Initial Results

Hillsborough's C.C. Sabathia made his first appearance since injuring himself a month ago. Sabathia was solid in his return (6.2 IP, 2 ER, 4 K), but lost to a superior A.J. Burnett in a battle of the initials. A.J. scattered three hits and one earned run in eight innings and struck out eight Hitmen. Mariano Rivera closed out the ninth for his sixth save. Incidentally, Hillsborough released outfielder Juan Pierre to make room for Sabathia. Pierre was struggling this season, but had been a member of the organization and was a regular since 2003.

Speaking of initials, trade talks are heating up in Sardine City as B. J. Ryan has been hotly pursued. Rumors are running wild, but possible fits are Marietta and Hoboken, the latter's bullpen being a disaster so far this season.

The Weekend Ahead: The Brett Myers watch continues Saturday as the much-maligned pitcher looks to end his winless streak against Vancouver. Philly and Newark take turns throwing each others' Johnsons at each other. Randy goes for Newark Friday and Josh starts Saturday for Philly. Newark faces second-place Honolulu after the Philly games. If Newark survives unscathed from the two series, there may be no stopping them.

The DMBL All-Star ballot is now posted so make sure you vote!

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.