Billy Wagner must have been preoccupied with his Pitcher of the Week award yesterday and failed to save the game against the Endzone Animals last night. Vancouver was clinging to a 4-3 lead in the 9th inning. Wagner had already gotten out of a jam in the 8th and got the first two batters out in the 9th. But Gerald Laird, a former Vancouver player, took Wagner deep to center to tie the game up and go to extra innings. In the 11th, Vancouver exploded for 5 runs. Philly got a solo homer in the bottom half of the inning, but that was all they could get.
Hillsborough kept pace with the Fist, winning their matchup with D.C. 5-2. C.C. Sabathia improved to 3-0 on the season with an 8-inning, 7-hit performance, in which he only gave up one run. Hillsborough still holds a percentage-point lead over Vancouver in the Morris Division.
Marietta has won their 5th in a row and has stormed back into contention for the Hanover Divison. The Mighty Men pounded away on the Sugar Bears yesterday 11-2. Josh Hamilton was 5-5 with a homer and two doubles and Ryan Dempster held the Sugar Bears to 2 hits and no runs over 6 innings. Dempster also struck out 6. The Mighty Men, who were 4-7 before the streak, are now 9-7 and alone in 2nd place in the division.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Monday, March 30, 2009
Ankiel, Wagner streak to awards
This week's JR Cigars Smokin' Batter of the Week is easily Rick Ankiel. Ankiel's first 6 hits of the season were all home runs, until he was held to only a double in the second game against Sardine City. He came right back the next day though and hit his 7th home run of the season (along with his first 2 singles), then hit his first triple of the season in the second match of Sunday's doubleheader. For the week, Ankiel hit .391 with a ridiculous 1.174 slugging, 5 home runs, 15 RBIs, and 8 runs scored.
Remember last week's batter of the week, Aubrey Huff? Well he hasn't slowed down since winning the award. In fact, if not for Ankiel's historic feat, Huff could have been an early repeat winner. This week, Huff hit .519 with a 1.148 slugging, 4 home runs, 11 runs scored, 8 RBIs, and 5 doubles. Other notable batters: Marietta's Milton Bradley (.429/.529/.821, 10 R, 10 RBI), Carolina's Dustin Pedroia (.441/.486/.647, 2 HR, 6 R), Philly's Mark Teixeira (.429/.568/.786, 6 RBI, 2 HR), and New Jersey's David DeJesus (.407/.500/.704, 10 R, 2 HR).
This week, we award the ShamWow® Pitcher of the Week Award to Vancouver's Billy Wagner. Wagner saved 5 games in 5 appearances, more than doubling his league lead over the rest of the DMBL relievers. Wagner now has 7 saves on the season. In his 5 appearances, Wagner struck out 6 in 6.1 innings, and allowed only one hit. That's as automatic as you get.
Wags faced some pretty stiff competition, not just from the rest of the league, but from his own teammate. Jake Peavy was 1-0 in two starts, with a 1.50 ERA and 11 strikeouts. The unluckiest pitcher this week has to be Ted Lilly of Blue Ridge who only gave up one run in 13 innings, but only has one loss to show for it. Cliff Lee (0-1, 2.35 ERA in 15.1 innings, 15 K) had a similar fate in Arkansas. Some two-game winners this week: Felix Hernandez of Hillsborough (1.38, 14K), Hoboken's Matt Garza (1.93 ERA), Newark's Chien-Ming Wang (2.30), and New Jersey's Kevin Slowey (1.84, 16 K).
Remember last week's batter of the week, Aubrey Huff? Well he hasn't slowed down since winning the award. In fact, if not for Ankiel's historic feat, Huff could have been an early repeat winner. This week, Huff hit .519 with a 1.148 slugging, 4 home runs, 11 runs scored, 8 RBIs, and 5 doubles. Other notable batters: Marietta's Milton Bradley (.429/.529/.821, 10 R, 10 RBI), Carolina's Dustin Pedroia (.441/.486/.647, 2 HR, 6 R), Philly's Mark Teixeira (.429/.568/.786, 6 RBI, 2 HR), and New Jersey's David DeJesus (.407/.500/.704, 10 R, 2 HR).
This week, we award the ShamWow® Pitcher of the Week Award to Vancouver's Billy Wagner. Wagner saved 5 games in 5 appearances, more than doubling his league lead over the rest of the DMBL relievers. Wagner now has 7 saves on the season. In his 5 appearances, Wagner struck out 6 in 6.1 innings, and allowed only one hit. That's as automatic as you get.
Wags faced some pretty stiff competition, not just from the rest of the league, but from his own teammate. Jake Peavy was 1-0 in two starts, with a 1.50 ERA and 11 strikeouts. The unluckiest pitcher this week has to be Ted Lilly of Blue Ridge who only gave up one run in 13 innings, but only has one loss to show for it. Cliff Lee (0-1, 2.35 ERA in 15.1 innings, 15 K) had a similar fate in Arkansas. Some two-game winners this week: Felix Hernandez of Hillsborough (1.38, 14K), Hoboken's Matt Garza (1.93 ERA), Newark's Chien-Ming Wang (2.30), and New Jersey's Kevin Slowey (1.84, 16 K).
Friday, March 27, 2009
Hitmen streak hits 6
The Hired Hitmen won their 6th straight yesterday, pounding D.C. 9-2. Ryan Howard was 3-4 with a pair of home runs and 7 RBIs to singlehandedly lead the team to victory. C.C. Sabathia went the distance, improving to 2-0 on the season, as he limited the O-Bombers to 6 hits and one walk, while striking out 7.
Vancouver kept pace by thrashing Philly 11-0. Ben Sheets pitched 7 shutout innings and Omar Infante was 3-5 with 2 homers and 4 RBIs. Jerry Hairston also hit a home run and drove in 3 runs. The Endzone Animals could only muster up 5 hits in the contest, losing their 5th straight. That's bad news for Philly as Las Vegas comes to town to start their series today.
Speaking of Vegas, the Rat Pack was abused by Team Buddah last night 9-1. Andy Pettitte pitched a gem for Buddah, striking out 8 in 8 innings of work and holding the Rats to 6 hits. Joey Votto was 2-4 with 2 doubles in the game. Buddah only had 9 hits and 2 walks but made it count - only two Buddah batters were stranded in the efficient victory.
Vancouver kept pace by thrashing Philly 11-0. Ben Sheets pitched 7 shutout innings and Omar Infante was 3-5 with 2 homers and 4 RBIs. Jerry Hairston also hit a home run and drove in 3 runs. The Endzone Animals could only muster up 5 hits in the contest, losing their 5th straight. That's bad news for Philly as Las Vegas comes to town to start their series today.
Speaking of Vegas, the Rat Pack was abused by Team Buddah last night 9-1. Andy Pettitte pitched a gem for Buddah, striking out 8 in 8 innings of work and holding the Rats to 6 hits. Joey Votto was 2-4 with 2 doubles in the game. Buddah only had 9 hits and 2 walks but made it count - only two Buddah batters were stranded in the efficient victory.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Ankiel makes 'em count
We mentioned that Rick Ankiel recently became the first DMBLer to appear as both a pitcher and a position player. Did you know that Ankiel's first hit in his DMBL career was a home run on Opening Day against D.C.? Well that's nothing... Ankiel is now hitting .400 on the season - 4 hits in 10 at bats and all 4 hits are home runs. That works out to a 1.600 slugging percentage! Well, it goes without saying that Ankiel has earned a little more playing time with this performance. He started the season on the bench and now has landed a role starting against right handers.
Mike Mussina's start against the Sugar Bears wasn't very memorable - 6.2 innings, 4 earned runs, 9 Ks - but it was his 363rd career start, moving him past Kevin Brown for 7th overall. His 9 strikeouts brought him to 1997, three shy of becoming only the 7th to 2000 for their career.
Hillsborough won their 5th straight, a 6-3 victory over D.C. yesterday, sending the Hitmen into first place - percentage points ahead of Vancouver. Aubrey Huff was 3-4 with 2 home runs and 3 RBIs to lead the Hitmen, while Felix Hernandez finally put together a good start (6 IP, 9 H, ER, BB, 5K).
Chad Billingsley stymied the slumping Endzone Animals in a 3-1 victory for Vancouver. Billingsley pitched 7.1 innings, allowing only one run on 5 hits and 3 walks, while striking out 8. Billy Wagner again notched a save, his 5th - tops in the league.
Blue Ridge not only lost the game to Amityville 4-2, but also lost catcher Chris Ianetta to injury for the better part of a month. Batting third in the game, Ianetta took the first pitch for a called strike. Ianetta protested, asking how can a pitch that bounced in the dirt be a strike, but the umpire ignored him. The next pitch came in high over Ianetta's head. Ianetta stared down the pitcher Jon Lester and made some kind of off-colored joke about the pitcher's bout with cancer. Lester then uncorked a pitch in at Ianetta's hands sending him to the ground in obvious pain. Ianetta charged the mound, punching Lester with his injured hand and then screamed in pain when he realized it was the one that the ball hit. Blue Ridge signed DMBL retread Jason Kendall to take his spot on the roster.
Mike Mussina's start against the Sugar Bears wasn't very memorable - 6.2 innings, 4 earned runs, 9 Ks - but it was his 363rd career start, moving him past Kevin Brown for 7th overall. His 9 strikeouts brought him to 1997, three shy of becoming only the 7th to 2000 for their career.
Hillsborough won their 5th straight, a 6-3 victory over D.C. yesterday, sending the Hitmen into first place - percentage points ahead of Vancouver. Aubrey Huff was 3-4 with 2 home runs and 3 RBIs to lead the Hitmen, while Felix Hernandez finally put together a good start (6 IP, 9 H, ER, BB, 5K).
Chad Billingsley stymied the slumping Endzone Animals in a 3-1 victory for Vancouver. Billingsley pitched 7.1 innings, allowing only one run on 5 hits and 3 walks, while striking out 8. Billy Wagner again notched a save, his 5th - tops in the league.
Blue Ridge not only lost the game to Amityville 4-2, but also lost catcher Chris Ianetta to injury for the better part of a month. Batting third in the game, Ianetta took the first pitch for a called strike. Ianetta protested, asking how can a pitch that bounced in the dirt be a strike, but the umpire ignored him. The next pitch came in high over Ianetta's head. Ianetta stared down the pitcher Jon Lester and made some kind of off-colored joke about the pitcher's bout with cancer. Lester then uncorked a pitch in at Ianetta's hands sending him to the ground in obvious pain. Ianetta charged the mound, punching Lester with his injured hand and then screamed in pain when he realized it was the one that the ball hit. Blue Ridge signed DMBL retread Jason Kendall to take his spot on the roster.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
It's a beautiful day for a ballgame... Let's play two!
Yesterday was a light day in the DMBL with only three games.
Carolina and Arkansas decided to play a double header yesterday, regardless of the fact that it wasn't a Sunday. The two teams battled to a 3-3 tie at the end of 9 innings, then kept going another 9. The Mudcats scored three runs in the top of the 14th innings to take a 6-3 lead, but the Falcons rallied right back on a Jermaine Dye 3-run homer. The Mudcats once again scored 3 runs in the 18th inning, taking a 9-6 lead. Buddy Carlyle retired the Falcons in order to close the game out. Carlyle pitched 5.1 innings in relief to earn the win, allowing 3 runs on 3 hits and 2 walks, and striking out 5.
Meanwhile, Amityville dropped their third straight, a 12-8 slugfest against Blue Ridge. Carl Crawford was 3-6 with a homer and 4 RBIs and Hunter Pence was 3-4 with 2 RBIs to lead the Bomber offense. Jacoby Ellsbury had a triple and a home run for the Ant Slayers.
Finally, Vancouver edged Philadelphia 4-2 in Philadelphia. Jake Peavy and Brandon Webb dueled in a 2-2 tie for 6 innings until Troy Glaus broke the tie with an RBI single in the 7th. Curtis Granderson hit his 5th homer of the year to give the Fist a 4-2 lead in the 8th. Billy Wagner closed out the ninth for his league-leading 4th save.
Carolina and Arkansas decided to play a double header yesterday, regardless of the fact that it wasn't a Sunday. The two teams battled to a 3-3 tie at the end of 9 innings, then kept going another 9. The Mudcats scored three runs in the top of the 14th innings to take a 6-3 lead, but the Falcons rallied right back on a Jermaine Dye 3-run homer. The Mudcats once again scored 3 runs in the 18th inning, taking a 9-6 lead. Buddy Carlyle retired the Falcons in order to close the game out. Carlyle pitched 5.1 innings in relief to earn the win, allowing 3 runs on 3 hits and 2 walks, and striking out 5.
Meanwhile, Amityville dropped their third straight, a 12-8 slugfest against Blue Ridge. Carl Crawford was 3-6 with a homer and 4 RBIs and Hunter Pence was 3-4 with 2 RBIs to lead the Bomber offense. Jacoby Ellsbury had a triple and a home run for the Ant Slayers.
Finally, Vancouver edged Philadelphia 4-2 in Philadelphia. Jake Peavy and Brandon Webb dueled in a 2-2 tie for 6 innings until Troy Glaus broke the tie with an RBI single in the 7th. Curtis Granderson hit his 5th homer of the year to give the Fist a 4-2 lead in the 8th. Billy Wagner closed out the ninth for his league-leading 4th save.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
End of the Road for Schilling
Curt Schilling announced his retirement yesterday. The longtime Falcon and Iron Fist pitcher has assembled quite the career and is a lock for induction into the DMBL Hall of Fame. Let's take a look...
Schilling was signed as a free agent relief pitcher back in 1992 by Vancouver. The Iron Fist were struggling and looking to rebuild for 1993 and took a chance on some young hurlers like Schilling, Greg Maddux, and Greg Swindell. In Schilling's first DMBL season, he compiled a 15-9 record with a 2.95 ERA and 14 complete games. That season, Vancouver won their first of two consecutive championships. Being a relief pitcher the year before, Schilling wasn't ready for such a workload and ended up missing the entire 1994 season. Of course the strike took out the 1995 season so Schilling was well rested for the 1996 season. Schilling came back as new pitcher. After striking out a mere 143 in 226 innings in 1993, Schilling struck out 228 in 229 innings in 1996. In 1997, Schilling won 20 games for the first time, even though his ERA rose to 4.41 and helping Vancouver reach the World Series again. Unfortunately for him, they ended up losing this one. This would be Schilling's last full season in Vancouver because in June of 1998, he was part of a blockbuster deal that sent Schilling, along with Kenny Lofton and Dan Wilson to Arkansas in exchange for Javy Lopez, Ryan Klesko, and a bonanza of draft picks. Schilling led the Falcons to a championship over his former team in 1998, then again in 1999. Schilling probably enjoyed his best season in 2003, when he went 19-6 with a 2.90 ERA and 263 strikeouts, leading the Falcons to another championship, this time over the hated rival Newark Sugar Bears. For his efforts, Schilling won his first and only Ben McDonald Pitcher of the Year Award. In all, Schilling contributed to 4 World Series winners and was on the runner up five times. Schilling contributed a couple more solid seasons before missing the 2006 season. Schilling came back and pitched a partial 2007, appearing in only 16 games and finally pitched his last full season last season, going 13-10, with a 4.46 ERA for the Falcons.
Overall, Schilling is in very good company. He finishes his career with a 205-104 record. The wins are good enough for 5th all-time, just behind teammates Pedro Martinez (207) and Roger Clemens (211). His .671 winning percentage is good for second best. His 2553 career strikeouts are 4th all-time, once again behind Clemens and Martinez and the all-time leader Randy Johnson (3249). He has 402 career starts, plus 3 relief appearances, good enough for 5th all time. His 87 complete games are second only to Greg Maddux (100). He's 4th with 18 shutouts. His career ERA (3.97) and WHIP (1.26) are also in the top 10 all-time.
Thanks for the memories, Curt. We'll revisit you in 5 years!
Schilling was signed as a free agent relief pitcher back in 1992 by Vancouver. The Iron Fist were struggling and looking to rebuild for 1993 and took a chance on some young hurlers like Schilling, Greg Maddux, and Greg Swindell. In Schilling's first DMBL season, he compiled a 15-9 record with a 2.95 ERA and 14 complete games. That season, Vancouver won their first of two consecutive championships. Being a relief pitcher the year before, Schilling wasn't ready for such a workload and ended up missing the entire 1994 season. Of course the strike took out the 1995 season so Schilling was well rested for the 1996 season. Schilling came back as new pitcher. After striking out a mere 143 in 226 innings in 1993, Schilling struck out 228 in 229 innings in 1996. In 1997, Schilling won 20 games for the first time, even though his ERA rose to 4.41 and helping Vancouver reach the World Series again. Unfortunately for him, they ended up losing this one. This would be Schilling's last full season in Vancouver because in June of 1998, he was part of a blockbuster deal that sent Schilling, along with Kenny Lofton and Dan Wilson to Arkansas in exchange for Javy Lopez, Ryan Klesko, and a bonanza of draft picks. Schilling led the Falcons to a championship over his former team in 1998, then again in 1999. Schilling probably enjoyed his best season in 2003, when he went 19-6 with a 2.90 ERA and 263 strikeouts, leading the Falcons to another championship, this time over the hated rival Newark Sugar Bears. For his efforts, Schilling won his first and only Ben McDonald Pitcher of the Year Award. In all, Schilling contributed to 4 World Series winners and was on the runner up five times. Schilling contributed a couple more solid seasons before missing the 2006 season. Schilling came back and pitched a partial 2007, appearing in only 16 games and finally pitched his last full season last season, going 13-10, with a 4.46 ERA for the Falcons.
Overall, Schilling is in very good company. He finishes his career with a 205-104 record. The wins are good enough for 5th all-time, just behind teammates Pedro Martinez (207) and Roger Clemens (211). His .671 winning percentage is good for second best. His 2553 career strikeouts are 4th all-time, once again behind Clemens and Martinez and the all-time leader Randy Johnson (3249). He has 402 career starts, plus 3 relief appearances, good enough for 5th all time. His 87 complete games are second only to Greg Maddux (100). He's 4th with 18 shutouts. His career ERA (3.97) and WHIP (1.26) are also in the top 10 all-time.
Thanks for the memories, Curt. We'll revisit you in 5 years!
Monday, March 23, 2009
Player of the week awards for week 1
This week's JR Cigars Smokin' Batter of the Week has to be Aubrey Huff of Hillsborough. Huff led the league with 6 homers and a 1.032 slugging percentage. He also led the league in runs (12) and OPS (1.489) while batting .389. He's a big reason why the Hired Hitmen are sitting just 1/2 a game out of first after winning their last three games.
Also in consideration this week were Vancouver's Chase Utley, who was second in the league in batting (.475), third in on base (.500) and third in slugging (.850). Utley's former teammate, Andre Ethier, now with Philadelphia, also had a great week - he led the league in hitting .500 and on-base percentage (.576). Other notables: Blue Ridge's Prince Fielder (.406 with 5 homers), Hoboken's Miguel Cabrera (1.257 OPS, 5 doubles), Philly's Albert Pujols (.353/.463/.765 with 10 RBIs and 4 HRs) and Newark's Jason Giambi. Giambi probably makes the list more for one game - Sunday's 12-5 thrashing of Amityville where Giambi hit 3 home runs and drove in 8 runs.
The easy pick for the Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal Pitcher of the Week is Roy Halladay of the Carolina Mudcats. The Mudcats were the last standing undefeated team in the league and Halladay did his best to keep it that way. Halladay started the week pitching a 5-hit shutout of the Endzone Animals, striking out 9 and walking 3. But he wasn't done. Halladay also earned a second victory against the Hired Hitmen, pitching 7 strong innings, giving up only one unearned run and striking out 5 Hillsborough batters. Other considerations: Blue Ridge's Gavin Floyd (2-0, 1.15), Las Vegas' Josh Beckett (2-0, 3.21, 14 K) and Rich Harden (1-0, 1.50, 14 K in 2 starts), Hillsborough's Dan Haren (2-0, 2.40, 15 K), Newark's Chien-Ming Wang (2-0, 1.20), and Hoboken's Matt Garza (1-1, 1.32, shutout).
Also in consideration this week were Vancouver's Chase Utley, who was second in the league in batting (.475), third in on base (.500) and third in slugging (.850). Utley's former teammate, Andre Ethier, now with Philadelphia, also had a great week - he led the league in hitting .500 and on-base percentage (.576). Other notables: Blue Ridge's Prince Fielder (.406 with 5 homers), Hoboken's Miguel Cabrera (1.257 OPS, 5 doubles), Philly's Albert Pujols (.353/.463/.765 with 10 RBIs and 4 HRs) and Newark's Jason Giambi. Giambi probably makes the list more for one game - Sunday's 12-5 thrashing of Amityville where Giambi hit 3 home runs and drove in 8 runs.
The easy pick for the Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal Pitcher of the Week is Roy Halladay of the Carolina Mudcats. The Mudcats were the last standing undefeated team in the league and Halladay did his best to keep it that way. Halladay started the week pitching a 5-hit shutout of the Endzone Animals, striking out 9 and walking 3. But he wasn't done. Halladay also earned a second victory against the Hired Hitmen, pitching 7 strong innings, giving up only one unearned run and striking out 5 Hillsborough batters. Other considerations: Blue Ridge's Gavin Floyd (2-0, 1.15), Las Vegas' Josh Beckett (2-0, 3.21, 14 K) and Rich Harden (1-0, 1.50, 14 K in 2 starts), Hillsborough's Dan Haren (2-0, 2.40, 15 K), Newark's Chien-Ming Wang (2-0, 1.20), and Hoboken's Matt Garza (1-1, 1.32, shutout).
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