Mighty Men make mighty strides

Billy Wagner must have been preoccupied with his Pitcher of the Week award yesterday and failed to save the game against the Endzone Animals last night. Vancouver was clinging to a 4-3 lead in the 9th inning. Wagner had already gotten out of a jam in the 8th and got the first two batters out in the 9th. But Gerald Laird, a former Vancouver player, took Wagner deep to center to tie the game up and go to extra innings. In the 11th, Vancouver exploded for 5 runs. Philly got a solo homer in the bottom half of the inning, but that was all they could get.

Hillsborough kept pace with the Fist, winning their matchup with D.C. 5-2. C.C. Sabathia improved to 3-0 on the season with an 8-inning, 7-hit performance, in which he only gave up one run. Hillsborough still holds a percentage-point lead over Vancouver in the Morris Division.

Marietta has won their 5th in a row and has stormed back into contention for the Hanover Divison. The Mighty Men pounded away on the Sugar Bears yesterday 11-2. Josh Hamilton was 5-5 with a homer and two doubles and Ryan Dempster held the Sugar Bears to 2 hits and no runs over 6 innings. Dempster also struck out 6. The Mighty Men, who were 4-7 before the streak, are now 9-7 and alone in 2nd place in the division.

Ankiel, Wagner streak to awards

This week's JR Cigars Smokin' Batter of the Week is easily Rick Ankiel. Ankiel's first 6 hits of the season were all home runs, until he was held to only a double in the second game against Sardine City. He came right back the next day though and hit his 7th home run of the season (along with his first 2 singles), then hit his first triple of the season in the second match of Sunday's doubleheader. For the week, Ankiel hit .391 with a ridiculous 1.174 slugging, 5 home runs, 15 RBIs, and 8 runs scored.

Remember last week's batter of the week, Aubrey Huff? Well he hasn't slowed down since winning the award. In fact, if not for Ankiel's historic feat, Huff could have been an early repeat winner. This week, Huff hit .519 with a 1.148 slugging, 4 home runs, 11 runs scored, 8 RBIs, and 5 doubles. Other notable batters: Marietta's Milton Bradley (.429/.529/.821, 10 R, 10 RBI), Carolina's Dustin Pedroia (.441/.486/.647, 2 HR, 6 R), Philly's Mark Teixeira (.429/.568/.786, 6 RBI, 2 HR), and New Jersey's David DeJesus (.407/.500/.704, 10 R, 2 HR).

This week, we award the ShamWow® Pitcher of the Week Award to Vancouver's Billy Wagner. Wagner saved 5 games in 5 appearances, more than doubling his league lead over the rest of the DMBL relievers. Wagner now has 7 saves on the season. In his 5 appearances, Wagner struck out 6 in 6.1 innings, and allowed only one hit. That's as automatic as you get.

Wags faced some pretty stiff competition, not just from the rest of the league, but from his own teammate. Jake Peavy was 1-0 in two starts, with a 1.50 ERA and 11 strikeouts. The unluckiest pitcher this week has to be Ted Lilly of Blue Ridge who only gave up one run in 13 innings, but only has one loss to show for it. Cliff Lee (0-1, 2.35 ERA in 15.1 innings, 15 K) had a similar fate in Arkansas. Some two-game winners this week: Felix Hernandez of Hillsborough (1.38, 14K), Hoboken's Matt Garza (1.93 ERA), Newark's Chien-Ming Wang (2.30), and New Jersey's Kevin Slowey (1.84, 16 K).

Hitmen streak hits 6

The Hired Hitmen won their 6th straight yesterday, pounding D.C. 9-2. Ryan Howard was 3-4 with a pair of home runs and 7 RBIs to singlehandedly lead the team to victory. C.C. Sabathia went the distance, improving to 2-0 on the season, as he limited the O-Bombers to 6 hits and one walk, while striking out 7.

Vancouver kept pace by thrashing Philly 11-0. Ben Sheets pitched 7 shutout innings and Omar Infante was 3-5 with 2 homers and 4 RBIs. Jerry Hairston also hit a home run and drove in 3 runs. The Endzone Animals could only muster up 5 hits in the contest, losing their 5th straight. That's bad news for Philly as Las Vegas comes to town to start their series today.

Speaking of Vegas, the Rat Pack was abused by Team Buddah last night 9-1. Andy Pettitte pitched a gem for Buddah, striking out 8 in 8 innings of work and holding the Rats to 6 hits. Joey Votto was 2-4 with 2 doubles in the game. Buddah only had 9 hits and 2 walks but made it count - only two Buddah batters were stranded in the efficient victory.

Ankiel makes 'em count

We mentioned that Rick Ankiel recently became the first DMBLer to appear as both a pitcher and a position player. Did you know that Ankiel's first hit in his DMBL career was a home run on Opening Day against D.C.? Well that's nothing... Ankiel is now hitting .400 on the season - 4 hits in 10 at bats and all 4 hits are home runs. That works out to a 1.600 slugging percentage! Well, it goes without saying that Ankiel has earned a little more playing time with this performance. He started the season on the bench and now has landed a role starting against right handers.

Mike Mussina's start against the Sugar Bears wasn't very memorable - 6.2 innings, 4 earned runs, 9 Ks - but it was his 363rd career start, moving him past Kevin Brown for 7th overall. His 9 strikeouts brought him to 1997, three shy of becoming only the 7th to 2000 for their career.

Hillsborough won their 5th straight, a 6-3 victory over D.C. yesterday, sending the Hitmen into first place - percentage points ahead of Vancouver. Aubrey Huff was 3-4 with 2 home runs and 3 RBIs to lead the Hitmen, while Felix Hernandez finally put together a good start (6 IP, 9 H, ER, BB, 5K).

Chad Billingsley stymied the slumping Endzone Animals in a 3-1 victory for Vancouver. Billingsley pitched 7.1 innings, allowing only one run on 5 hits and 3 walks, while striking out 8. Billy Wagner again notched a save, his 5th - tops in the league.

Blue Ridge not only lost the game to Amityville 4-2, but also lost catcher Chris Ianetta to injury for the better part of a month. Batting third in the game, Ianetta took the first pitch for a called strike. Ianetta protested, asking how can a pitch that bounced in the dirt be a strike, but the umpire ignored him. The next pitch came in high over Ianetta's head. Ianetta stared down the pitcher Jon Lester and made some kind of off-colored joke about the pitcher's bout with cancer. Lester then uncorked a pitch in at Ianetta's hands sending him to the ground in obvious pain. Ianetta charged the mound, punching Lester with his injured hand and then screamed in pain when he realized it was the one that the ball hit. Blue Ridge signed DMBL retread Jason Kendall to take his spot on the roster.

It's a beautiful day for a ballgame... Let's play two!

Yesterday was a light day in the DMBL with only three games.

Carolina and Arkansas decided to play a double header yesterday, regardless of the fact that it wasn't a Sunday. The two teams battled to a 3-3 tie at the end of 9 innings, then kept going another 9. The Mudcats scored three runs in the top of the 14th innings to take a 6-3 lead, but the Falcons rallied right back on a Jermaine Dye 3-run homer. The Mudcats once again scored 3 runs in the 18th inning, taking a 9-6 lead. Buddy Carlyle retired the Falcons in order to close the game out. Carlyle pitched 5.1 innings in relief to earn the win, allowing 3 runs on 3 hits and 2 walks, and striking out 5.

Meanwhile, Amityville dropped their third straight, a 12-8 slugfest against Blue Ridge. Carl Crawford was 3-6 with a homer and 4 RBIs and Hunter Pence was 3-4 with 2 RBIs to lead the Bomber offense. Jacoby Ellsbury had a triple and a home run for the Ant Slayers.

Finally, Vancouver edged Philadelphia 4-2 in Philadelphia. Jake Peavy and Brandon Webb dueled in a 2-2 tie for 6 innings until Troy Glaus broke the tie with an RBI single in the 7th. Curtis Granderson hit his 5th homer of the year to give the Fist a 4-2 lead in the 8th. Billy Wagner closed out the ninth for his league-leading 4th save.

End of the Road for Schilling

Curt Schilling announced his retirement yesterday. The longtime Falcon and Iron Fist pitcher has assembled quite the career and is a lock for induction into the DMBL Hall of Fame. Let's take a look...

Schilling was signed as a free agent relief pitcher back in 1992 by Vancouver. The Iron Fist were struggling and looking to rebuild for 1993 and took a chance on some young hurlers like Schilling, Greg Maddux, and Greg Swindell. In Schilling's first DMBL season, he compiled a 15-9 record with a 2.95 ERA and 14 complete games. That season, Vancouver won their first of two consecutive championships. Being a relief pitcher the year before, Schilling wasn't ready for such a workload and ended up missing the entire 1994 season. Of course the strike took out the 1995 season so Schilling was well rested for the 1996 season. Schilling came back as new pitcher. After striking out a mere 143 in 226 innings in 1993, Schilling struck out 228 in 229 innings in 1996. In 1997, Schilling won 20 games for the first time, even though his ERA rose to 4.41 and helping Vancouver reach the World Series again. Unfortunately for him, they ended up losing this one. This would be Schilling's last full season in Vancouver because in June of 1998, he was part of a blockbuster deal that sent Schilling, along with Kenny Lofton and Dan Wilson to Arkansas in exchange for Javy Lopez, Ryan Klesko, and a bonanza of draft picks. Schilling led the Falcons to a championship over his former team in 1998, then again in 1999. Schilling probably enjoyed his best season in 2003, when he went 19-6 with a 2.90 ERA and 263 strikeouts, leading the Falcons to another championship, this time over the hated rival Newark Sugar Bears. For his efforts, Schilling won his first and only Ben McDonald Pitcher of the Year Award. In all, Schilling contributed to 4 World Series winners and was on the runner up five times. Schilling contributed a couple more solid seasons before missing the 2006 season. Schilling came back and pitched a partial 2007, appearing in only 16 games and finally pitched his last full season last season, going 13-10, with a 4.46 ERA for the Falcons.

Overall, Schilling is in very good company. He finishes his career with a 205-104 record. The wins are good enough for 5th all-time, just behind teammates Pedro Martinez (207) and Roger Clemens (211). His .671 winning percentage is good for second best. His 2553 career strikeouts are 4th all-time, once again behind Clemens and Martinez and the all-time leader Randy Johnson (3249). He has 402 career starts, plus 3 relief appearances, good enough for 5th all time. His 87 complete games are second only to Greg Maddux (100). He's 4th with 18 shutouts. His career ERA (3.97) and WHIP (1.26) are also in the top 10 all-time.

Thanks for the memories, Curt. We'll revisit you in 5 years!

Player of the week awards for week 1

This week's JR Cigars Smokin' Batter of the Week has to be Aubrey Huff of Hillsborough. Huff led the league with 6 homers and a 1.032 slugging percentage. He also led the league in runs (12) and OPS (1.489) while batting .389. He's a big reason why the Hired Hitmen are sitting just 1/2 a game out of first after winning their last three games.

Also in consideration this week were Vancouver's Chase Utley, who was second in the league in batting (.475), third in on base (.500) and third in slugging (.850). Utley's former teammate, Andre Ethier, now with Philadelphia, also had a great week - he led the league in hitting .500 and on-base percentage (.576). Other notables: Blue Ridge's Prince Fielder (.406 with 5 homers), Hoboken's Miguel Cabrera (1.257 OPS, 5 doubles), Philly's Albert Pujols (.353/.463/.765 with 10 RBIs and 4 HRs) and Newark's Jason Giambi. Giambi probably makes the list more for one game - Sunday's 12-5 thrashing of Amityville where Giambi hit 3 home runs and drove in 8 runs.

The easy pick for the Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal Pitcher of the Week is Roy Halladay of the Carolina Mudcats. The Mudcats were the last standing undefeated team in the league and Halladay did his best to keep it that way. Halladay started the week pitching a 5-hit shutout of the Endzone Animals, striking out 9 and walking 3. But he wasn't done. Halladay also earned a second victory against the Hired Hitmen, pitching 7 strong innings, giving up only one unearned run and striking out 5 Hillsborough batters. Other considerations: Blue Ridge's Gavin Floyd (2-0, 1.15), Las Vegas' Josh Beckett (2-0, 3.21, 14 K) and Rich Harden (1-0, 1.50, 14 K in 2 starts), Hillsborough's Dan Haren (2-0, 2.40, 15 K), Newark's Chien-Ming Wang (2-0, 1.20), and Hoboken's Matt Garza (1-1, 1.32, shutout).

Garza blanks Carolina for first loss

Well the streak is over and the Mudcats have lost their first game. Matt Garza pitched a masterful 6-hit shutout for Hoboken to end the streak. The Cutters jumped all over Matt Pelfrey in the first inning, scoring 4 runs, including a 3-run homer by Mike Napoli. But Pelfrey eventually settled in and held them scoreless for the next 5+ innings. Of course the Mudcats couldn't do a thing against Garza.

There was a wild game in Vancouver, where Team Buddah earned a victory in extra innings 14-11. The Buddahs jumped out to a huge 8-1 lead after 5 innings, but Vancouver climbed back and eventually took a 10-8 lead. With a 2-run lead in the ninth, Billy Wagner served up a 2-run homer to Ian Stewart to tie the game up. Team Buddah took an 11-10 lead in the top of the 12th on a sac fly, but Vancouver tied it right back up on an Omar Infante single. Then in the next inning, Vancouver got into trouble quickly and Alfonso Soriano made them pay for it with a 3-run blast. After a leadoff single, the rest of Vancouver's lineup went down without a fight in the bottom of the inning.

Sardine City and Philadelphia also had a bit of a battle, though this one ended in 9 innings. The Sardines got on the board quickly here too, building an 8-0 lead over 6 innings. But then Philly woke up and scored five runs in the bottom of the 7th to make it 9-6. In the bottom of the ninth, Philly loaded the bases on three straight singles. Taylor Buchholz then hit Mark Teixeira, scoring John Baker. Jimmy Rollins grounded out in the next at bat, but another run scored and suddenly the 8-0 lead was 9-8. Buchholz struck out Alex Rios for the second out. With runners at 2nd and 3rd, Magglio Ordonez stepped up to the plate. Buchholz got in trouble, throwing two balls to start to Ordonez, but Ordonez swung at a bad 2-0 pitch and popped out to center field, ending the game.

Carolina stands alone

The Mudcats won again yesterday, taking their season record to a perfect 4-0. The Cats beat Hoboken 5-3 behind 7 solid innings from Tim Hudson. Greg Smith pitched 5.2 innings and gave up no earned runs for the Cutters, but unfortunately for him, a couple of miscues led to three unearned runs. For the Mudcats, Dustin Pedroia was 3-3 and A.J. Pierzynski had a double, a triple, and 3 RBIs.

Andrew Sonnanstine and the Falcons shut down the mighty Newark Sugar Bears 7-1 yesterday. Sonnanstine held the Sugar Bears to 3 hits over 6 innings and the Falcon bullpen shut them down the rest of the way to preserve the win. Lance Berkman's 2-run homer kicked off a 6-run 5th inning for the Falcons.

Las Vegas sits atop the Hanover Division alone after an 11-4 thrashing of the Bombers. The Rats got off to an early 5-1 lead, but the Bombers battled back to within one run after a 3-run 8th. But the Rats exploded for 6 more runs in the top of the 9th to seal the deal. Hometown papers in Blue Ridge cited their upcoming legal battles with D.C. over naming rights as a possible distraction. Blue Ridge and D.C. have been mired in litigation over the use of the name "Bombers" and many players have been upset. " Landsman deliberately stole our name" said outfielder Jeremy Hermida. "Just because he put an 'O' in front of it, that makes it different? He's no better than Vanilla Ice with his da-da-da-DA-da-da-da shenanigans." D.C.'s front office issued no comment.

Here come the vultures

Well the dust finally cleared after Saturday and Sunday's cuts and the scavengers have moved in to grab the cuts.

D.C. was one of two teams making two grabs off the waiver wire. You can make it three if you count Sunday's pickup of Ramon Ramirez, cut by Hillsborough. Yesterday, they grabbed Kevin Gregg from Newark and Juan Cruz from Vancouver. Gregg was put right to the test yesterday, pitching two innings and giving up one run in D.C.'s 9-4 drubbing of Marietta.

Las Vegas was the other team making two moves yesterday. The Rat Pack continued the trend on relievers by signing Mudcat castoff Scott Linebrink. They also picked up DH Jim Thome, cut by Newark. While Thome was sent to the Vegas' AAA team, Linebrink was called into yesterday's 15-5 rout of Blue Ridge. Linebrink picked up a save while pitching 3 hitless innings.

Philadelphia was denied in getting Kevin Gregg, but was able to snatch third baseman Mark Reynolds from New Jersey. Reynolds also got into the game, a 13-4 blowout of Sardine City. Hmmm, do you notice a trend? All three teams that made waiver wire claims won in blowout fashion yesterday. Coincidence? Reynolds was a pinch hitter in the game, walking for Alex Rodriguez after the game got out of hand.

Carolina remained undefeated yesterday with a 6-4 win over Hoboken. Vernon Wells was 2-3 with 2 RBIs and three others hit solo home runs to lead the Mudcats to a 3-0 start - the last undefeated team standing in the DMBL.

St. Patrick's Day: Top Pats

In honor of St. Pat, we're going to count down the top Pats in DMBL history. There have been only 9 Pats that we could find in the history books, and none of them have exactly been legends. Well, let's take a look anyway...

9) Pat Rapp, 1996-2000. Sure he gets a bad rapp (yeah, yeah, yeah, I know), but it's deserved based on his horrible DMBL career. Rapp stunk up the joint for the Louisiana Lightning in 1996, pitching in only 9 games, but giving up 36 runs in those 9 games for a 9.62 ERA. In 2000, Philadelphia brought him back and the results were somewhat better. Rapp actually lasted the entire season, going 7-13 with a 5.59 ERA.

8) Pat Borders, 1993-1997. Borders was a bit player in his brief DMBL career, playing backup in Scranton, Carolina, and Jerusalem. Borders only amassed 256 career DMBL at-bats, hitting a pitiful .246 with a .640 career OPS.

7) Pat Mahomes, 2000. Sure Mahomes only lasted one season, but at least it was a full season. As in full of disappointment. Mahomes pitched in 82 games and 144 innings as a reliever for Honolulu, but sported a nasty 6.56 ERA, worst among all Pats.

6) Pat Kelly, 1993-1994. Kelly was a Waikiki fan favorite, but when the franchise went belly-up, so did Kelly's career. Kelly came on board as a part-timer in 1993, but played full-time in 1994. Kelly hit a decent .252, but with a .315 slugging and .292 on-base percentage. To make up for it, Kelly committed 48 errors that season.

Not looking good for the Pats so far...

5) Pat Neshek, 2007-2008. Neshek was brought in with high hopes for the Marietta bullpen in 2007, but he was a big disappointment. Neshek was 4-1, but with a 5.58 ERA in 37 appearances. Marietta traded Neshek away to Las Vegas for the 2008 season where he had slightly better numbers - 5-3, 4.39, 1.13 WHIP, 86 K's in 82 innings.

4) Pat Hentgen, 1994-2004. Hentgen was a mainstay in the Columbia Crusaders rotation for 3 years, winning 37 games and losing 37. Hentgen's best year was 1997 when he went 16-12 with a 4.44 ERA. Hentgen was let go after a poor start in 2000 and became a spot starter, first with Kentucky, then in Philadelphia.
3) Pat Listach, 1993. The namesake for our Rookie of the Year award, Listach only had one DMBL season, but he made the most of it. He hit .315 with a .368 on base percentage and stole 17 bases (a good number in that era). Little known fact: in Spanish, "listach" translates to "flash in the pan".

2) Pat Meares, 1996-1998. The name Meares screams utility player, but he was actually a pretty useful player for the Norfolk Ewes and later the Louisiana Lightning. Meares hit a solid .261 in 1996 for the Ewes with 19 homers and 65 RBIs. He was relegated to a platoon role in 1997, but returned in '98 with the Lightning to hit .308 with 11 homers and 57 RBIs.

and the #1 Pat...





1) Pat Burrell, 2001-present. Burrell is by no means a great player, but compared to his namesakes he shines just for being more useful and for doing it longer. He leads all Pats with 7 seasons of service and is currently with the Amityville Ant Slayers. Burrell started his career with the Carolina Mudcats, where he lasted for three seasons. Burrell had a few okay seasons: he hit 30 home runs in 2003 with 88 RBIs, but he couldn't ever crack the .250 batting average mark. He was a fill-in in 2005 with Newark and Las Vegas, and then again in 2007 with Hoboken and Arkansas. In 2008, he earned a full-time job back again as a first round draft pick of the Tampa Bay Plunkers. Maybe he didn't put up great numbers, but he did hit career highs in home runs (32), runs (95), RBIs(97), walks(102), and slugging (.464). Tip o' the old shellelagh to you, Patty boy. Have a pint of Guinness on us.

Amityville earns first franchise victory

Amityville won their first game by battling the Rat Pack through 13 innings. The Ant Slayers held a 2-1 lead through five and a half, but the Rats tied the game up on an Ichiro Suzuki double. The bullpens shut each other out until the top of the 13th when Emanuel Burris and Johnny Damon both hit solo home runs to give the Ant Slayers their first victory.

Sardine City avenged yesterday's loss with a 6-3 win over Team Buddah. Josh Johnson earned the win by striking out 9 in 6.1 innings, surrendering only one run on 4 hits and 2 walks. Miguel Montero was 3-3 and Raul Ibanez had 2 RBIs in the contest. Buddah starter Jamie Moyer, who was rocked for 6 runs in 5 innings was released after the game. "There can be no losing on this team" said manager Matt Nokes. One can only wonder if the entire team will be released by the end of April.

Newark pummeled the Cutters yesterday 11-4 behind Jarrod Saltalamacchia's 4-6 night. Salty only needed a home run to hit for the cycle, but fell short. Bobby Abreu was also 3-3 in the contest and Manny Ramirez had 3 RBIs.

Adam Wainwright stymied the defending champion Iron Fist 5-0 yesterday. Wainwright allowed only 2 hits and struck out 4 in a complete game shut out. The Bombers could only muster five hits themselves but made them count. Chris Ianetta and Nate McLouth each had 2 RBIs.

Forgot to mention yesterday that Arkansas Falcons outfielder Rick Ankiel made his triumphant return to the DMBL, this time as a batter. When last we saw Ankiel way back in 2001, he had looked like a promising member of the Falcons rotation. Hopefully he can stick around more than one year in his new role.

Opening Day notes

Carolina shot off to the best start, winning both of their games against Philadelphia. Roy Halladay shut out the Animals in game one, allowing only 5 hits and 3 walks in a complete game, striking out 9. Aramis Ramirez hit a grand slam in the 3rd inning to give the Cats the lead. In game 2, the Animals got on the board, but the Cats still won 7-2. This time it was Dice-K Matsuzaka striking out 9 Animals in 8 innings. Aramis Ramirez hit another home run in the game, though it was only a 2-run shot this time. Carlos Delgado added two solo homers in the game.

Marietta only played one game, but they rank amongst the undefeated teams so far with a 4-3 win over the Hitmen. The Hitmen jumped ahead early in the game with a Russ Martin RBI single in the second, but Marietta tied it up in the late innings, then took the lead in the 8th on an Adrian Beltre double. Aubrey Huff hit a two-run homer in the ninth to give the Hitmen a 3-2 lead, but B.J. Ryan could not hold the lead. Pinch hitting for Jason Bay, fan favorite Nick Punto lined a base hit that scored two runs, winning the game for Marietta.

Another undefeated team is New Jersey after taking a 6-3 decision against Sardine City. Edinson Volquez won his first DMBL game. Alfonso Soriano gave the Buddahs the lead in the first with a grand slam off starter Cole Hamels. Reliever Jimmy Johnson settled in nicely for Hamels in the 4th, pitching 5.1 innings of no-hit ball, walking one and striking out 3.

The last undefeated team is Las Vegas, who spoiled the Amityville Ant Slayers' first game with a 5-1 victory. Rich Harden returned from the dead to earn the win after pitching a solid 6 innings. Jeff Keppinger went 3-4 with an RBI to lead the team.

Training Camp: Vancouver Iron Fist

The final Training Camp post brings us to the defending champions. Can they repeat? The road will be very difficult for the Fist.

Positional battles: Adam Jones, Chase Headley and Adam Lind have been battling it out for the final outfield spot. We may see some sort of platoon and Jones will like slot in as a late inning defensive replacement when he's not in the lineup. Otherwise, manager Darren Daulton says he will just stick with the hot hand.

Hiroki Kuroda had a rotation slot practically given to him, but his pre-season meltdown has opened the door for Paul Maholm and Greg Maddux to overtake him. Vancouver is planning on platooning the two. Of course the last time a team platooned two rotation members was Marietta's disastrous Brett Tomko/Mark Hendrickson debacle from a few years back.

Pre-season surprises/disappointments: We already mentioned Maholm (1-0, 2.45) and Maddux (3-1, 4.30), but it has not been a good spring for Vancouver's pitching staff. Zack Greinke in particular was hot and cold (1-2, 5.64) and most of the bullpen was roughed up.

Victor Martinez looks to be back in form after suffering an off-season injury (.385/.444/.487). Omar Infante earned a utility role and maybe more with his excellent hitting (.364/.375/.571). Infante tied with Kevin Kouzmanoff for the team lead in RBIs (12). Adam Lind (.339/.371/.475) was the most productive of the young outfield trio. Adam Jones (.203/.211/.362) was the worst.
Roster outlook: Vancouver has made most of their cuts and has 2 more to go. Look for one of their relievers to get cut and one of their young third basemen - either Kouzmanoff or Pedro Alvarez.

Training Camp: Sardine City Straphangers

Sardine City flirted with contention last year, but ended up near the bottom. Can this be the year that they finally come of age?

Positional battles: Not much to write up here. Only shortstop looked like any kind of competition, but it looks like Edgar Renteria and Stephen Drew will settle into a platoon. Glen Perkins may end up stealing a rotation spot away from either Ubaldo Jimenez or Dustin McGowan. Both pitched poorly in the pre-season while Perkins was solid in his two starts (2-0, 1.88, 1.19 WHIP). The closer role seems to be open, too. Taylor Buchholz saved 3 games in the pre-season and Brandon Morrow saved 2, but Buchholz had much better numbers (2.02 vs 5.14 ERAs, 1.13 vs 1.71 WHIPs). Morrow's future is as a starter, so the club may opt to stick him into long relief.

Pre-season surprises/disappointments: Ryan Braun exploded for 11 home runs and a .373 average. He also led the team in runs (25) and RBIs (29). Carlos Quentin also had a good spring, hitting .324/.413/.490 with 24 runs scored. B.J. Upton struggled, hitting a measly .184, but his .345 OBP was encouraging. Also struggling is rookie third bagger Evan Longoria (.245/.342/.426).

Jimenez (2-1, 5.40) and McGowan (2-1, 5.08) have both put their jobs in danger, despite getting the run support. Among relievers, Zach Miner was particularly brutal (0-1, 9.00 ERA in 11 appearances). Lefty Cole Hamels looked sharp, amassing a 3.67 ERA and going 2-0.
Roster outlook: The Sardines have 6 extra players on their roster. Of course, their reserve squad is full of ineligibles, but the Straphangers are known for sticking with their youth. The club has several extraneous players that could be cut to make room, including journeymen like Eric Hinske, Marco Scutaro, and Jeff Francoeur. With Miner's awful spring, he's also a prime candidate for a pink slip.

Training Camp: Philadelphia Endzone Animals

The Animals look to be contenders once again, after posting two straight 90+ win seasons, and 3 out of the last 4.

Positional battles: After John Maine's dismal spring (1-1, 16.20), management lost confidence in him and brought in Newark castoff David Bush. Bush pitched solidly in his only spring start as did Chris Sampson, a reclamation project from Vancouver. One of the two could claim the 5th starter job, but Philly is likely not done scouring the scrap heaps.

Pre-season surprises/disappointments: The Animals have to like what they've seen from trade acquisitions Scott Kazmir (2-1, 2.28, 36 K in 27.2 innings) and Shawn Marcum (2-1, 2.09, also 36 K, but in 38.2 innings). The bullpen combo of Dan Wheeler, Octavio Dotel, and Francisco Cordero has been lights out, surrendering only 2 earned runs in 28.1 innings. Matt Cain has struggled so far with an 8.10 ERA in 5 starts.

Catcher John Baker leads the team with a .391 average to go along with a nice .968 OPS. Brian Roberts locked up the second base job by hitting .375/.445/.510 with 15 runs scored. His backup, Jose Lopez, has been impressive in his limited at bats, hitting 4 homers in only 35 at bats (.743 slugging also).

Roster outlook: The Endzone Animals have been the most active team on the waiver wire. They've claimed four players off other teams' waivers and signed another four players. They have 37 total players, including 5 ineligibles. A few of those ineligibles will likely be cut, with keeper Yovani Gallardo the only sure thing. Once Philly sorts out their rotation, expect several starters to be cut as well. Waiver claims Kosuke Fukudome and Ryan Sweeney are also on thin ice.

Training Camp: Newark Sugar Bears

The Sugar Bear championship run was finally broken last year, but does anyone really think it's over?

Positional battles: The Sugar Bears may be one of the most platoon-heavy teams in the league, so not everyone is actually fighting for a job per se, but any playing time at all. Going into the season it looks like the platoons will be Salty and Olivo at catcher, Cabrera and Fontenot at second, and Lowrie and Vazquez at short. Some other defensive subs can be expected too. The rotation is set, with Brett Myers and Javier Vazquez relegated to subbing in when the other starters get injured.

Pre-season surprises/disappointments: Andy Pettitte was disappointed to be cut after putting up a 1-0, 0.60 line in two starts. Nonetheless, Newark had no room for the veteran. Kevin Gregg could be this year's no-name awesome Newark reliever - he went 2-0 with a 2.25 ERA and one save in 12 appearances - but that role will probaby be filled by Joey Devine, who didn't pitch in the preseason.

Another top producer who was sent packing was Melky Cabrera (.324/.378/.529). Luke Scott also had an impressive spring, hitting .320/.358/.587 with 5 homers and 14 RBIs. Jim Thome led the team with 18 RBIs, but his .213 batting average should send him back to the farm squad. The Sugar Bears surprisingly had many players hitting below the Mendoza line, though many only had limited at bats.

Roster outlook: The Sugar Bears made a few cuts already, but still need to trim the roster by 5 players. The Sugar Bears have five ineligibles and will probably cut several of them (Smoltz and Pie look like likely candidates, despite Newark's loyalty toward Smoltz). DH-only Jim Thome may be in trouble as well as Myers. Scott's great performance also doesn't assure him of sticking with the team, as Melky and Pettitte can attest.

Training Camp: Stamford New Jersey Team Buddah

Team Buddah threatened to move to Connecticut, but they ended up being scared off by a chimp. Despite the, ahem, monkey business, the Buddahs will try again to build toward a competitive team.

Positional battles: Ummm, none really. Most positions seem to be pretty set at the moment, with maybe catchers Chris Snyder and Jason Varitek platooning. Otherwise, there have been zero battles in training camp.

Pre-season surprises/disappointments: Team Buddah got off to a great start in the pre-season and ended up with a 16-10 record. Kevin Slowey has been no small part of that. Slowey ended up 4-1 with a 4.01 ERA. Jamie Moyer (1-2, 8.14) has been the only disappointing member of the rotation.

Elijah Dukes has had an exceptional spring - .280/.372/.561 with 6 homers and 18 RBIs. Mike Jacobs led the team in home runs (7) and RBIs (21) but his average (.239) and on-base percentage (.261) leave much to be desired. Chris Snyder, despite getting most of the time behind the plate has been terrible with the stick (.150/.271/.333).

Roster outlook: The Buddahs only have two cuts to make and have already put several players up on the trading block. They have four ineligibles, but the team is in rebuilding mode, so there's a chance that they could be kept if no trades are made. However, keeping all four forces the Buddahs to dump a possibly superior option.

Training Camp: Arkansas Golden Falcons

Oops, looks like I skipped the Falcons earlier on, so let's go back and see what this franchise is up to this year. The Falcons missed the playoffs last year, but look like a good bet to return this year.

Positional battles: The Falcons have a whopping 11 starters in camp this spring. Johan Santana and Cliff Lee are locks to win jobs and first round pick Ricky Nolasco will probably take the third. After that, it's wide open. Jair Jurrjens has a jump on the position with his brilliant spring (3-0, 0.42 in 3 starts). Andy Sonnanstine was protected by the team, so he might have a heads up on the others as well.

Ivan Rodriguez and Yadier Molina have split time behind the plate and it looks like that might be the way the Falcons will go when the season opens. Infield positions seem pretty set, with the Lance Berkman/Justin Morneau loser at first base moving to DH. Jermaine Dye and Ryan Ludwick will probably take two of the three outfield slots, with Skip Schumaker and Rick Ankiel battling it out over the final one.

Pre-season surprises/disappointments: Schumaker has made his best case to take the starting job, hitting a team-high .371, with a .405 OBP and .571 slugging. Lance Berkman is leading the team in homers (7) and runs scored (21). David Wright leads in RBIs (20) and has a .999 OPS. The only really disappointing hitter is projected starting shortstop J. J. Hardy, who is hitting .229/.244/.325.

Other than Jurrjens, Joakim Soria (1.29, 7 saves) and Brad Lidge (2-0, 2.25), the pitching has been pretty shaky. First round pick Nolasco, in particular, has struggled (1-1, 7.50 in 2 starts).

Roster outlook: The Falcons have 33 players on the roster and only one ineligible - who they already announced will be cut. That leaves 2 more players. But the Falcons aren't done playing with the waiver wire just yet. Obviously several of the starters will be cut before Opening Day, but it's hard to project without knowing how many more claims the Falcons will make.

Training Camp: Matthew's Mighty Men of Marietta

The Mighty Men are making a big push this year to go from the cellar to the top of the Hanover Division.

Positional battles: Kurt Suzuki has played most of the time in the pre-season, but Geovany Soto will most likely take more of a full-time role once the season begins. Other lineup positions are pretty well set, with only some minor competition for backup roles. Marietta is not often a team that relies heavily on platoons, but there are a few likely candidates in the lineup for one.

With eight starters on the roster, Marietta has a very deep staff. You can write off Brad Penny immediately and Aaron Harang, despite a solid spring, may be relegated to spot starting. One more starter will be benched - it could be lefty Francisco Liriano, returning after a year lost to injury. Liriano and Harang are the only starters who have pitched in the pre-season that have not been cut, so that might be a bad sign.

Pre-season surprises/disappointments: The Mighty Men have not started any of their projected starting staff in the preseason, so it's hard to criticize the statlines of the Micah Owings and Brian Bannisters. Nick Punto has done his best to earn a bigger role, hitting .349/.383/.512 and it's very well known that owner David Landsman has a softspot in his heart for the scrappy Punto. Of the starters with significant at bats, Derek Jeter (.225/.314/.337) and Jason Bay (.208/.314/.337) have been disappointing.

Roster outlook: Well, it looks like this post came one day too late as Marietta made a bundle of cuts yesterday. Shortstop Cristian Guzman and reliever Carlos Villanueva have already drawn interest, but the rest may have to wait a while before finding another roster spot in the DMBL. Marietta is still one man over the limit. With only two ineligibles, it will probably be a qualifying players. Penny is a possible candidate.

Training Camp:Las Vegas Rat Pack

The Rat Pack took a major step last year toward reclaiming their ancient Austin Outlaws legacy, winning over 100 games and coming one game away from the DMBL World Series.
Positional battles: Most of the roles seem settled, with many players falling into platoons. Carlos Pena and Richie Sexson have shared time at first base, Jeff Keppinger and Yunel Escobar at shortstop, and Chris Davis and Alex Gordon at third. Vlad Guerrero and Ichiro Suzuki have also shared time in the pre-season, but will likely take full-time roles once the season starts.
Pre-season surprises/disappointments: Young Alex Gordon looks ready to step up and take a major role in the team. Gordon is hitting a solid .326/.392/.630 so far with 11 RBIs. Matt Holliday is on a tear, leading the team with 19 RBIs and hitting .372/.444/.535. The most disappointing players in the lineup are Joe Mauer (.200/.265/.317) and Guerrero (.183/.219/.317). Mauer says that he's been distracted by talks of moving him to second base or shortstop.

Josh Beckett (2-0, 2.05) looks ready to shake off his past failures and contribute this year and Rich Harden (1-2, 2.84) is hoping to stay healthy for a full year for the first time since 2006. Tim Lincecum has struggled early on (2-2, 6.75), but the club is not worried about their potential ace.

Roster outlook: Vegas, as usual, has a full reserve of ineligible prospects, but they're likely to keep them on Opening Day. They only have two players to cut so there shouldn't be much drama this week. Look for a utilty player - Richie Sexson and Rich Aurilia shouldn't get too comfy - and perhaps a reliever to go.

Training Camp: Hoboken Cutters

Hoboken was certainly the busiest team on draft day, making several pick-related deals to gear up for 2010. Clearly the 2009 season is viewed as a rebuilding year for the franchise.

Positional battles: Nick Blackburn has had a solid spring and seems like a lock to take the fourth rotation slot, with Greg Smith the likely winner of the fifth. Rookie Clayton Kershaw has had a disastrous spring thus far, though it's only been one start.

Things look pretty rough at the hot corner as Joe Crede and Hank Blalock have shared most of the time there, but Crede has struggled mightily, while Blalock has been solid.

There are a lot of outfielders in camp and none of the three positions are a given. Marlon Byrd has gotten a lot of time in the field, but has been terrible (.217, .649 OPS). Denard Span has been excellent and may be the way to go for a youth movement. Chris Duncan has been mediocre and limited to DH, a position that Adam Dunn will likely dominate. Others have been mediocre or worse, leaving this field wide open.

Pre-season surprises/disappointments: Ryan Church may have earned himself a big role in the poor outfield with his spring (.388/.467/.633). Catcher Mike Napoli is second on the team with 14 RBIs and leads the team with 5 homers. Hanley Ramirez looks ready for the season (.307/.390/.500, 4 HR, 13 R, 10 RBI). Adam Dunn has been brutal in the early going (.130/.333/.304) as has the aforementioned Joe Crede (3-38).

Takashi Saito seems to have the closer role sewn up (2.25 ERA, 10 saves in 10 games). The rest of the pen has been hit (Brian Tallet - 1.50 in 12 games) or miss (Ryan Madsen - 0-1, 6.91 in 13 games). Aaron Cook has been the ace of the pre-season with a 2-0 record and 2.38 ERA in 4 starts.
Roster outlook: The Cutters have already made some cuts, but remain 5 playes over the limit. They have five ineligibles, four of which are pitchers, so there's a possibility that a couple of them will be cut. In addition look for some veteran outfielders to be culled after the roles become clearer.

Training Camp: Hillsborough Hired Hitmen

It's double-dose Friday. Hey I've gotta finish these before the season starts, right? And with only 12 more games left on the pre-season schedule, that means we have about a week until Opening Day!

Hillsborough made great strides and finally made it over the hump and into the playoffs last year. This team looks about as strong as last year's, so they should at least be contenders for a playoff spot this year.

Positional battles: Russell Martin and Kelly Shoppach have been battling over the starting catcher job, with newcomer Shoppach taking an early edge over incumbent Martin. Though Shoppach's .250/.286/.469 line doesn't inspire a lot of awe, it is light years ahead of Martin's awful .179/.319/.205. Shoppach's absolutely destroyed lefties in spring training, but he's been just as bad as Martin against righties.

How about the battle royale for the third base job? Aubrey Huff was protected by the Hitmen, but they went ahead and drafted three more third base-eligible players. Veteran Mike Lowell and journeyman Ty Wigginton will provide a lot of competition for Huff. So far in the preseason, Huff has played the most at the hot corner, doubling the combined games of the other two contenders. Wigginton has an advantage in that he can also play in the outfield. We did say three more, right? In case you were wondering, Ron Belliard is eligible to play third, but is more likely to play second for the Hitmen.

Pre-season surprises/disappointments: Huff has taken the challenge to heart and has been ripping the ball so far (.400/.492/.800). First-round pick Shin-Soo Choo has claimed a starting spot with his fast start (.325/.460/.550). The rest of the outfield is also on a tear - Nick Markakis (.322/.446/.559) and Carlos Lee (.322/.355/.661) seem ready for the season to start. Ryan Howard is the weak link right now, outside of the catching platoon. The slugger is off to a poor .227 start, but has 3 homers and 8 RBIs in his 14 games.

Everyone is still waiting for young Felix Hernandez to step up and fulfill his potential, but things aren't looking so hot right now for him. King Felix is off to an 0-1, 16.20 start in his 2 games and has been sent back to AAA Motown for some instruction. Justin Verlander is ready to take his place, however. Verlander, who seemed like he could lose his rotation spot, has been brilliant in 2 spring starts, giving up only 3 runs in 15.1 innings for a 1.76 ERA.

Roster outlook: Finally a team with an interesting roster. The Hitmen have a near-maximum 38 players on the roster, which will leave 8 looking for jobs come opening day. The Hitmen have 5 ineligibles, some of which will likely be gone. Max Scherzer, a protected ineligible, seems to be the only one assured of staying with the team. The club has 10 relievers, plus swingman Seth McClung on the roster. At least 3 of them, and maybe 4 will likely be sent packing. On the offensive side, Mike Lowell and Juan Pierre shouldn't start shopping for homes in Jersey just yet.

Training Camp: D.C. O-Bombers

The O-Bombers come in with a philosophy of change - no more mediocrity. The new-look Bushslappers felt that the previous moniker was too negative and will now focus on something more positive, like bombs.
Positional battles: The fifth starter battle boils down to Ryan Rowland-Smith and Oliver Perez. Rowland-Smith can also pitch out of the bullpen, so the club may be cautious with the rookie and let Perez start out in the rotation and bring the Australian out when he inevitably falters.

Although Derrek Lee is the favorite at first base, he has a bit of competition in camp this year. Veteran Todd Helton will give him a good run and Casey Kotchman could also challenge Lee. Meanwhile, at second base, the club made a draft day deal in order to acquire Howie Kendrick in the draft, so you know he will have every chance to win the job from Dan Uggla. Carlos Beltran and Matt Kemp should have starting jobs in the outfield, with Hideki Matsui possibly playing some DH along with the loser of the first base battle. Look for rookies Jay Bruce and Lastings Milledge to also get some at bats, possibly in platoon roles.

Pre-season surprises/disappointments: The team has gotten off to a great start offensively, with most of the projected lineup hitting well. The team is led by catcher Brian McCann (.397/.438/.534). Lee has gotten a big jump on winning the first base job with a .377 average and 1.045 OPS. Lee also leads the team with 12 RBIs. Jose Reyes has surprised with his hot hitting - leading the team in runs scored (12) and second in RBIs (10).

The pitching staff has been pretty bad so far in spring, including two projected starters - Erik Bedard (0-2, 8.36) and Chris Young (0-3, 12.12). Half the bullpen has been lights out - closer Jonathan Papelbon, in particular, has a 2.12 ERA and 1.00 WHIP in 10 games - while the other half has been roughed up.
Roster outlook: The O-Bombers are carrying only one extra player in the pre-season, including five ineligibles. Chris Ray seems to be the most likely candidate to be cut at this point, but the team could make a surprise cut (or acquisition) yet.

Training Camp: Carolina Mudcats

After finishing out of the playoffs the last two seasons, the Mudcats will look to return in 2009, but is it their turn? So far, the Cats have the league's best record at 11-3.

Positional battles: A.J. Pierzynski and Bengie Molina seem to have a platoon going right now, but Pierzynski has been struggling and losing ground to Molina. Most infield positions seem locked up, but look for Carlos Guillen to make a play for some at-bats. The outfield also seems to be set, with perhaps Fred Lewis and Delmon Young looking to gain a platoon role. The Cats only have 5 starters on the roster, so there won't be any surprises in the rotation. Edwar Ramirez has been doing a good job closing games in the pre-season (3 saves, 0.00 ERA in 8 games), but Brian Fuentes will likely take the job once the season starts.

Pre-season surprises/disappointments: Troy Tulowitzki is making his case to take the starting shortstop role (.367/.441/.600), but his rival Mike Aviles is doing just as well (.320/.375/.600) in almost double the at bats. Outfielders Vernon Wells (4-24, .541 OPS) and Grady Sizemore (.157, .542 OPS) have struggled, as has most of the team - at least hitting the ball.

The pitching staff has been great so far - Tim Hudson is 3-0 with a 2.35 ERA, Carlos Zambrano has a 1.77 ERA in 3 starts and Dice-K is 2-0 with a 2.57 ERA. Most of the pen has ERAs under 2.50. The only one struggling thus far is ace Roy Halladay (0-1, 5.00 in 3 starts), but word is he's been trying out a couple of new pitches he saw on YouTube.

Roster outlook: The Cats only have one cut to make (wow so far nothing too exciting to write about as far as cuts go for the first three teams!). There are currently 5 ineligible players on the roster and one of them could be a cut (Carolina already cut one in the middle of the draft!) or else Carolina could opt to cut one of their 7 relievers.

Training Camp: Blue Ridge Bombers

Sitting at 2-10, the second year Bombers are still trying to put together a competitive team in the DMBL. The Bombers aren't making any pretenses about competing this year, but hope to put together a good core and show some improvement in 2010.
Positional battles: One of the questions in camp is where will Mark DeRosa play? DeRosa, acquired from the Sugar Bears in the offseason can play at multiple positions - second base, third base, and outfield. DeRosa can certainly slot in as the club's third outfielder - Carl Crawford and Nate McClouth seem to have the other positions locked up - or he could wrest the second base job away from Rickie Weeks. Then there's always the DH job. There is no clear cut choice here and it will most likely be a timeshare, possibly including DeRosa.

Most of the rotation looks pretty obvious, but the fifth starter spot is still up for grabs. If spring numbers are any indication, Joe Blanton may be the leader at this point, but there are still plenty of games left to play. There's also no guarantee that whoever wins this battle keeps the job for the remainder of the season.
Spring training surprises/disappointments: The pitching has been dreadful for the most part so far, with only a handful of relievers pitching well so far. Edwin Jackson, one of the contenders for the fifth rotation spot, has been particularly brutal (21.00 ERA, 3.33 WHIP in 2 starts).
Edwin Encarnacion has been the top batter for the club, hitting .362 with a 1.019 OPS in 12 games). Hunter Pence (.818 OPS) and Jeremy Hermida (.775) have been pretty solid as well. The aforementioned DeRosa could be playing himself into a utility role if he keeps up his pitiful hitting (.160/.208/.360 in 50 at bats).

Roster outlook: The Bombers are another team, like the Ant Slayers that already have close to their final roster - they only need to cut two players, so we don't expect a lot of changes before Opening Day. With 9 starting pitchers on the roster, expect one or both cuts to come from there.

Training Camp: Amityville Ant Slayers

We're going to take a little look into each team's camp as we run up to the start of the season. First stop on the road is Amityville. After the Tampa Bay Plunkers could not continue, Nick Pucci took over the franchise at rock bottom prices.

Pre-season battles: All of Amityville's infield and catcher slots are locked up, barring a trade or pickup. There are 6 outfielders battling for the 3 outfield slots, plus Ryan Garko is in the DH mix as well. Veterans Johnny Damon and Pat Burrell should have the upper hand here, while Jacoby Ellsbury and Torii Hunter should factor in heavily as well.

The starting rotation also looks like it should be pretty set, but the team could choose to go with Jered Weaver instead of Mark Buehrle or one of the youngsters. Weaver's been pretty impresive in his two starts so far in spring training, but so has the entire rotation. Buehrle is the only one that has not pitched yet. Manny Parra, who also hasn't pitched, seems to be a long shot at this point.

Pre-season surprises/disappointments: As noted, the starters have been a pleasant surprise so far. But the team's two closing candidates, Troy Percival (11.25 ERA in 5 games) and Salamon Torres (13.50 ERa, 2 saves, in 3 games) have been disastrous so far.

On the hitting side, Torii Hunter has exploded out of the gates, hitting .385 with 8 RBIs and a .769 slugging in 6 games. James Loney has been very disappointing with a .143 average and .389 OPS in 35 at bats. His platoon mate, Garko, hasn't been much better though (.222, .586 OPS in 9 AB). The catchers have been abysmal - starter Dioner Navarro is 2-22 with a .223 OPS and backup Brad Ausmus is 1-15 with a .243 OPS.

At only 10 games into the season a lot can change, but the Ant Slayers seem pretty set. They are only one player over the limit and there are several fringe candidates that could go before the season starts.

Day off

The DMBL did not expect to have a day off Sunday, but 90% of the league's players refused to play, noting that they should not have to play on National Pig Day. The DMBL Player's Union issued a statement, saying that forcing the players "to play on such a prestigious holiday is an affront to our civil liberties and a disgrace to the battles that pig rights activists have fought for so long." Many players took up positions outside the stadium along with their pet pigs to protest, singing such memorable pig rights songs as "Old Mcdonald" and "May had a Little Pig". Some fans brought grills and were turning the protest into an event, grilling up some delicious ribs and sausages.

The DMBL will resume games tonight, once the parking lots have been cleaned up.