Round 1 Recap

Sardine City owned Vancouver in the regular season, winning 9 of their 12 meetings throughout the season. Things looked to continue the same way after game one. Sardine City pounded Vancouver 9-4 behind Daric Barton's 4-5, 3-RBI night. Iron Fist starter Roy Oswalt was shelled for 6 runs in 5.2 innings. But Vancouver came right back in the next game, 6-4, salvaging a 1-1 split in the series. Vancouver scored 5 runs in the first inning and the Straphangers never recovered. Zack Greinke held them to just 4 hits in 7.2 innings. The series shifted to Sardine City, but Mat Latos quieted the Straphanger crowd with a dominant effort (8 IP, 6 H, ER, 5K) to win the game 6-1. With the series on the line, the Straphangers were determined not to go down quietly. The Sardines jumped out to an early 4-2 lead, but Vancouver tied it up in the 5th. Josh Willingham hit a solo homer in the 9th to give the Fist the 5-4 lead and Joaquin Benoit retired the side in the bottom of the 9th to win the series for Vancouver.

Hoboken came up just shy of winning the Hanover Division title, so they were expected to breeze through round one. The franchise has only won one playoff game in their previous two appearances, so the Cutters were hoping to improve on their previous record against Carolina. Game one was a battle as the two teams traded leads and eventually ended up in extra innings. Rookie Mike Stanton proved to be the hero with a walk-off solo homer in the 10th inning to give the Cutters a 1-0 series lead. Winning game one appeared to give Hoboken some confidence as they easily dispatched the Mudcats in game two 8-3. Stanton had a huge game (4-5, home run, 3 RBIs) and Jhoulys Chacin gave a solid effort (7.2 IP, 3 ER, 7 H, 5 K). The Mudcats were on the brink when they returned to Carolina for game three, but they pulled off a 7-5 win anyway. The Cats actually held a 7-2 lead, but Hoboken had a brief comeback attempt in the 9th. Rookie Stephen Strasburg turned in an impressive performance, holding the Cutters to one run on three hits in seven innings, while striking out seven. Game four was another battle, this time between starters Clay Buchholz and C.J. Wilson. Both starters gave up only one run and struck out 7 each, but neither was awarded a decision. It was fitting that the series both began and ended in extra innings. This time it was Ian Kinsler who drove in the winning run in the 10th with a double that scored Hanley Ramirez. The Cutters had won their first post-season series in franchise history.

Vancouver advances to face the number one seed, Philadelphia, starting tomorrow. Vancouver won 7 of their 13 regular-season games. Hoboken, meanwhile, faces Las Vegas, whom they have also beaten 7 out of 13 games.

Who's going to win the batting title, eh?

A first basemen from Canada is assured of winning the 2011 DMBL batting title. It's just a matter of whether it's the one from the East Coast (Toronto, Ontario) or the West Coast (New Westminster, B.C.). Fans in New Jersey and Arkansas have something to root for in the final few games of the season.

New Jersey's Joey Votto (originally from Toronto) is making a case for the Kevin Mitchell Award -- as well as a Sabrmetric triple crown -- despite Team Buddah not being in the playoff hunt, and British Columbia native Justin Morneau of Arkansas is hot on his tail for the league lead in batting average.

Entering the final two games of the season, Morneau (.33558) trails Votto (.337308) by less than 2 percentage points. Votto's season, however, ends in today's matchup at Blue Ridge against probable starter Tommy Hunter while Morneau is at home, scheduled to face Marietta's Francisco Liriano, followed by Chris Carpenter in the season finale.

Morneau is all but guaranteed to lead the league in hits, holding a 202-198 advantage over Votto, who's among the top 10 in walks. If he can replicate the 2-for-4 performance from his last game in the final two (going 4-for-8), Morneau would finish at .337704, and would have to hope for Votto to go 1-for-3, as he did in yesterday's game, which would leave Votto at .337288.

If Votto can secure just two hits -- almost regardless of how many at-bats it would take him -- Morneau would need a serious two-game tear to catch him. Votto finishes at .337837 if he goees 2-for-5, and .337268 if he goes 2-for-6.

If Morneau can manage 3 hits in his final two games, he needs to do it within the span of 5 at-bats, to remain above .337 (.337726 if he goes 3-for-5).

Pettitte takes the mound for the final time

Andy Pettitte is scheduled to start Thursday in the season finale for New Jersey in what will be the final appearance of his DMBL career.

Pettitte will complete his 16th consecutive season in DMBL, the last three with New Jersey. His longest tenure -- seven seasons -- was spent with his original franchise, breaking in with Jerusalem in 1996 and moving with the team to Stanhope in 2001. He spent the 2003 and 2004 seasons with Newark before three years with Carolina, and a single season with the Tampa Bay Plunkers.

He's won double-digit games in nine of his 16 seasons, reaching a career-high 15 in four different years. This will be the fourth straight season, and fifth in the last six, that Pettitte has made at least 32 starts.

Although he recently passed Greg Maddux and David Wells to move into 2nd place all-time in losses, Pettitte remains a better than .500 pitcher for his career, thanks to ranking 11th all-time in wins. He enters today's finale at 146-143 (.505).

Heading into his final start, Pettitte's career DMBL rankings are as follows (*active league leader):
- 5th in games started*
- 9th in innings pitched*
- 11th in strikeouts
- 16th in complete games
- 7th in shutouts
He'll be eligible for the DMBL Hall of Fame in 2016.

Time running out for Manny's 500th

Manny Ramirez's walk-off home-run off Joel Peralta on Sunday kept alive Marietta's playoff hopes against Carolina, but also his own chance at reaching 500 career home runs.

Heading into the final three-game series at Arkansas on Wednesday, Ramirez now has 12 homers on the year and 497 for his career (while Marietta sits three games behind Carolina for the sixth and final playoff spot). Ramirez is assured to finish his career 4th on the all-time home run list (behind Thome, 410; A-Rod, 555; and Bonds, 689), and would be the 4th player to reach 500 home runs.

Ramirez has said this will be his 16th and final season in DMBL, meaning he would be eligible for the Hall of Fame starting in 2016. He's played at least 132 games every year but one since 2000 and has never played fewer than 104 games in a season since breaking in with Toledo in 1996. He joined Newark in 1997 and was a key cog in the Sugar Bear dynasty until being dealt to Marietta this season, after which he announced his impending retirement.

Morrow - no hitter? not quite...

You may have noticed it, but Brandon Morrow thoroughly dominated the Las Vegas Rat Pack in yesterday's 7-0 win. But what you may have missed is that Morrow pitched 8 innings of no-hit ball, only to exit in the 9th inning with the no-hitter still intact! The Vegas crowd loudly booed when Takashi Saito emerged on the mound to start the 9th inning. The game had long been out of hand and the few remaining in the crowd had hung around to witness history. In true karmic fashion, Joe Mauer led off the inning with the first hit of the game for the Rats. Although Saito did manage to complete the game and preserve the shutout, Morrow had been robbed of his place among such DMBL luminaries as Juan Guzman, Brett Myers, and A.J. Burnett. Manager Joe Torre declined to speak to the press after the game. So why was Morrow removed? Morrow did manage to throw 115 pitches, though that doesn't seem like an especially high number, particularly when chasing a historic achievement. Morrow walked five in his 8 innings, suggesting that maybe he was losing it but Morrow struck out all three batters he faced in the 8th and had retired the last 7 batters. Morrow did not appear to have any kind of injury either. Whatever the reason, Torre may need armed protection when the Straphangers return home to host the Rat Packs on Sunday.

Chasing Bonds

When the season started, it looked all but certain that Barry Bonds would lose his grip on the league's all-time hit record (2,575). With roughly 30 games to go in the 2011 campaign though, it looks more likely that Bonds will hold on to the mark for at least one more season. And depending on how off-season personnel moves play out, it could be longer than that.

Marietta's Derek Jeter and Manny Ramirez, Vladimir Guerrero of New Jersey and Newark's Chipper Jones are the active leaders in hits, ranking second through fifth. Going into the season, Jeter looked like the surest shot, as the only other player above the 2,500 mark (2,507). But the majority of playing time as the Marietta shortstop this year has gone to Cezar Izturis, leaving Jeter with just 40 starts, 78 games in all, and a measly 45 hits, putting him at 2,553 -- 22 hits from Bonds with 31 games to play.

The other three players all went over 2,500 career hits within the past few weeks but the numbers don't seem to add up for a legitimate run at Bonds in 2011. Ramirez has no more than 31 games remaining in his DMBL career and entered the week with 2,517 hits -- 58 behind Bonds. Guerrero and Jones currently are separated by just five hits, 2,516 for Vlad (trailing Bonds by 59), 2,511 for Chipper (64 behind Bonds). Guerrero's Team Buddah has 29 games to play while Chipper's Sugar Bears has the fewest of the quartet -- 27.

For 2012, only Jeter currently stands a shot at finding some playing time, and that's likely only against lefties. Ramirez already has announced his retirement at the conclusion of 2011 while Guerrero and Jones need to get hot if they don't want to avoid hoping for sentimentality to find a roster spot in 2012.

As long as we're looking toward 2012, it might be safe to say that another player might reach Bonds at some point next year. Alex Rodriguez of Las Vegas has 103 hits so far this season, 6th all time with 2,414 hits -- 161 behind Bonds. Ivan Rodriguez, getting some playing time with Amityville of late, is the only other active player in the all-time top 10, at 2,367.

Pujols the 10th player to reach 400 home runs

Philly's Albert Pujols became the 10th player in DMBL history with 400 home runs, the second to reach the milestone this season. Chipper Jones of Newark hit No. 400 earlier this season.

The historic dinger, a solo shot, came off Cliff Lee in the first inning of a 3-2 win at Arkansas last week.  Pujols is in line to pass Mike Piazza soon for 9th all-time in homers, with 406, and Jones, who starts the week in 8th place with 409. New Jersey's Vladimir Guerrero is in sight but likely a target for 2012, with 431 home runs in 7th place.

It was the 34th home run of the season for Pujols. He enters play this week with 35 home runs and 88 RBIs. While his 10th season line totals of .250/.317/.505 are virtually all career lows and way off his annual averages (.307/.366/.574), Pujols has been one of the most consistent and best hitters in the DMBL since being the top overall pick in the 2002 draft.

Pujols has averaged almost 41 home runs and 129 RBIs over his first nine seasons and has driven in at least 108 RBIs every year but his second (99). Last year he put up career highs in SLG (.677), OPS (1.046), HR (64), RBI (160), runs (128) and hits (208), in winning his second straight Kevin Mitchell Award. He's also been remarkably healthy, racking up no fewer than 600 at-bats while playing in an average of 159 games each season (a career low 147 in 2009).

Hudson nearly no-hits Hitmen

Rookie Daniel Hudson on Sunday came within two outs of what would have been the third no-hitter in the DMBL this season. It would've been the second by a rookie, and the second for Las Vegas, this season. Hillsborough's Billy Butler singled down the left-field line with one out in the 9th, the second time he reached base in the 4-0 win for Last Vegas.

Hudson, acquired from New Jersey earlier this year, finished with five strikeouts and two walks. Butler led off the 7th reaching on an error before getting wiped out by a double play. Hudson walked Placido Polanco in the 3rd and Aubrey Huff leading off the 8th before plunking Polanco later in the 8th.

The top overall pick in this year's draft, Hudson was dealt to Las Vegas, along with Carlos Marmol, in exchange for five draft picks: a 3rd-rounder and a 5th-rounder in 2012, and 1st-, 5th- and 6th-round picks in 2013. Hudson improved to 13-9 on the season, 6-3 in 10 starts with a 1.93 ERA for the Rat Pack (he was 7-6 with a 4.17 ERA with New Jersey). It was his first shutout with Las Vegas; he had one with New Jersey as well.

Hudson's Rat Pack teammate, Brett Myers, no-hit New Jersey, 1-0, last month while fellow rookie Stephen Strasburg of Carolina no-hit Philly, 5-0, in May.

Prospects get red tagged

The trading deadline can be a sad day for prospects -- often it's when teams in the pennant race decide they have to dump that once beloved ineligible prospect in order to sign a veteran bat or an extra arm in the bullpen. Former prospect Jack Cust took a break from his duties with the Sardine City Straphangers to recap which prospects survived -- and which ones will be in next year's draft. Check it out in an all new Prospecting With Jack Cust!

Pettitte matches Mussina

Andy Pettitte, the DMBL's active leader in career losses, added another one Friday night, matching Mike Mussina for fourth all-time with 139.

Pettitte, who will retire after this season, potentially could finish his career second all-time in losses to Tom Glavine (172). He stands just a few more Ls away from David Wells (141) and Greg Maddux (142). In 24 starts this season, Pettitte is 5-9 with a 6.79 ERA. If he can stay healthy, you figure he could make as many as nine more starts in 2011.

Pettitte still boasts a better than .500 record (145-139 / .511) and barring some kind of complete collapse, should finish his career above .500. He's currently 10th all-time in wins, 9th in innings pitched (2,382), and 5th in starts (412) -- the active leader in all those categories -- as well as 11th all-time in strikeouts (1,658).

The lefthander from Louisiana will be eligible for the DMBL Hall of Fame starting in 2016.

Prince stops Halladay streaks

If not for Prince Fielder, Roy Halladay might still have his streaks intact.

After four innings of one-hit ball Saturday night, the Philadelphia ace yielded a double to Carolina's Hideki Matsui to lead off the 5th, before giving up a home run to Prince Fielder, snapping a scoreless stretch of 28 consecutive innings. Fielder later walked in the 7th inning, the first base on balls by Halladay in 27 1/3 innings.

Halladay gave up just one other hit after the Fielder bomb, cruising to his eight complete game of the season, the 60th of his career, a mark matched by only five other pitchers in league history. Phillly handled Carolina 6-2 as Halladay improved to 12-6.

Brother Against Brother

The Carolina Mudcats and Philadelphia Endzone Animals played an epic 16-inning game on Sunday that will go down as one of the most memorable contests in their long rivalry.

With young guns Travis Wood and Yovani Gallardo for Philly and Carolina, respectively, it looked like it would be a pitcher's battle. And for awhile, it certainly was. Wood retired the first six batters he faced -- four by strikeout. But the hometown Mudcats finally broke through in the bottom of the 3rd when Michael Young doubled home Alex Gonzalez for the first run of the game. Carolina's lead was short lived, however, as Nelson Cruz led off the top of the 4th with a home run to tie the score. In the bottom of the 5th, Philly reliever Kyle McClellan -- who entered the game the previous inning after Wood was injured -- gave up a solo shot to Troy Tulowitzki to put the Mudcats ahead again. But once more, the lead wouldn't last long as David Murphy knocked in Albert Pujols with a single in the top of the 6th.

The bullpens would trade zeroes for the next five innings, until the top of the 12th, when the newly acquired David Wright led off the inning with a home run to put the Endzone Animals on top. But Carolina answered in the bottom of the inning with a one-out home run from Young. After an uneventful 13th, the Endzone Animals looked to put it away in the top of the 14th when Ryan Raburn -- another new addition -- slammed a two-run home run off Evan Meek to make it 5-3. But the Mudcats once again refused to go gentle into that good night. With two outs in the bottom of the 14th, Tulowitzki crushed a Ramon Ramirez slider deep into the night, a two-run blast that again tied the score, now at 5 apiece. Carolina's Dan Wheeler then held the Animals scoreless for the next two innings.

In the bottom of the 16th, the Mudcats finally started a rally. Lance Berkman, who entered the game way back in the 12th as a pinch hitter, drew a five-pitch walk. Young then followed it up with a single -- his third hit of the game -- to put runners on first and second. Philly pitcher Sean Marshall -- the sixth reliever of the game (remember, Wood left in the 4th with an injury) and the last man in the Animals' bullpen -- was clearly gassed, but manager Steve "Bye Bye" Balboni had no one else to turn to. Marshall walked Tulowitzki on four pitches to load the bases.

Balboni told Jered Weaver -- the following day's scheduled starter -- to start warming up. But Marshall bore down and struck out Hideki Matsui and Chris B. Young. Now it all came down to Yorvit Torrealba. Marshall got ahead 1-2, and Torrealba appeared to swing and miss at strike three in the dirt -- but the home plate umpire ruled the pitch had been foul tipped. Marshall and the infielders were already walking off the field and were incredulous at the call. Animals catcher Ramon Hernandez had be restrained as he argued with the ump, to no avail. Replays were inconclusive. After a delay of several minutes -- which included the ejection of Balboni -- the game resumed. A visibly upset Marshall then threw the next three pitches well outside the strike zone, walking in the winning run.

Carolina's controversial win left the two teams tied in the standings at 10 games over .500 as they battle a wildcard spot.

The doctor is in

The next time Roy "Doc" Halladay takes the mound, he'll do so as one of the top 10 pitchers in DMBL history -- not that there was all that much of a debate. A brilliant five-hit shutout in his last outing vaulted Halladay into the top 10 of the league's all-time pitching categories.

Halladay's last start, his 22nd of the season, was No. 341 for his career, breaking a tie with John Smoltz for 10th in league history. He's chasing Andy Pettitte for 10th in innings pitched (though with his next inning pitched, Pettitte will pass Kevin Brown into 9th place), as well as 10th in wins, with 143, two behind the New Jersey lefty. Halladay's newest teammate, Johan Santana, is the active leader in strikeouts (1,700, good for 9th all-time), but Halladay trails the lefthander by some 35 Ks.

Last week's shutout was the seventh complete game this year for Halladay, again breaking a tie with Smoltz, for 6th in league history, with his 59th career complete game. The shutout was his second on the year, moving into a tie for 7th all-time with 16 (and breaking a tie with Randy Johnson and Smoltz).

Halladay also has a 24-inning scoreless streak going, along with 21 consecutive innings without walking a batter.

Thome the third into 500-club

Jim Thome smacked the 500th home run of his career last week in a 4-2 win at home over Sardine City, becoming the third player in league history to reach 500. The historic bomb came off of Phil Hughes, leading off the second inning. With Monday's home runs, he now has 502.

Thome joins the all-time home run leader, Barry Bonds, and Alex Rodriguez as the only members of the 500-home run club. Bond is first with 689 homers, followed by A-Rod, who enters Thursday's games with 551 dingers.

The exclusive club could get another member before the seasons is over, as Marietta's Manny Ramirez enters Thursday's action third all-time with 493 home runs. He also is among the league's all-time leaders in RBI, runs scored, strikeouts, walks, on-base percentage, slugging percentage and games played.

A first basemen who's seen time exclusively at designated hitter with Arkansas this year, Thome adds to his Hall of Fame resume. Thome's best DMBL years were spent with the juggernaut Sugar Bears, his lone Mitchell Award coming in 2003, interrupting what could have been a four-year streak of Mitchell Awards for Bonds.

Thome has enjoyed a resurgence this year, now with 25 home runs, his most since he hit 37 in 2008 with Las Vegas. He spent parts of the past three seasons in Las Vegas, Newark and Arkansas. He came up with Newark in 1996, hitting 21 home runs, before reeling off 11 straight seasons of at least 32 home runs (well, almost -- the streak was interrupted when he missed the entire 2006 season due to injury), including 65 in his Mitchell Award season of 2003, to go with a career-high 154 RBIs.

Ohh, Ahh! A big July 4th trade!

While the rest of America was chilling and grilling this Independence Day weekend, the Arkansas Golden Falcons and Philadelphia Endzone Animals pulled off one of the biggest deals of the season. Let's break it down.

Philadelphia Endzone Animals -- Traded Mike Leake and Ryan Franklin, pitchers, Pablo Sandoval, third baseman, and their 1st and 2nd round picks in 2012, to the Arkansas Golden Falcons for David Wright, third baseman, Johan Santana and Joakim Soria, pitchers, Ryan Raburn, outfielder, and their 3rd round pick in 2012.

Mike Leake was drafted in the first round of the Supplemental Draft (#221 overall) by Vancouver, but released in Spring Training. Philly signed him as a free agent in April, released him two weeks later, and then signed him again two weeks after that. It's no surprise that the 23-year-old right-hander has had an up-and-down season in MLB, with a 6.94 ERA and 1.97 WHIP in May, but a 2.63 ERA and 0.98 WHIP in June. At the moment he looks like a keeper, with a 4.03 ERA and 1.19 WHIP. The Reds drafted Leake with the #8 overall pick in the 2009 draft and immediately promoted him to the majors, the first starting pitcher to make that jump since Jim Abbott in 1989, so he definitely has some potential. Leake is eligible for this season in DMBL, but has yet to make his debut.

Ryan Franklin was having a bad year for the Animals, posting a 4.68 ERA and 1.60 WHIP. Acquired from the Amityville Ant Slayers during the off-season with Nelson Cruz and a 10th Round pick in 2011 for Andre Ethier, a 6th Round pick in 2011 and a 3rd Round pick in 2012, Franklin has had a long career as a journeyman reliever, starting in 2003 with Tijuana; he's also pitched for Las Vegas, Carolina, Hillsborough, Philadelphia,
Amityville, Philadelphia again, and now Arkansas. His best year was probably 2008, when he posted a 3.64 ERA and 1.17 WHIP in middle relief with the Mudcats. At age 38 and having a brutal season in MLB (8.46 ERA, 1.84 WHIP), it appears Franklin has no keeper value. It's unclear why the rebuilding Golden Falcons would even want him on their roster; in his first appearance with his new team, he took the loss after giving up a walk and a home run.

Pablo Sandoval might be the heart of the deal for the Golden Falcons. "Kung Fu Panda" was drafted in the second round (#26 overall) as an ineligible prospect by the Blue Ridge Bombers in 2009. He made his debut the following year, hitting .272/.330/.445 with 42 2B, 17 HR and 73 RBI.
Blue Ridge traded him to Philadelphia in the first deal of the 2011 off-season, sending him to Philly along with a 6th Round pick for Victor Martinez. But Sandoval had a big-time sophomore slump this year, hitting just .256/.298/.383 in 277 AB, forcing Philly to look for an upgrade. But the Golden Falcons can afford to be patient with the 24-year-old switch-hitting third baseman, who is hitting .302/.343/.509 for next season.

So that's who the Endzone Animals gave up... who did the Golden Falcons send them in exchange?

Johan Santana was drafted with the #3 overall pick in the 2003 draft by the Endzone Animals, and would remain there for the next seven seasons. He had monster years in '05 (17-3, 3.02 ERA, 1.06 WHIP) and '07 (20-2, 3.45 ERA, 1.09 WHIP), and overall went 83-53 for Philly. During the 2009 off season, Santana was traded straight up to Arkansas for Alex Rodriguez. But Santana couldn't recapture his previously form and had two brutal years for the Golden Falcons, going 8-16 with a 5.70 ERA, 1.59 WHIP in '09, and 8-9 with a 5.82 ERA and 1.61 WHIP in '10. But this season, Santana was finally having another big season -- 12-5, 3.24 ERA, 1.26 WHIP and an All-Star selection -- and now he's back with the Animals. For next season, though, Santana is 32 years old and still isn't eligible for 2012 as he rehabs from a shoulder injury. If he comes back in mid-August as expected, he just might get the 10 starts he needs, but it will be close.

David Wright is the surprise player in the deal. The Golden Falcons made a huge deal to trade up to the #1 pick in order to land him in the 2005 draft, and he's spent his entire career with Arkansas. A career .289/.347/.496 hitter, Wright was regarded as the "face of the franchise" by many in the organization. But the emergence of minor league sensation Mike Moustakas apparently made Wright expendable. Wright was having a fine season for the Golden Falcons, hitting .276 with 24 HR and 69 RBI. However, just like Santana, Wright isn't eligible for the 2012 season at the moment, needing 78 more plate appearances. The 28-year-old third baseman is currently rehabbing a stress fracture in his lower back. If he can get back to the majors by early September, he'll likely qualify for 2012. A bigger question may be if he'll be usable -- when he got hurt, he was hitting just .226/.337/.404. But given his age and past performance, it seems likely that Wright will be on someone's protected list next season.

Another career Golden Falcon, Joakim Soria, also was taken in the first round (#7 overall in 2008) by Arkansas. He's had three outstanding seasons for Arkansas, going 10-8 with 41 saves with a 3.27 ERA and 1.08 WHIP in 272.1 innings. This season represented his first bump in the road, posting a 4.17 ERA and 1.37 WHIP, with 14 saves but 8 blown saves -- just one less blown save than he'd had in his entire career! Soria's outlook for next season isn't rosey -- 4.37 ERA, 1.29 WHIP -- and the Golden Falcons already have their next closer lined up with youngster Drew Storen.

With three former first round picks heading to Philadelphia, the final player in the deal from Arkansas's side is easy to overlook: Ryan Raburn. Drafted in the 8th Round (#105 overall) in 2010,
Raburn hit .250/.297/.495 last year and just .220/.323/.358 this year. Unless he has a Hall of Fame second half, the 30-year-old corner outfielder is likely not a keeper in 2012 (.207/.242/.344). Like Franklin, the inclusion of Raburn in the deal left many scratching their heads. Any guesses? A source inside the Arkansas organization said that Raburn and Santana share a "special relationship" and left it at that.

Arkansas also received two draft picks in the deal, Philly's 1st Round pick in 2012 and 2nd Round pick in 2012. But Arkansas also sent back its 3rd Round pick in 2012. Considering their current placement in the standings, Philly's 2nd is likely to be at the end of the 2nd and Arkansas's 3rd is likely to be at the top, so it might be a jump of only five or six places.

So who won the trade? At the moment, this deal clearly favors the Endzone Animals, who are chasing the Vancouver Iron Fist for the Morris Division lead and the Hoboken Cutters for the top wildcard slot. They already had one of the best rotations in baseball with Adam Wainwright (10-8, 2.16 ERA, 1.07 WHIP), Travis Wood (5-1, 2.59, 1.22), Roy Halladay (11-6, 2.94, 1.17) and Jered Weaver (7-9, 3.37, 1.09); now they add Santana (12-5, 3.24, 1.26). They upgrade their offense and defense at the hot corner by turning Sandoval into Wright. And even in an off year, Soria is a huge improvement over Franklin. Even if all three turn out to be non-keepers -- a distinct possibility at this point -- they have dramatically improved their team for this season.

However, Arkansas clearly made this deal with an eye toward the future. They gave up four players who, at the moment, are either ineligible or not worth keeping in 2012 (although Wright will probably be protected no matter what). But even if those players had little or no value to a rebuilding Golden Falcons team, they did have value as trade bait. Did the Golden Falcons get enough for Santana, Wright, and Soria? (Let's ignore Raburn.) Sandoval is four years younger than Wright and so far is having a much better year. Leake is a young starting pitcher who has had a roller coaster season, but could be a good pitcher for years to come. The two picks (or one and a half, from the bottom of the 2nd to the top of the 3rd) are nice, but if Sandoval and Leake don't turn out to be long-term keepers, Arkansas fans may not remember this deal fondly in years to come.

Strasburg returns from DL to toss no-hitter

Carolina rookie Stephen Strasburg, in his first start since a 40-day stint on the disabled list, tossed the eighth no-hitter in DMBL history, beating the Philadelphia End Zone Animals, 5-0, Saturday night at home in Bullhead Memorial Park.

It was the fifth individual no-hitter in league history (three were combined, by more than one pitcher) and first in franchise history. The last DMBL no-hitter came in April 2008 when A.J. Burnett, then with Las Vegas, no-hit the powerful Newark Sugar Bears. The last rookie to toss a no-hitter was Phoenix's John Lackey in 2003, and Joel Pineiro combined on a no-hitter with Mike Mathews for Hoboken in his rookie season in 2002.

Strasburg walked three and struck out a season-high 11 but never struck out the side. His most frequent victims were David Murphy and Ryan Howard, who both struck out three times. He outdueled Roy Halladay, who went the distance for Philly.

Murphy, recently acquired from Amityville, walked to lead off the game and J.J. Hardy walked to start the sixth inning. Hardy would reach second base when Howie Kendrick grounded to second but Strasburg struck out Murphy and got Ramon Hernandez to ground out to third to end the inning. After getting the 26th out, Strasburg walked Hernandez before retiring Nelson Cruz to complete the no-no.

Dunn da dun dun

Is this another sign that the world is about to end? Adam Dunn has been traded!

Eh... that's probably not a sign of the apocalypse, as Dunn has been swapped before and the world kept on turning. In fact, it's the fifth time Dunn has been traded! Interestingly enough, each time Dunn has been dealt, a pitcher has gone back the other way.

January 4, 2008: Hillsborough Hired Hitmen trade Dunn, Alex Rodriguez, Jeremy Bonderman, Ian Snell, and Jonathan Broxton to the Arkansas Golden Falcons for Dan Haren, Nick Markakis, a 7th round pick in 2008, 4th and 7th round picks in 2009, and their 5th round pick in 2010.

July 16, 2008: Arkansas Golden Falcons trade trade Dunn to the Philadelphia Endzone Animals for Jonathan Sanchez and their 3rd round pick in 2010.

November 4, 2008: Philadelphia Endzone Animals trade Dunn and their 9th round draft pick in 2009 and their 6th round pick in 2010 to the Hoboken Cutters for Scott Kazmir.

February 5, 2011: Hoboken Cutters trade Dunn and Hillsborough's 5th round pick in 2011 to the Amityville Ant Slayers for Matt Cain and their 6th round pick in 2012.

May 20, 2011: Amityville Ant Slayers trade Dunn and their 12th round pick in 2012 to the Blue Ridge Bombers for Cole Hamels and their 4th round pick in 2012.

Dunn was initially drafted way back in 2002 as an ineligible prospect, taken in the 4th Round (#50 overall) by the Phoenix Dragons. He had a miserable rookie year in '03 (.198/.316/.333) and the Dragons didn't protect him; he then went to Hillsborough in the '04 draft in the 2nd Round (#23 overall), but he struggled again, hitting just .170/.228/.377. But the Hitmen stuck with him and he finally broke out in '05, hitting .290/.377/.618 with 55 HRs and 150 RBIs. He's never been left off a protected list again.

The 31-year-old slugger began the 2010 season with a career .245 batting average (but .866 OPS). His 2011 season is pretty typical -- .259 BA, .860 OPS. However, Dunn's outlook for 2011 isn't promising at the moment -- he's hitting just .203 (.689 OPS), and at the moment only qualifies at DH. But there's still four and a half months left in the season, so he has plenty of time to turn it around... or be traded again!

BREAKING NEWS: Freddie Freeman Is Not Black

Outrage in Newark tonight as Sugar Bear Third Base Coach Charles Johnson discovered recently acquired Freddie Freeman is not black.

Johnson, making an impromptu visit to the Triple-A Dublin Lucky Charms, spotted the 21-year-old first baseman working out during pre-game warm-ups. Freeman had been acquired last month, along with pitcher Justin Masterson, from the Hoboken Cutters as part of the first rebuilding campaign in Sugar Bear history.

"Who the hell is that white dude and why is he wearing Freeman's jersey?" a perplexed Johnson asked Lucky Charms manager John Thomson.

Even after being told the "white dude" was indeed Freeman, Johnson wasn't convinced, and ordered security to throw Freeman out of the ballpark. It was only until he was shown Freeman's driver's license, passport, and certificate of live birth (long form) that Johnson was finally convinced of the player's identity.

He was clearly disappointed.

"Here I thought we got a young Fred McGriff, and instead it's a young Ryan Klesko," Johnson sniffed.

Not that Johnson should complain about that -- Klesko had a pretty good career as a Sugar Bear.

Still, he intends on filing a complaint with the Commissioner's Office for "false advertising."

"I haven't been this faked out by a player's non-blackness since Khalil Greene," Johnson said. "In fact, I'm still pretty sure that dude is a brother -- just really pale."

Delgado calls it quits, but will he get the call?

Carlos Delgado announced his retirement from baseball last week after trying to come back from a hip injury that kept him out of the DMBL last season.

A native of Puerto Rico, Delgado last appeared in the DMBL in 2009 with the Carolina Mudcats, which means he'd be eligible for the DMBL Hall of Fame beginning in 2014. The 38-year-old could make a compelling case for enshrinement, ranking among the all-time leaders in home runs and runs scored. Only 11 players have appeared in more DMBL games.

Delgado played 14 consecutive seasons, breaking in with the Norfolk Ewes in 1997. The converted catcher played in no fewer than 128 games from 1997 until 2007. He played for five different franchises  in the DMBL, mostly with the Hillsborough (two different franchises, the Destroyers and Hit Men), though he won his only Kevin Mitchell Award in 2001 with the Vatican City Cardinals when he put career highs with a monster season: .345/.455/.653, 208 hits, 41 home runs, 138 RBIs, 59 doubles, 153 runs, 122 walks. He matched his career high in home runs the previous year when he was with Hillsborough, and hit 39 homers when Vatican City relocated to Wanaque in 2002.

Taken in the second supplemental round in 2008 by Sardine City but released before the start of the season, Delgado signed later that year with Carolina. He contributed somewhat to the Mudcats that year, appearing in 25 games, but had one more season in him. In 2009, he had 34 home runs and 98 RBIs (to put him over 1,000 for his career, only the 22nd player to do so) while batting .280 and slugging .502.

A look at Delgado's career stats, with all-time ranking in parentheses -- do they read "Hall of Fame"?

Games: 1,701 (12th)
Batting: .265
OBP: .355
SLG: .516 (17th)
OPS: .871
AB: 6,035 (28th)
H: 1,597 (35th)
2B: 361 (20th, tied with Ray Durham)
HR: 370 (16th, recently passed by Albert Pujols)
RBI:  1.075 (21st)
Runs: 1,027 (11th, soon to be passed by Pujols)
Strikeouts: 1,571 (10th)
Walks: 844 (18th)

No. 400 for Chipper

Newark's Chipper Jones continues to fill out his ballot for a spot in the DMBL Hall of Fame, launching his 400th career home run Thursday night. His 8th inning solo home run off J.J. Putz tied the game at 5-5 but the Sugar Bears eventually lost, 8-5, at Miller Park in Carolina. He's the ninth player in league history to reach 400.

Chipper entered the season with 396 home runs, good for 9th all-time, and now trails former teammate Mike Piazza by six homers for the 8th spot. The longtime Sugar Bear ranks in the league's all-time top 10, if not top 5, in most major hitting categories.

Pettitte moves into 6th all-time in career starts

New Jersey's Andy Pettitte very nearly had his 40th career complete game Monday night but settled for passing Mike Mussina into 6th place in career starts with 394. He now trails Curt Schilling (399) by five starts for 5th and is approaching 1,600 career strikeouts, which would put him just outside the top 10 in all-time strikeouts. David Cone ranks 10th with 1,601 K's and and after Monday's start Pettitte is just four away.
Johan Santana of Arkansas is the active leader in strikeouts, and sits 9th all-time with 1,647.

Manny sets all-time mark for doubles

In what's been a historically bad start for Newark, Manny Ramirez has given Sugar Bears fans something to cheer about with some history of his own.
 The longtime Sugar Bear passed Edgar Martinez as the all-time DMBL leader in doubles with 494 when he smacked a two-bagger off Bridgewater's Joel Pineiro Monday night. Ramirez matched Martinez two games earlier with his 493rd career double, off Philly's Matt Garza. Earlier this season, he became the fourth player in league history to appear in 2,000 games.

Ramirez likely will soon become the first DMBLer to hit 500 doubles and is also closing in on 500 career home runs, a mark reached by only two others (Alex Rodriguez  and Barry Bonds). He'd be the first to hit 500 doubles and 500 homers.

In other all-time categories, Ramirez ranks 1st in strikeouts (the only one with 2,000+), 2nd in RBIs, 4th in runs, 4th in games played, 5th in hits and 7th in walks.

Rivera notches 400th save

Mariano Rivera continued to solidify his case for the DMBL Hall of Fame by recording his 400th save. He finished off a 3-0 win at home over the New Jersey Buddahs last week to preserve the victory for Francisco Liriano. He's all alone in first place on the all-time saves list, way ahead of his closest rival, Billy Wagner of Las Vegas, who entered the season sitting at 290 saves. No one else has even 200 saves. Rivera is the only DMBL pitcher to crack 1,000 appearances, entering this season with 1,047.
He's also closing in on 1,100 career strikeouts (he started the year with 1,091), inching closer to Trevor Hoffman, who tops all relievers with 1,119 K's.

2010 Gold Gloves

Digging through the Subway receipts and old soy sauce packets in a drawer at DMBL headquarters, the 2010 Gold Glove Awards were unearthed as league executives this week presented the belated accolades. Fielding percentage isn't the only indicator of solid leather and to avoid making a mockery of the defensive awards (You listening, Rafael Palmeiro?), all stats were taken into account in the selection process.

PITCHER: Jason Marquis, Marietta
Marquis led all pitchers in assists per game (1.37) and total chances per game (2.10) in his 28 starts.
Honorable mentions to Newark rookie Brad Bergesen, who led all pitchers in total chances (45) and along with Sardine City's Josh Johnson led the league in assists (31). Philly's C.C. Sabathia led all pitchers with 18 putouts, along with Jordan Zimmermann of Sardine City and Carlos Zambrano, who did it despite being cut by Blue Ridge midseason and playing briefly for New Jersey.

CATCHER: Joe Mauer, Las Vegas

Mauer led the league in putouts per game (8.84) and total chances per game (9.17) while throwing out 20 would-be base-stealers for a .697 clip and just six passed balls in 106 starts.

Yadier Molina of Arkansas had impressive numbers as well, trailing only Mauer in most categories while putting up a 1.000 fielding percentage and less than six passed balls, but made fewer starts, despite appearing in 136 games for the Golden Falcons.

Honorable mention also goes to Marietta's Kurt Suzuki, who led the league in baserunners gunned down with 25 (.753); Philly's Victor Martinez, who was tops in putouts (1,122) and total chances (1,164).

FIRST BASE: Prince Fielder, Carolina

Another razor-thin race, Carolina's Prince Fielder edged Marietta's Adrian Gonzalez and Adam LaRoche of Amityville. Fielder led the league in total chances (1,478), chances per game (9.31), putouts (1,834) and putouts per game (8.72) while making 162 starts and sporting a .997 fielding percentage and being in on 162 double plays. Considering his reputation for his girth, you might be surprised that he was even in the running for Gold Glove. Or you might just say it was a long time coming for Prince.

Gonzalez was right behind him in most every category with 1,435 chances (8.95/game) and 1,337 putouts (8.34/game) and a .994 fielding percentage. LaRoche was tops in fielding percentage (.999) but appeared in only 134 games.

Honorable mention also goes to Kendry Morales, who split his year between Blue Ridge and Newark, led the league in assists (119) but also committed 11 errors for a .992 fielding percentage.

SECOND BASE: Dustin Pedroia, Carolina
Not quite the runaway race that shortstop was, but still a wide margin for Carolina's Dustin Pedroia as he led all second basemen in total chances (826/5.17), assists (524/3.28) and double plays (138) and fielding percentage (.995), all while starting 162 games for the Mudcats.

Honorable mentions go to Vancouver's Chase Utley, who was second in most categories including chances (825/5.09) and assists (503/3.10) and double plays (135), but also was second in errors (16), for a .981 fielding percentage. Robinson Cano of New Jersey and Marietta's Alberto Callaspo led the league in total putouts (312) and matched Hillsborough's Ben Zobrist for most putouts per game (2.03).

SHORTSTOP: Troy Tulowitzki, Carolina
This was probably the least suspenseful race because Tulowitzki led all shortstops in every major category: 795 total chances/5.0 per game; 224 putouts/1.41 per game, 559 assists/3.52 per game, and 118 double plays. He was among a number of iron men shortstops, making all 162 starts, while ranking third in fielding percentage (.985) with 12 errors.
Honorable mention: Hoboken's Hanley Ramirez finished second to Tulo is most every category but committed 21 errors, which isn't bad, especially when you look at league leader Miguel Tejada's 37 E's. Vancouver rookie Elvis Andrus also made 162 starts and was among the league leaders in this bunch.

THIRD BASE: Scott Rolen, Vancouver

This was the toughest race to call with Bridgewater's Ryan Zimmerman and Vancouver's Scott Rolen neck and neck in virtually every category. Zimmerman led the league in total chances (407/2.55), just ahead of Rolen (403/2.49), who was tops with 297 assists (1.84) to Zimm's 281 (1.76). Zimmerman also had the most errors (23) and double plays (40).

Evan Longoria of Sardine City and Alex Rodriguez of Las Vegas tied for the lead in putouts (109). Longoria also had the best fielding percentage (.969), just ahead of Rolen (.968). Then you had Adrien Beltre of Blue Ridge and Marietta's Chone Figgins, who got some consideration for their per-game averages but didn't quite make enough starts to warrant the hardware. Beltre qualified for a league-leading 2.62 total chances per game while Figgins was second in assists per game with 1.83.

LEFT FIELD: Franklin Gutierrez, New Jersey

Gutierrez only committed four errors for a .989 fielding percentage, led all left-fielders with 2.55 chances per game and trailed only Matt Holliday in total chances. His 10 assists were fourth-best and Gutierrez patroled New Jersey's left field in 158 games; only three left-fielders played all 162 games.

Honorable mention goes to Marietta's Jason Bay, who led all left-fielders with 16 assists and along with Ryan Braun of Sardine City and Newark's Manny Ramirez finished with a 1.000 fielding percentage.

CENTER FIELD: Denard Span, Hoboken
There's no shortage of speedy center fielders to choose from. New Jersey's Shane Victorino led the league with a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage but it was Hoboken's Denard Span who led all centerfielders by a wide margin in total chances (510/3.22) and putouts (493/3.11) in 162 starts. Despite his 7 errors (third most), he had a .986 fielding percentage and was third with 10 assists.

Andrew McCutcheon of Blue Ridge had the high mark with 13 assists. Honorable mentions also go to Carlos Beltran of Bridgewater, who was second in total chances (420/2.98) and putouts (407/2.89) and Vancouver's Adam Jones and Hillsborough rookie Carlos Gonzalez.

RIGHT FIELD: Hunter Pence, Blue Ridge
Right field is where the arm is, so it would be easy to hand this year's Gold Glove to Nelson Cruz of Amityville, who led the league with 10 assists. You could also go with the wily veteran Ichiro Suzuki of Marietta, who was second in total chances per game (2.52) and putouts per game (2.42). But he made only 124 starts and committed seven errors for a .972 fielding percentage.

Meanwhile, New Jersey's Seth Smith was the only right fielder to start 162 games and he had a sterling 1.000 fielding percentage and was second in total chances (349/2.23), total putouts (340/2.17), and assists.

We went with Pence for his solid .990 fielding percentage (4 errors) while leading all right fielders in total chances (384/2.55) and putouts (378//2.51). Honorable mentions also go to Newark's J.D. Drew and Nick Markakis of Sardine City, who also sported 1.000 fielding percentages.

Opening week in review

Not only was veteran Johan Santana of Arkansas the only starter to win both his starts in the opening week, his first win of the season, a 7-1 victory over Carolina, was the 100th of his career, becoming the 18th pitcher in league history to reach the milestone (and beating Mark Buehrle, who sites at 99 wins, and Roy Oswalt, who picked up No. 99 Monday night). He now sits in a tie for 16th all-time in wins, with Brad Radke and Javier Vazuez. And so, Santana, who won the Ben McDonald Award pitching for Philly in 2005 and 2007, is the first Mentos, The Freshmaker Pitcher of the Week for the 2011 season.

The only other two-win pitchers during the opening week were relievers: Hoboken's Tim Stauffer (2-0) and Daniel Bard of Sardine City (2-1). Philadelphia's Matt Thornton led the league in saves with three and Marietta's Francisco Liriano was tops in strikeouts with 18. Other notable pitchers were Philly's Roy Halladay, who tossed a complete game win, helping him match Carolina's Tim Hudson for the lead in innings pitched with 16 1/3. Amityville's David Aardsma tossed 7 1/3 hitless innings in four relief appearances and Carolina phenom Stephen Strasburg fanned 10 while earning the win in his first start.

We were inclined to give the Rebecca Black/Know Your Meme Batter of the Week to a veteran like Hideki Matsui, who's raking for Philly this year. The long-time Sugar Bear started the season with a 5-for-5, two home-run opening day performance and followed it up two days later with two more homers and five more RBIs. He led the league in RBIs (10), tied for the lead in runs (7) with four other players, and matched New Jersey's Joey Votto for the league lead in homers (4).

Still, Gerald Dempsey "Buster" Posey of Arkansas put up arguably a better week, considering it was his first one in DMBL. The rookie backstop, who was drafted as an ineligible prospect in the 12th round of the 2010 draft, led the league in multiple categories, including batting average (.571), slugging (1.034), hits (15), extra base hits (9), runs created (16.0), RC/27 (27.0) and total bases (30). He was second to fellow rookie Jason Heyward of Las Vegas in on-base percentage, and tied with Votto for second in RBIs.

In addition to Posey, teammate Justin Morneau and Carolina's Michael Young hit safety in all seven games they played last week. Other players with multiple-homer games last week included Marietta's Ichiro Suzuki and Justin Morneau of Arkansas, who like Matsui did it on Opening Day. Other notables during opening week were Vancouver rookie Austin Jackson, who along with Alexis Rios of Blue Ridge and Marietta's Brett Gardner led the league in steals (3). In addition to Young, Amityville's Delmon Young also racked up a dozen hits last week.

Despite picking up both player awards this week, it wasn't enough for Arkansas to reach the .500 in the opening week, finishing at 3-4. Arkansas wasn't alone though. While Las Vegas and Philly both raced out to 6-0 starts, only Carolina, Blue Ridge and Hoboken bettered the .500 mark. After one week, Bridgewater and New Jersey were bringing up the rear, at 1-5.