End of the line: David Ortiz

On the eve of the start of a new season, some players won't be back for 2018, hanging up their DMBL cleats for good.

Opening week review

Grand slams galore and a six-player trade highlighted the opening week of the 2017 regular season.

Curious qualifications in batting race

Fewer than 20 games to go in the 2014 season and only a few playoff spots and seeds remain to be determined but a few individual races are still more or less up for grabs.

Heading into Sunday's doubleheader action, Hanley Ramirez currently leads the league in batting at .346, a healthy lead over teammate Matt Carpenter (.335). Outside of Vancouver's Michael Brantley, third in the batting race hitting .330, the rest of the top five consists of San Francisco Experience batters: Brandon Belt (.326) and Joe Mauer (.325).

Ramirez is putting together a serious candidacy for the Kevin Mitchell Award as the league's most valuable batter. In addition to leading the batting race, he also enjoys a commanding lead in the RBI race with 158 to 126 for Livingston's Paul Goldschmidt. Though he's in the top 10 in home runs with 34, Ramirez has a steep hill to climb to catch Goldschmidt, who has a league-leading 45 homers, to truly threaten for the league's first-ever Triple Crown.

Sardine City rookie Christian Yelich has a few points on Ramirez and could very well be a stronger challenger than other Experience batters for the batting crown -- but he lacks enough plate appearances to qualify.

The 2014 first-rounder earned an All-Star selection and had been in contention for the batting race all season. He's currently hitting .352 but has been riding the pine for the past month.

Yelich started 87 games primarily in a platoon, going just 1-for-30 against lefties while batting a scintillating .380 versus right-handers. His last start was Aug. 12 versus Hoboken and he's since been relegated to primarily a pinch-hitting or pinch-running role.

Under Major League Baseball rules, a player must have 3.1 plate appearances in each of his team's games to qualify for a batting title. Yelich heads into Sunday's games with 420 plate appearances, short of the 446 plate appearances he'd need in Sardine City's 144 games. For the season, a player would need a minimum 502 plate appearances in 162 games.

With just 18 games remaining for the Straphangers, Yelich would need to average more than 4 plate appearances per game to reach the 82 necessary to qualify. Otherwise, only Carpenter seems close enough to Ramirez to give him a serious run.

A look at the Diamond all-star ballot

The 2014 all-star ballot is out and the all-star break comes your way after Sunday's doubleheaders. The all-star game will be played Tuesday night in ... Let's look at the potential candidates for the Diamond Conference position players:

DIAMOND Conference
C: Joe Mauer is among three San Francisco Experience at the top of the batting charts and leads the league's catchers in most every category, including hits (100), doubles (27), RBI (38) and runs scored (64). Among his competition is Livingston's Wilin Rosario, whose primary attribute is power with 13 home runs.

1B: Rookie Matt Adams of Durham enjoyed a 17-game hitting streak, the league's second-longest this season to lead Diamond 1B with 93 hits. If it's a slugger you're looking for, Livingston's Paul Goldschmidt has 27 homers, tied for second in the league, to go with 73 RBIs and 91 hits. There's also Empire City's Chris Davis who has pop, with 22 HRs. Marietta's Mike Napoli could garner consideration with his 24 doubles and 48 RBI.

2B: Livingston's recent acquisition of Robinson Cano gives the Lords of Swing the among the top home run hitters of Diamond second basemen. Jed Gyorko has been manning the keystone regularly, bopping 20 dingers -- more than the 16 Cano hit before coming over from Hopatcong. For more traditional 2B candidates, look at Hillsborough's Jason Kipnis (.286/.374/.417) and Durham's Dustin Pedroia (91 hits, 17 doubles). There's also Howie Kendrick of Marietta and his .293/.324/.498 line thanks to 12 homers.

SS: Hanley Ramirez has been putting up Mitchell Award-level numbers in the first half batting in the middle of a murder's row of a lineup in San Francisco. He's led the batting race off and on (.349) and has the league lead in doubles (36), extra base hits (56) and RBIs (91), and with a few games to go until Sunday's All-Star break, he's got an outside shot at 100 RBIs by the break. Livingston's Ian Desmond could be a shoo-in any other year with his 16 HRs, 15 doubles and 44 RBI.

3B: Durham's David Wright has always been a fan favorite and a model of consistency, putting up a respectable first half, with 14 home runs, 51 RBI and 52 runs scored while batting near .300. But it could be back to San Francisco, where Matt Carpenter has been challenging for the batting title all season (.349). Despite just 3 HR, Carpenter has 29 doubles and 67 runs scored thanks to an OBP of .420. Adrian Beltre of Empire City provides defense but also has a leading 91 hits while Livingston's Eric Chavez is batting .300 and slugging .483 with his 87 hits.

OF: Like first base, outfield is always a crowded race with all the big bats and this year is no different. You could make a case for taking multiple players from league leaders Livingston or San Francisco. Carlos Beltran has been hitting whether it was in Bridgewater or Livingston, bashing a combined 17 HRs and 52 RBI. Livingston boasts a second Carlos (Gonzalez) who's got 21 HRs and 46 RBI to go with a .282/.358/.577 line. San Francisco meanwhile has Colby Rasmus patrolling center while also batting an impressive .329/.386/.675, with 22 HRs and 71 RBI. Jayson Werth is among four Experience players with more than 100 hits (103) and also has 17 HRs, 58 runs and 60 RBI. Livingston's Shin Soo-Choo is no slouch with 88 hits, 50 runs and 50 RBIs, batting .317/.407/.493.

You don't want to vote for me?

There are others who could garner consideration, such as Marietta's Brandon Moss with 17 HRs and 54 RBI (.285/.384/.625). Daniel Nava of Hillsborough is right behind him in the RBI department with 53 and there's Empire City's Hunter Pence, with 15 HRs and 41 RBI, with a solid .286/.345/.497.

If it's more speed than power you're looking for, there's Durham's Jacoby Ellsbury and his league-high 17 SBs, which complement his .305 BA, 90 hits and 21 doubles. Or look for Hopatcong's Carlos Gomez who might get lost in the numbers after coming over from Livingston. He's got a league-high 10 triples to go with 12 SBs.

DH: Marietta's Adam Lind has fashioned an envious .311/.400/.545 line in the first half, slapping 13 home runs and 42 RBI. Durham's Pedro Alvarez provides pop too with 18 home runs but it's all or nothing with him, evidenced by his .232/.301/.485 line. The ageless Raul Ibanez also has hit 17 homers for Hopatcong but like Alvarez, is batting closer to .200 than .300.

Tomorrow we'll take a look at the Micro Conference ballot for position players.

Ramirez family reunion?

Ramirez won a close game against Ramirez last night, although Ramirez was 0-4 and didn't factor into the result. Well, that's one way to put it. Brian McCann's solo home run in the 9th off reliever Edwar Ramirez gave D.C. the 3-2 win over the Mudcats. Taking the loss was another reliever, Ramon Ramirez. A third Ramirez, Aramis was 0-4, and Manny and Hanley were involved in other games.

John Lackey won his 10th game as Hillsborough eked out a 3-2 win over Blue Ridge in 10 innings. Lackey went nine innings in the game, watching as the Hitmen tied it up in the top of the 9th on a Carlos Lee single. Lackey ended his 9 as the score was tied 2-2, but in the top of the 10th, Shin-Soo Choo doubled in the winning run. Mike Gonzalez struck out 2 of the 3 batters he faced to earn his 20th save. By the way, this is the only game of the day without at least one Ramirez...

Ok, we're going to continue the Ramirez Report. Manny Ramirez only went 1-5, but his team, Newark, won 5-3 against the Straphangers. In defeat, Alex Ramirez was 2-5 with a double. Yeah, we forgot about Alex, but not about Horacio, who just plain sucks and is a free agent anyway. He's already gotten more press than he deserves...

The Final Ramirez, Hanley, was 2-5 with a double and an RBI in leading his Cutters to a 7-4 win over New Jersey. Aaron Cook held the Buddahs to just 4 hits and one earned run in 6 innings to improve to 8-7 on the season.

Ramirezes passed over, but Prince rises again

It was a good week to be a Ramirez this week. Newark's Manny Ramirez had an outstanding week for the Sugar Bears, smacking 5 dingers to go with his .429 average and 13 RBIs and 9 runs. He might just have something to do with that 8-game winning streak the Sugar Bears have. Hoboken's Hanley Ramirez may have had an even better week - Hanley hit .520 with a .625 OBP and .960 slugging. He also scored 7 runs and hit 3 doubles and 2 homers. Those were both impressive lines, but we had to give this week's JR Cigars Smokin' Batter of the Week honors to Blue Ridge's Prince Fielder. Fielder also hit 5 home runs this week, but batted .469 with a .541 on base percentage. He drove in 11 runs and scored 7. The other top candidate for hitting this week was Marietta's Josh Hamilton (.440/.548/.920, 4 HRs, 12 RBIs).

Other top batters this week: Marietta's Adrian Gonzalez (.435/.552/.826 10 R), Vancouver's Ryan Spilborghs (.480/.533/.560), Hillsborough's Carlos Delgado (.355/.364/.774, 4 HR, 8 RBI), Las Vegas' Joe Mauer (.476/.571/.714) and Arkansas' Ryan Ludwick (.417/.440/1.000 4 HR, 7 RBI).

This week's Omodern Pitcher of the Week prize goes to Tim Hudson of Carolina. Besides Monday's historic victory, Hudson had a very good week, going 1-0 witha 1.15 ERA and .083 WHIP. He ptiched in 15.2 innings and struckout 10. Hudson's main competition came from Hillsborough's Felix Hernandez, who's enjoying a great season. Felix went 2-0 to raise his season record to 5-1, with a 1.29 ERA and 0.93 WHIP this week. He also struck out 14 batters in 14 innings.

Old Man Rivera keeps moving along - the future Hall of Famer saved three games and picked up a victory by pitching 5.1 perfect innings and striking out 7 for the Mighty Men.

Other top pitchers: Newark's Chien-Ming Wang (2-0, 2.25, 0.56 WHIP) and Gil Meche (2-0, 2.84, 15 K), Philadelphia's Brandon Webb (2-0, 1.23), Marietta's Mike Mussina (2-0, 2.87, 1.09 WHIP), and Hoboken's Craig Breslow (2-0, 0.00 ERA, 0.19 WHIP in 5.1 IP).

Rock you like a Hurri-Cain

Matt Cain came roaring back off the disabled list, shutting out the Mudcats on two hits and striking out 9 in 9 innings. Cain improved to 3-3 on the season. Cain had missed two starts and was replaced by Kason Gabbard, who was released to make room.

Vancouver's Zack Greinke improved to 7-0 on the season with a solid effort against the Bushslappers yesterday. Greinke pitched 7.2 innings, surrendering two runs on 5 hits and one walk. Vancouver's number one pick in the 2008 draft started out in the bullpen this season, but got his first shot in the rotation when Chad Billingsley was hurt early in the season. He returned fulltime to the rotation after Rich Hill's disastrous starts and never looked back. Greinke and Tampa Bay's Andy Pettitte (6-0) are the last two undefeated pitchers in the league.

Jason Hirsh pitched his final game as a Rat yesterday, a solid effort, but a no-decision. Hirsh ended up 0-2, with a 3.71 ERA in 4 starts. He was released to make room for Orlando Hernandez's return from the DL yesterday. Speaking of the Rats, reliever Brett Myers cost the team for the second straight game, blowing a 6-5 lead Tuesday and a 4-3 lead yesterday. Myers now has an 8.87 ERA in 17 appearances this season. How long can the Rats stick with the disappointing Myers?

Hoboken stunned Newark with a 14-10 victory at the Cereal Bowl yesterday, only the fourth home loss for the Sugar Bears. Hanley Ramirez was 5-6 with 4 runs scored and 3 RBIs and came up a double short of hitting for the cycle. Miguel Cabrera also had 4 RBIs. The loss snapped Newark's 6-game streak.

Game on!

Welcome to the second half!

Hoboken took no time to get back in the swing of things, opening up with a giant-sized can of Whoop-ass® on Arkansas. The Cutters crushed the Falcons 11-4 in the first game thanks to a huge game from Hanley Ramirez (5-6, 4 runs) and Chris Duncan (3-4, 6 RBIs, HR). Jarrod Washburn notched his 10th win of the season. Game 2 featured more of the same, as the Cutters pounded out a 9-5 victory. This time it was Geoff Jenkins with the big game (3-4, 4 RBIs, 2 HRs).

D.C. and Las Vegas made a trade yesterday. D.C. parted with Matt Holliday, prospect Alex Gordon, and their first round pick in 2008 for reliever Chris Ray, first baseman Derrek Lee, and third baseman Ryan Zimmerman. It's a bit of a strange trade. D.C. already has one of the better pens in the league with Papelbon and Nathan both having great years, so it's unclear how Ray will fit in there. Zimmerman is an upgrade over Mike Lamb on that side of the platoon, but Esteban German has been crushing lefties this year. Derrek Lee, who will miss the 2007 DMBL season, will probably be an upgrade over Overbay next year, but how much? Lee's power numbers seem down in rehab so far. Holliday seems like a large price to pay for a deal that only marginally upgrades D.C. this year and only marginally upgrades them next year. Meanwhile, Las Vegas still believes in struggling prospect Alex Gordon, who can't seem to get on the right side of the Mendoza line in AAA.

Because of the special All-Star This Week in DMBL, there will be no edition this week. Next week's installment will feature players of the week from the two week span. New editions may possibly come on Sundays instead of Mondays from now on.

Day of Almost Cycles

The Hoboken Cutters won twice in extra innings yesterday. This despite the defensive deficiency of Hanley Ramirez. Ramirez had one error in the first game and another two in the second, giving him nine errors on the pre-season. The Cutters plan on playing a few games of "pepper" before game time today, hopefully giving Ramirez a chance to improve. Teammate and longtime Cutter Geoff Jenkins said it might be the result of a practical joke gone wrong. "It's part of our rookie hazing" said Jenkins. "We put some sulfuric acid on the glove the first game and he burned his hand a little. I think he's a little afraid of his glove now...the big pussy."

Sardine City's Raul Ibanez was one single away from hitting for the cycle against Hillsborough. Ibanez hit a double in the second inning, flied out in the fourth, hit a triple in the sixth and homered in the eighth. "If I had known that, I wouldn't have flied out in my second atbat" said Ibanez. Meanwhile, Carolina's Rocco Baldelli also almost hit the cycle, but needed a slighly harder to achieve home run. However, Baldelli did go 4-4 in the game. Baldelli has been trying to return from injuries that kept him out all last year.

Marietta's Jim Thome hit two homers in his game against Philly. Thome is also trying to return from a season lost to injury last year.

Vancouver's Fernando Nieve turned in another impressive start yesterday against Newark. Nieve pitched eight innings and allowed only three hits and one unearned run. "If he keeps this up, we might have to find a place for him in the rotation" said manager Darren Daulton. Nieve is considered a longshot to make the final roster.

Hillsborough's Juan Pierre swiped three bases against Vancouver catcher Victor Martinez to take over the league lead in stolen bases with five. Pierre and several other Hitmen have been given the green light to run as often as they can.

Another impressive Marietta Mighty Man rookie pitcher: Jeremy Sowers turned in a complete game win against Las Vegas, surrendering only one run and seven hits, but no strikeouts.

A Jaret Wright vs. Josh Beckett pitchers' duel? Must be spring training.