Quentin making up for lost time

Remember when Carlos Quentin was struggling for the Sardine City Straphangers, barely hitting over the Mendoza line? Yeah, the same Carlos Quentin who missed several weeks with a seemingly minor injury. Well since returning from the disabled list, Quentin has been a top contributor in the mostly anemic Sardine City lineup. He's raised his average to a respectable .265 with an .883 OPS, 18 HRs, and 46 RBIs. This week, Quentin may have had his hottest week yet - hitting .448 with a 1.416 OPS, 4 HRs, 7 R, and 12 RBIs. Needless to say, Quentin is this week's JR Cigars Smokin' Batter of the Week.

His competition: Arkansas' David Wright (.565/.600/1.087, 3 HR, 6 RBI), Hoboken's Miguel Cabrera (.400/.464/.920, 4 HR, 6 R, 7 RBI), Las Vegas' Carlos Pena (.444/.565/.722), Marietta's Josh Hamilton (.452/.485/.677, 10 RBI), Philly's Alex Rios (.484, 6 R), and New Jersey's Elijah Dukes (.438/.591/.563).

This week, the two best pitchers were on the same team. The Newark Sugar Bears were 5-2 this week and 3 of their wins came from these two pitchers. Chien-Ming Wang has had a great season for Newark so far. He's leading the league in wins with 15 (against only 2 losses) and has a nice 3.13 ERA and solid 1.22 WHIP. This week, Wang was 2-0, with a 1.80 ERA and 1.20 WHIP in 15 IP. His teammate, Justin Duchscherer, recently acquired from Blue Ridge, has been a solid contributer in the Newark rotation. This week, Duch was 1-1 with a 1.72 ERA and 0.83 WHIP and 11 strikeouts in 15.2 innings. Being teammates, we're sure that they won't mind sharing this week's Flip Flop Fly Ball Pitcher(s) of the Week Award.

Other notables: New Jersey's Andy Pettite (2-0, 0.61), Hoboken's Jeremy Guthrie (1-0, 1.93, 1.07 WHIP), D.C.'s Erik Bedard (0-0, 0.00 in 11.1 innings, 1.06 WHIP), and reliever Frank Francisco (1-0, 1 save, 0.00 ERA in 4 appearances).