For the third time Newark has been unable to put the division title race away. After dropping two of three to, of all teams, Marietta, Newark now lost their first against Hoboken. Meanwhile, Las Vegas has won 9 straight and closed the gap to 7 1/2 games. With a magic number of one, that would mean that the Rats would have to win all of their remaining games and Newark would have to lose all of theirs, but the situation has still been getting under Newark owner Butch Garretson's skin. Garretson was seen upending garbage cans, sweeping papers and knickknacks off desks in the Sugar Bear office, and physically abusing Nick Swisher. "Lazy bastard doesn't want to work..." Garretson was heard muttering yesterday.
D.C. became the fifth team to clinch a playoff spot yesterday, but still is vulnerable to Hillsborough. The Hitmen are only 1 1/2 games behind with 8 games left to play. Hillsborough can clinch with a win over Arkansas tonight combined with a Tampa loss to Las Vegas.
Remember when Marietta was so far in last place that the 13th place team needed binoculars? Well the Mighty Men are now closer to 11th place than last, separated by 2 games behind 11th place Carolina and 1 1/2 behind 12th place Blue Ridge. The Mighty Men are currently 3 1/2 ahead of last place Team Buddah. New Jersey became the first team to 100 losses this year after their extra-inning loss to Sardine City. There's a good possibility that they'll be joined by 3 other teams in the 100-loss column before next week's season finale.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Monday, September 8, 2008
Players of the Week
Since we forgot to give out the awards last week, we'll include last week in our considerations.
Hitter of the Week
Our top two candidates for the Mitchell Award had a monster week...er weeks. Newark's Chipper Jones was huge, leading the league in average (.500), on base percentage(.615), and slugging (1.067) (and of course OPS) while also hitting 3 homers and 6 doubles, scoring 12 runs and driving in 11. Meanwhile, Vancouver's David Ortiz tried to keep pace with a 1.180 OPS week (.462 on base, .718 slugging), with 4 homers and 12 RBI.
Meanwhile, D.C. had a huge offensive week, hitting .320 as a team with a .828 team OPS. Matt Kemp (.460, 13 runs, 1.081 OPS) and Jeff Kent (.412, 1.027 OPS, 9 RBI) were big parts of that surge, but the main cog, and this week's JR Cigars Smokin' Batter of the Week is Brian McCann. McCann hit .571 over the past two weeks with a 1.523 OPS and 13 RBIs.
Other considerations... Hoboken's Miguel Cabrera hit 6 home runs for the Cutters and drove in 15...Marietta's Josh Hamilton crushed the opposition with a 1.489 OPS, 5 HRs, and 14 RBIs...Philly's Jorge Posada had a solid week (.404, 4 HR, 11 RBI) and Tampa's Pat Burrell did his best to keep the Plunkers' playoff hopes alive (1.435 OPS, 4 HR, 9 RBI).
Pitcher of the Week
D.C. almost made it a sweep of the awards this week as both Shawn Marcum (1-0, 1.15, shutout) and Derrek Lowe (3-0, 1.21, shutout, 1.16 WHIP) had great weeks, not to mention a superb performance by closer Jonathan Papelbon (5-5 saves, 0.00 ERA in 5 games). But this week's Springfield Punx Pitcher of the Week Award goes to Philadelphia's Brandon Webb. Webb was also 3-0, but with a slightly better 1.14 ERA and slightly lower 1.14 WHIP. Webb also amassed 19 strikeouts in 23.2 innings of work.
Marietta's Mariano Rivera logged a lot of playing time over the past two weeks, but the old man still got it done. Rivera appeared in 12 games with an 0.71 ERA, picking up a win and a save, while striking out 11 in 12.2 innings.
Other pitchers of note...Speaking of old men, Arkansas' Roger Clemens still has a little bit of gas left in him (2-0, 2.02 ERA, 0.97 WHIP)...Looks like some time in the minors has done Philly's Yovani Gallardo some good (2-0, 3.09, 13K in 11.2 IP)...Hillsborough's Dan Haren (2-0, 1.72, 12 K, 0.77 WHIP) has helped keep the Hitmen on pace with D.C.
Hitter of the Week
Our top two candidates for the Mitchell Award had a monster week...er weeks. Newark's Chipper Jones was huge, leading the league in average (.500), on base percentage(.615), and slugging (1.067) (and of course OPS) while also hitting 3 homers and 6 doubles, scoring 12 runs and driving in 11. Meanwhile, Vancouver's David Ortiz tried to keep pace with a 1.180 OPS week (.462 on base, .718 slugging), with 4 homers and 12 RBI.
Meanwhile, D.C. had a huge offensive week, hitting .320 as a team with a .828 team OPS. Matt Kemp (.460, 13 runs, 1.081 OPS) and Jeff Kent (.412, 1.027 OPS, 9 RBI) were big parts of that surge, but the main cog, and this week's JR Cigars Smokin' Batter of the Week is Brian McCann. McCann hit .571 over the past two weeks with a 1.523 OPS and 13 RBIs.
Other considerations... Hoboken's Miguel Cabrera hit 6 home runs for the Cutters and drove in 15...Marietta's Josh Hamilton crushed the opposition with a 1.489 OPS, 5 HRs, and 14 RBIs...Philly's Jorge Posada had a solid week (.404, 4 HR, 11 RBI) and Tampa's Pat Burrell did his best to keep the Plunkers' playoff hopes alive (1.435 OPS, 4 HR, 9 RBI).
Pitcher of the Week
D.C. almost made it a sweep of the awards this week as both Shawn Marcum (1-0, 1.15, shutout) and Derrek Lowe (3-0, 1.21, shutout, 1.16 WHIP) had great weeks, not to mention a superb performance by closer Jonathan Papelbon (5-5 saves, 0.00 ERA in 5 games). But this week's Springfield Punx Pitcher of the Week Award goes to Philadelphia's Brandon Webb. Webb was also 3-0, but with a slightly better 1.14 ERA and slightly lower 1.14 WHIP. Webb also amassed 19 strikeouts in 23.2 innings of work.Marietta's Mariano Rivera logged a lot of playing time over the past two weeks, but the old man still got it done. Rivera appeared in 12 games with an 0.71 ERA, picking up a win and a save, while striking out 11 in 12.2 innings.
Other pitchers of note...Speaking of old men, Arkansas' Roger Clemens still has a little bit of gas left in him (2-0, 2.02 ERA, 0.97 WHIP)...Looks like some time in the minors has done Philly's Yovani Gallardo some good (2-0, 3.09, 13K in 11.2 IP)...Hillsborough's Dan Haren (2-0, 1.72, 12 K, 0.77 WHIP) has helped keep the Hitmen on pace with D.C.
Friday, September 5, 2008
Sugar Bears secure top spot
Vancouver broke their losing streak, barely, by edging the Mudcats 3-2 in 13 innings. Jake Peavy and Tim Hudson battled it out for 6 or so innings, but the score remained tied at 2 since the 2nd inning. With the no-decision, Peavy loses any hope of tying the DMBL mark of 26 victories in one season. Mike Lowell won the game with a walkoff home run in the 13th. Vancouver's magic number drops to 3.
D.C. tied up Hillsborough with a 4-1 win over the Falcons. Kelvim Escobar won his 16th with a 6-inning, 5-hit outing, giving up only one run and striking out 5. Both the Hitmen and Bushslappers are 3 away from clinching a playoff spot.
Randy Johnson (7.1 IP, 3 H, 13 K) outduelled Phil Hughes (6 IP, 2 H, 5 BB, 7 K) to pick up a 1-0 victory over the Sardine City Straphangers. The two teams combined for 10 hits total as Newark locked up the top overall seed in the playoffs.
Rarely do you see a pitcher pitch a complete game AND give up 9 earned runs but that's exactly what Blue Ridge's Jon Lieber did yesterday in a 9-3 loss to Philadelphia. Lieber "took one for the team", giving up 13 hits and walking 6 in 8 innings of work. Most of the damage was done in the first three innings, as the Animals piled up 8 of the 9 runs in those innings.
D.C. tied up Hillsborough with a 4-1 win over the Falcons. Kelvim Escobar won his 16th with a 6-inning, 5-hit outing, giving up only one run and striking out 5. Both the Hitmen and Bushslappers are 3 away from clinching a playoff spot.
Randy Johnson (7.1 IP, 3 H, 13 K) outduelled Phil Hughes (6 IP, 2 H, 5 BB, 7 K) to pick up a 1-0 victory over the Sardine City Straphangers. The two teams combined for 10 hits total as Newark locked up the top overall seed in the playoffs.
Rarely do you see a pitcher pitch a complete game AND give up 9 earned runs but that's exactly what Blue Ridge's Jon Lieber did yesterday in a 9-3 loss to Philadelphia. Lieber "took one for the team", giving up 13 hits and walking 6 in 8 innings of work. Most of the damage was done in the first three innings, as the Animals piled up 8 of the 9 runs in those innings.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Fist lose, but gain a magic number
Vancouver continues to back into their divisional crown. The Fist lost their fourth in a row, an 11-inning loss to Carolina. Vancouver scraped together a couple of runs to tie the game up and send it to extra innings. But in the 11th inning, Curtis Granderson misplayed an Aramis Ramirez single, scoring Dustin Pedroia all the way from first base. Meanwhile, Philadelphia dropped a 9-7 decision to Blue Ridge as Garrett Atkins went 2-4 with 2 homers and 6 RBIs, including a 3-run shot in the 8th inning that gave the Bombers the lead. Vancouver's magic number to clinch the Morris Division is 4.
Hillsborough moved ahead of D.C. by half a game yesterday after their 8-2 rout of Tampa Bay. Dan Haren scattered 5 hits in 8 innings to improve to 12-10 and Aubrey Huff was 3-5 with 4 RBIs.
Hoboken won a 12-inning brawl with a walkoff grandslam by Aaron Rowand off Kyle Lohse. Hoboken defeated the Mighty Men 13-9. Rowand was 4-7 with 5 RBIs in the match. Marietta stays a half game out of last place since the Buddahs were shut down by Orlando Hernandez (CG, 3 H, 1 run) and the Rat Pack 3-1.
Hillsborough moved ahead of D.C. by half a game yesterday after their 8-2 rout of Tampa Bay. Dan Haren scattered 5 hits in 8 innings to improve to 12-10 and Aubrey Huff was 3-5 with 4 RBIs.
Hoboken won a 12-inning brawl with a walkoff grandslam by Aaron Rowand off Kyle Lohse. Hoboken defeated the Mighty Men 13-9. Rowand was 4-7 with 5 RBIs in the match. Marietta stays a half game out of last place since the Buddahs were shut down by Orlando Hernandez (CG, 3 H, 1 run) and the Rat Pack 3-1.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Animals clinch despite loss
Despite their loss yesterday, the Philadelphia Endzone Animals finally clinched the fourth playoff spot. Newark shut out Tampa Bay yesterday 9-0 to give the Animals the clincher. James Shields went the full nine, giving up 9 hits and striking out 8. The Sugar Bears magic number to clinch the best record overall is now 2. Meanwhile, the Plunkers fell 8 games out of a playoff spot, giving them a "tragic number" of 5.
Hillsborough and D.C. kept pace with each other. The Hitmen knocked off Carolina 5-2 behind a solid effort from Justin Verlander. D.C.'s Shawn Marcum pitched a 7-hit shutout of Blue Ridge in a 7-0 victory. The tie will be broken one way or another after tonight's games as Hillsborough travels to Blue Ridge and D.C. takes the day off. The Slappers resume Thursday against the Falcons.
New Jersey pounded Marietta 11-3 to move 1/2 game behind the Mighty Men in the race for the cellar. Josh Fields and Ivan Rodriguez each had 3 RBIs for the Buddahs.
Hillsborough and D.C. kept pace with each other. The Hitmen knocked off Carolina 5-2 behind a solid effort from Justin Verlander. D.C.'s Shawn Marcum pitched a 7-hit shutout of Blue Ridge in a 7-0 victory. The tie will be broken one way or another after tonight's games as Hillsborough travels to Blue Ridge and D.C. takes the day off. The Slappers resume Thursday against the Falcons.
New Jersey pounded Marietta 11-3 to move 1/2 game behind the Mighty Men in the race for the cellar. Josh Fields and Ivan Rodriguez each had 3 RBIs for the Buddahs.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
D.C., Hillsborough make it a race
D.C. and Hillsborough remained neck and neck yesterday, as they beat up on the lower dregs of the Morris Division. D.C. squeaked by Blue Ridge 3-2, besting emergency starter Paul Byrd. Byrd had been signed to make the start after Tim Redding, himself replacing injured Adam Wainwright, was injured in his last start. Byrd was solid in his 6.2 innings, allowing 3 runs on 6 hits, but was saddled with the loss after his team could not score enough runs off D.C. starter Derrek Lowe.
Meanwhile, John Lackey struck out 11 Mudcats en route to a 6-2 victory yesterday. Lackey improved to 15-7 on the season and Takashi Saito notched his league-leading 27th save of the season. D.C. and Hillsborough are now tied with 13 games left in the season, 7 games ahead of 7th-place Tampa Bay.
Marietta continues to shoot themselves in the foot, beating New Jersey 7-3 yesterday on the back of Austin Kearns (3-4, 3 RBIs) and Conor Jackson (3-5). The Mighty Men are now 1 1/2 games ahead of the Buddahs in the standings.
Meanwhile, John Lackey struck out 11 Mudcats en route to a 6-2 victory yesterday. Lackey improved to 15-7 on the season and Takashi Saito notched his league-leading 27th save of the season. D.C. and Hillsborough are now tied with 13 games left in the season, 7 games ahead of 7th-place Tampa Bay.
Marietta continues to shoot themselves in the foot, beating New Jersey 7-3 yesterday on the back of Austin Kearns (3-4, 3 RBIs) and Conor Jackson (3-5). The Mighty Men are now 1 1/2 games ahead of the Buddahs in the standings.
Friday, August 29, 2008
Pucci takes control of Plunkers
The third Pucci brother has officially taken over the Tampa Bay Plunkers. Nick Pucci has been approved by the Commissioner's office to wrest control of the Plunkers from Bill Levesque, who has stepped aside due to health and personal reasons.
The Pucci family first came to the States from Italy back in the 1920s with nothing but a dream - to somehow be a part of a computer sim baseball league. But Grandpa Pucci couldn't speak English too well, so he toiled away as a groundskeeper for the Southern League Carolina Mudcats. Grandpa Pucci used to read to Papa Pucci from the Baseball Prospectus every night before going to bed. On his 18th birthday, Papa Pucci set out to New York with the dream of working for a DMBL franchise. But it proved harder than he thought. He spent many months sending out resumes and trying to intercept GMs and owners as they left the stadiums at night. Despite his failures, he imparted his dream onto his sons. Papa Pucci made sure they were familiar with Earl Weaver Baseball, Hardball, Microleague, and RBI Baseball. Chris Pucci was the first of the Brothers Pucci to gain a DMBL franchise back in the Expansion of 1997. Pucci's Carolina Mudcats have been up and down, but he has made the playoffs 5 times in his 12 seasons. In 1998, Anthony "Bocci" Pucci took over the reins of the failed Lisbon Diabos franchise, but it took him 8 years to make the playoffs. Bocci did beat his brother to a division title, when last year he won the Morris Division title. Nick makes the Pucci family the leader in most brothers as owners, ahead of the Landsmans, Zajacs, Days, and possibly Calvosas. Grandpa Pucci would indeed be proud!
The Pucci family first came to the States from Italy back in the 1920s with nothing but a dream - to somehow be a part of a computer sim baseball league. But Grandpa Pucci couldn't speak English too well, so he toiled away as a groundskeeper for the Southern League Carolina Mudcats. Grandpa Pucci used to read to Papa Pucci from the Baseball Prospectus every night before going to bed. On his 18th birthday, Papa Pucci set out to New York with the dream of working for a DMBL franchise. But it proved harder than he thought. He spent many months sending out resumes and trying to intercept GMs and owners as they left the stadiums at night. Despite his failures, he imparted his dream onto his sons. Papa Pucci made sure they were familiar with Earl Weaver Baseball, Hardball, Microleague, and RBI Baseball. Chris Pucci was the first of the Brothers Pucci to gain a DMBL franchise back in the Expansion of 1997. Pucci's Carolina Mudcats have been up and down, but he has made the playoffs 5 times in his 12 seasons. In 1998, Anthony "Bocci" Pucci took over the reins of the failed Lisbon Diabos franchise, but it took him 8 years to make the playoffs. Bocci did beat his brother to a division title, when last year he won the Morris Division title. Nick makes the Pucci family the leader in most brothers as owners, ahead of the Landsmans, Zajacs, Days, and possibly Calvosas. Grandpa Pucci would indeed be proud!
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