Stanton eclipses career strikeout record, breaks into top 10 career HRs

Giancarlo Stanton supplanted Alex Rodriguez in the record books, setting a new DMBL mark for career strikeouts.

Pujols reaches 600 HRs, becomes all-time leader in games, ABs

In his final DMBL season, Pujols has settled in as primarily a platoon DH vLHP, with a few games at 1B, for Livingston, where he's had a bit of a resurgence, relatively speaking. The Dominican native also has reached some historic marks in the league's record books this year.

Miggy joins 500-HR club

Miguel Cabrera became the 5th player in DMBL history to reach 500 home runs, doing it as a member of the Empire City Trojans after bouncing around the league the past few seasons.

End Of The Line: Alex Rodriguez

End Of The Line is an occasional offseason series that will take a closer look at the career of DMBL players leaving the league after the 2016 season.

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).

Chipper leaving his mark in final season

One of the all-time great DMBLers is making the most of his retirement tour through the league. The cornerstone of the controversial yet record-setting Newark Sugar Bears dynasty, Chipper Jones will leave the DMBL among the all-time leaders in virtually every category but triples and stolen bases.

After a sluggish first half, Jones enjoyed an unexpected power surge in the third quarter of the season. Now with 23 home runs, Jones has vaulted up the all-time home run list, becoming the 6th player to reach 450 round-trippers and passing some select company. During a stretch of only about a week or so, the Brick City third basemen passed Sammy Sosa (#9, 446), Vlad Guerrero (#8, 447) and Ken Griffey, Jr. (#7, 448). Number 6 all-time is likely where he'll finish since Philly's Albert Pujols is just too far out of reach at #5, with 484.

Alex Rodriguez is the active leader in home runs. In limited playing time this season with Las Vegas, A-Rod has slowly snuck up to near 600. The suspected PED user has smacked only 9 home runs this year but is second all-time with 594, way behind Barry Bonds at 689.

Earlier in the year, Jones broke the all-time record for most doubles, eclipsing longtime teammate Manny Ramirez, who had 538. Chipper enters the season's final weeks with 562 doubles. In a more recent career milestone a couple weeks ago, Chipper jumped ahead of Manny (1,728) for second place in career RBIs, with 1,732, trailing only Bonds (2,060).

A lock to make the DMBL Hall of Fame once he becomes eligible, Jones won't catch his future HOF colleague Derek Jeter of Marietta for the all-time hits record. He's safely ensconced in second place, more than 200 hits ahead of Guerrero, with 2,809, but several dozen behind Jeter (2,877).

Jeter recaptures all-time hits record

Derek Jeter recaptured the all-time hits record just days into the 2013 season, overtaking Vladimir Guerrero, who caught the Marietta shortstop late last season.

Jeter had one hit in the season opener against Bridgewater to reach 2,700 hits. He then collected two more hits in the 19-inning nightcap of the opening day doubleheader to match Guerrero at 2,702 hits.

The 2,703rd hit of Jeter's career was an infield single to short off lefty reliever Luis Avilan in the eighth inning of Friday night's 5-3 loss at Hoboken.

It was just a year ago that Jeter tied Barry Bonds for first all-time in career hits, before surpassing Bonds during Passover. Looming not far behind, however, was Guerrero, who surpassed Jeter with a strong finish to end the 2012 season.

Chipper Jones of Newark (now Brick City) announced his final season will be 2013 and enters the year third all-time in hits, with 2,671, barely 30 behind Guerrero and Jeter. Alex Rodriguez, who came over to Las Vegas from Hopatcong in the offseason, is the only other active player in the top 10, with 2,567 hits, starting this year just eight hits behind Bonds.

Jeter began his 17th season in Marietta this year, averaging 169 hits per season. He entered the year first all-time with 2,420 games played -- an average of 142 games per year. He has never played fewer than 101 games (2011) and that was an abberation because he's played at least 150 games 13 times, and a full 162 games three times.

2k hits for Pujols, 200 SBs for Ichiro

Albert Pujols became the 14th player in DMBL history with 2,000 career hits. Philly's main man reached the milestone during the week leading up to the all-star break. While he homered off Roy Oswalt later in the game, it was a first-inning single that turned out to be 2k for Pujols. The Endzone Animals eventually topped Las Vegas for an 11-8 win, thanks to 10 runs in the last two frames, capped by a walk-off David Wright grand slam.

The first overall pick of the 2002 draft is on track to pass Mike Piazza (2,025) and Jeff Bagwell (2,047) and if he can pick up his current pace slightly (now 88 hits in 88 games), Pujols could surpass current free agent Bobby Abreu (2,089) for 11th all-time by season's end. Catching Ken Griffey, Jr. -- 10th with 2,176 hits -- would have to wait until the 2013 campaign. The Dominican native is still a few seasons away from challenging all-time hits leader Derek Jeter, who took that crown earlier this year.

(Trivia question: Who was selected second overall in the 2002 draft, after Pujols? Answer at the end of this post.)

Pujols had a career-low 161 hits in 2011, a year after his career-high 208 (when he won his second straight Mitchell Award), and has averaged 192 hits per season. He has been remarkably steady, logging at least 600 at-bats in each of his 10 seasons and playing an average of 160 games per year.

Two other players could reach the 2,000-hit mark this year: Vancouver's Todd Helton started the second half of the season needing just 13 more hits while Pujols' teammate, Ichiro Suzuki, was 29 hits away.

Ichiro reached his own career milestone this week. The Japanese import stole his 200th career base on Monday night, in the first game after the all-star break. The theft broke a tie with Chuck Knoblauch for 8th all-time. Ichiro started the year tied with Otis Nixon and Alex Rodriguez, each with 197 stolen bases.

(Trivia answer: The now-defunct Honolulu Sharks selected Oswalt -- way!)

Pudge calls it quits

When Ivan Rodriguez announced his retirement last week, he bid farewell to the DMBL for good. He had 137 plate appearances in MLB last year, leaving him 67 short of DMBL eligibility for 2012.

He certainly will be on the ballot for the DMBL Hall of Fame by 2017, and as a longtime catcher, likely will get heavy consideration on his first try. If it's not Pudge leading catchers in a career batting category, it's Mike Piazza.

Pudge spent much of his career with his original franchise, the now defunct-Columbia Crusaders. He was the face of the franchise since being selected in the 6th round (50th overall) in the 1993 draft and spent 12 seasons with the Crusaders/Rattlesnakes. He was a two-time all-star (1996 and 2001) and appeared in a DMBL-record 18 seasons.

After Columbia left the DMBL, Pudge was a bit of a vagabond catcher -- left unprotected but usually being drafted -- playing for five different teams in his final six seasons. Much of his final three years was spent as a part-time player, logging 190 games with three different squads.

Most impressively, between breaking into the DMBL in 1993 and 2008, Pudge played no fewer than 130 games a year with the exception of one season (2002, 102 games, and of course, the strike-year of 1995). He leads catchers in career hits, at-bats, doubles and games played (tantalizingly close to 500 doubles, and 2,000 "official" games), and trails Piazza in most other categories.

Entering the 2012 season, he ranked 6th all-time in games played with 1,991 -- only Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Chipper Jones, Manny Ramirez and Vlad Guerrero have "officially" played more. He also finishes 4th in doubles with 490 (surpassed only by Edgar Martinez, Chipper and Manny).

(Games played wasn't an official stat in the early days of the DMBL and many old-timers have incomplete records for the category. Rodriguez certainly played more than 2,000 games but the 1994 and 1996 seasons are incomplete, and he likely played as many as 300 games in those two years considering his number of at-bats.)

Other career stats for Pudge:

Batting average: .282
On-base: .313
Slugging: .439
OPS: .752
AB: 8,318 (7th)
H: 2,370 (7th -- ahead of Roberto Alomar, 2,207, behind A-Rod, 2,436)
HR: 263 (30th -- ahead of Javy Lopez, 260, behind Bobby Abreu, 264)
RBI:  1,100 (18th -- ahead of Rafael Palmeiro, 1,099, behind Larry Walker, 1,103)
Runs: 821 (29th)
Strikeouts: 1,359 (19th; only 378 career walks)

Pujols passes Chipper into 8th place

Philly slugger Albert Pujols leapfrogged Chipper Jones into 8th place on the all-time home run list with two homers in Wednesday night's 11-9 loss at home to Amityville. It was the 5th and 6th round-trippers of the year for Pujols, who now has 413 home runs. Chipper has one so far this season, for a career total of 412, good for 9th all-time.

The first overall pick of the 2002 DMBL draft, Pujols is far from the active league leader in home runs. Ahead of him, and still playing this season, are Vlad Guerrero of Rowdy (436), Newark's Jim Thome (514) and Alex Rodriguez of Las Vegas (563).

Guerrero needs just 10 home runs to reach slammin' Sammy Sosa for 6th all-time with 446, and another dozen to catch the legendary Ken Griffey, Jr. for No. 5, at 448.

Manny Ramirez, who has decided to take the year off to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro and get back in shape for the 2013 DMBL season, ended last year stuck with 498 home runs; only three others have more than 500 career home runs: In addition to Thome and A-Rod, Barry Bonds, who finished with more home runs than anyone in DMBL: 683 home runs.

Jeter Matches Bonds For All-Time Hits Mark

Longtime Marietta shortstop Derek Jeter tied Barry Bonds for the all-time DMBL lead in career hits, with 2,575. The record-tying hit came Friday night in the seventh inning on a groundball between first and second off Rowdy Roddy's Pipers rookie Guillermo Moscoso. Jeter came around to score what would be the winning run on a sac fly to give the Mighty Men a 6-5 decision at Home Depot Stadium.

The Captain will look to own the record today at home against the Roddy Pipers and scheduled starter Tim Hudson.

Jeter started 2012 campaign with 2,566 hits but certainly is no lock to keep the all-time hits record. He has company from a number of other active players who began the year within striking distance:
* Rowdy's Vlad Guerrero (4th/2,543)
* Newark's Chipper Jones (5th/2,537)
* Alex Rodriguez of Las Vegas (6th/2,436)

There's also Manny Ramirez, who began this season 3rd all-time with 2,545 hits (and just two HRs from 500), is sitting out the year but plans a comeback in 2013 DMBL; Jones and Guerrero already have pushed him to 5th all-time in hits since the season started.

Whether a DMBL player will stick around long enough to reach 3,000 hits remains to be seen, but it would seem the Magic 8 Ball would say, "Not likely." Chipper already has announced that he will retire after next season, so he would need about 225 hits this season and next. Meanwhile, a sizzling start in his first dozen games (18 hits in his first 42 at-bats) has moved Vlad within 14 hits of Bonds and Jeter through Friday night's games.

A-Rod, Jeter pass Manny

First it was Alex Rodriguez of Las Vegas and then it was Marietta's Derek Jeter, but both players passed Manny Ramirez for the all-time lead DMBL at-bats, during the first week of the 2012 campaign.

Ramirez was No. 1 with an even 8,800 at-bats and may eventually add to his total as he sits out 2012 to make a comeback in 2013. After Saturday's matchups, A-Rod and Jeter now rank 1-2, with 8,812 and 8,804 at-bats. The duo also started the season 1-2 in all-time games played, with Jeter at 2,267 and A-Rod at 2,260. Newark's Chipper Jones wasn't far behind at 2,243.

Jeter also looks to make history early this season, needing just 9 hits to surpass Barry Bonds as the all-time hits leader, with 2,575. He enters Sunday's doubleheaders with 4 hits on the year, sitting on 2,570.

Mallers get a little breathing room

Bridgewater gave themselves a little bit of a cushion in the Morris Division with an 8-5 win over Las Vegas. Chris Carpenter improved to 9-5 with a solid 7.2 inning effort giving up only 2 runs and striking out 6. Erick Aybar and Ben Molina each had 3 hits and Molina hit 2 homers and drove in 3 runs. Alex Rodriguez hit two home runs and drove in all 5 runs in defeat for the Rats. The Mallers opened up a 2-game lead on Vancouver, who lost 10-5 to Hoboken. Kosuke Fukudome was 5-5 and Miguel Cabrera and Adam Dunn each had 3 RBIs to lead the Cutters offense. The win broke Vancouver's 5-game winning streak.

Jorge Cantu also had a 5-for-5 day for Amityville in their 11-9 win over Arkansas. The Falcons dropped their 8th straight game. The Ant Slayers scored 6 runs in the 1st to take the early lead, but the Falcons clawed their way back and tied the game up in the 5th. A Miguel Tejada double gave the Slayers the lead back and Amityville extended their lead to 9-6. The Falcons kept trying to come back, but fell just short in the end.

And now for a game that featured almost zero offense...Hillsborough's Justin Verlander and New Jersey's Andy Pettitte were locked in a 0-0 game. The Hitmen finally broke through in the 9th, as Casey McGehee hit a walk-off single to give the Hitmen the victory. Verlander lasted 7 innings, giving up 5 hits and striking out 8, but didn't get a decision. Pettitte, who did get the loss, pitched 8.1 innings, giving up 6 hits and striking out 7.

Gutierrez, Bay bash their way to victory

Carolina, who's been in a bit of a freefall since being in first earlier this season, scored an important win over first place Vancouver. Barry Zito held the Iron Fist to 6 hits and no runs in 7 innings and struck out 9 en route to a 2-0 victory. Mat Latos pitched an impressive game for the losing end, giving up only 1 earned run on 3 hits in 7 innings, but it wasn't enough. The win was just the 3rd in the last 10 for Carolina.

Jason Bay's 2 home runs propelled the Mighty Men to a 7-5 win over Hoboken. Alberto Callaspo was also 3-4 in the game for the Mighty Men, who preserved their 5 game lead in the Hanover Division. The Mighty Men have dealt with injuries to their outfield, but have continued to play top shelf ball, currently riding a 3 game winning streak.

The Mallers slump continued as they were mercilessly shelled by the Sugar Bears 13-3. Jorge Posada was 4-5 with 3 RBIs and Mike Cameron had 5 RBIs for Newark. Brad Bergesen held the Mallers to just 5 hits. The Mallers have now fallen into 4th place in the Morris Division. Last week the Mallers lost 7 in a row to fall out of first place and hope that these last two games aren't an indication of a new streak.

Franklin Gutierrez hit 3 home runs - but drove in only 4 - to lead Team Buddah to a 7-5 win over Amityville. The Buddahs' offense has apparently awoken in the last few games, as the 7 runs was the lowest total in their last 5 games. The Buddahs have won the last 4 games, scoring 8 runs twice and 16 once. Buddah also score 8 runs in their last loss to Hoboken. They've got a long way to go, however, sitting 16 1/2 games out of first and 11 1/2 out of a playoff spot.

Remember when Alex Rodriguez was struggling for the Rat Pack shortly after being acquired from Amityville? Well that seems like a long time ago now with A-Rod tearing the cover off the ball. A-Rod is now hitting .284/.357/.670 since joining the Rat Pack with 11 homers and 22 RBIs. Yesterday, A-Rod again led the offense with 2 homers and 5 RBIs, but the Rats dropped a 9-7 decision to Sardine City.

Greinke stymies Buddahs, improves to 8-0

Yesterday we got another stellar performance from Vancouver's Zack Greinke, pitching 7 innings and holding the Buddahs to 1 run on 5 hits while striking out 9 and walking 3. Greinke improved to 8-0 on the season in the 3-2 win. Also of note...Ron Belisario closed out the 9th to earn his 7th save. Vancouver has now leads the league with 18 saves and has yet to blow a save. This all despite rostering any veteran closers. Belisario and Joe Thatcher (8 saves) have earned the bulk of the team's saves, but 3 other pitchers have 1 save apiece.

Bridgewater rolled off their 6th straight victory, a 6-1 defeat of fraternal rival Matthew's Mighty Men. The Mallers have now opened up a 2 1/2 game lead in the Morris Division. Paul Konerko was 3-4 with a double and homer and 2 RBIs and Erik Bedard struck out 7 in 6.2 innings to earn his 2nd win of the year.

Meanwhile, Las Vegas has taken advantage of the Mighty Men's struggles, inching up the ranks to 3 games behind the Hanover Division leader. The Rats beat the Bombers 6-1 yesterday behind Alex Rodriguez's 2 homers and 4 RBIs. The team had become increasingly frustrated with A-Rod, who was acquired recently from Amityville. Rodriguez had been 1-24 entering yesterday's game with 15 strikeouts. "Hopefully he woke up from his nonsense" said team skipper Eric Wickstrom. "I know Vegas has just a little more distractions than Amityville, but at least there are no swarms of flies breaking into his home or anything."

Old time rivals Arkansas and Newark faced off and, before the game, made a bunch of moves to try to shake their teams out of slumps. Looks like it worked for the Sugar Bears who routed the Falcons 10-4. The Sugar Bears sent the Drew brothers down to the minors along with franchise hero Chipper Jones. The replacements came through in the game - Asdrubal Cabrera had 2 RBIs and Chase Headley was 2-4. Things were 50-50 for the Falcons, as new catcher Jason Varitek hit a 3-run homer in his Arkansas debut, but leadoff hitter Scott Podsednik was 0-5 and new shortstop Julio Lugo was 0-3.

Bronson Arroyo gave up 6 runs in 7.2 innings, but earned his first win of the year anyway with the Endzone Animals pounding the Sardines 17-6 yesterday. Four Philly hitters had 3 hits each and Mark Teixeira had 4 RBIs. Yes, Albert Pujols hit his league-leading 25th home run. He now leads in that category by 11 homers.

Future aces duke it out in New Jersey

A battle of two possible future DMBL pitching stars took place between Vancouver's Mat Latos and New Jersey's Rick Porcello yesterday. Porcello pitched well, giving up 2 runs in 7.1 innings, but it was Vancouver that escaped with a 2-1 win. Latos pitched 5 innings giving up 1 run on 4 hits, but he walked 4 and was removed without earning a decision. The Fist won the game in the 8th on a Michael Bourn single, extending their winning streak to 5 games.

Hillsborough kept pace, winning their 4th straight game, a 12-3 drubbing of Amityville. Carlos Lee was 3-4 with 2 homers and 5 RBIs and Kelly Shoppach was 2-5, also with 2 homers and 4 RBIs. Hillsborough remains tied with Carolina and Vancouver for 2nd place in the Morris Division.

Alex Rodriguez made his Rat Pack debut in a game that saw the Rats pummel the Bombers 8-1. And A-Rod's contribution? 0-5 with 3 strikeouts...but he did pitch in $10 towards pizza after the game, so that was nice of him. Meanwhile, Yunel Escobar, Matt Holliday, and Curtis Granderson each had 3 hits to lead the Rat Pack offense. Vegas moved to one game over .500 with the win.

A-Rod gets shipped out again

There was a blockbuster trade announced this morning between the Las Vegas Rat Pack and the Amityville Ant Slayers. The Rat Pack has acquired slugging third baseman Alex Rodriguez and their 6th round pick in next year's draft for Matt Kemp, Jay Bruce, and Jorge Cantu. Rodriguez joins his 4th team in the past 3 years. Amityville acquired Rodriguez midseason last year from Philadelphia, who acquired A-Rod from Arkansas in the offseason that year for Johan Santana. Rodriguez is only batting .221 this season but has 6 homers, 20 runs, and 18 RBIs and a decent .781 OPS. Will A-Rod bounce back in the Vegas heat or will he continue to struggle?

First place Marietta has displayed some chinks in their armor, dropping their third straight yesterday - a 3-2 loss to Vancouver. Despite the losing skid, Marietta still holds a healthy 5-game lead in the Hanover Division.

Carolina falls, but Sardines still rule the cellar

Carolina finally fell, 6-4 to the Endzone Animals. The Mudcats could only muster 4 hits total, though one of them was a 3-run homer by Aramis Ramirez. Other than the one gopher ball, Philly starter Jered Weaver pitched brilliantly, lasting 8 innings and walking only 2.

While the Mudcats ended their streak, the Straphangers had no such luck, descending to 0-4 on the season after a 3-0 loss to Team Buddah. Andy Pettitte pitched 6 innings of 5-hit ball to earn the win. The Buddahs only managed 5 hits as well, though 3 of them were doubles. Cole Hamels took the loss despite allowing only 2 hits in 5 innings (the 6 walks probably didn't help though).

Hoboken shut down the once-mighty Sugar Bears 3-1. Starter Mark Buehrle tossed 8 innings, allowing only one run on 8 hits. Denard Span was 3-4, leading the Hoboken offense. "It's almost as if our team thinks they're still on vacation" said Sugar Bear manager Don Mattingly.

All eyes were on 2010 first round pick Brett Anderson, but it was Randy Wolf who won the duel. Anderson was tagged for 4 runs on 10 hits in 7 innings - not a horrible debut - but Wolf allowed only 2 runs and 4 hits in 6 innings and earned the win in the 4-3 contest. Alex Rodriguez was 2-4 in the contest and drove in all the runs on two home runs.

Vancouver and Blue Ridge battled it out in a tight one yesterday. With the score tied at 5 in the 8th, Blue Ridge took a tenuous 6-5 lead. Closer Francisco Rodriguez was unable to hold it though, despite getting the first two outs in the inning. Rodriguez walked Michael Cuddyer and then promptly served up a 2-run dinger to Garrett Jones. Joe Thatcher retired the final three batters in the ninth to earn his second save of the season.

Mighty Men streak ends at 10

Two more teams have been mentioned in trade rumors. Hoboken and Sardine City, both likely to be sellers, have put out announcements that several players are available. The Cutters have made it known that second baseman Ian Kinsler could be had, though we suspect that he won't be going anywhere. Meanwhile Sardine City has put up half their team, mostly role players and relievers.

Newark ended Marietta's 10-game winning streak with a 5-3 victory. Chien-Ming Wang improved to 17-3 on the season with a solid 7-inning effort. Chipper Jones hit a 2-run homer in the 7th to give the Sugar Bears the lead. Jones was 4-4 with 3 RBIs in the game. The Sugar Bears gain a bit of a cushion, pushing the Mighty Men out to 1 1/2 games.

Alex Rodriguez and Torii Hunter carried the Amityville Ant Slayers to a 13-3 win over Blue Ridge. A-Rod was 2-4 with 6 RBIs and Hunter was 4-5 with 5 RBIs, as both players hit two home runs each. Chris Volstad was the recipient of the run support, improving to 10-9 and holding the Bombers to 1 run on 4 hits in 7 innings.

Justin Verlander struck out 10 and yielded 5 hits in 8 innings of work as the Hired Hitmen took out the O-Bombers 7-3. Freddy Sanchez and Mike Lowell each hit 2 home runs and drove in 3 RBIs to lead the Hillsborough offense. The Hitmen are now up by 4 games in the Morris Division.

Derrek Lowe held the Buddahs to 3 hits in 8 shutout innings to lead the Rat Pack to a 2-0 final. Ichiro Suzuki was 3-3 as the Rats dealt Jamie Moyer his 5th loss in 5 decisions. The Rats are 5 1/2 games out of first.

Hoboken's Matt Garza had the other shutout of the night, pitching 8.1 innings of 5 hit ball, while striking out 7 Straphangers. Josh Johnson, returning from the disabled list, pitched 6 solid innings, giving up 2 runs on 4 hits and 4 walks, while striking out 8. Johnson fell to 3-14 on the season.

Not a creature was stirring, except an Endzone Animal

Yeah I know we said we'd take a vacation, but the Endzone Animals just had to wake us out of hibernation.

The Animals have been extremely busy on Christmas Eve Eve, completing three deals in the span of a few hours. The first deal sent third baseman Troy Glaus to division rival Vancouver in exchange for a 5th round draft pick. The acquisition of Glaus likely spells doom for incumbent third baseman Mike Lowell.

Next on the agenda, and the biggest deal of the three, was sending ace pitcher Johan Santana to another divisional rival, Arkansas, in exchange for superstar slugger Alex Rodriguez. Neither player performed up to expectations last season (yes the Falcons expected even more out of A-Rod than a .993 OPS!), so a change of scenery may work out well for both.

Finally, in another deal with a divisional foe, the Animals acquired pitcher Shawn Marcum from D.C. in exchange for two mid-level draft picks. Marcum was 11-8 with a 4.93 ERA last year for the Bushslappers and should slot in to the 4th or 5th spot in the rotation.