Dunn finishes career on walk-off HR

Adam Dunn finished a productive if not storied DMBL career in stunning fashion, hitting a walk-off home run off Tom Koehler in the bottom of the ninth to give Hopatcong a 5-4 win over Philly in the 2015 regular season finale. It's one of the more memorable finishes to a career since Mike Mussina tossed a complete game in his final start to push Marietta past Newark in Game 7 of the 2009 DMBL World Series.

Dunn, who last year announced this would be his final season, was signed twice by the Floating Fish this season, both times to fill in at first base for an injured Joey Votto. In 40 games, he batted just .140/.225/.322, but smacked 6 home runs.

It wasn't a great final season but it was enough to get Dunn past Todd Helton on the all-time home run list. He finished just one home run short of becoming the 27th player to reach 300 for his career. Dunn also finishes with 1,615 career strikeouts, 11th-most in DMBL history, trailing Bobby Abreu (1,642) and just ahead of Barry Bonds (1,607).

It's as good a time as any for a career retrospective of The Big Donkey, who was dealt five times and played for nine teams during his 13 seasons.

The giant, left-handed slugger was drafted by the now-defunct Phoenix Dragons as an ineligible prospect in the 4th round of the 2002 draft. After a middling 2003 season for Phoenix, Dunn was let go but picked up by Hillsborough in the 2nd round of the 2004 draft.

It wasn't until 2005 when he really made his mark, knocking 55 home runs and 150 RBIs and following up with 46 dingers and 127 RBIs in 2006 -- the two highest marks of his career. He also played in 162 and 163 games, respectively, those two seasons. Surprisingly, Dunn would never reach 100 RBIs again but he did keep on slugging.

Hillsborough sent him to Arkansas in a blockbuster deal during the 2008 offseason. The Hit Men sent Dunn with Alex Rodriguez, Jeremy Bonderman, Ian Snell and Jonathan Broxton to Arkansas for Dan Haren, Nick Markakis, and four draft picks: a 7th in 2008, 4th and 7th in 2009, and a 5th in 2010.

Dunn never completed the 2008 season in Arkansas, slugging .529 in 92 games but batting just .220. The Golden Falcons shipped him to Philly at the deadline for Jonathan Sanchez and a 2010 3rd rounder. He didn't end up spending much time in Philly either. That offseason, the End Zone Animals traded Dunn to Hoboken, along with a 9th rounder in 2009 and a 6th in 2011, in exchange for Scott Kazmir.

Dunn enjoyed two consistent seasons in Hoboken, with 37 and 35 homers and 79 and 80 RBIs, respectively, but again ended up going elsewhere. The Cutters sent him and Hillsborough's 5th round pick in 2011 to Amityville for Matt Cain and a 2012 6th rounder.

Only months later, there would be one more trade in the cards for Dunn before spending his final seasons bouncing around as free agent/draftee. Blue Ridge acquired him from Amityville with a 12th rounder in 2012 for Cole Hamels and a 2012 4th rounder.

In all, Dunn was traded five times in deals that totaled 10 players and 11 draft picks (6 coming back, 5 going with him).

A Look Back At 2012 Pitching Leaders, Records

Two teams lost 100 games: Philly went 61-101 and Livingston was 47-115, which matched the fourth-worst record in league history (Norfolk Ewes, 1999). The Last Placers also had a league-worst run differential of -382. The previous record was -323 by the 2007 Las Vegas Rat Pack (although run differential stats aren't available before the 1997 season).

Livingston added to the inglorious record books with two individual league records: most losses in a season. Edinson Volquez and Carlos Zambrano trotted out just about every five days, making 32 and 33 starts, respectively, but each loss 22 games.

Volquez went 4-22 with an 8.11 ERA. He had 138 strikeouts in 144.7 IP but also was second in the league in walks, 98. Zambrano was 3-22 with a 7.47 ERA, tossing 168.7 IP, and was 6th in the league in walks, with 84, and only a few more strikeouts, 97. Volquez had the better run support, 3.8 runs per game, versus 3.2 for Zambrano.

Zambrano and Volquez can look to Newark's Kyle Lohse for inspiration. Lohse endured back-to-back 21 loss seasons for New Jersey (now Hopatcong) in 2009 and 2010, and followed it up with a stellar 1-17 mark for Newark in 2011 (that's 59 losses over three seasons...). Lohse finally rebounded this season for a career year in Newark: 14-8, 3.34 ERA, 1.22 WHIP in 202 IP -- all career highs.

At least five other times in league history, pitchers have lost 21 games. Like this year 1993 saw two pitchers lose 21 games, Chris Bosio and Rick Sutcliffe, but they played for separate teams (Bosio for Charleston, Sutcliffe for Waikiki). Oliver Perez also lost 21 games for Las Vegas in 2007.

ERA: 2.85, Justin Verlander, Hillsborough
WHIP: 0.91, Verlander
Strikeouts: 242, Corey Luebke, Hopatcong
Walks: 118, Francisco Liriano, Philly
Wins: 19, Verlander and R.A. Dickey, Marietta
Win %: .792, Dickey
Avg Run Support: 6.4, Brandon Beachy, Bridgewater
R/9: 8.4, Verlander
K/9: 10.9, Luebke and Beachy
Shutouts: 4, Roy Halladay, Philly/Hoboken
IP: 243 2/3, James Shields, Newark
CG:  9, Shields
QS: 23, Josh Tomlin and Matt Cain, Hopatcong; Shields, Verlander
QS %: .719, Tomlin
Saves: 43, Mariano Rivera, Marietta
Save %: .947, Daniel Bard, Sardine City
Holds: 20, Vinnie Pestano, Bridgewater
Home Runs: 41, Tommy Hanson, Las Vegas
Games: 111, David Pauley, Livingston

Showdown for the Kruk Division

Don't look now but there's another race to watch in the remaining days of the 2012 season.

After four straight wins -- including Tuesday night's no-hitter -- Hopatcong has tied Amityville for the third playoff seed. The Ant Slayers clinched the Drabek Division the other night. Coupled with Newark's loss on Wednesday, the Floating Fish go into tonight's season-ending series versus the Sugar Bears with a two-game lead in the Kruk Division.

After Wednesday's results, if the playoffs started today:
#1 Marietta*, 106-53
#2 Vancouver*, 92-68
#3 Amityville*, 88-71
#4 Hopatcong, 88-71
#5 Newark, 86-73
#6 Rowdy, 86-74
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Hoboken, 85-74 -- 1/2 game back of No. 6 seed
Bridgewater, 85-75 -- 1 1/2 back
Hillsborough, 83-76 -- 2 1/2 back

In an amazing coincidence, every team in the Kruk and Van Slyke divisions won Tuesday night as every team in the Drabek and Fisk divisions lost, leaving the playoff race essentially intact, other than the official elimination of Sardine City.

Should Hopatcong and Amityville remain tied for the No. 3 seed at the end of 162 games, the tiebreaker is head-to-heard record, which would go to -- no one! The two teams split 10 games this season! Both teams also are 21-18 within their respective divisions as they face off against division foes this weekend. If the tiebreaker gets that far, Hopatcong currently has a run differential of +114 while Amityville has a margin of +96.

Of course, those tiebreakers all get thrown out the window if Newark sneaks away with the Kruk Division, the only division still undecided. (FYI, Sugar Bears are 4-6 versus Amityville). With a two-game lead, Hopatcong needs just one win in their head-to-head matchup versus the Sugar Bears this weekend to clinch it. Head-to-head this season, Hopatcong holds a 7-4 advantage against Newark. Scheduled starters for both clubs look like this:

NWK @ HPG
Harrison (6-8, 3.91) v. Peavy (0-0, 0.00)
Baker (12-11, 3.47) v. Cain (13-8, 3.44)
Lohse (14-8, 3.37) v. Luebke (13-8, 3.70)

In a surprise move, Hopatcong opted to give Jake Peavy his first start of the season in Game No. 160 over Tim Stauffer, who's struggled much of the year, going 5-17 with a 6.41 ERA and 1.59 WHIP.

Whether Newark wins the Kruk or not, the Sugar Bears still have work to do. They hold just a 1/2-game lead on Rowdy for the 5th seed and other squads are hot on their heels. The Roddy Pippers, who are off today, are just 1/2 game up on Hoboken and 1 game ahead of Bridgewater for that final playoff seed.

Rowdy will finish the season with two games at St. Louis and Bridgewater is also off today before a two-game set at Philly tomorrow. Starting tonight, Hoboken hosts three games against Marietta, which already has clinched the No. 1 seed.

Still hanging on to a sliver of hope is Hillsborough, which sent ace Justin Verlander to the mound yesterday for his final start of the season, and sits 2 1/2 games back of Rowdy for the final seed. The Hit Men will be rooting for Philly, Marietta, St. Louis and Hopatcong to win this weekend while they aim for a sweep in Amityville, who they're 7-4 against this season. The probable starter matchups:

HIL @ AMI
Hernandez (15-9, 3.81) v. Lester (16-6, 4.66)
Haren (12-9, 3.49) v. Weaver (14-11, 4.65)
Scherzer (6-16, 6.36) v. Hamels (14-10, 4.16)

Newark 9-game win streak snapped in slugfest

Hillsborough won their 6th in a row yesterday, a key 5-3 win over division rival Carolina. Carolina, who had been in first just a couple of weeks ago, is now in third, 4 games back. The Hitmen were outhit in last night's game 11-7, but a 3-run homer by Aubrey Huff and a solo shot by Ryan Howard were the difference. C.C. Sabathia won his 10th game, allowing 1 earned run in 7 innings, while striking out 9. Magglio Ordonez and Vernon Wells were both 3-5 in a losing cause.

Meanwhile, Newark's 9-game winning streak was snapped in an 11-10 loss at the hands of the Ant Slayers. The Ant Slayers were down 8-2 at the end of the 6th inning, but a 3-run 7th put the team back into the game. Newark took one run back in the bottom, making the score 9-5, but Amityville broke the floodgates open, scoring 6 runs in the 8th, capped off by a 2-run Torii Hunter home run. J.J. Putz pitched the last 2 innings to earn his 2nd save of the year. Hunter ended the game 2-3 with 4 RBIs and 2 home runs. Alex Rodriguez was 2-4 in his Amityville debut. Newark holds a 4 1/2 game lead over Marietta in the Hanover.

Vancouver held off a late rally by Arkansas to edge the Falcons 4-3. The Fist got off to a quick 4-0 lead, but the Falcons clawed their way back, scoring one run in both the 6th and 7th inning. J. J. Hardy hit a solo homer to bring the game to within one in the 9th, but Billy Wagner was able to work his way out of the jam to pick up his 20th save.

Matt Cain struck out 12 Buddahs en route to a 7-3 win yesterday. The Animals jumped all over starter Kyle Lohse, scoring 5 runs in the first 4 innings, before chasing Lohse in the 6th. Cain improved to 8-7 on the season.