End Of The Line: Mark Buehrle

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 Mark Buehrle, who burst on the scene in 2002.

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!)

Milestone night for Oswalt

Roy Oswalt, the longtime Honolulu Shark who has bounced around four different teams in the last five seasons, last night became the 16th pitcher in league history to make 300 starts, while becoming the 13th hurler to reach 2,000 innings pitched. It was quite the milestone game as Oswalt fell to 2-5 on the season, matching Tim Hudson for 10th all-time in losses, with 112. He also sits just 12 strikeouts from 1,500, a mark only 14 pitchers have reached.

Oswalt reached the milestone in the uniform of the Las Vegas Rat Pack, who selected him in the 4th round of this year's draft, after spending the last two seasons in Vancouver. He won a career-high 17 games last year for the Iron Fist but spent his first six seasons in Honolulu, where he was the workhorse of the staff, going 75-74 in 194 starts but averaging 32 starts and 221 innings per year. He also spent a season each with Tampa (2008) and Amityville (2009).

The Mississippi native is now tied with Kevin Appier, who sits at 15th all-time with an even 300 starts. Oswalt is likely to pass Al Leiter, up next at 308, and if he can stay healthy enough to make 26 starts this year, he'd pass David Wells at 315 and move into 13th all-time. Could Oswalt be putting together a potential Hall of Fame career?

Oswalt very nearly had a complete game, which would have been his 43rd, matching David Cone for 11th all-time. He was lifted after 8 2/3, plunking pinch-hitter Ian Desmond before making way for Fernando Rodney who promptly gave up the game-winning double to Justin Smoak in the 5-4 loss.

R.I.P, Gary Carter

Baseball lost a legend yesterday with the death of Gary Carter.

"The Kid" was a long-time manager for the Honolulu Sharks. He also managed the Columbia Rattlesnakes and, most recently, the D.C. Bushslappers.

Carter was eligible in the first three seasons of the DMBL, but he never got the call. His best year during that stretch was the inaugural season of 1991, when he hit .254/.324/.406 in MLB.

Shocking news from Honolulu

Breaking news just in from Honolulu as the Sharks franchise has just been put up for sale. With a month to go, team owner Adam Kozubal stated in an official press release that he did not have the time to commit to the DMBL.

"I hate doing this on short notice, but since the rest of the league owners feel that I don't contribute enough, then I'm going to discontinue my participation in the league.

With my current work load, coupled with the baby continuing to have serious health issues, the amount of time I'm going to be able to allocate to playing a fantasy baseball game is going to be very little. And since I know that my lack of participation is a sore spot for some of the other owners in the league, I feel that this is the best course for everyone. I hope that you can find a replacement for me quickly.

It's been fun, but I feel that it is time to move on. If the other owners want to know why I'm leaving, please feel free to share this info with them.

Thanks,

Adam"

The Sharks were one of the 1997 expansion franchises and had recently had success making the playoffs in four of the last five years in addition to the fact that the franchise was one of the most popular franchise among fans. The DMBL has already reached out to persons on the waiting list to take over the franchise.

Big Deals rejuvenate cooling Hot Stove league

Well there certainly is a lot of discussion going on around the draft date, especially the time. We'll try to hammer this one out in the next few days.

And remember when I posted something about how quiet the Hot Stove league had become? OOPS, I guess the DMBL gods heard me and forced a couple of trades over the past 24 hours.

First it was Vancouver completing a long-rumored deal that sent outfielder Jason Bay, young first baseman Conor Jackson and a fourth round pick in 2009 to Marietta for DMBL veteran Todd Helton. Helton had been a mainstay in the Mighty Men lineup since 2001, so the fans were very upset at the news. Irate fans called into the Fan's Rude Awakening radio show this morning screaming for owner David Landsman's head. "We could have gotten the same package for Wes Helms" said livid caller Jimbo from Kennesaw. "If Landsman knew what he was doing he could have gotten Prince Fielder and Vlad Guerrero for Helton" said another heated listener. Landsman was too distraught for questions but issued a brief statement that began "Today we say goodbye to a truly Mighty Man." A tearful Landsman departed the scene while upset fans picketed the parking lot. "He was a fan favorite" said manager Graig Nettles.

Meanwhile, Honolulu finally did something about their glut of catchers. The Sharks shipped off Brian McCann to D.C. in exchange for pitcher Mark Buehrle and a third round pick. Buerhle will solidify a solid staff featuring Roy Oswalt and Jered Weaver, while McCann slides right into the starting lineup for the Bushslappers. Kenji Johjima is expected to take over the everyday catching duties for the Sharks.

Team Review: Honolulu Sharks

After missing the playoffs last season, the Sharks reclaimed their spot in the playoffs in 2007, giving them four playoff appearances in the last five years. The Sharks were pretty steady all year, staying in a playoff spot for most of the year. They ended up winning 86 games and tying with Hoboken for fourth overall.

What went right: The Sharks were a pretty balanced team - decent offense and a decent pitching staff. Rookie Jered Weaver was solid and Jeff Francis was a surprise for the Sharks. Jason Schmidt won 17 games somehow, despite poor peripheral numbers. Veterans Jason Giambi, Jermaine Dye, and Miguel Tejada all had very good seasons, while youngsters Adrian Gonzalez and Brian McCann had breakout seasons.

What went wrong: The obvious target here is the bullpen. Closer Tom Gordon was a disaster, blowing 11 saves and compiling a 5.50 ERA. The usually dependable Roy Oswalt got off to a rough start and ended up with a disappointing 5.20 ERA, though he did end up winning 12 games. The Sharks never did really find a fifth starter as both Kenny Rogers and Cliff Lee were poor.

If the Sharks had a better closer or a dependable fifth starter, they probably could have won a few more games last year. Look for the Sharks to upgrade their bullpen in 2008.

Sugar Bears advance to Series

The Newark Sugar Bears made it a clean sweep of the Honolulu Sharks after a 13-7 victory yesterday. The Sharks actually had a chance at this one though. The Sugar Bears took an early 2-0 lead in the first inning on a two-run Gregg Zaun homer. But the Sharks held the Sugar Bears in check and Brian McCann showed up his counterpart in the third with a three-run homer to give the Sharks a 3-2 lead. The Sugar Bears tied it up in the fifth, but a two-run Jermaine Dye homer gave the Sharks a 5-3 lead. In the seventh inning, however, everything fell apart for the Sharks. After the bullpen relieved Jeff Francis with one out in the inning, the Sugar Bears rallied for four runs, taking a 7-5 lead on the Sharks. The Sharks tied it up in the bottom half of the inning on another well-timed homer from Adrian Gonzalez. But the Shark bullpen could not stop the Sugar Bears at all, surrendering six runs in the final two innings of the game. Cla Meredith then shut down the Sharks for the final two innings - obviously the Sharks had run out of home run power at this point.

Hard to give an MVP to just one Sugar Bear. The team batted .398 against the Sharks and scored 47 runs in the four games. Marlon Anderson seemed to stand out with a .600 average (9-15) and a 1.855 OPS! He also led the team with 10 RBIs and 4 doubles.

The Sugar Bears now await the winner of the Marietta and Philadelphia series, now tied at two.

Philly evens the series, Sharks on the edge

Philadelphia stormed back with back-to-back shutouts of the Mighty Men to tie the series back up at two. The Endzone Animals scored seven in the first inning en route to a 15-0 victory. Josh Johnson pitched six innings, limiting the Mighty Men to five hits and two walks and striking out seven. Meanwhile, rookie Jeremy Sowers was hammered for seven runs (six earned) in 2/3 of an inning. Jimmy Rollins had 4 RBIs and Albert Pujols hit a pair of homers to lead the team. The two teams return to Philadelphia on Thursday, with game two of the Francisco Liriano-Johan Santana matchup. Santana was roughed up last time, so we'll see if he can outduel the rookie.

Meanwhile, it will take a miracle for Honolulu to come back from a 3-0 deficit after a 9-4 loss to Newark yesterday. Chien-Ming Wang pitched eight solid innings to earn the win and Gregg Zaun had 3 RBIs to lead the offense. The Sharks will fight for their survival today in Honolulu.

Newark, Marietta, jump out to early leads

It's no surprise to see the Sugar Bears jump out to an early 2-0 lead on Honolulu. The Sharks haven't been able to stop the Sugar Bear offense at all, and the bats haven't put up enough of a fight to make Newark nervous. Maybe things will change when the series resumes in Honolulu on Tuesday. They better hope for a severe case of jet lag for the Bears because they are in serious trouble. Remember, it was the Sharks who were winless in their season series at home with the Sugar Bears. Maybe they're due though?

Meanwhile, Marietta has taken a huge 2-0 lead over the Morris Divison champs. Mike Mussina took a perfect game into the eighth inning then walked Adam LaRoche. The no-hitter was intact until the ninth inning with one out when A.J. Pierzynski lined a single past Derek Jeter. Mussina did keep the shutout - a one-hitter. Mussina faced only 28 batters and threw 95 pitches in the game. Erik Bedard put up a good fight, but could not match Mussina's domination. Philadelphia now travels to Marietta to try to get back into this series. Marietta has actually been three games worse at home and has lost their only playoff game in Marietta agaisnt D.C., so this may be a good chance for the Animals.

Preview: Honolulu vs Newark

Yesterday we did a position by position comparison between Marietta and Philadelphia. Today we'll do the same with Honolulu and Newark.

Catcher: Brian McCann, Honolulu vs Gregg Zaun, Newark
Both of these guys are in a platoon - McCann with Kenji Johjima and Zaun with Michael Barrett - so we'll try to evaluate the entire platoon. McCann has had a breakout year for the Sharks in his first full year behind the plate. McCann's .572 slugging and .943 OPS were both second on the team. Zaun has had a great offensive season as well - .907 OPS and 92 RBIs. But since the Sugar Bears play in such an offense-friendly park, we have to scale down the numbers a bit. Advantage: Honolulu.

First Base: Adrian Gonzalez, Honolulu vs Nick Johnson, Newark
Nick Johnson is the reigning Kevin Mitchell Award winner, so he has an edge before we even peer into the stats. Johnson has had another awesome season - .347 average, 1.053 OPS, 179 runs scored(!), 140 RBIs. Gonzalez has had a great breakout season for Honolulu - 27 homers, 107 RBIs, but he's just not in the same league as Johnson. Advantage: Newark.

Second Base: Ryan Freel vs Marlon Anderson
Where the heck did Anderson come from to post such ridiculous numbers? Anderson batted .360 with 117 RBIs and a 1.048 OPS - all career highs by far. In fact Anderson's "best" prior season featured a .592 OPS and 44 RBIs. Meanwhile Freel could be Marlon Anderson circa that "best" season with the poor numbers he's put up so far. Both players are platooned - Anderson with Mark DeRosa and Freel with Brian Roberts, but the platoons only strenghthen Newark's advantage here. Advantage: Newark.

Shortstop: Miguel Tejada vs Carlos Guillen
This one is a real battle. Guillen has put up crazy numbers for a second straight year - 1.056 OPS with 231 hits, 164 runs, and 139 RBIs. Tejada is one of the top hitters in Honolulu's lineup - .321 average, 99 RBIs, 102 runs. But even taking into account the teams' ballparks, Guillen has the advantage, but this one isn't as lopsided as some of the other comparisons. Advantage: Newark.

Third Base: Eric Chavez vs Mark Teahen
A few years ago, Chavez may have given Teahen some competition, but Chavez is not the player he used to be. Honolulu is platooning Chavez with Rich Aurilia and the platoon seems to be working out alright for the Sharks. Teahen has been a force for the Sugar Bears - 37 homers and 129 RBIs. Advantage: Newark.

Left Field: Frank Catalanotto vs Bobby Abreu
Little Cat shares left field duties with Torii Hunter and Cat has put up decent numbers. He leads the Sharks with a .323 average and has hit a respectable 31 doubles in 406 at bats. Abreu has had another quality season, .950 OPS, 160 runs, and a team high 28 stolen bases. Advantage: Newark.

Center Field: Johnny Damon vs Jim Edmonds
Damon is a solid if unspectacular player and probably doesn't deserve to be starting anymore in the DMBL. Edmonds has put up historic numbers - .390 average, 1.155 OPS, 123 runs, 144 RBIs. This isn't even a fair comparison. Advantage: Newark.

Right Field: Jermaine Dye vs Manny Ramirez
Manny was being Manny this year and put up his usual quality numbers - 41 homers, 139 RBIs, .933 OPS. Despite those numbers, and probably because of the ridiculous numbers put up by his teammates, Manny may be the "worst" hitter in the Sugar Bear lineup! Does Dye have a chance? Dye's had a great season, hitting 49 homers and driving in 129 runs, scoring 114 and compiling a .904 OPS. It's close enough on paper, independent of lineups or ballparks, but if you normalize the numbers, Dye gets the edge here. Advantage: Honolulu.

DH: Jason Giambi vs Chipper Jones
Giambi had a very good year for the Sharks, smacking 50 homers, 121 RBIs, and .996 OPS. Chipper was no slouch for the Sugar Bears either - 1.128 OPS, 44 homers, 140 RBIs. This is a very close call, but Chipper's higher batting average (more than .100 percentage poitns) gives him the nod. Advantage: Newark.

Bench: Both teams make extensive use of their benches in platoon roles, but Newark is an offensive machine. Both teams have good depth, but the Sugar Bears have better depth. Advantage: Newark.

Starting Pitching: Newark's pitching numbers look like a product of a great offense, but remember we have to be fair and normalize the pitching numbers too! John Smoltz, Randy Johnson, and Chien-Ming Wang are a formidable trio. The three combined for a 51-16 record and that's not even mentioning Javier Vazquez at 15-6, 4.38. Even fifth starter Joe Saunders was solid in his debut season. Honolulu's staff has decent depth as well. Lefty Jeff Francis dominated in his playoff debut and Jason Schmidt, Jered Weaver and Roy Oswalt are all quality arms. How they will do in the horror house that is the Cereal Bowl remains to be seen. Advantage: Newark.

Bullpen: This may be the second most lopsided battle here and may be the undoing of the Sharks in facing the Sugar Bears. The Sharks pen has been very unstable, starting with closer Tom Gordon, who has blown 11 saves, plus the game one chance against the Cutters. The rest of the pen is adequate, however, and can do the job if Gordon doesn't blow it for them. But the Sugar Bears' bullpen is one of the team's strengths. There is no set closer, but Cla Meredith has stood out with a 1.95 ERA and 19 saves. Advantage: Newark.

Overall, it doesn't look good for Honolulu and realistically, they will be lucky to win one game. But stranger things have happened. Look for Newark to return to the finals and try to win a record fourth straight World Series. Prediction: Newark in five.

Honolulu advances

And so, just like the previous series, the higher seeded Sharks won three straight after losing the opener to the Cutters, to advance to the next round.

The Cutters took the early lead when leadoff hitter Hanley Ramirez hit a solo homer off starter Jeff Francis. The next batter, Josh Bard, hit a single and Sharks fans thought they were in for a long night. However, except for a Greg Norton walk in the second inning, Francis did not allow any other baserunners for the rest of the game. That's right, Francis retired 24 batters in a row in one of the most dominant starts in DMBL post-season history.

The Cutters sent out Scott Kazmir on three days rest and Kazmir pitched well, but ran out of gas after three innings. Kazmir gave way to Wes Littleton and that was the beginning of the end for Hoboken. Littleton started the inning off by surrendering four hits and a hit batsman before recording the first out. A wild pitch made the score 4-1. Boof Bonser came in to relieve Littleton in the next inning and surrendered four more runs in the next four innigns to make the score 8-1 in favor of the Sharks.

It's hard to pick an MVP for the Sharks series, as a lot of the offense was spread out, but we'll give it to Adrian Gonzalez. Sure Jermaine Dye's numbers appear gaudier, but most of his production came in the Game One loss to Hoboken, so how can we give it to him? Gonzalez is a worthy candidate though, hitting .556 in the four games (10-18) with a 1.190 OPS. Gonzalez had the game winning RBI in the second game as well.

The Sharks now face the daunting task of taking on the powerhouse Newark Sugar Bears. Honolulu was 4-9 against the Sugar Bears this season with all four wins coming in Newark. Honolulu has twice faced Newark in the playoffs, both in the second round. They are 4-8 lifetime against the Sugar Bears, losing a close 4-3 series in 2004 and then getting dominated 4-1 in 2005. It will be hard for the Sharks to pull off the upset and the lone bright spot is their success against the Sugar Bears in the Cereal Bowl.

Marietta advances, Honolulu takes the lead

After the underdogs took the first game of both series, the favorites have come back.

The Mighty Men finished off the Bushslappers yesterday 7-5. The Bushslappers offense just couldn't wake up in time during the series. Marietta's pitching staff shut them down for most of the series. After being limited to only four runs in the first two games, Marietta's offense came alive in the final two games too, scoring 15 runs combined. Wily Mo Pena would get our Series MVP vote, hitting .444 with 2 homers and 7 RBIs in the series. Marietta will face the Philadelphia Endzone Animals starting Friday.

Meanwhile, the Honolulu Sharks have retaken the lead in the series after an 8-5 victory in Hoboken yesterday. The Sharks stormed out to a 7-0 lead and survived a Cutter rally in the eighth. Roy Oswalt pitched brilliantly, striking out 12 batters in six innings, while surrendering only one run on five hits. Hoboken will send Scott Kazmir on three days rest to the mound today in a desparate attempt to even the series and send it back to Honolulu.

Hoboken takes game one; Marietta evens it up

Day two of the DMBL Playoffs and both lower seeded teams have effectively taken home field advantage away from the highers.

Hoboken staged a ninth inning rally to tie the game with the Sharks. After leading 6-3, the Sharks brought in closer Tom Gordon to close the door on the game. Protecting a three-run lead for one inning should be a slam dunk for a closer, but Gordon couldn't get the job done, even after retiring two of the first three batters. With a runner on second and two outs, Gordon walked the next batter and surrendered a three-run shot to Hanley Ramirez to tie the game up at six. But that wasn't enough, Gordon walked Jose Valentin and gave way to Geoff Geary, who promptly gave up a double to score Valentin. Now trailing 7-6 in the bottom of the ninth, the Sharks played some "small ball" in the bottom of the ninth and were able to tie the game up and send it to extra innings. Geary worked out of a jam in the 10th, but got into trouble again in the 11th. Jose Feliciano surrendered a double to Jose Bautista that scored two runs. Honolulu put two runners on the bases in the bottom of the 11th but left them stranded. The win was the first ever playoff win for the Hoboken Cutters.

Meanwhile in Marietta, the Mighty Men and Bushslappers once again faced off in a pitchers duel. Mike Mussina shut out D.C. for seven innings, holding the Slappers to only four hits and striking out eight. Jorge Posada homered to lead off the fifth, giving the Mighty Men a 1-0 lead. The Mighty Men scored again on a Matt Diaz single, but Diaz was thrown out trying for second to end the rally. D.C. finally scored in the ninth, but they ended up leaving runners on second and third after the final two batters failed to drive them in. The series takes a day off today and resumes on Saturday in D.C.

Playoff outlook

We're back! Starting Wednesday are the DMBL Playoffs. And it is the first time in the DMBL's history that neither Arkansas nor Vancouver have made the post-season. In Arkansas's case, it is the first time since 1992 that they have missed the playoffs and the first time they have not had a winning season. There has never been a DMBL World Series that has not featured one of the two teams. The only other team to have made the DMBL World Series other than the Sugar Bears is the Jerusalem Rabbis in 2000 (now the Mighty Men of Marietta). The Mighty Men have a chance to make a trip back to the post-season as the highest ranked wild card this year.

The D.C. Bushslappers are the only virgin team in the playoffs this year. The Bushslappers, formerly the Columbia Crusaders/Rattlesnakes have clinched a playoff spot for the first time in franchise history and with a record of 81-81, their first non-losing season (we are still waiting for a winning season though). D.C. will go up against Marietta in a battle of brothers starting Wednesday.

The other series features the return of the Hoboken Cutters. The Cutters have not made the playoffs since 2002 and were quickly swept by Wanaque in the first round. Their opponent is the Honolulu Sharks, a frequent playoff contender who missed the playoffs last year, but has appeared in the playoffs the three years before. Both teams had equal records but the Sharks won the season series and will host three of the five possible games.

D.C. ends streak, Vancouver chokes

Just a few notes before we get to the games. Tonight will be a double header, followed by an early game tomorrow morning. After that, game play will be kind of spotty, since I'll be in Romania. There will be a one-week absence at some point during next week. After tomorrow's blog post, there will be no more posts for 3 weeks, probably after the season is done. I am not sure how well I will be able to FTP from Romania, so it's possible that I may not be able to play the games until I get back. Thanks in advance for your patience.

Hoboken lost to Arkansas yesterday 11-5. Hanley Ramirez and Mike Napoli each had two errors, leading to the Cutters giving up a costly six unearned runs. Napoli, in particular, wore the goat horns today, considering he left the game due to injury in the second inning. Perhaps he was dying of shame? Dan Haren, meanwhile, held the Cutters in check, pitching six innings and surrendering only two runs while striking out ten.

Hoboken's loss gave the Sharks a chance to move up in the standings into fourth. The Sharks took full advantage with a 12-10 win over Carolina. Adrian Gonzalez had a huge day, going 4-5 with 5 RBIs. Jason Jennings once again was shelled - six runs in just 1/3 of an inning, making the shutout in his last outing a distant memory.

D.C. finally broke their losing streak with a 10-3 thrashing of Sardine City. John Maine gave the Slappers eight solid innings and Esteban German (5-6) and Alfonso Soriano (3-5 with 4 RBIs) provided the offense. The Slappers totalled 20 hits in the rout.

Hillsborough held off D.C. with a 9-0 win over Marietta. Felix Hernandez pitched seven innings of 3-hit ball and struck out seven to earn the win. Ryan Howard hit his 59th home run of the season and Robinson Cano was 4-5 with three runs scored.

Vancouver is pulling their biggest choke job after dropping their second straight game to Las Vegas. This time the Fist were pounded 11-2 and held in check by El Duque, Orlando Hernandez. Hernandez pitched seven innings and struck out eight, while surrendering only one run on four hits. Surely when Vancouver saw the Rats on their schedule they figured they had three easy wins, but now, they've dug themselves a hole and face the first-place Endzone Animals next.

Endzone Animals clinch first-ever Division title

The Philadelphia Endzone Animals clinched a playoff spot with their first victory over Sardine City yesterday, then clinched the division with the second victory. It was the first division title for the Philadelphia franchise. The Endzone Animals started out by replacing the Lisbon Diabos back in 1998, going by the name the Philadelphia Eagle Wings. The Eagle Wings became the Endzone Animals in 2001. The Philadelphia teams struggled early on, but by the mid-2000s there was a glimmer of hope. Finally in 2005, the team finished with their first winning record and clinched their first playoff berth. They lost their series to Honolulu in five games. The Animals missed out on the playoffs last year, despite posting a winning record, but have been in control of the Morris Division for most of this season.

Things got tighter for the sixth spot over the weekend. Hillsborough is currently sitting in sixth, percentage points ahead of D.C. The Bushslappers, who were only a few games away from Marietta recently, are in freefall mode, losing their last seven games, including two losses to Honolulu on Sunday. The Sharks' bullpen shut out the Slappers 5-0 after starter Jason Schmidt was forced to leave after tweaking a muscle in the first inning. But the Shark pen held the Bushslappers to only 4 hits and struck out 11. In the second game, the Sharks were bailed out by scoring seven runs in the final three innings to win 8-4. Brian McCann hit two homers in the contest. The Sharks are now sitting in the fourth playoff spot, 2 1/2 games behind the Mighty Men.

Meanwhile Hillsborough and Hoboken split their Sunday games. Hillsborough took the first game 11-9 as Brad Hawpe drove in five runs and Juan Encarnacion hit a three-run homer. Hoboken rallied to take the second game 6-5. The Cutters were trailing by one in the ninth but Geoff Jenkins hit a solo homer to tie the game. Mike Cameron hit a double that scored Miguel Cabrera to win the game. Hoboken is now sitting comfortably in fifth, only a game out of fourth and 2 1/2 up on Hillsborough.

Vancouver and Jake Peavy shut down Marietta 5-1 to stay one game out of the final playoff spot. Peavy pitched six innings and held the Mighty Men to one run on four hits and Jason Bay was 4-5. Marietta has now lost five of their last six and begin a critical series with Hillsborough today.

Sharks take a bite out of Vancouver's playoff hopes

Hoboken finally lost, 8-0 to South Boston. Dontrelle Willis hurled 7 shutout innings, giving up only four hits and two walks. Vladimir Guerrero hit two homers and drove in four runs to give the Gang enough offense for the victory. The Cutters fell back into a fifth place tie.

Honolulu completed their sweep of Vancouver with a 12-7 smackdown yesterday. Ben Sheets was crushed for seven runs in two innings and Adrian Gonzalez went 3-5 with a homer and three RBIs. The Sharks moved into fourth place, while Vancouver's playoff hopes seem to be disappearing by the day.

Hillsborough defeated Las Vegas 4-1 to remain the top outsider, only 1/2 game back of sixth. D.C. was idle and remains tied with Hoboken for fifth. Justin Verlander pitched a complete game 3-hitter, surrendering only one unearned run to improve to 14-8 on the season.

Arkansas and Carolina remain somewhat alive in the playoff chase, both shutting out their opponents yesterday. Arkansas blanked Marietta for the second straight day, 4-0 behind Curt Schilling. Schilling allowed 10 hits but struck out 10 Mighty Men. Carolina meanwhile had an unlikely shutout from Jason Jennings, who had been getting smacked around this year. You may remember him giving up 20 runs to the Sugar Bears back on April 2nd and 13 runs on July 2nd to D.C. (maybe he shouldn't pitch on the second day of the month?). Jennings held the Sardines to four hits over nine innings.

Marietta, by the way, has now lost three in a row and is not sitting as comfortably at the top wild card seat. Luckily for them there is a lot of shuffling going on in the lower ranks. With Vancouver, Hillsborough, and Newark coming up next on their schedule, the Mighty Men will have to prove that they belong.

Hoboken, Honolulu improve their position

Hoboken kept at it with a 5-0, 2-hit shutout of South Boston yesterday. Boof Bonser gave the Cutters 7.2 innings and struck out nine. Chris Duncan's three-run homer in the third gave the Cutters all the runs they needed. Hoboken moved into sole possession of fifth place, a half game ahead of idle Hillsborough.

Meanwhile Honolulu took game one against Vancouver by a 2-1 margin. Cliff Lee outduelled Jake Peavy to improve to 5-7. Honolulu moved into a virtual tie with the Hitmen, though Hillsborough is percentage points ahead of the Sharks. Vancouver slipped back to 1 1/2 games out.

Newark pounded the crap out of D.C. yesterday 18-0. Slapper fans criticized the Sugar Bears for beating up on the reanimated corpse of Josh Hancock (2 IP, 9 H, 8 ER), but Newark manager Don Mattingly pointed out that no one showed them any mercy when zombie Darryl Kile took the mound for them several years ago. Carlos Guillen was 4-5 in the game and Jim Edmonds and Nick Johnson each had four RBIs.

Wild Card race gets tighter

The playoff race got tighter yesterday. Honolulu beat Arkansas 12-7 thanks to big days from Miguel Tejada (4-5), Brian McCann (3-5, 4 RBIs), and Johnny Damon (3-5). The Sharks jumped all over Falcon starter Juan Cruz in the second inning, scoring seven runs. Cruz only surrendered three hits, but walked six batters in his 1 2/3 innings of work.

Meanwhile Hoboken won their fourth straight with a 12-6 win over D.C. The Slappers jumped out to a 6-0 lead after a six run third inning, but the Cutters crawled back and took the lead with a six-run inning of their own. Mike Jacobs and Chris Duncan each had 3 RBIs.

Finally, Vancouver dropped their opening game against Newark 6-2. Randy Johnson earned his 199th career victory. Johnson will be the fourth to reach 200 with his next victory and the third to achieve the feat this year. Curt Schilling of Arkansas is the next active player with 190 career wins, but it looks like he'll have to wait til next year. Newark also became the first team to win 100 games this season and the eighth time in the franchises twelve year history that they have hit the century mark.

So Vancouver fell out of a playoff spot and into eighth, a half a game behind Hoboken and Honolulu. Hoboken remains percentage points up on Honolulu, since the Sharks have played more games than the Cutters. D.C. remains one game up on Hillsborough for fourth place after the Hitmen dropped a 7-4 loss to the Sardines.