Greinke becomes 6th to 200 wins

Zack Greinke became the 6th pitcher in DMBL history to reach 200 wins in Hillsborough's 7-2 victory over Empire City on Wednesday night.

End Of The Line: A.J. Burnett

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. Today, we look at Allan James "A..J." Burnett, who leaves his mark on the league in a number of ways.

Diamond Conference all-star starting pitcher possibilities

The leading vote-getter among starting pitchers on All-Star ballots will be awarded the distinction of starting the midseason classic. Who will that be? Let's look at the contenders for the Diamond Conference's five starting spots:

"I might start the All-Star Game?!?"

If your ballot goes straight up by most wins, you're man would be Durham's Sonny Gray (11-3). No one can catch him and he has a chance to add another W in Friday's scheduled start versus Hillsborough. So far, he's also struck out 108 in 108 innings.

Ivan Nova (10-4) of Marietta and San Francisco's A.J. Burnett (10-4) both won their final starts before the break on Tuesday but you'd have to overlook their respective 3.38 ERA/1.41 WHIP and 5.08 ERA/1.50 WHIP. For Burnett, you'd also have to take the extra step of writing him in on the ballot.

Your ballot does include two San Francisco starters worthy of consideration: Chris Sale (8-5) and Anibal Sanchez (9-4). Sanchez is headed toward the break leading the Diamond in ERA (2.35), with 111 Ks (3rd) through 111 innings and second only to Gray (.572) in OPS (.605). Sale has the better WHIP (1.05) than Sanchez (1.19), if not the better ERA (3.56) while throwing more innings (113.7) and fewer strikeouts (102). Sanchez is tied for the conference lead with 13 quality starts.

If a classic power pitcher is what you're looking for, Hillsborough's Max Scherzer (9-5, 3.15) leads the conference in strikeouts with 119. He's also among the conference leaders in innings pitched (114.3), and second only to Bartolo Colon in WHIP (1.08). He's scheduled to face Durham on Friday night.

Sorry Bartolo, it's just too darn easy

In Livingston, the safe bet is to cast a ballot for the always reliably stellar Felix Hernandez (8-4, 3.82), however, he just hit the DL for almost a month. But he might not even have the best numbers on his team as the Lords of Swing boast three 8-game winners.

The ageless Bartolo Colon (8-2, 3.12), who's made 13 starts, ranks first in the conference in WHIP (0.99) and third in OPS (.608). He also has the best runs created ERA (2.30) if that's what you're into and a league-best 1.0 BB/9. There's also Chris Archer (8-3, 3.53) and Tyson Ross (7-3, 3.82) who join King Felix with more than 100 innings. Hernandez also already has reached the century mark in Ks. Where Colon really separates from this group is WHIP, where the trio's numbers don't appear all-star like: Hernandez (1.35), Archer (1.38) and Ross (1.43). Ross tops them all with 11 quality starts, good for fourth in the conference but Archer and Colon are scheduled to start Friday and Saturday, respectively, in their last chance to impress voters.

Gray isn't the only Bull enjoying a good first half in Durham. Kris Medlen (8-4, 3.55) leads the conference in innings pitched at 119 and with Sanchez in quality starts. Another 8-game winner for the Bulls is Stephen Strasburg (8-3, 3.79) though his 1.32 WHIP is a few notches higher than Medlen's 1.24.

Two-time first-round pick C.C. Sabathia of Empire City improved to 9-5 with a win Wednesday night in his 17th start, though his ERA (3.94) and WHIP (1.48) might scare off some voters. Teammate Chris Tillman is a respectable 7-5 but sports slightly better stats (3.76 ERA/1.31 WHIP). Hopatcong's James Shields has always been a workhorse and his 117.3 innings in the first half show it. It's his 9-7 record, 3.99 ERA and 1.27 WHIP that could keep him off ballots.

When healthy, Marietta's Clay Buchholz (8-2, 2.76) looks like he's been strong in only 10 starts, with 64 Ks in 68 innings but has a 1.35 WHIP. He'll have a chance to add to those numbers Saturday versus San Francisco. Teammate Adam Wainwright, a former McDonald Award winner, has powered the Mighty Men's rotation with 116 innings but is only 6-5 to show for it with a 4.32 ERA and 1.30 WHIP.

Tomorrow: A look at the possibilities for Micro Conference starting pitchers.

Bailey twirls Bridgewater's first no-hitter

Another trophy for the mantle

Homer Bailey was one batter away from the first perfect game in DMBL history but had to settle for tossing the 12th no-hitter in league history and the first ever for the Bridgewater franchise. Bailey struck out 10 in blanking Sardine City 3-0 on Sunday at The Cannery.

It's the first no-hitter in the DMBL since August 2012 when Hopatcong's Josh Tomlin no-hit Hillsborough.

Bailey's only blemish was the sixth inning. The Mallers right-hander retired the first 17 batters before walking the No. 9 hitter, Marco Scutaro, and followed that up with a wild pitch before retiring Christian Yelich. Of Bailey's 120 pitches, 76 were strikes.

Bridgewater got their offense from a second-inning solo home run by catcher Brian McCann, an RBI single that Carlos Beltran tried to stretch into a double that ended the third, and a solo shot from Jose Reyes in the seventh. Dillon Gee went 7 innings, allowing 8 hits and 3 runs to take the loss for the Straphangers.

The almost-28-year-old (he turns 28 on May 3) has struggled in the first month of the season, twice going 4+ innings, leaving in the 3rd with an injury, and lasting just 1 inning in another start. Despite that, Bailey even his record to 1-1, lowering his ERA to 5.70, with a 1.18 WHIP. He's now fourth in the league with 11.0 strikeouts per 9 innings. The no-no is a bright spot in what's been a tough start for the Mallers, who suffered through a 10-game skid earlier and stand at 6-16 through Sunday's doubleheader.

At least the last three no-hitters in the league have been firsts for their franchises. Tomlin's was the first for Hopatcong and earlier that year, Ubaldo Jimenez and Jason Motte combined to toss Sardine City's first-ever no-no.

Second-half winners and losers

Powered by a 15-game win streak, and winning 20 of 21 games in the final quarter of the season, Blue Ridge had the biggest turnaround in the second half. The 13-game improvement pushed the Bombers to a 45-34 record but it wasn't enough to clinch a playoff berth. Despite an eight-game drop-off in the second half, it was Arkansas that held on to secure the sixth and final playoff spot. The Golden Falcons enjoyed a 43-39 first half but stumbled to a 35-45 mark in the second half.

The Fisk division had two of the top turnarounds in the second half. Livingston Lords of Swing finished 69-93 overall but nearly went .500 in the second half, going 40-41 -- 11 wins better than their 29-51 first half.

Had the playoffs been based on the second half standings, it would have been Blue Ridge that had the sixth-best record. The only other change to the final playoff setup -- had they been based on the second half standings -- was Hoboken and Vancouver changing places as the 3rd and 4th seeds, respectively, thanks to the Cutters' six-game improvement versus the Iron Fist's five-game decline.

Both the league's top two teams remained consistent, with Philly notching 58 wins in the second half, after a 59-win first half, staying one game better than Las Vegas, which went 57-23 in the second half after a 56-26 first half. Brick City had the worst record in the second half, going 26-54, four wins fewer than they had in the first half. The biggest drops in the second half were by Bridgewater, 14 fewer wins and Amityville, 11 fewer wins.

Kruk
Philly, 58-22 (+1)
Hopatcong, 47-34 (-3)
Bridgewater, 26-53 (-14)
Brick City, 26-54 (-4)

Drabek
Las Vegas, 57-23 (-1)
Arkansas, 35-45 (-8)
Hillsborough, 35-46 (-2)
Amityville, 32-46 (-11)

Van Slyke
Hoboken, 52-30 (+6)
Rowdy, 37-42 (-2)
Marietta, 33-47 (0)
Boston, 31-47 (+2)
Fisk
Vancouver, 50-32 (-5)
Blue Ridge, 45-34 (+13)
Livingston, 40-41 (+11)
Sardine City, 37-45 (+1)

Next up, we'll take a look at the best individual performances during the second half of the 2013 season.

Career Retrospective: Chris Carpenter

If it's the last that the DMBL will see of Chris Carpenter he certainly went out in a blaze of glory.

Carpenter, who will turn 38 later this month, recently said he fears that he may never pitch again after continuing symptoms from a blot clot in his shoulder. And don't confuse him for the soon-to-be 48-year-old Cris Carpenter, whose career consisted of eight relief appearances in 1993 with Austin.

Carpenter arguably saved his best seasons for last, tasting postseason glory in two of his final three years. He was on the mound in Game 7 to clinch the Bridgewater's first title in 2010, striking out 10 and walking two while going the distance to secure a 7-1 win over Newark. Marietta's rotation was so stacked last season that he didn't make an appearance in the Mighty Men's four-game sweep of Vancouver in the DMBL World Series.

The New Hampshire native pitched nine seasons across 13 years in the DMBL. He broke in with Columbia as the first pick of the fifth round in the 1999 draft. He spent two seasons there (only 34 starts) before a brief three-game stint with Philly in 2001. After few years off, Carpenter came back strong in 2005 when Tijuana made him its first-round selection (11th overall, after Khalil Greene and before Danny Kolb). He made the move with the franchise to South Boston, and won a career-high 17 games in 2006 before splitting 2007 between South Boston and Vancouver. The Gang dealt him straight up to the Iron First for Prince Fielder.

Then, Carpenter was hit with the injury bug again, taking off 2008 and 2009 before finishing his career with a flourish. Bridgewater (which still played in D.C. at the time) wisely plucked Carpenter in Round 7 of the 2009 draft as an ineligible player, since he was still recovering from Tommy John surgery. He returned in glorious fashion, going 16-10 with career bests of 3.59 ERA, 1.24 WHIP and nine complete games, in leading them to the postseason.

After bringing Bridgewater its first championship, Carpenter was dealt to Marietta in a complex, three-way deal involving Las Vegas, which included the likes of Josh Hamilton, David Price, Mark Teixeira and Alex Gordon, among others.

Carpenter made his name as a gutty workhorse in the clutch, eclipsing 200 innings in his last three seasons, including a career-high 234.3 (and career-high 179 Ks) in 2011 with the Mighty Men. Over his career, he averageD one complete game every eight starts; his 26 complete games (along with seven shutouts) rank in the top 20 all-time, in just 221 career starts (11.75 percent CG %). His seven shutouts ties him for 20th all-time, with seven other pitchers, including several still active.

Carpenter is 88-73 (.537), which ranks him about 30th in all-time wins, tied with Jason Schmidt, one better than Hideo Nomo and Henderson Alvarez, and one behind David Wells. He posted six winning seasons and lost precisely 10 games in four different seasons (only one of which was under .500). Interestingly, Nomo was the last pick of the 4th round in 1999, by Arkansas, just before Carpenter. He has a career ERA of 4.67 ERA and WHIP of 1.39.

Hall of Fame? Not quite. Damn fine career? You bet!

Wild Day Ends Regular Season

After 162 games, and a myriad potential tiebreakers heading into yesterday's finale, the 2012 playoff teams have been determined:

#1 Marietta, 107-55
#2 Vancouver, 92-70
#3 Hopatcong, 90-72
#4 Amityville, 89-73
#5 Hoboken, 87-75
#6 Newark, 87-75

Amityville will host Hoboken to open the playoffs on Wednesday while Newark will visit Hopatcong to open their best-of-five series on Thursday, a rematch of the three-game set this past weekend.

Hoboken beat Marietta, 5-2, eliminating Hillsborough and Bridgewater (despite their 8-6 extra-inning win over Philly). The Cutters clinched the playoffs outright when Rowdy's bullpen blew a lead and lost 5-2 to St. Louis. A Pipers' win would have forced a playoff. Hoboken jumped into the #5 seed when Newark lost to Hopatcong, 5-4, finishing with the same record but a 6-4 advantage over the Sugar Bears during the season.

Young Snatches Batting Title From V-Mart

Michael Young caught Victor Martinez on the final day of the season to win the batting title, .333 to .332.

Batting out of the five-hole, Rowdy's third baseman collected 2 hits in 3 at-bats, including an all-important walk in his final plate appearance. Young was on-deck when Carl Crawford ended the game on a flyout to center. He finished the season with a league-high 222 hits in 672 at-bats (.333333).

Batting cleanup for the Mallers, Martinez went 1 for 5 to finish the year with 161 hits in 485 hits, for a batting average of .331958.

Season Finale Playoff Scenarios

The final playoff spots will be determined one way or another today, the last day of the 2012 season.

If the playoffs were to start today, the seeds would look like this:
#1 Marietta, 107-54
#2 Vancouver, 92-70
#3 Hopatcong, 89-72
#4 Amityville, 88-73
#5 Newark, 87-74
#6 Rowdy, 86-75
#6 Hoboken, 86-75
 -----------------------------------
#8 Bridgewater, 85-76, 1 game back
#8 Hillsborough, 85-76, 1 game back

Marietta and Vancouver have locked up the top two seeds, meaning a first-round bye and hosting the second round of the playoffs. If the standings hold, there would be a one-game playoff between Hoboken and Rowdy for the 6th and final seed.

Other scenarios going into Saturday's season finale:
Hopatcong
The Floating Fish clinched their first-ever division title after Thursday's win over Newark and they control their own destiny when it comes to a 3rd seed.
* Win -- clinches #3 seed outright and would face the #6 seed in the first round.
* Lose -- clinches #3 seed if Amityville also loses; if Amityville wins, they go to tie-breakers to determine #3 seed.

Amityville
The Ant Slayers also clinched their first division title earlier this week so they can't do worse than a #4 seed, but they need Hopatcong to lose if they have any hopes to jump to #3.
* Win -- hope Hopatcong loses to Newark to finish in a tie at 89-73, forcing a tie-breaker for the third seed.
*  Lose -- even if Hopatcong loses, Amityville finishes a game behind at 88-74, in the #4th seed, which would face the #5 seed in round one.

Newark
* Win -- clinches #5 seed. The Sugar Bears could finish with a better record than Amityville if the Ant Slayers lose, but as a division winner, Amityville would be the #4 seed.
* Lose -- clinches #5 seed if Rowdy and Hoboken lose but if either wins, they finish in a tie with them, so there's the potential for a three-way tie at 87 wins.

Rowdy
* Win -- clinches a minimum of a one-game playoff depending on Hoboken's outcome and eliminates Bridgewater and Hillsborough. The Pipers would secure #6 seed outright if they beat St. Louis and Hoboken loses to Marietta, and they would tie Newark for #5 seed if Sugar Bears lose.
* Lose -- hope Hoboken loses also, to force a tie; if Hoboken wins, Rowdy is out. If Bridgewater and Hillsborough both win, they tie Rowdy in this scenario.

Hoboken
* Win -- clinches at least another game to play and knocks out Hillsborough and Bridgewater. If Rowdy also wins, it sets up a one-game playoff for the #6 seed. If Newark also loses, the three teams finish in a tie for the two wild card seeds. A tie-breaker is avoided if Rowdy loses and the Cutters do no worse than the #6 seed.
* Lose -- root for Rowdy to lose to St. Louis, to set up that one-game playoff.

Bridgewater and Hillsborough
* Win -- The gentle neighbors to the west are in the same boat; they need losses by Rowdy and Hoboken to finish in at least a tie for the #6 seed. There's the potential for a four-way tie at 86-76. The Mallers phace Philly while the Hit Men take on Amityville.
* Lose -- See you in 2013.

Batting Title Comes Down To Final Day

The duel for the batting title will come down to today's season finale.

Rowdy's Michael Young went 2-for-5 to gain ground on Victor Martinez, who never came off the bench for Bridgewater Friday night. The two are expected to start today, with Young facing starter Mark Buehrle and Martinez facing Philly (a scheduled starter TBD since Matt Garza went down for 10 days in his last start).

Entering today's games, Martinez leads the batting race with a .33333 average, ahead of Young and his .331838 clip.

Batting second in the Pipers' lineup, Young was able to get 5 at-bats last night. If V-Mart goes hitless in 4 at-bats that would open the door for Young, who then would need just 1 hit in 5 at-bats to sneak past him. Assuming Young gets another 5 at-bats, and Martinez 4, he essentially needs two more hits than Martinez. In most scenarios, if Young outhits Martinez by just one, he falls short by about .0001.

A Duel For Batting Title Heading Into Final Weekend

It's been almost a foregone conclusion for some time that a Bridgewater Maller or a Rowdy Roddy Piper will go home with the 2012 batting title. For the last few weeks, the top three batters in the league hail from those two squads, as well as four of the top five and six of the top 10.

Bridgewater DH/catcher Victor Martinez holds the edge at the moment, batting .333 (160-480, .333333) followed by veteran Michael Young of Rowdy, hitting .331 (220-664, .331325). Each have two games to play after yesterday's off day. Martinez has started 49 games at catcher and 67 at DH while Young has started 159 (of Rowdy's 160 games) at third base.

Assuming Young gets 8 at-bats in the final two games versus St. Louis, 4 hits would push him into an even tie with Martinez at .333333 -- if Martinez were to not get any at-bats, that is. A sizzling 5 hits over two games (assuming the 8 ABs) would mean a .334821 batting average for Young and time for Martinez to start looking over his shoulder. Anything less than three hits in 8 ABs (which would lift his average to .331845) and Young will have to hope for Martinez to swing and miss regularly.

Martinez tends to sit against lefties, though he's hit them well in only 78 at-bats (.372/.424/.500). Tonight's scheduled starter for Philly is Travis Wood, potentially leaving just one start for Martinez, or 4 at-bats out of the cleanup spot. Should he go hitless, he would finish at .331 (.330578), a 1-for-4 night would leave him at .333 (.332644), while 3-for-4 would essentially put the crown out of reach for Young at .336776. Of course, if V-Mart comes off the bench, there's always the pinch-hit opportunity, which would mean an additional at-bat, maybe two.

It's Young who's likely to finish as the league leader in overall hits, now sitting on 220, leading Bridgewater's Jose Reyes and Robinson Cano of Hopatcong, both at 206.

Young broke in with Vancouver in 2003 as a part-time player, secured a full-time gig in 2005 and went on to play three consecutive 162-game seasons. He hit a career-high .331 with 237 hits in 2006. Though he's never hit above .300 or gotten 200 hits otherwise (198 in '05), Young has been a model of consistency, entering this season with a career .286 average. He joined Carolina (now Rowdy) last year where he started 162 games. He's started no fewer than 140 (2010 with Hoboken) since those early days in Vancouver.

Another longtime Iron Fister, Martinez spent his first five seasons in Vancouver (2005-2009). He hit for a career-high .306 in 2006, eclipsed .300 again in 2009 (.301), and like Young also entered 2012 with a .286 average.

As for other batting categories, Kevin Mitchell Award contender Prince Fielder of Rowdy has overtaken the league lead in the RBI race in the past two weeks, with 131, ahead of Hopatcong's Joey Votto (138), who enjoyed an 8-RBI night last week. Fielder also passed Jose Bautista of Hoboken in the home run race, holding a 51-49 advantage.

And Down The Stretch They Come!

Fewer than a dozen games remain in the 2012 DMBL season for most teams and while there's some uncertainty left as to seeding, the real drama looks like who will clinch the final few playoff spots.

The Marietta juggernaut (100-52) wrapped up its division last week and will secure the top seed. With their divisions safely in hand, Vancouver (87-66, with a magic number of 1) and Amityville (85-67/4) could battle for seeding in the final week. The difference between a No. 2 and No. 3 seed is a first-round bye.

The only division that seems to be left up for grabs is the Kruk, which also looks like it'll play a major role in determining the wild cards; it's conceivable that three of the four teams could be in the postseason. Newark, Hopatcong and Bridgewater have traded wins and losses for a few weeks, staying with a few games of one another.

Entering Thursday's action, the Sugar Bears held the division lead by just 1/2 game over the Floating Fish, who were only a 1/2 game ahead of the Mallers for the 6th and final playoff seed. After Thursday's games, it was Hopatcong (82-70) leading the division by a 1/2 game over Newark (82-71) and Bridgewater (82-71)!

Hopatcong will make the trip down 280 to Newark for a season-ending three-game series that potentially could crown the division champion -- or maybe the division's lone playoff representative. But before that, the Floating Fish have to go down 287 to Bridgewater this weekend in a three-game set that could provide some separation. Probable starters in the series line up like this:

HPG - Collmenter (12-12, 4.54) v. BRI - Beachy (16-5, 4.52)
Stauffer (5-16, 6.15) v. Lincecum (6-1, 2.93 w/ BRI; 13-6, 3.28)
Cain (12-8, 3.53) v. Vazquez (1-6, 5.67 w/ BRI; 8-10, 3.43)

As for the wild cards, current Van Slyke runner-up Rowdy (83-70) enters Friday's games with a slim one-game lead on Newark and Bridgewater, with division rival Hoboken (81-72) just two games behind. That scenario sets up a playoff-like atmosphere at Rowdy this weekend where the Cutters come in for three games. The pitching matchups in Rowdy appear to be:

HBK - Jurrjens (14-13, 4.34) v. RWD - Gallardo (8-11, 5.65)
Kuroda (5-10, 5.67) v. Sabathia (13-10, 4.91)
Kershaw (13-5, 3.57) v. Wilson (12-8, 4.01)

Until this week, Hillsborough (78-74) and Sardine City (79-75) were still in the thick of the hunt and while there's been some separation in the past few days, these two just won't go away - both still stand within 3 1/2 games of the final seed after winning Thursday night with 10 and 9 games to go, respectively. Hillsborough faced among the most daunting final two weeks, with eight of its final 14 games against playoff contenders. Rowdy has nine of its final 13 against contending squads.

A Big Sunday For Halladay & Howard

Ryan Howard belted his 300th career home run on Sunday afternoon, becoming the 22nd player in league history to get to 300. He's the second player to reach 300 during this season, with a few more possibly still to come in 2012. Rowdy's Lance Berkman pelted No. 300 earlier this year and sitting on the cusp of 300, going into Wednesday's matchups, are Hoboken's David Ortiz at 298 and Bridgewater's Carlos Beltran at 297.

Howard has hit 14 home runs in 54 games (after Tuesday's win) since coming to Vancouver from Philly in exchange for a first-round pick. Used mainly as a DH, with some time at 1B, Howard has a line of .250/.311/.515 during his time in Vancouver after hitting just 12 home runs in 77 games with Philly, including .226/.315/.412.

In game one of Sunday's doubleheader, Howard launched a solo home run after teammate John Mayberry's solo home run, chasing Marietta starter David Price in the fourth inning for this 300th. The Fisters ultimately fell, 9-7, to the Mighty Men.

Roy Halladay pitched a complete game shutout Sunday afternoon, breaking a tie with Kevin Brown for fourth place all-time in complete games. The righthander now has 71 complete games, trailing only future Hall of Famers Roger Clemens (84), Curt Schilling (87) and Greg Maddux (104). It also was his 22nd career shutout, putting him within two of Brown for second and within 10 of Maddux, the all-time leader with 32 shutouts.

Halladay went the distance in Hoboken's 11-0 thrashing of Sardine City on Sunday, limiting the Straphangers to four hits while striking out five and walking two. It was his first shutout and second complete as a Cutter, improving to 5-4 in 11 starts with a 4.62 ERA since being shipped from Philly, along with a 6th rounder, in exchange for Giancarlo Stanton. Combined, Halladay is now 14-8 with a 3.24 ERA, including seven complete games (second only to James Shields of Newark with nine) and three shutouts.

Monday Night Long Balls

Offense was the order of the day throughout the league Monday night as two players compiled six RBIs each amidst multi-home games.

Adam Jones blasted three home runs to lead Rowdy Roddy Pipers over division rival Marietta, 10-7, at Bullhead Memorial Stadium. The Pipers centerfielder, acquired in the offseason from Vancouver for two draft picks, homered in his first three at-bats, all off of the Mighty Men's Chris Carpenter: two-run bombs in the 2nd and 6th innings, with a solo shot in the 4th. He capped off his night with a run-scoring single in the 7th, finishing 4-for-4 with 6 RBIs. He was hardly the only Piper with four hits: Prince Fielder and Michael Young each went 4-for-5 to help C.C. Sabathia even his record at 8-8.

Over in St. Louis, two Cutters both blasted a pair of home runs to lead Hoboken to a 13-4 victory. David Ortiz hit a solo shot and a two-run bomb while one of Jose Bautista's two home runs -- his league-leading 34th and 35th -- was a grand slam to help him finish with six RBIs.

It wasn't entirely about the batters though. Traded last week along with two draft picks in exchange for Javier Vazquez, Doug Fister made his second outstanding start for Sardine City, going eight innings for the win. Now 2-0, Fister has yielded only three runs over 16 innings for the Straphangers, after a 3-9 start with a 4.53 ERA for Bridgewater.

Helton joins Pujols in 2,000-hit club

Todd Helton's big four-hit day in the second game of Sunday's doubleheader included a double, home run, and the final hit -- a 9th-inning single off Charlie Furbush of Las Vegas in the 8-7 road win -- was the 2,000th of his career. Helton becomes the second player to reach 2,000 career hits during this season, some two weeks after Philly's Albert Pujols achieved the mark.

Helton hasn't hit for much power since he was with Vancouver in 2008, where he belted 18 homers. He hit a career-high 44 home runs with Marietta in 2002, and eclipsed 30 home runs twice in his career (31 in 2003 and 36 in 2000). It remains to be seen whether he has enough power left to reach 300 career homers this season, however, it would appear he has his sights set on playing in the DMBL in 2013.

The Tennessee native turns 39 next month and currently ranks 25th all-time with 282 homers (including just 6 this year) but is surrounded by five other active players from 21st to 26th. Helton stands 6th all-time in doubles, with 483 (including 14 this year), approaching Barry Bonds at No. 5 (487). Chipper Jones is the only active player with more two-baggers (519).

Helton spent the prime of his career with Stanhope/Marietta after being the first overall pick of the Brooklyn Bean Counters in the 2001 dispersal draft (followed by Brian Giles and Mike Piazza). The first-year franchise shipped off the first baseman (along with reliever Rich Garces) in exchange for six players: catcher Mike Lieberthal, first baseman Tino Martinez, pitchers Steve Parris and Turk Wendell and outfielders Steve Finley and Bobby Higginson. In seven seasons with the Mighty Men, Helton hit more than 40 doubles in all but two, including a career-best 63 in 2001, but never reached 200 hits. During that span with the Mighty Men, he averaged 44 doubles and 27 homers per year.

The Iron First acquired Helton from Marietta before the 2008 season for outfielder Jason Bay, first baseman Conor Jackson and a 4th-round pick in 2009. Left unprotected the following season, he was snapped up by Bridgewater in the 8th round of the 2009 draft by D.C./Bridgewater, where he played until getting shipped back to Vancouver this past offseason. The Iron First also got third baseman Ryan Zimmerman and two 8th-round picks in exchange for starter Zack Greinke and a 4th-rounder.

Papelbon becomes 14th to notch 100th saves

The 100-save club is no longer a baker's dozen. In the final game before the all-star break, Jonathan Papelbon earned his 18th save of the season, which was the 100th of his career. Only 13 other pitchers in league history have reached 100 saves.

Papelbon's century save came in the final game before the all-star break, preserving a 3-1 win for Hopatcong over Hillsborough at The Mud Hole. He has since compiled his 20th save and 102nd overall, passing inaugural Hall of Famer John Wettleland and Brian Fuentes, who are tied for 13th place with 101 saves.

Selected in the fourth round of the 2006 draft as an ineligible prospect by D.C. (between Rickie Weeks and David Bell - and two spots after Justin Verlander), Papelbon has averaged 16 saves per year, notching career highs of 31 in 2008 and 24 in 2009 for the then-Bushslappers (who have since moved to Bridgewater).

Papelbon passed seven retired closers this year in career saves, including Keith Foulke, John Smoltz, Jose Mesa, Rod Beck, Armando Benitez, Rick Aguilera and Rob Nen. He could crack the top 10 before the season's out, trailing Joe Nathan with 107 saves and No. 10 Bob Wickman at 109. Jeff Shaw holds down ninth place with 123 saves.

K-Rod cracks top 10 in all-time appearances

Francisco Rodriguez passed Jason Isringhausen to move into 9th all-time in appearances, with 542. K-Rod tossed two scoreless innings of relief in Sunday's game one, a 7-6 home win over Amityville.

With 31 appearances this year, Rodriguez is on pace to move into the top 5 in 2012. He passed Rick Aguilera (513) earlier this season to break into the top 10 and also is second among active pitchers, trailing only Mariano Rivera (1,156). Isringhausen is active, with 541 appearances, but hasn't signed on with a franchise this season. A busy year and K-Rod could very well reach Billy Wagner, who's 4th all-time with an even 700 games; he's averaged 64 appearances over his first eight seasons.

Though he hasn't yet recorded a save, K-Rod is enjoying a fine season in his return to Las Vegas, who selected him at the end of the 6th round this year. He's 1-2 with a 2.47 ERA and 1.02 WHIP, but even more impressively, only 4 of 24 inherited runners have scored (.167).

K-Rod also stands 8th all-time in saves with 128 but hasn't been a full-time closer since his days with Blue Ridge (2008-2010). He needs only two saves to match Roberto Hernandez for 7th all-time.

Now in his ninth season, Rodriguez broke in with Philly as a 2nd round pick (20th overall) in 2004. He notched a career-high 34 saves in back-to-back campaigns in 2006 and 2007 and then was shipped to Las Vegas with Erik Bedard in exchange for Mark Teixeira and a 3rd round pick. But it wasn't the last time he'd be traded; in fact, K-Rod has been shipped off to other teams five times in his career.

By July 2008, the Rat Pack exchanged him for Joe Nathan in a deal with then-D.C. (now Bridgewater) but he never threw a pitch for the Bushslappers. Mere weeks later, he was included in a seven-player deal to Blue Ridge. He spent a few good years with the Bombers, who then dealt him to Newark for an 11th-rounder before the start of last season. He didn't spend much with the Sugar Bears either, going to Marietta in a giant eight-player deal early in the 2011 campaign.

Mallers win first Championship

The Mallers took game 7 decisively with a 7-1 final. Both teams started out by scoring one run in the first inning. In the 5th, the Mallers finally got to Javier Vazquez, scoring 3 runs and opening up a 4-1 lead. The Mallers scored 3 more runs in the next two innings to solidify their lead. Chris Carpenter went the distance, allowing 7 hits and two walks while striking out 10. Bobby Abreu was 3-5 with a homer and 3 RBIs and Ryan Zimmerman was 3-4. Abreu and Raul Ibanez were named the co-MVPs of the Series, sharing the Bud Black trophy. Ibanez hit .375 for the series including the tying HR in the game 5 that Bridgewater won 8-7. Abreu's homer in game 7 gave the Mallers the lead. "They deserve it equally" said Jaime Landsman after much deliberation.

World Series Game 7 - For the whole bag of chips

Tonight is the finale of the 2010 DMBL World Series - Game 7 in Bridgewater. The Mallers will try to complete the improbably comeback from a 3-1 series deficit and the Sugar Bears try to hold on and return to past glory. The Mallers will send Chris Carpenter to the mound, while the Sugar Bears go with Javier Vazquez. It's the third straight year that the Series is going to a game 7 - is it a bad omen that Newark lost both previous series?

Bridgewater advances

For the first time in franchise history, the Bridgewater Mallers have advanced to the DMBL World Series. The Mallers, who started their DMB life as one of the original six franchises, the Columbia Crusaders, didn't even have a winning record until current owner Jamie Landsman moved the team to D.C. in 2006. The franchise finally made the playoffs for the first time in 2007, and then had their first winning season in 2008 (yeah, they were only 81-81 in '07). Now the Mallers join an elite circle of five teams that have ever made the finals (Newark, Vancouver, Arkansas, Marietta, and Austin - only Austin has not won out of that group).

The Mallers await the winner of the Newark-Marietta showdown, which resumes today. Newark will send Brad Bergesen to the mound. Bergesen shut down Marietta to win in game 3. Meanwhile, Marietta will try something different, sending lefty Jarrod Washburn up against the Sugar Bears. The Mighty Men are actually 3-1 in regular season games against Newark when Washburn starts, though Washburn has struggled in some of those starts.

Marietta stays alive

The Mighty Men stayed a live by edging past the Sugar Bears 3-2 yesterday. John Danks has now won the only two games for the Mighty Men with an 8-inning, 5-hit effort yesterday in which he gave up 2 runs and struck out 9. Javier Vazquez pitched a complete game in defeat, striking out 8 and giving up 6 hits. Jason Bay gave the Mighty Men a 2-0 lead in the 2nd with a 2-run homer, then Ichiro Suzuki singled in Chone Figgins in the 3rd to extend the lead to 3-0. The Sugar Bears finally got on the board in the 7th with back to back home runs from Jorge Posada and Kendry Morales. Mariano Rivera pitched a perfect 9th to earn his first playoff save this year.

Bridgewater will try to close out their series with Vancouver at the Irondome tonight. Randy Wells will face Chris Carpenter. Carpenter pitched 4 scoreless inning in game 1 against Vancouver but was removed after a rain delay. Randy Wells pitched a solid game to earn the win in game 3 against the Mallers.