Tuesday trade roundup

Two deals went through yesterday as Las Vegas and Vancouver both tried to upgrade their lineups for a playoff push.

After faltering and losing 6 straight and losing control of the Morris Division, Vancouver has actually turned things around and won 4 straight. Their anemic offense - ranked 13th in OPS (.723) - needed a punch. The Fist grabbed Jason Kubel from Amityville to help provide that punch. Kubel was only hitting .249/.312/.444 this season for the Ant Slayers, but Vancouver thinks he can help the team score some more runs. The Fist gave up pitcher Chad Billingsley, who has been lingering all year in the minors. Billingsley was 11-11 with a 5.12 ERA and 171 strikeouts last season for Vancouver. Billingsley is still young, however, and Amityville thinks that he will rebound. In addition to the players, the two teams exchanged draft picks - Amityville gets a second rounder, and Vancouver gets a 4th.

The bigger trade involved Las Vegas sending a boatload of draft picks to Hoboken in exchange for outfielder Brad Hawpe, reliever Nick Massett, and starter Edwin Jackson. Jackson may be best remembered for being dumped unceremoniously by Blue Ridge a few months back despite having solid numbers. But the Bombers were vindicated by Jackson's putrid record in Hoboken (2-5, 9.14 ERA in 8 starts). Massett was another player that was struggling (2-0, 5.27 in 40 appearances), but Vegas thinks both players could be assets. Outfielder Hawpe is a solid player who was hitting .274/.351/.510 for Hoboken with 12 homers and 32 RBIs. The Cutters received three picks in the 2011 draft (3rd,6th, and 10th) and 2 in 2012 (5th and 12th).

Not content to just make a trade, Las Vegas decided to clean house and parted with some interesting players. Rich Harden, a player that Vegas paid a lot to acquire several years ago from Vancouver, was jettisoned as owner Eric Wickstrom had grown increasingly frustrated by his lack of production. "It's the end of an error" said Wickstrom. Harden was joined on the way out by veterans Jose Contreras, Jeremy Guthrie, and Gary Sheffield. Another interesting castoff is young first baseman Chris Davis. Davis was a high draft selection in the 2009 draft (#2 overall), but his knack for striking out had put him in the Rat Pack's doghouse (or rathouse?). Also joining Davis on the curb is outfielder Scott Hairston. The purge left room for the Rat Pack to sign retreads Randy Wolf, Juan Pierre, and Gabe Kapler. "They may not sound spectacular" said Wickstrom, "but each one has a key role to play on this squad."

Part timer takes hitter prize

Well...we don't usually do this, but... Most of the time we don't give the top player honors to part-timers, but Marietta's Taylor Teagarden had an excellent week (and a half). In only 18 at bats, Teagarden hit .500 with a .526 OBP, 1.444 slugging, 5 homers, 7 RBIs, and 7 runs. But since he's a part-timer, we're only awarding him a 5-pack as this week's JR Cigars Smokin' Batter of the Week.

Other top batters: Philadelphia's Matt Holliday (.444/.512/.861, 5 HR, 10 R, 8 RBI), and Adam Lind (.400/.438/.867, 4 HR, 16 RBI), Las Vegas' Joe Mauer (.404/.473/.787, 4 HR, 10 R, 10 RBI), Carolina's Troy Tulowitzki (.370/.420/.652, 4 HR, 9 R, 16 RBI), Newark's Will Venable (.361/.368/.778, 4 HR, 12 RBI), and Bridgewater's Ryan Zimmerman (.372/.383/.698, 4 HR, 11 RBI).

Meanwhile, selecting the Worst Video Games of All Time Pitcher of the Week was a bit tougher. But we decided to go with Jake Peavy, who was 1-1 with a 1.08 ERA and 0.60 WHIP. Peavy struck out 21 in 16.2 innings and pitched a complete game, 1-hit shutout against Amityville. In his second start, he lost despite giving up only 3 hits and striking out 11.

Other top starters: Blue Ridge's Gavin Floyd (2-0, 1.17, 0.91, 16 K), Sardine City's Josh Johnson (2-0, 1.10, 0.80), Carolina's Yovani Gallardo (2-0, 1.20, 0.87, 15 K), and Newark's Koji Uehara (1-1, 2.45, 0.55) and Brad Bergesen (2-0, 1.69, 1.00).

Morris Division happenings

Bridgewater held their position atop the Morris Division with a 4-0, 4-hit shutout. Starter Erik Bedard was removed after 2 innings after a 3 hour rain delay (Amityville's starter Hiroki Kuroda also was removed) and the Maller bullpen took over. Juan Aceves pitched 4 of the innings, giving up only 1 hit and striking out 4. The Ant Slayers held the Mallers to only 5 hits, but still gave up 4 runs, including 3 in the 9th.

Blue Ridge won their 4th straight to remain tied with the Mallers - a 4-3 edging of New Jersey. The Bombers only got 4 hits in the game and scored all their runs in the first 2 innings. The Buddahs tried to claw their way back, but ended up one run short. For New Jersey it was their 6th straight loss.

Josh Johnson outduelled Jake Peavy in a 2-1 Sardine City win over Vancouver. Johnson pitched 8 innings and gave up only 3 hits and struck out 7. Peavy pitched 7.2 innings, giving up 3 hits as well and struck out 11. Vancouver dropped their 4th straight and fell 2 games out of the division lead.

Yovani Gallardo held the Sugar Bears to just 2 hits in Carolina's 5-1 win yesterday. Gallardo pitched 8 innings and struck out 9.

Greinke streak over, Vancouver bounced from first

Vancouver was knocked out of their first place tie with Bridgewater and Blue Ridge, but the bigger story was Zack Greinke's streak ending. Greinke, of course, started the season off 13-0, but couldn't hold back the Sardines yesterday. The Iron Fist had a 2-1 lead after their half of the 7th inning, but Marco Scutaro's bases-loaded double scored 3 runs for the Straphangers. Greinke's ERA ballooned to 1.87 on the season after giving up 4 runs in 7 innings.

Vancouver's loss was costly as Bridgewater defeated Amityville 8-6. Raul Ibanez was 3-4 with 2 RBIs and a double and homer as the Mallers collected 15 hits. Blue Ridge also took advantage with a 6-2 win over Team Buddah. Gavin Floyd improved to 7-3 with a strong effort, giving up 1 run in 7.2 innings and striking out 7. The Mallers hold a percentage point advantage for first place.

Las Vegas scored 3 runs in the bottom of the 9th to tie up their game against Hillsborough and send it to extra innings. Chris Davis hit a two-run single that tied up the game in the 9th. Unfortunately for the Rats, it wasn't meant to be. Ben Zobrist hit a solo homer in the top of the 11th and Ryan Madson held the fort down in the bottom half of the inning to preserve the 4-3 win.

All-Star results posted.

The All-Star voting results are now posted: http://dmbl.us/allstar.html

Some oddities there and a few surprises.

Sardine City evens record, closes in on playoff berth

The results were mixed for Blue Ridge on their first game after the trade. Grady Sizemore went 1-5 with an RBI and Aramis Ramirez was 0-2 before leaving with an injury. The injury is not expected to keep Ramirez from today's lineup. And the worst result is that the Bombers lost their game to Hoboken 4-3. The clubs were tied 2-2 and entered extra innings. Hoboken scored 2 runs in the top of the 11th to take a 4-2 lead. Aaron Hill hit a solo homer in the bottom half, but it was all that the Bombers could get.

The Bombers lost a game in the standings to Vancouver, as the Iron Fist eked by the Sugar Bears 6-5. The Iron Fist held a 5-run lead entering the 8th, but Newark rallied to tie the score on a 3-run Jorge Posada home run. Finally in the 9th, Garrett Jones hit a solo walk off home run to give the Fist the win.

Sardine City won their 4th straight and evened their record at 41-41 and tying Las Vegas for 3rd in the Hanover Division. Ubaldo Jimenez earned the victory, improving to 9-5 with a strong 8 inning effort. Hillsborough, who was on the losing end of the 6-4 final, dropped their 4th straight.

Blue Ridge gets ready to take on Morris Division

Blue Ridge made a big trade with Carolina, acquiring two bats that they hope will propel them to the top of the playoff contenders. Blue Ridge acquired third baseman Aramis Ramirez and outfielder Grady Sizemore from the Mudcats for Carl Crawford and a 2nd round pick. Ramirez is batting .302/.387/.527 with 16 homers and 51 RBIs for Carolina. Sizemore has 15 homers and 38 RBIs though he has struggled with a .228 batting average. Blue Ridge is only 1 game behind Vancouver in the Morris Division standings and they are currently the #1 wild card seed.

Vancouver took back the Morris Division lead with a 3-0 blanking of Amityville. Jake Peavy pitched a complete game, 1-hit shutout, walking 4 and striking out 10. Vancouver, in response to Blue Ridge's deal perhaps, picked up their former first baseman Lyle Overbay off the scrap heap. Overbay is expected to take over first base duties against righties, while Michael Cuddyer will slide back into the outfield.

It was a busy transactions day as Newark became frustrated with trying to spell Marc Rzepczynski's name correctly and cut him in favor of recent Amityville castoff Scott Feldman. Feldman will make a spot start for injured Javy Vazquez and the club will reassess their needs over the All-Star Break.

Bridgewater made the other move - a minor one. The Mallers cut utility player Jose Lopez and picked up journeyman Brett Myers. Myers was assigned to the team's minor league club.

Blue Ridge takes top spot in Morris

Amityville and Vancouver took a 0-0 tie into extra innings yesterday, with Amityville prevailing after 12. Zack Greinke took his perfect record into the game and delivered an incredible performance - 9 innings, 3 hits, 12 strikeouts, but got the shaft anyway. His opponent, Anibal Sanchez held Vancouver to just 1 hit over 8 innings, while striking out 6. The game finally ended when Brandon Phillips hit an easy comebacker to pitcher Ronald Belisario, who bobbled the ball and allowed Miguel Tejada to score from third base.

The loss knocked Vancouver out of first place (by percentage points) as Blue Ridge toppled Marietta 3-1. Gavin Floyd pitched 7.2 strong innings, giving up only 1 run on 5 hits and 1 walk, while striking out 9. The teams are tied in the standings, but Vancouver has played 2 more games and is .002 percentage points behind Blue Ridge. It is the first time in franchise history that the Bombers have been in first this late in the season.

Bridgewater also took advantage of Vancouver's loss, pounding Hoboken 15-4. Matt Garza was charged with 13 earned runs in 6 innings, while the Bridgewater staff racked up 17 strikeouts. Ryan Zimmerman and Felipe Lopez each had 3 RBIs for the Mallers.

James Shields made a spot start for Newark and earned the win - his first of the year. Shields held Hillsborough to 3 hits and 2 runs, while striking out 7 in 7 innings.

Only a few more days until the All-Star Break - if you haven't voted yet, what are you waiting for?

Morris Division tightens up

Vancouver's little slump has tightened up the Morris Division standings considerably. Vancouver dropped a 7-3 game to Amityville yesterday, opening the door for Blue Ridge to tie them up, but the Bombers missed their chance. Of course it didn't help that the Bombers were playing the defending champion Mighty Men. Marietta took out the Bombers 8-3, keeping them at 1 game out of first place. Taking full advantage, however, was Bridgewater, who outslugged Hoboken 13-8. The Mallers now sit 2 games out of first place. Hillsborough, who was tied with Bridgewater going into the day, lost their game against Newark 6-1, so they dropped into 4th place, but only 3 games out. Newark's win puts them just 1 game behind Hillsborough in the wild card race. Newark is currently in the 6th and final playoff spot, 2 1/2 games ahead of Las Vegas.

Tough split on Pitching Honor

This week's JR Cigar's Smokin' Batter of the Week is Marietta's Adrian Gonzalez. Gonzo has helped the Mighty Men to a 6-game winning streak that has opened up a 9 1/2 game atop the division. Gonzalez hit a league-leading 7 home runs this week and drove in 18 runs and scoring 10. Gonzalez batted .367, but with a .474 on base percentage and 1.100 slugging.

His competition includes Hillsborough's Justin Upton (.423/.500/1.00, 10 R, 10 RBI, 3 HR), Gonzalez's teammate Chone Figgins (.476/.676/.667, 11 R), Vancouver's Garrett Jones (.455/.455/1.045, 4 HR, 10 RBIs), New Jersey's Franklin Gutierrez (.500/.500/.643), Arkansas' Skip Schumaker (.452/.469/.677, 8 R), Las Vegas' Joe Mauer (.429/.500/.571), and Sardine City's Ryan Braun (.379/.441/.724, 9 RBIs).

This week's Hottest World Cup Fans Pitcher of the Week was a tossup, so we'll give it to both players. Our first honoree is Bridgewater's Tommy Hanson, who was 2-0 with a 1.20 ERA and 0.73 ERA. In Hanson's first start this week, he held Blue Ridge to 4 hits in 6 innings, while giving up 2 runs, but in his second start, he pitched a 2-hit shutout of Las Vegas in which he struck out 10 Rats.

Meanwhile, Rich Harden started out well against Hoboken earlier in the week, but had to be lifted in the second inning. But he came back strong against Bridgewater, holding the Mallers to just 1 hit and striking out 10. Harden finished the week giving up just 1 hit and 2 walks in 10.2 innings, with 13 strikeouts.

Other contenders: Hoboken's Tommy Hunter (1-0, 2.35, 0.85) and Mark Buehrle (1-1, 2.87, 1.09), New Jersey's Kevin Slowey (1-1, 2.93, 14 K), and Sardine City's Ubaldo Jimenez (1-1, 1.62, 12 K) and John Lackey (1-1, 2.81, 0.81).

Hillsborough, Arkansas duke it out

Hillsborough dealt Falcon starter Jonathan Sanchez 12 earned runs in his 6.1 innings of work, but it wasn't enough to seal the deal. The Hitmen and Falcons had to go to extra innings where Dexter Fowler hit a bases-loaded triple to give the Hitmen a 3-run lead. The Falcons went down in order in the bottom of the 11th to end the game. Casey McGehee and Justin Upton each had 4 RBIs for the Hitmen and Kelly Shoppach had 4 hits. Lance Berkman was 3-6 with 2 homers and 4 RBIs for the Falcons.

Vancouver's lead in the Morris Division fell to just a 1/2 game as Blue Ridge defeated Philadelphia 8-5 and Vancouver dropped a 6-2 decision to Carolina. Johnny Cueto pitched perhaps the best game of his young career, holding the Fist to 2 runs on 5 hits in 7 innings, while striking out 9. Meanwhile, Blue Ridge's bullpen and offense bailed out Gavin Floyd from a lousy start. The Bombers walked 7 batters in total, but escaped with the victory anyway.

How about that Ichiro? The redhot outfielder was 3-4 in Marietta's 10-6 win over Hoboken. Since returning from the injury last week, Ichiro is hitting .458 (22-48) with 14 runs and 16 RBIs.

Slowey, Lester duel to 1-0 finish

Don't forget to get those votes in for the All-Star game! Less than two weeks away!

New Jersey and Amityville battled it out in a 1-0 pitchers duel. Seth Smith broke the tie in the 6th with a solo home run. Kevin Slowey went 8.1 innings for Team Buddah, holding the Ant Slayers to only 4 hits and striking out 5. John Lester was the hard luck loser for Amityville, pitching 7.1 innings and striking out 8.

Ichiro Suzuki kept up his hot hitting, going 4-6 with 3 RBIs and leading Marietta to a 15-9 victory over Hoboken. The "other Suzuki", Kurt, also contributed a 3-6, 3 RBI game including a home run. The Mighty Men scored in every inning except the 9th, when they just sent up random fans from the bleachers to bat in their place.

Hillsborough thoroughly dominated Arkansas in a 13-2 win yesterday. Not only did the Hitmen score 13 runs on 18 hits and saddle Falcons starter Ricky Nolasco with 10 earned runs, but they also held the Falcons to only 5 hits. Ryan Howard fell one double short of hitting for the cycle.

Comeback kids

Vancouver blew an 8-0 lead against the Falcons yesterday and ended up losing in extra innings 9-8. The Fist jumped all over starter Johan Santana early, but he settled in nicely after the 2nd, pitching 6 scoreless innings before departing. The Falcons' 4-run 8th inning tied the game up, then in the 10th Chris Coghlan hit a walkoff double, winning the series for the Falcons. Skip Schumaker ended the game 5-6 with 3 doubles.

Hoboken also came back against the Rat Pack, though a 2-0 lead is much more forgiveable. The Rats held the lead until the 9th inning. Adam Kennedy started it off with a one-out single and an error by Gary Sheffield. The next batter struck out and it looked like the Rats would be able to shut the door on the Cutters, but Denard Span hit a triple to score Kennedy. Dallas Braden was called in to take over - the Rats bullpen was exhausted with Rich Harden leaving the game early due to injury. Braden walked his first batter, then gave up the game tying single to Miguel Cabrera. Finally, Mike Napoli hit a 3-run homer to win the game for Hoboken.

Sardine City's Ubaldo Jimenez continued his breakout season. Jimenez limited the Mighty Men to just 4 hits in a complete game victory. He struck out 5 and walked 3 while allowing only 1 earned run, improving his record to 8-4.

Amityville and Philadelphia made a curious trade yesterday, giving themselves back their own draft picks and exchanging two players. Amityville sent outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury to Philadelphia along with their 9th round pick back. Meanwhile Philly gave up young pitcher Clayton Richard and gave Amityville back their 2nd round pick. Philadelphia also took the opportunity to do a little housecleaning, getting rid of Tony Gwynn and Kris Medlen and taking on George Sherrill and Jhonny Peralta.

Vancouver's two 5-run innings defeat Falcons

Vancouver and Arkansas battled it out yesterday to a 10-7 conclusion. The Falcons fell behind early - Vancouver scored 5 runs in the 4th to take a 5-1 lead, but the Falcons clawed back and eventually took the lead, 6-5 on a Chris Coghlan single. Vancouver tied it up the next inning when Marlon Byrd walked with the bases loaded, then the next batter, Garrett Jones, hit a pinch hit grand slam to give the Fist a 10-6 lead. The Falcons got another run, but that was it for them. Coghlan ended the game 4-5 with 2 RBIs and teammate Skip Schumaker was 5-6 for the Falcons in defeat.

In another tight game, Newark and Amityville fought a much lower scoring duel. Tied up early 1-1, Newark took a 2-1 lead in the 6th on a Nick Johnson solo homer. Amityville took the lead in the 8th, but the Sugar Bears tied it up in the top of the ninth. The Sugar Bears got into quick trouble in the bottom of the 9th, loading the bases with no outs. After retiring Matt Kemp on a shallow popup, Jason Kubel hit an easy double play ball to the third base side, but Chase Headley threw the ball into centerfield, allowing the winning run to score.

Don't forget to cast your votes for the 2010 All-Star Game. Last year there was a record number of votes cast, hopefully there'll be a good turnout this year as well.

Players of the (extended) Week

This week's JR Cigars Smokin' Batter of the Week was a close one, but we're giving our box of Siglo Limited Reserves to Philadelphia's Adam Lind. Lind hit an astounding .467 (14-30) over the extended week, with a .515 OBP and 1.033 slugging. He hit 5 homers, scored12 runs, and drove in 9. His competition came from Bridgewater's Carlos Beltran who hit .459/.535/.946, also with 5 homers and 12 runs, and 10 RBIs.

Other notable hitters: Marietta's Ichiro Suzuki (.500/.500/.767, 5 2B, 13 RBI) and Adrian Gonzalez (.372/.460/.698, 11 RBI), Arkansas' Scott Podsednik (.441/.525/.471), Philly's Albert Pujols (.419/.432/.814, 4 HR, 9 R, 13 RBI), and Vancouver's Garrett Jones (.447/.512/.763, 3 HR, 9 RBI).

We all know that Zack Greinke has had a remarkable season for Vancouver and this week was no different - Greinke was 2-0, with a 1.13 ERA, 21 Ks, and 0.81 WHIP. Pitcher of the Week, right? Not so fast... How about Newark's Javy Vazquez? Started out like crap, but has turned it around with a nice 2-0, 1.06 week in which he also struck out 21 had an even lower 0.76 WHIP. Wow! But no... This week's Big Guy Fantasy Sports Pitcher of the Week goes to the unheraled Randy Wells of Vancouver. Wait...what? WHO? Randy Wells, drafted in the second round in 2010, who's been putting up a very solid rookie campaign for the Fist. Wells was 2-0 this week with a miniscule 0.56 ERA and 0.69 WHIP. Sure he doesn't strike out anyone like the other two big shots (9 in 16 IP), but he gets the job done.

Other top pitchers: Philly's Jered Weaver (1-0, 1.98, 1.24), Sardine City's trio of John Lackey (2-0, 1.76, 1.04, shutout), Ubaldo Jimenez (2-0, 2.81, 0.81, 15 K) and Josh Johnson (1-1, 1.26, 0.84, 19 K) and Newark's Koji Uehara (1-0, 1.54, 0.86).

4-hitters all around

The Endzone Animals came back from a 6-1 deficit to beat the Falcons 7-6 yesterday. After only 2 innings, the Falcons had the aforementioned 6-1 lead, but the Animals clawed back, scoring 3 runs in the 6th to bring them to within one run. In the 8th Torii Hunter hit a two-run homer (his third of the day) to give the Animals the lead. Trevor Hoffman nailed down the 9th for his 10th save.

Randy Wells continued his fine season with a complete game, 7-1 victory over the Rat Pack yesterday, in which he held the Rats to only 4 hits. Wells improved to 7-2 on the season. Garrett Jones and Chase Utley each had 3 RBIs for Vancouver.

Not to be outdone, Marietta's Joel Pineiro pitched a 4-hitter as well in the Mighty Men's 12-1 pounding of Amityville. Marietta totaled 17 hits in the contest, including 4 from red hot Ichiro Suzuki. Ichiro is 9-14 with 10 RBIs since returning to the lineup from injury. Marietta has scored 45 runs during their current 5-game winning streak.

And to top the previous 4-hitters, Newark's Javier Vazquez pitched a 4-hit shutout of Sardine City. Vazquez struck out 10 in his victory and seems to have gotten his season back on track after a series of rough outings.

Streaks and swoons

The Mighty Men have reasserted themselves as the top dog in the DMBL with a 4-game winning streak. Yesterday, the Mighty Men shellacked the Ant Slayers 11-5 behind Ichiro Suzuki's 3-5, 7-RBI night. Ichiro hit a double and a home run - his 5th, to lead the Mighty Men offense. The win puts the Mighty Men up by 5 games over Newark in the Hanover Division race.

Bridgewater won their second straight game over Carolina in extra innings, this time winning 5-4 in 12 innings. Ryan Zimmerman roped a single in the 12th to drive in the winning run. Zimmerman ended the night 4-6. Bridgewater won the previous game 10-9 in 10 innings.

Blue Ridge has come down to earth, dropping their last 3, including yesterday's 10-3 drubbing at the hands of Hillsborough. Shin Soo Choo hit 2 homers in the game and his third in the series so far. Hillsborough is now only 1/2 game behind Bridgewater and 2 games behind Blue Ridge in the Morris Division.

Las Vegas, who pulled off a big trade for slugger Mark Teixeira, has yet to see the benefits of the swap. They lost their 4th straight, a 3-2 nailbiter against Vancouver. However, fans in Vegas are hopeful that Tex just needs an adjustment period to the hot desert climate, like fellow acquiree, Alex Rodriguez. As you may recall, A-Rod started his Vegas season struggling mightily, but now is one of the lineups most potent threats.

R.I.P. Jeriome Robertson

It's been a bad couple weeks for former DMBL pitchers! After the tragic death of Jose Lima, now comes word that Jeriome Robertson was killed Saturday in a motorcycle crash. He was just 33 years old.

Robertson played just one season in the DMBL, pitching for the Hillsborough Destroyers in 2004 (0-2, 12.79 ERA, 2.37 WHIP in 19.0 IP). The Destroyers had selected him in the 10th Round (#135 overall) in that year's draft; it was the only time he was on a DMBL roster.