Jersey Shore - September 2014

In another up and down season which Jersey finds themselves out of the playoffs, does it surprise anyone that September was their best month of the year?  Including their 11 game streak in the middle of the month, Jersey captured it's 2nd 20 win month in team history by going 21-6, falling just 2 games behind the eventual Wild Card winner, the Regina River Sharks.


Players of the Month:
With a big month like September, there will be several main players in the running for POTM, and this month was no exception.


SP Dan Macias 5-0, 2.14 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 42 K's. Aces are suppose to show up big in big situations and Macias did that in a month where Jersey needed every game. He pitched 6 quality starts, winning 5 of them and earning a no decision in the other.  He ended the season with 16 straight shutout innings picking up his 20th win on the last day of the year. It marks his first 20 win season and the first in Jersey Shore history.


SP Rob Goodship 6-0, 2.51 ERA, 2 CG.  Fans are hoping that Goodship has finally come to play. After a trying sophomore year Goodship finally put together a fabulous string of starts for a perfect 6-0 September.  Always thought of to have potential to be a legit #2 starter, the soon to be 28 year old might just be a late bloomer.


MR Jose Gomes 2-0, 2 Saves, 2.08 ERA, 21 K in 13 IP.  When Dog Pound is on his game, he can be one of the most dominating relievers in the game, and we saw that in September.  Gomes is very much a veteran to the POTM column.  He finished the season leading all relievers in K/9IP.  


2B Mike Bryant 6 HR, 29 RBI, .333/.398/.619.  Bryant rebounded from a slumping August to rake again in September.  3rd month of 2014 with at least 28 RBI.  1st round pick to standout rookie to legit MVP candidate.  The future is bright for Mr. Bryant.  Jersey Shore brass is also lobbying to get an official nickname change from "Coffin" to "The Monster"  Mr. Ulery, take note.


RF Peter Larson .333/.436/.444 11 wb, 18 BB, 20 runs scored.  Larson got better every month after putting on a Jersey uniform and September was by far his best month.  He was on base at a .436 clip and scored in 80% of Jersey's games.  Is there a better spot for him in the game than hitting in front of Bryant and Doyle?


C Luis Antonio Duran 4 HR, 17 RBI, .360/.436/.573.  Hitting mainly out of the 6 slot Duran showed what a valuable asset he can be with power and and and eye.  2nd straight season with 20+ HR and the front office has hinted about an upcoming extension.


Roster Questions, Changes and Answers
Since up until the last few days of the season Jersey still had slim hopes of a playoff spot we didn't get to see too many young players get AB's.  We did see OF Al Ryan get plenty of playing time this year and eclipse the 20 HR plateau.  We still have the 1B/3B candidates Adam Morrow and Alberto Perez looking for regular work.  Adam Morrow had a 4 hit game on the 2nd to last day of the season.  OF Harold Robinson was called up and hit a Grand Slam in his first AB.  OF Ken Taylor and OF Sergio Rodriguez both saw time recently and could be regulars in 2015.  MR Jose Ruiz who was hurt most of the season got a late season call up but never got to see the mound in a game.


It looks as though the D-Bags will hit the offseason with 3 pending Free Agents.  3B David Paquette, MR Marv Williams and MR Gordon Brown.  With the budget the way it is, I would look for none of the 3 to be resigned.  Williams pitched poorly then was injured and Paquette is 36 years old.  Brown would be an interesting candidate even though he pitched very poorly since coming to Jersey at the deadline.  Ruiz is a good candidate to take one of the open MR spots next year, and look for a trade or FA to come in to fill the other.  


There will be some interesting decisions in the off season as far as contract extensions go as well. Next year will be the last year on the contracts for CL Daniel Morris, CF Scott Powers, 3B Parker Morrow and SP Kenny Stanford.  Also you had to wonder when players who will be hitting arbitration soon such as Duran, Bryant , Manny Romero and Greg Schaefer will receive long term deals or wait out their arbitration hearings.  Stay tuned for a season long break down as well naming the Batter and Pitcher of the year as well as minor league players of the year for the Jersey system.


GO D-BAGS

Prospect Lookback and Breakdown - Tim Duncan

Our 3rd prospect write up will focus on 25 year old OF Tim Duncan.  Previous breakdowns were on players Matt Doyle and Adam Morrow. 


Duncan came to the Jersey Shore organization on June 20th of this year in the deal that sent Jerry Paige to LA and Peter Larson back to Jersey.  Duncan was considered by most to be the most coveted prospect in the handful that came over with Larson.  He was named the 12th best prospect in the BSA on April 1st by the OSA Scouts. 


Duncan was a highly coveted High School prospect coming from Santa Clarita, California.  At the time he was considered a 5-tool can't miss prospect and finally committed to the University of Notre Dame and joined the team in the summer of 2007 as a 18 year old.  He started immediately and right off the bat showed what he could do.  His Freshman year he hit .311/.400/.621 with 13 HR, 37 RBI, 14 2B and 6 SB.  He was consistant throughout the next 4 years.  Duncan was one of those rare early players who was allowed to play 5 years of college ball before turning pro due to age restrictions.  His best year was as a senior.  He was limited to only 30 games due to a fractured foot, but ended up hitting .395/.485/.754 with 8 HR, 25 RBI.  He ended his college career as a .336 hitter, 49HR, 149 RBI, while adding 50 SB and having almost a 1:1 BB/K ratio his last seasons.


He was projected to go in the first round of almost every projection you could find, and the scouts weren't wrong.  The Vista Panthers selected Duncan 8th overall in the 2011 amateur draft.  On April 1st the following year he was named the 10th best prospect in baseball and was assigned to Vista's A ball affiliate Chula Vista where he would hit .246 with 13 HR.  He missed the last 2 months of the season after suffering a broken kneecap in an ugly plat at the plate.


In 2013 he was named the 65th best prospect in the BSA and promoted to AA San Diego. He was hitting .258 with 11 HR when he was part of a trade that sent him to the LA Bruins organization.  You might know of that trade that sent the uber talented Joe Cameron to LA in exchange for "No Hands" Brown and prospects.  LA immediately sent him to AAA Las Vegas where he finished with a combined 21 HR, 21 SB and a .273 BA. 


2014 started and he was again ranked on the scouts list for prospects as they named him the 12th best prospect in the game.  It was this year where we finally got to see the speed we had always heard about.  In 64 games for Vegas he stole 20 of 27 bags safely, added 19 doubles and 2 triples while hitting 6 HR.  On June 20th he was traded for the 2nd time in his career.  He was traded to the D-Bags of Jersey Shore with others in exchange for SP Jerry Paige.  He was assigned to Tuscaloosa and flourished in the hitter friendly stadium.  Since the time of the trade he has "raked."  Hitting a scorching .345, bashing 13 HR, driving in 62 runs, hitting 30 doubles, and they have allowed him to run wild.  He has attempted 32 steals and has been successful 28 times, for an 88% success rate.  Between the two teams he has set career highs across the board.


He will probably not get a shot as this season as there is only a week left of regular baseball left.  With normal CF Scott Powers in the last year of his deal next season, Duncan very well might be the future CF of the D-Bags.  Scott Turner, head scout for the D-Bags, said he projects to be a .310 hitter as well as he has some raw power.  He also added he is very popular in the clubhouse and there is really a lot to like here.  Since being with the D-Bags he won the ITL player of the week as well as the batter of the month for the month of July, just last week he added the first cycle of his career.  He has stated he is excited to be part of this club and is looking forward to hitting with Mike Bryant, Antonio Ruiz and Matt Doyle and learning whatever tips he can from them.  Keep an eye on this kid, he very well could be leading off for this team very soon.

We Have Been Here Before

Oh September in Jersey.  The guidos and guidettes have left the Shores in search for warmer climates, the smell of rotting seafood and lost dreams have faded and the D-Bags find themselves amidst another (what once seemed unobtainable) playoff hunt.  For much of the summer and early fall Jersey has looking up the standings to the dominate 84's of Greenville, the power bats of the Swag from Pittsburgh and the Bombers who reside on the shores of Lake Mandota in the city of Madison.  

After a dismal 12-16 August which saw Jersey lose 7 games to teams under .500, the D-Bags fell  to 9 games behind Regina for that last coveted Wild Card playoff spot.  8 games out, 26 games to play.......if the chances were slim to none, slim had he hat on and was heading for the door.  Attendance started to drop pulling in a season low 24,808 fans to witness the D-Bags drop the 2nd to last game in August to the Titans of Toronto.  While the Stars were playing well, the team as a whole wasn't.  3 players cannot carry a ball club.  With September abound, the last month is a long under achieving season was upon us and 26 games til family, winter, golf, travels and another off season to ponder what else to bring to Jersey to help them get over that hump of the only team in BSA history to always finish with a winning record but never finding the playoffs. 

But if we have ever learned anything from this team is don't give up on the D-Bags.  September started with a win over Toronto, followed by taking 2 of 3 from St. Louis and one of Jersey's only 2 off days of the month.  A loss to Reno on the 6th of the month left Jersey 3-2 for the month with 21 games to play, 7.5 back.  Funny thing about that Reno game, it's 11 days later and that was Jersey's last loss.

Jersey would take the next 2 from Reno, scoring 10+ runs in both games. Next traveled to Pittsburgh for a 4 game set, and who was also well ahead of the D-Bags. 4 games, 4 wins, including a game scoring 4 in the 9th to take the lead.  Next came 4 at home with the Browns.  Jersey pitching was phenomenal, allowing 10 runs in a 4 game sweep.  The series included 2 walk off wins, wins 7 and 9 of the streak.  Win 11 came on Rob Goodship's best performance of his career, shutting out WC leading Regina on 1 hit for a 7-0 win.  11 wins in a row,  5 games shaved off the WC lead.  11 games to play, the D-Bags sit 3 games back.  Impossible? No. Improbable? Absolutely.  It was a mere 2 years ago the D-Bags made a similar run to make it 1 game back with 6 to play. Only to watch Oklahoma and Greenville pull away an finish 2 games out.  

Here is what we have left:

Jersey: @REG, @REG, @POC, @POC, @POC, @KCY, @KCY, @KCY, vs GRN, vs GRN, vs GRN

Pitts: @MAD, @MAD, vs GRN, vs GRN, vs GRN, vs MAD, vs MAD, vs MAD, @STL, @STL, @STL

Regina: vs JER, vs JER, vs TOR,  vs TOR, vs TOR, @VIS, @VIS, @ VIS, @IND, @IND, @IND

When we talk about how good Jersey has been as a team, it starts with the pitching.  

Greg Shaefer is undefeated in 3 starts, with a 0.87 ERA which included a CG shutout.

Rob Good ship is undefeated in 4 starts, with an ERA of 2.67 and his 1 hit shutout.

Macias is 2-0 in 3 starts with a 3.32 ERA.

The bullpen as a whole has allowed 10 ER in 33 IP, with 50 K's, which comes out to a 2.92 ERA. 

As far as the hitting goes, 12 of the 17 batters are hitting over .300, including 8 hitters with multiple homers, led my Mikey Bryant who has 4 HR and 17 RBI in 16 games.  Bryant who went cold in August has seem to have found it again and it shows in the team's results.

While we don't fully expect the D-Bags to continue this magical winning streak and run, it has brought us something to watch and root for again in September, and with 11 games left and this being baseball in Jersey, anything can happen.  Keep your eyes open ;)

GO D-BAGS