Arkansas, Poovey last 21 innings

Arkansas and Poovey Farms went 21 innings last Tuesday night in the longest game of the season, just one inning short of the longest game in DMBL history.

ASG candidates: Micro starters

The Micro Conference doesn't seem to have the depth at starting pitcher that the Diamond Conference has, but that doesn't mean there's no all-star quality names to consider for the potential roster.

If no-hitters are a qualification for your all-star ballot, then Vancouver's Johnny Cueto is your man. His no-no in June helped his otherwise to-this-point mediocre stats and fueled an Iron First resurgence after a slow start. He's now 7-5 and lowered his ERA to 3.81 and his WHIP to 1.21. Teammate Matt Latos deserves a look, with a lower ERA (3.05), WHIP (1.18) and better winning percentage, 7-4.

Rookie Tanner Roark is probably the least-heralded name in the Allentown rotation but he leads the squad with a 2.88 ERA (good for 10th in the league) and stands at 7-5. Lefty David Price is the veteran of the rotation, and despite just an 8-7 mark, he's among the league leaders in WHIP (1.01), strikeouts (126), innings (127.1) and complete games (5) to go with 2 shutouts. A couple of other Mules might warrant consideration. Hishahi Iwakuma is 7-3 with a 3.12 ERA and 1.18 WHIP while John Lackey is 8-6 with a 3.81 ERA and 1.20 WHIP. Roark and Lackey also have a conference-leading 12 quality starts.

Collin McHugh is the strongest candidate for Poovey Farms. He is second in the conference with a 1.04 WHIP and stands at 9-4 with a 3.07 ERA.

Hoboken is led by an unlikely candidate. Hiroki Kuroda, in his final season, is tops in the conference with 10 wins, to go with 11 quality starts, 3.12  ERA and 1.17 WHIP. Two other Cutters are on opposite sides of the ballot. Despite a 4.59 ERA, Kyle Lohse has been lucky enough to go 9-4 while Clayton Kershaw is just 6-7 despite leading the league virtually all year in strikeouts (150) and among the most innnings pitched (121.7). He's also third in K/BB (6.5) and though his 3.77 ERA isn't all-star like he sports a 1.17 WHIP and 3 complete games.

Corey Kluber is Sardine City's best hope for an all-star starter. Another candidate with a weak record (6-5), the righty is carrying the rotation, with a league-high 5 complete games, in addition to 2 shutouts. He's also among the conferences elite in strikeouts (123) and WHIP (1.14) and innings (118.2).

Blue Ridge dealt its best pitcher, Jon Lester, earlier in the year. He was 6-3 with a 2.72 ERA in 12 starts. Now the Bombers are left with Matt Garza as their best hope. Though he's 5-6, the veteran righty has a 3.64 ERA and among the conference's best in WHIP (1.12) and quality starts (11).

Arkansas ripped off a huge winning streak toward the midway point of the season, thanks mostly to its offense, but Matt Shoemaker and Alex Cobb have been among the beneficiaries. Shoemaker has improved to 8-4 with a 1.14 WHIP though his 4.05 ERA could be a turn-off. Cobb has the better ERA (3.28) but weaker WHIP (1.26) yet he's 7-5 in 10 quality starts. Rookie Marcus Stroman also is 7-5 with a 1.17 WHIP and 3.82 ERA.

Spring training review

Will success in what is essentially 30 practice games translate into wins in the regular season? Who knows, but let's take a look at the 2013 spring training results and see if we can't take away some kind of predictions for teams and players.

If spring training is any indication, the four division winners would be Philly, Blue Ridge, Las Vegas and Rowdy. Hopatcong would settle for a wildcard and the other wild card would be decided via tiebreaker between Hillsborough and Amityville.

Philly (21-9) edged out three teams for the best record, one game better than Las Vegas, Hopatcong, and Blue Ridge (20-10). Seven teams finished .500 or better, including three at .500. Livingston and Marietta brought up the rear, finishing 11-19. A six-game winning streak by Rowdy to complete spring training saved the Van Slyke division from having all four squads finish below .500. The coldest teams to conclude the spring were Hillsborough and Newark, both losing five straight.

Philly and Las Vegas led the league in runs with 163 (5.4/game) while Newark (which has since changed its name to Brick City Batmen) packed the weakest punch (98/3.3). On the flip side, Philly and Hopatcong yielded the fewest earned runs (98/3.3) compared with Sardine City's league-high (140/4.7). Boston sported the worst run differential at -41, with Bridegewater next at -32.

Some of the biggest names in the league sat all spring, among them Marietta closer Mariano Rivera and Hoboken ace Clayton Kershaw. Other big names got a taste of playing time, such as Hillsborough's Justin Verlander and top overall draft pick Kris Medlen of Las Vegas.

PITCHING

Hopatcong's Jake Peavy made a case for being a McDonald candidate this spring, leading the league with a 0.91 WHIP, 8.6 R/9 and 48.3 innings pitched (tied with Newark rookie Yu Darvish). Peavy, who made all of one start for the Floating Fish last year (the season finale), tied with Philly's Trevor Cahill and Jarrod Parker of Amityville for the most victories and best record at 5-0. Peavy also was among the top 10 in ERA (2.98, 7th) and strikeouts (26, T-5th).

Peavy's competition for best pitcher of the spring came mostly from Parker, who was tops among starters in ERA (1.54) and also quality starts (6, tied with Phil Hughes of Blue Ridge). Other impressive performances came from Hopatcong veteran Andy Pettitte, coming back from a year off, who finished 3-1 with a 2.20 ERA, including two complete games and a shutout. Darvish led the league in strikeouts (41) and K/9 (7.6) but also walks (33).

Leading the league in saves, tied with 12, were Blue Ridge's David Hernandez and Philly's Ryan Cook, and between them only blew one (Hernandez). Cook did not allow an earned run -- and only two hits -- in 13.7 innings. Other stellar relievers this spring were Octavio Dotel of Livingston and Vancouver's Brad Ziegler. Both sported league-best WHIPs of 0.80, along with respective ERAs of 0.83 and 1.15.

The Blue Ridge bullpen also saw the top two relievers in holds, Tim Byrdak (7) and Mitchell Boggs (6). Boston had two of the busiest relievers, with Rafael Soriano tops in appearances with 20, followed by teammate Greg Holland with 19, who tied with Bridgewater lefty Robbie Ross. Amityville's Craig Kimbrel looks poised to avoid a sophomore slump, compiling seven saves in 11 games, with 16 strikeouts in 12.3 innings, good for 11.7 K/9. He also had a sterling 0.73 ERA and 0.65 WHIP.

An impressive bullpen was found in Arkansas where three relievers had ERAs of less than 1.00 (Casey Fien, Sergio Romo and Drew Storen). Fien was a workhorse, logging 28.7 innings in 17 games, while sporting 0.63 ERA and 0.66 WHIP.

The Falcons also boasted a triumvirate of impressive rookies in their rotation. Matt Harvey, drafted as an ineligible prospect last year, ranked third in the league with 32 strikeouts, going 3-2 with a respectable 4.50 ERA and 1.33 WHIP. Four of A.J. Griffin's six starts for Arkansas were considered quality. The first-rounder went 2-4 with a 4.30 ERA and 1.23 WHIP while logging a team-high 44 IP. Second-rounder Alex Cobb was perhaps most impressive, compiling an ERA of 2.52 and 1.23 WHIP, with 3 wins against 2 losses.

Hillsborough kept the reins on Justin Verlander, who made just three starts but six appearances this spring. He had an impressive shutout but his spring totals were hardly Verlander-esque: 5.91 ERA, 1.73WHIP. The Hit Men's first-round selection saw more action but not much success: Lance Lynn compiled a 5.08 ERA and 1.49 WHIP while going 1-2 in six starts.

Even first overall pick Kris Medlen had to shake off some cobwebs this spring, going 1-1 with a mediocre 4.05 ERA but a 1.10 WHIP for Las Vegas. The Rat Pack's second first-rounder, reliever Huston Street, made 11 appearances with a 3.68 and 1-0 mark.

Next time we'll take a look at the batting stars of spring training and the rest of the 2013 first-rounders.