Kershaw moves into No. 2 all-time in strikeouts

Hoboken's Clayton Kershaw moved past Pedro Martinez for No. 2 all time in strikeouts on Monday night, trailing only fellow left-hander Randy Johnson.

Halladay -- it would be so fine!

Roy Halladay, the DMBL's active leader in most every pitching category, entered rare territory after a masterful 2-0 shutout of Arkansas on Thursday night. He limited the Golden Falcons to three hits while striking out five and walking just one.

The game featured a number of career milestones for the Philly ace. It was his 19th career shutout, breaking a tie with Curt Schilling for 4th all-time, and moving into a tie with Pedro Martinez for 3rd place. The only pitchers with more DMBL shutouts are Kevin Brown (24) and Greg Maddux (32). It also was the 65th complete game of his career, breaking a tie with Randy Johnson and moving into 5th place all-time.

Halladay passed Andy Pettitte into 9th place all-time in innings pitched, and is just a trio of outs from John Smoltz for 8th place. He now stands within 1,000 innings of Maddux, the all-time leader, with 3,415 1/3 innings pitched.

Halladay set career highs last season in wins (21), innings (250 1/3), complete games (12) and shutouts (4). He originally was selected by Philly in the 9th round of the 1999 draft, pitching for the Endzone Animals in 2000. He was the 11th overall pick of the 2002 draft by Carolina, where he spent the next eight seasons, before being shipped to Philly in a blockbuster trade in January 2010. Incredibly, Halladay has made no fewer than 30 starts in any of his 11 seasons, including 10 straight, every year since 2002.

Andy's Back!

Fans were thrilled with the surprise announcement that Andy Pettitte plans a comeback to the DMBL in 2013.

The 39-year-old lefthander went 147-143 with a 5.19 ERA and 1.61 WHIP over his 16-year career spent mostly with the Jerusalem Rabbis (1996-2000) and the Stanhope Mighty Men (2001-2002). He also pitched for the Newark Sugar Bears (2003-2004), Carolina Mudcats (2005-2007), Tampa Bay Plunkers (2008) and New Jersey Team Buddah (2009-2011).

His best season was probably 1998 (his only year as an All-Star) when he went 15-7 with a 3.80 ERA and 1.50 WHIP; his worst was last year (7-13, 6.41 ERA, 1.85 WHIP), which probably explained his abrupt retirement. He appeared on seven post-season teams and won World Series rings with the Rabbis (2000) and Sugar Bears (2004).

Fans are already asking: Is his comeback an attempt to make the DMBL Hall of Fame? Possibly! A solid season from Pettitte could help him move up the career leader charts in several categories.

If he makes just one appearance next season, he'll tie Roger Clemens and Greg Maddux for most seasons by a pitcher (17).

He also needs just 3 wins to become just the 11th player in DMBL history to reach 150 wins. But he'll have a tough time catching the guy ahead of him on the list -- Philly's Roy Halladay at 153. It would take an 24-win season from Pettitte to catch the next guy on the list -- Tom Glavine at 170. But at least a few more wins would help him stay ahead of the guy in 12th place -- Carolina's Tim Hudson, who is 19 wins behind at 128. The all-time Maddux with 232.

Pettitte ranks 5th in career starts with 421; he needs 30 starts in 2013 to pass Randy Johnson (450), 32 to pass Clemens (452) and 35 to eclipse Glavine in 2nd place. But he's still a long way away from Maddux, who ranks #1 at 497.

Pettitte also ranks 10th in most innings pitched (2,430); he needs just 10 innings to pass John Smoltz for 9th place, but moving up farther would be tough -- he'd need 181 innings next season to catch Kevin Brown at 2,610, and 213 to pass Pedro J. Martinez at 2,642. Even at 200 innings a season, he'd need five to break the all-time record -- Maddux's 3,415.

He is 11th in career Ks with 1,694, but he'll have a tough time moving up the list -- Halladay is ahead of him at 1,732, and he'll likely be adding a couple hundred more to his total this season. But perhaps they can both pass Johan Santana in 9th place at 1,747. Johnson's all-time record of 3,408 appears safe.

He ranks 7th in career shutouts (16), one behind Brad Radke, two behind Curt Schilling and three behind Pedro. But right in the middle of that pack is Halladay with 18, who will likely be moving up the leaderboard himself. Brown ranks 2nd with 24, while Maddux is the all-time leader with 32.

Pettitte also ranks 3rd in hits allowed (3,023), behind Glavine (3,277) and Maddux (3,597); 3rd in earned runs allowed (1,400), behind Maddux (1,478) and Glavine (1,523); 5th in walks allowed (879), behind Al Leiter (952), Clemens (984), Johnson (1,052) and Glavine (1,053).

So, would hanging on another year or two help Pettitte's HOF chances? Probably not, unless he's a lot more effective than he has been the last few years.

In fact, some would argue that Pettitte should have retired several years earlier if he wanted a shot at a plaque in East Hanover. Over the last three years of his career, all with New Jersey Team Buddah, Pettitte went 29-40 with a 6.00 ERA and a 1.69 WHIP. Forget about those years, and Pettitte is 118-103 (.534 W%) with a 4.33 ERA and a 1.46 WHIP in 325 starts -- a better ERA and WHIP than Hall of Famer David Cone (4.42 ERA, 1.50 WHIP), and more wins than Hall of Famer Dennis Martinez (84).

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Buddahs turn losing streak into a winning streak

The Buddahs have bounced back in a big way after ending their 9-game losing streak by rolling off 4 straight against Arkansas. Yesterday Andy Pettitte and the pen held the Falcons to only 1 hit in a 2-0 win. Justin Morneau was the lone Falcon to get a hit, although 2 others reached on walks and one was hit by a pitch. The Buddahs struck out 9 Falcons in the game.

Carolina won their series against the Rat Pack with a 5-3, 11-inning win yesterday. The Cats tied the score at three in the 9th on a Delmon Young double. Then in the 11th, Prince Fielder hit a two-run homer to win the game. Evan Meek earned his first DMBL victory with a solid 4-inning performance, where he gave up only 2 hits and one run and struck out 6.

Sardine City has risen up in the ranks - remember they were the last team this year to earn a victory - and is now sitting pretty in 2nd in the Hanover Division with an 11-7 record. Yesterday the Sardines took a 3-1 decision against Bridgewater. John Lackey pitched 6 innings and allowed only 1 run, while striking out 7 to earn the win.

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.

Rollins, Pettitte claim this week's honors

Even with his team teeter-tottering on the brink of playoff contention, Jimmy Rollins can still produce a clutch performance. Rollins, this week's JR Cigars Smokin' Batter of the Week, hit .452 (14-31) this week with a stellar .514 OBP and .903 slugging percentage. Rollins also drove in 11 runs, hit 5 doubles and 3 home runs, scored 5 runs, and stole three bases.

Rollins had a lot of competition this week: New Jersey's Shane Victorino (.480/.536/.720) and Ian Stewart (.400/.500/.880, 8 R), Arkansas' Justin Morneau (.400/.444/.720, 8 R, 6 RBI), Carolina's Alex Rios (.424/.444/.606, 7 R, 6 RBI), Hillsborough's Shin-Soo Choo (.379/.419/.862, 10 RBIs, 3 HR), Blue Ridge's Prince Fielder (.393/.514/.714, 3 HR), Marietta's Adrian Gonzalez (.391/.440/.913, 3 HR, 10 RBI), and Hoboken's Hanley Ramirez (.407/.484/.852, 10 RBI, 3 HR).

Special mention goes to Hoboken's Mike Napoli, who hit 5 home runs this week and leads the league with 51 home runs on the season. Napoli broke the Cutters' single season team record for home runs, previously held by Mike Piazza.

With all those big offensive weeks, you know that the pitching is going to be thin this week. We still managed to find out diamond in the rough, and this week, the rough is in New Jersey. Andy Pettitte had a superb week, though he only could win one game. Pettitte's first game was a no-decision against D.C. where he pitched 7.2 innings and gave up only 2 earned runs, but in his second outing, he pitched a complete game shutout against Amityville. Pettitte allowed only 6 hits in the 17-0 victory. He takes this week's Let Them Sing it For You Pitcher of the Week award.

The best of the rest: Carolina's Roy Halladay (1-0, 1.98, 1.24 WHIP, 13 K), Hoboken's Jeremy Guthrie (1-0, 2.77, 0.92, 15 K), Las Vegas's A.J. Burnett (2-0, 2.70, 0.97, 13 K), and Vancouver's Jake Peavy (1-0, 2.70, 15 K).