Morris Starting Pitchers
Despite an 8-7 record, Carolina's Roy Halladay has to be considered the favorite to start the game for the Morris Division.
The veteran leads the DMBL in ERA (2.95) and R/9 (9.5), and is tied for the league lead in QS (12) and QS% (.800). Doc's 7 losses are really a reflection on how deep he pitches into games -- he leads the league in decisions (15), complete games (7) and innings pitched (119.0), and in fact, his 8 wins are tied for the Morris Division lead. The problem is the Mudcats score him just 3.7 runs per start, which gives him very little margin for error. Compare that to his teammate, Daisuke Matsuzaka -- he has an 8-2 record because the team averages 4.7 runs in each of his starts. But Dice-K has certainly earned his way to the All-Star Game as well. He leads the league in batting average allowed (.166) and slugging percentage allowed (.317), leads the Morris Division in Ks (101) and is tied for the division lead in wins (8), and is 2nd in the division in ERA (3.15), W% (.800), and 4th in R/9 (10.2).
Another strong candidate is Vancouver's Zack Greinke (8-4, 3.50 ERA, 10.5 R/9). The 25-year-old right-hander is among the league leaders in wins (tied for 4th), R/9 (tied for 7th), ERA (tied for 8th), plus he's 3rd in complete games (4), 5th in innings (108.0) and 7th in OPS allowed (.678). The voters also should check out Arkansas's Cliff Lee (7-5, 3.62 ERA, 9.8 R/9), who leads the league with a 5.7 K:BB ratio and is tied for 3rd with a .733 QS%; Hillsborough's C.C. Sabathia (6-5, 4.32 ERA, 11.6 R/9), who has 97 K in 106 IP; Philly's Shaun Marcum (6-5, 3.50 ERA, 9.8 R/9, .670 QS%), who is tied for second in both R/9 and IP (110.2); and Vancouver's Ben Sheets (7-3, 3.88 ERA, 11.3 R/9), who is tied for 7th in W% (.700).Veteran's Day? Vancouver's Greg Maddux has made no secret that this will be his final DMBL season. Will the voters send him out an All-Star? Maddux, who finally decided to come back after contemplating retirement all off-season, had to tune up in extended spring training and missed the first month of the season. Since he's been back, he's been vintage Mad Dog -- 3.29 ERA, 10.0 R/9, and 6 quality starts and 3 complete games in his eight starts. His 5.7 K:BB ratio would be tied for best in the league if he had enough innings to qualify -- but that brings up another point, starters with 3-2 records and 52 innings pitched usually don't make it to the All-Star Game. We'll see what the voters think.
Don't Forget:
Blue Ridge's Justin Duchscherer (7-6, 4.06 ERA, 10.8 R/9), who returns to the DMBL after missing all of last season with a hip injury. The former reliever has been converted into a starter and so far has largely avoided the injury bug. There's also Blue Ridge's Adam Wainwright (3-5, 4.19 ERA, 11.4 R/9); Carolina's Tim Hudson (6-4, 4.29 ERA, 11.0 R/9) and Carlos Zambrano (8-5, 3.63 ERA, 13.4 R/9); Philly's Brandon Webb (8-6, 3.57 ERA, 11.8 R/9); and Vancouver's Chad Billingsley (5-5, 3.71 ERA, 11.4 R/9). Not This Year: A few fan favorites might get some votes, but their first half numbers don't warrant All-Star status: Arkansas's Johann Santana (4-7, 6.57 ERA, 15.8 R/9); D.C.'s Erik Bedard (6-6, 4.60 ERA, 13.9 R/9); Hillsborough's Felix Hernandez (6-5, 5.20 ERA, 14.2 R/9); Philly's Scott Kazmir (5-3, 5.53 ERA, 12.4 R/9); and Vancouver's Jake Peavy (5-4, 4.77 ERA, 13.1 R/9).
Hanover Starting Pitchers
Las Vegas's Josh Beckett (6-3, 2.96 ERA, 10.5 R/9) will likely be this year's starter for the Hanover Division. Beckett's 2.96 ERA ranks only behind Halladay (2.95) for the DMBL lead, and he's tied for the DMBL lead in shutouts (2), quality starts (12) and QS% (.800); he leads the Hanover Division in H/9 (7.5), is 2nd in the division in OPS allowed (.664), and is 3rd in the division in R/9. Who should join him in the Hanover rotation? Teammate Tim Lincecum (9-1, 3.35 ERA, 12.2 R/9) leads the league in W% (.900) and is tied for second for the league lead in wins; he's tied for 3rd in QS (11) and QS% (.733), is 4th in Ks (109), and is tied for 6th in K/9 (9.4)... Hoboken's Jeremy Guthrie's 7-6 record isn't too notable -- until you remember he plays for the 11th place Cutters! His .538 W% is exactly 100 points better than his team's. He's 5th in ERA (3.30), tied for 5th in R/9 (10.4),
tied for 3rd in H/9 (7.6), and is tied for 3rd in QS (11) and QS% (.733). His .663 OPS allowed is best in the Hanover Division and 3rd in the league... There's also Newark's Chien-Ming Wang (10-2, 3.51 ERA, 11.4 R/9), leads the league in wins and ranks 3rd in W% (.833) and leads the Hanover Division in innings pitched (118.0). Young Guns: Sardine City rookie Joba Chamberlain may have a losing record (5-6), but that's for the 31-43 Straphangers. The rookie leads the league in K/9 (11.3) and ranks 4th in ERA (3.19), 3rd in Ks (110), 3rd in SLG allowed (.359), tied for 3rd in HR/9 (0.6), 8th in OPS (.685), tied for 9th in QS (9) and tied for 10th in QS% (.600). Other youngsters of note include Amityville's Chris Volstad (6-4, 4.35 ERA, 13.4 R/9); Hoboken's Matt Garza (7-5, 3.70 ERA, 12.7 R/9); Marietta's Ervin Santana (8-6, 3.33 ERA, 10.7 R/9, .670 QS%);
Left Out? It's not any easier for southpaws in the Hanover Division.
This year only a handful put up solid numbers over the first half, led by Sardine City's Cole Hamels. The 25-year-old is 7-7 but with a 3.81 ERA, 10.4 R/9, and .600 QS%. There's also Amityville's Jon Lester (5-5, 3.84 ERA, 11.6 R/9, .600 QS%); Marietta's Jon Danks (8-2, 4.63 ERA, 13.7 R/9); and Newark's Joe Saunders (7-5, 4.20 ERA, 13.5 R/9). Hoboken rookie Clayton Kershaw (2-2, 3.41 ERA, 14.6 R/9) has had mixed success (15 BB, 30 K in 29 IP), and with only 5 starts this season, might not make his All-Star debut until next year.Don't Forget: Amityville's Roy Oswalt (8-4, 4.60 ERA, 11.4 R/9); Las Vegas's A.J. Burnett (7-3, 4.12 ERA, 11.9 R/9), Rich Harden (6-5, 3.61 ERA, 11.9 R/9); and Marietta's Mike Mussina (9-4, 4.40 ERA, 12.9 R/9)
Not This Year: Some big-name hurlers will likely get a three-day vacation during the All-Star Break, including New Jersey's Edinson Volquez (3-7, 5.65 ERA, 15.1 R/9); Marietta's Ryan Dempster (4-5, 5.00 ERA, 15.3 R/9); New Jersey's Andy Pettitte (2-10, 7.67 ERA, 17.5 R/9); and Newark's James Shields (5-5, 6.41 ERA, 14.7 R/9).
Morris Relief Pitchers
Is it a fluke, or a trend? Three of the top closers in the Morris Division are southpaws this season.
Carolina's Brian Fuentes (2-1, 14 SV, 2.04 ERA, 11.3 R/9) is tied for the league lead in saves and leads the Morris Division in relief points with 26; he's also struck out 46 batters in 35 innings for an astounding 12.0 K/9, and has stranded all but 3 of his 20 inherited runners (.150 IR%). Hillsborough's Mike Gonzalez (1-0, 12 SV, 3.16 ERA, 9.3 R/9) also is having a great year, with 37 Ks and just 8 walks in 31 innings; Vancouver's Billy Wagner (1-4, 13 SV, 2.88 ERA, 12.4 R/9) is still getting it done, with 39 Ks in 34 IP.Right On!
There are some right-handed closers too, of course, with the best in the Morris being D.C.'s Jonathan Papelbon (1-3, 8 SV, 3.42 ERA, 10.4 R/9) and Philly's Huston Street (3-2, 7 SV, 3.03 ERA, 9.2 R/9). It wasn't such a great first half for Arkansas's Joakim Soria (2-3, 12 SV, 6.10 ERA, 12.8 R/9) or Blue Ridge's Francisco Rodriguez (1-0, 11 SV, 4.18 ERA, 13.5 R/9).Strong Up The Middle: Closers get all the glory, but some of the best bullpen work is done by the guys who get the tough outs in the 7th and 8th innings, including D.C.'s Arthur Rhodes (3-0, 0 SV, 2 holds, 2.15 ERA, 9.3 R/9), who has apparently found the fountain of youth in D.C.; the 39-year-old has struck out 39 batters in 29 innings while walking just 6.
There's also Arkansas's Kerry Wood (3-3, 1 SV, 9 holds, 2.64 ERA, 13.5 R/9); Carolina's Edwar Ramirez (3-1, 1 SV, 7 holds, 2.90 ERA, 10.5 R/9); Hillsborough's Jose Arredondo (6-1, 2 SV, 7 holds, 1.91 ERA, 10.3 R/9); Philly's Dan Wheeler (0-0, 3 SV, 1 hold, 3.60 ERA, 9.8 R/9); and Vancouver's Cory Wade (3-0, 1 SV, 3 holds, 2.75 ERA, 8.5 R/9)Hanover Relief Pitchers
The Hanover Division appears to have the upper hand when it comes to relief pitching. Leading the way is veteran closer Mariano Rivera (4-0, 14 SV, 1.82 ERA, 4.6 R/9).
Marietta's Mo leads the league in relief points (34), is tied for the league lead in saves (14), and is second in save percentage (.875), and he's struck out 35 batters in 29 innings -- while walking just 2! Even more impressive, he's inherited 17 runners, but has yet to allow one to score. Newark's Joey Devine (2-1, 13 SV, 2.10 ERA, 11.1 R/9, .125 IR%) and Sardine City's Taylor Buchholz (3-1, 10 SV, 2.93 ERA, 7.7 R/9, 0.100 IR%) have also been outstanding. But the division's other closers haven't been as strong -- Las Vegas's Brian Shouse (1-2, 9 SV, 2.84 ERA, 11.3 R/9) and New Jersey's Bobby Jenks (2-3, 10 SV, 3.67 ERA, 11.8 R/9) have been solid but not lights out, while Amityville's Heath Bell (1-3, 10 SV, 5.12 ERA, 13.9 R/9) and Hoboken's Takashi Saito (0-3, 9 SV, 5.12 ERA, 15.1 R/9) have caused a lot of heartburn.Set 'Em Up:
The Hanover Division has a number of outstanding set up men, led by Newark's Brian Bruney (3-1, 2 SV, 9 holds, 2.14 ERA, 8.8 R/9), who is tied for the league lead in holds; Las Vegas's Carlos Marmol (4-3, 4 SV, 2 holds, 3.34 ERA, 8.1 R/9), who has 43 Ks in 32 IP; and Marietta's Grant Balfour (2-0, 2 SV, 2 holds, 1.20 ERA, 10.5 R/9), who has yet to allow an inherited runner to score this year. There's also Sardine City's Jim Johnson (1-1, 1 SV, 1 hold, 1.91 ERA, 10.8 R/9), a groundball machine who has induced 11 double plays in 61 innings.Hey Lefty! All those right-handers need to get balanced out from the other side of the plate.
Three of the best southpaws in the Hanover Division this year have been Hoboken's Craig Breslow (3-3, 2 SV, 2 holds, 3.40 ERA, 9.8 R/9), Las Vegas's Hideki Okajima (2-2, 2 SV, 9 holds, 2.14 ERA, 10.0 R/9) and Newark's Matt Thornton (2-1, 3 SV, 6 holds, 2.38 ERA, 9.5 R/9). There's also Marietta's Hong-Chih Kou (1-2, 2 SV, 4 holds, 3.72 ERA, 11.5 R/9) and Jesse Carlson (3-0, 1 SV, 0 holds, 2.51 ERA, 11.5 R/9), and New Jersey's Rafael Perez (1-2, 1 SV, 1 hold, 1.29 ERA, 13.1 R/9).
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