Tulo up for dead after he couldn't cross the Mendoza line for much of the season. After the roster purges just before the deadline, he got another chance to get some at-bats and has been much better. This week, Tulo batted .391/.423/.870 with 3 homers and 7 RBIs and brought his average up over the .200 mark to .205.

Gold Medal - Magglio Ordonez, Philadelphia - Magglio has made a strong case as MVP of the Endzone Animals, leading the team in RBIs, runs, average, OBP, slugging, and doubles. This week was no exception as he hit .500/.541/.781 to claim the JR Cigars Smokin' Batter of the Week prize. We'll be sending a box of Flor de Baloneys to the dugout in time for tonight's game!

Pitcher of the Week

Bronze Medal - Francisco Rodriguez, Blue Ridge - K-Rod has been money since coming over to the Bombers (1.19 ERA, 32 K in 22.2 IP, 0.93 WHIP). This week, he was exceptional, striking out 11 in 8 innings of work in 7 games (he's gotta be tired). All that and he even got a W for his efforts.

Silver Medal - Mariano Rivera, Marietta - The Master still has a small edge over K-Rod. Rivera saved 2 games this week in 6 games (7 IP), striking out 7 with an 0.57 WHIP.

Gold Medal - C.C. Sabathia, Hillsborough - the pitching has been a big reason why Hillsborough has been winning lately (9 in a row as of Sunday!) and there's no bigger pitcher on the staff than C.C. Hmmm I think that may have come out wrong... Anyway, Sabathia was 2-0 with a 3.00 ERA this week, including 15 K in 15 innings and an 0.93 WHIP. He gets to enjoy this week's Baracky II Pitcher of the Week Award!

Levesque to sell Plunkers franchise

Citing health problems, Tampa Bay Plunkers owner Bill Levesque gave notice to the league that he would not be able to maintain his duties as owner of the Plunkers. He said he would put the Plunkers up for sale immediately and the league will begin searching for a new owner immediately. Levesque's tenure as manager of the Plunkers was characterized by his on-again off-again feud with manager The Severed Head of Ted Williams and wacky shenanigans in the clubhouse. Though this made the day interesting for several Plunkers players, none of them complained about the hijinks. "It kept us on our toes" said shortstop Jack Wilson. "Bill used to come in the clubhouse and play practical jokes on us while we were out on the field playing games" said catcher Jason Varitek. "I remember when he put an idol of Jobu in Tejada's locker and it led to Miggy's drinking problem. Ha ha ha, what a lark." The Plunkers are currently sitting 3 games out of a playoff spot. Will Levesque's departure spark the team to "win one for the Levesquer" or will they fold like a house of cards?

Sardines drop 10th straight

Vancouver and Las Vegas have both hit a wall recently. Vancouver dropped their third straight game - a 6-2 defeat at the hands of the Bushslappers. Shawn Hill pitched 7 strong innings and limited the Fist to only 4 hits. Cliff Floyd made a good first impression going 2-4 with 2 RBIs. Meanwhile, Las Vegas dropped their 5th straight - a 7-3 loss to Tampa Bay. The Plunkers scored 6 runs in the late innings to rally back from a 3-1 deficit despite amassing only 6 hits. To add injury to insult, the Rats lost Carlos Pena for the better part of two weeks.

C.C. Sabathia held the Falcons to 3 hits in 8 innings and struck out 9 en route to a 7-2 win. The Hitmen kept pace with D.C. and Tampa Bay and held on to their 6th spot. Dmitri Young was 2-2 with 3 RBIs and Russell Martin was 3-3 with 2 runs scored in the contest.

Sardine City lost their 10th straight yesterday, a 9-1 rout by Team Buddah. Alfonso Soriano and David DeJesus each had 4 hits while Brad Penny improved to 8-12 on the season. Sardine City, once as close as 3 games out of a playoff spot, has fallen apart. They currently stand at 12 games behind the Hitmen and 9th overall.

Hitmen, Plunkers stage late-inning heroics

Bitter rivals Arkansas and Hillsborough squared off in a tough battle. The Falcons took the early 4-1 lead, but Hillsborough rallied to tie the game. With one out and a runner on first, Ryan Howard lined a base hit into right field. Dmitri Young, who was on first, tried to advance to third base on the single and would have been dead meat. However, Lance Berkman tossed the ball over third baseman David Wright's head and into the dugout, scoring the winning run. "I could have had him, but I really wanted to get home already to watch the Olympics" said Berkman.

Hot on the Hitmen's heels is Tampa Bay, who won their fifth straight - a 3-2 nailbiter against Las Vegas (yes they actually lost a one-run game!). The Rats held a 2-1 lead until the ninth inning when Joe Nathan gave up back to back home runs - Pat Burrell tied it up and then Adrian Gonzalez won it. Tampa sits 3 games out of a playoff spot - the only real threat left to Hillsborough. Meanwhile the Hitmen are now within 1 1/2 games of D.C. for 5th place overall.

Plunkers, Falcons, inch toward playoffs

The Plunkers beat up on the Buddahs to keep their playoff hopes alive. Tampa picked up 1/2 a game on the idle Hitmen, closing the gap to 2 games with a 15-4 drubbing of New Jersey. Adrian Gonzalez had 5 RBIs and Akinori Iwamura was 3-5 with 3 RBIs to lead the Plunker offense.

The Falcons stunned the Las Vegas Rat Pack with a 3 game sweep, capped by yesterday's 6-4 victory. The Rats have now fallen 7 games behind division leader Newark, but hold steady on the top wild card seed - a 9 game lead on Philadelphia. Meanwhile, the Falcons moved ahead of Sardine City into the 8th spot, though still a large distance (8 1/2 games) behind Hillsborough for the final playoff spot.

Hoboken and Sardine City played a tight one last night. With the score tied at 5 in the ninth, Hoboken sent Chad Tracy to pinch hit for catcher David Ross. Ross, making his season debut with the Cutters had already homered in the game. But the move proved to be a good one for Hoboken as Tracy hit a walk off home run to lead off the bottom of the ninth. The loss was Sardine City's 8th consecutive loss and dropping them to 10 games out of a playoff spot.

Hitmen creep up on Slappers

D.C. is hearing footsteps behind them. That's because the Hired Hitmen have crept up to 2 games behind the Bushslappers. (As an aside, will there be a name change for the D.C. team next season after the Slappee has vacated the office?) D.C. has dropped three in a row, including the last two to Hillsborough, allowing the Hitmen a chance to move up in the standings to the fifth spot. But is that a good thing for the Hitmen? If the season ended today, the Hitmen would play the Rat Pack in the first round of the playoffs. But if they moved up to fifth and all other things remained the same (and they realistically will), they would play the Endzone Animals. The Hitmen are 7-5 this season against the Rat Pack, while they are a mere 2-8 against the Animals. Maybe the Hitmen should rein it in a little. Not too much though...Tampa Bay is still alive - probably the only team outside the playoff spots that has a realistic chance - and only 3 1/2 games behind Hillsborough.

Meanwhile, at the bottom of the standings, the Mighty Men's front office is looking on with panic as their team seems to be climbing out of the basement, winning 6 games of the last 7. After finding out that owner David Landsman is trying to intentionally tank the season so he can move the franchise to Miami, manager Graig Nettles has found a new way to inspire his club. He had a cardboard cutout of Landsman in a Speedo bathing suit made up and said for every win, he will cover up a piece of the cutout. "Maybe the problem is... we're coddling these guys too much" said Landsman after cutting off the electricity in the players' locker room.

Potential roster callups of interest

As mentioned yesterday, Monday is the day when DMBL rosters expand to 30 players. Here are some of the players that may get a promotion.

Paul Konerko, Carolina - Why he's even still on this team is anyone's guess, but once the deadline passed, there was no reason to cut the veteran. Konerko is in his 5th year in Carolina, though this season has seen Konerko mostly in the minors. He's only played in 21 games and compiled a .688 OPS in those games. He probably won't return next year, so the Cats may as well call him up and give him a proper sendoff.

Jason Giambi, DC - Another veteran languishing in the minors, Giambi actually has a good shot at being kept for 2009. It couldn't hurt the Slappers to have an extra power bat on the bench. Giambi did hit 2 homers in 22 at bats in limited action this year.

Scott Linebrink, Hillsborough - Linebrink can provide some extra bullpen depth for the playoff contenders. You never know when that long extra-inning game will strike you, so it's to the Hitmen's advantage to not tire out that bullpen, especially since they only have 5 active arms on the current roster.

Alex Gordon, Las Vegas - Gordon got a brief cup of coffee earlier this year when Chone Figgins was injured. Gordon actually fared pretty well, hitting .300 with an .812 OPS and 16 runs scored in 70 at bats. Vegas may also recall Johnny Gomes, who was a disaster earlier this season. Then again they may have been so disgusted with his play earlier in the season (.187/.320/.346) that they may let him languish. That .320 OBP is actually not that bad, given his average, but he did strike out 41 times in 107 at bats.

Brian Giles and Mike Mussina, Marietta - Two favorite veterans of owner David Landsman rejoined the team this year. Giles was re-acquired from Hoboken earlier this year after the Mighty Men seemingly gave up on him. But owner Landsman "couldn't quit" him and wrested him away from Hoboken again. Meanwhile, Moose was signed as a free agent back in May. Mussina also played with the Mighty Men last season. Hmm perhaps Landsman is trying to reassemble last year's World Series team? Wes Helms, don't leave your phone!

Corey Hart, New Jersey - Hart has been Jersey's biggest disappointment this season, hitting only .170 with 5 HRs and a .492 OPS before being sent down. Hart has been tearing it up in AAA hitting .287 with a .822 OPS, so he seems to be in the plans for 2009.

Mark DeRosa, Newark - You just know that the Sugar Bears are going to recall everyone from their reserve squad and DeRosa is certainly a favorite with the front office. DeRosa only hit .216 with a .647 OPS in limited action this season, but he was a valuable member of last season's World Series winning team. Also look for David Bush and Joe Saunders to perhaps get another start each.

Yovani Gallardo, Philadelphia - With such high expectations placed on the youngster, Gallardo was a bit of a disappointment this year (9-8, 5.84 ERA). But Gallardo has the talent to be much better, and the Animals know it. Aaron Harang has been pretty shaky since being acquired from Blue Ridge (1-1, 5.82 in 4 starts). If Harang continues to struggle, Gallardo or perhaps Jason Bergmann could get another chance.

Johnny Damon, Tampa Bay - Damon only got into 4 games so far this season, but he could probably still help this club off the bench. With the Plunkers fading farther and farther from the playoff spot, maybe it's too late though. Damon's been a major cog in the Honolulu Sharks machine the past 4 years, so you can bet he's itching to get back in the lineup.

The more things stay the same...

Hillsborough is taking a stronger and stronger grip on that final wild card spot. Yesterday's 7-6 win over the Mudcats gave them a 4-game lead over seventh-place Tampa Bay. Meanwhile Sardine City fell to 6 1/2 out of the playoff spot. Will there be any contest for the playoff spots this year? It's looking more and more like the answer to that question will be no. As a matter of fact, the likelihood of any of the teams in the six playoff spots changing positions in the final month are slim. Newark has established a 5-game lead over Las Vegas in the Hanover and holds a 4 1/2 game lead on Vancouver for 1st overall. Vancouver is even more firmly entrenched above the Morris Division, with an 11 1/2 game lead over Philadelphia. The Animals are 5 1/2 games ahead of D.C. Finally the Bushslappers are 4 games up on Hillsborough. A major winning or losing streak could shake things up a bit, but with so many teams essentially giving up*, what are the odds that will happen to one of the top dogs?

*Let's face it, Carolina, New Jersey, Blue Ridge, and Marietta are not really playing for this year and are probably all crossing their fingers hoping they lose the rest of this season's games.

By the way, Newark is just about ready to become the first team of 2008 to clinch a playoff spot. If the Sugar Bears beat Sardine City today and Tampa loses to Hillsborough, it'll happen. Vancouver is also in a good position to clinch by the end of the week.

Starting Monday, rosters expand to the full 30 players, and some teams may give some of their farmhands some playing time. We'll take a look at some of those players tomorrow...

Peavy

John Lackey pitched a 4-hit shutout of the Mudcats yesterday, striking out six, and improving to 12-6 on the year. The Hitmen only managed 3 runs and 7 hits, but it was enough. Meanwhile Tampa pounded the Sugar Bears 11-5. Andy Pettitte, a former Sugar Bear, won his 12th as he limited Newark to 4 hits and 2 runs in 6 innings. James Loney and Pat Burrell combined to go 4-7 with 9 RBIs to lead the Plunker offense.

The team that lost ground was the Sardine City Straphangers. The Sardines fell victim to Vancouver's ace, Jake Peavy, who became the first in the DMBL to win 20 games. Peavy improved to 20-3 with 7 solid innings. With possibly 6 more starts to go, Peavy has an outside shot at tying Greg Maddux's 10-year old DMBL record of 26 wins.

Las Vegas finally was able to gain some ground on Newark with a 2-1 win over Hoboken. Jason Hirsh, who has been stellar since replacing Erik Bedard and Tim Lincecum in the rotation, outduelled Matt Garza to earn the W. Since returning to the rotation, Hirsh is 2-0 with a 2.25 ERA and 1.17 WHIP in 2 starts.

Hillsborough, Newark win in overtime

Hillsborough survived a 10-inning affair with the Mudcats to eke out a 3-2 victory. The Hitmen had to tie it late on a bases-loaded walk in the 8th, then won in the 10th on a Carlos Lee double. With the win, Hillsborough moved back to .500 (64-64). The Hitmen gained one game on the Plunkers because Newark also won in 10 innings. Tampa tied it up on a Johnny Damon solo homer in the 9th to send it to extra innings, but the Plunkers quickly got into trouble in the 10th, finally walking home the go ahead run. The Hitmen now have a 3 1/2 game lead on Tampa.

Meanwhile, the Straphangers moved up to one game behind 7th place with an 8-7 win over Vancouver. Sardine City took a 7-4 lead late in the game, but the Fist climbed back and tied the game on Curtis Granderson's 2-RBI triple, his second of the game. Stephen Drew (4-5, 5 RBI) answered with a solo homer in the top of the 9th to give the Sardines the lead back. The Sardines are one of two teams to hold a winning record over the Iron Fist (Philly is the other at 6-2), winning 6 of their 9 meetings so far.

Bombers take out Falcons

Hillsborough gained a game on Tampa yesterday with a 9-3 win over Vancouver in the first game of their doubleheader. With most of the field slumping lately it looks like only Tampa Bay and Sardine City are in any position to threaten the Hitmen. The two teams have been battling it out over the weekend, with the Sardines taking 2 of 3 from the Plunkers. The Plunkers are now 2 1/2 games behind Hillsborough, with the Straphangers 4 1/2 out. The rest of the teams are looking like longshots with under 30 games remaining in the season.

Blue Ridge dealt the Falcons a death blow over the weekend by sweeping the Birds. The Bombers took the Falcons to extra innings in the first game, winning on two bases-loaded walks in the top of the 10th. Jeremy Hermida (4-5, 5 RBIs) led the Bombers to a 10-8 win in the second game, giving the Bombers four straight victories.

Philadelphia took two of three from D.C. to keep a solid lock on fourth place overall. Matt Cain (9-4) pitched the Animals to a 7-1 win in the first game of yesterday's doubleheader and Jorge Posada (4-5) and Kelly Johnson (2-4, 3 RBIs) led Philly to a 9-7 win in game two.

Harang, Lester duel in 1-0 battle

Philly battled the Mighty Men to a 1-0 victory. Newly-acquired Aaron Harang turned in a gem (8.2 IP, 4 H, 2 BB, 4 K) to win his first as a member of the Endzone Animals. Jon Lester ended up on the hardluck end of the decision despite pitching 7 innings of 1-run ball. Chris Young was the difference in the game with a solo home run in the 4th inning.

Arkansas put an end to Tampa Bay's 6-game winning streak with a 17-7 blowout. The Falcons busted out with 11 runs in the 7th inning. The Plunkers fell back to a full game behind Hillsborough. Arkansas, at 6 1/2 games, is still alive for the final playoff spot, though they are a longshot.

Vancouver held off the Sugar Bears and escaped with a 5-4 win over the Hanover Division leaders. The game was tied 1-1 until the Fist rallied for three runs in the 7th, but the Sugar Bears quickly tied up the game in the 8th when Bobby Abreu hit a 3-run homer. Newark got into trouble in the bottom of the inning and Vancouver took the lead on a fielder's choice. Billy Wagner, struggling for much of the season, got out of trouble in the ninth and recorded his 9th save.

The Rat Pack was upset by Blue Ridge in an unlikely 13-7 defeat. The Bombers scored 6 runs in the 8th inning to snatch victory away from the Rats. Jose Vidro was 4-5 with 3 RBIs, Jeremy Hermida was 3-3, and Hunter Pence was 3-4 to lead the Bomber offense.