The ride here has been anything except boring for the boys of the Jersey Shore D-Bags. After leading the CL East for most of the season, it took winning 5 of their last 7 games, including a sweep of Greenville just to reach a 1 game playoff for the 84's. Late home runs by Boyd and Doyle lifted the Bags to their 1st division title in 6 years and a chance to host Pocatello, a team in the playoffs for the 1st time in 15 years, in the division round.
Jersey Shore quickly found themselves down 3-1 in the series with Boccabellas facing elimination on the road. But the team wouldn't let that happen. An 8-2 win fueled by 12 hits and a gritty 6 inning outing by Sergio Martinez on 3-day's rest sent the D-Bags back home, where they had to win both games, including beating the reigning 3-time Cy Young award winner Kevin Bush. Cristobal Santos would match Bush for 7 innings before handing things off the bullpen and a walk-off RBI double from Pat Zimmerman off of All-Star closer Adrian Martinez would send us to Game 7. Call it a high, momentum or just plain confidence but Jersey Shore would dominate Game 7, led by Roland Martin's 7 shutout innings and emerging star catcher Luis Rios with 3 hits out of the 9 hole as well seldom used 4th outfielder Wilson Martinez who doubled twice and knocked in 2 runs. A final score of 8 to nothing couldn't even be celebrated as the D-Bags loaded up and flew to Springfield that same night to face the Stars in Game 1 of the CLCS the very next day.
The Stars finished with the best record in the CL as well as best record in team history at 111-51. It was the Springfield's franchise 1st playoff appearance since 2011 when they were known as the Kansas City Cougars. That 2011 team was led by some names you might have heard of. They include the great Jean-Thomas Francoeur, John Garrett and John Crowe. The 2026 Stars might not have the HOF names yet, but they are loaded with talent. Trotting out the most productive outfield the BSA has ever seen in Derek Davidson, Calvin Bennett and Felipe Guerrero. Trotting out other bats that include Elliot Newell and Juan Rodriguez, the Stars led the BSA in runs with 1006. They became just the 2nd CL team in history to cross the 1000 run threshold, as the only other team to do so were the 2022 Greenville 84's. BTW....the 2022 Springfield Stars? A CL record of just 555 runs scored. What a difference 5 seasons can make.
The Stars strolled into the postseason with the #1 seed and looked part in beating the powerhouse Greenville team by scoring 28 runs in 5 games and finishing off the 84's with a shutout in a Game 5, 3-0 win on the road. They would get 3 days off to rest before Jersey Shore would come to town for the CLCS. Maybe the off days got them out of a rhythm or a funk, but the offense never came for the Stars. Jersey would take the first two games of the series in Springfield. Game 1 a close 4-3 contest, as the D-Bag bats put up 4 runs on Kyu-Pyeong Pak with the go ahead runs coming in the 6th inning off of the bat of Pat Zimmerman by way of a 2-run HR. Game 2 saw a slugfest in the 1st 3 innings, as Jersey came out in the 4th inning up 6-5. Jesse Green would pitch out of trouble multiple times in the next 3 innings before handing things off to the bullpen who tossed 3 nearly perfect innings leading to a 7-5 Jersey win to take a firm grip on the series, which was heading to Jersey Shore for the next 3 games.
Game 3 saw an early rain delay knock both starters out before the 6th inning while the Stars took advantage of 2 Jersey errors for 3 unearned runs. The score of 4-3 after 4 innings wouldn't change as both bullpens were dynamite. The bullpens combined for to throw 9 innings, giving up 5 hits, 0 runs, 1 BB and 6 strikeouts. Springfield would avoid going down 3-0 and breathed new life going into Game 4. The Stars would send Pak back to the mound and would face Roland Martin, the Jersey ace for the 1st time in the series. Pak would go on to toss a gem, allowing just 2 singles in 7 shutout innings and would get help with a 3 run 3rd inning fueled by a Derek Davidson 2-run HR as the Stars would go onto win the game 4-2 and even the series at 2 games apiece. The pressure would move to Game 5 with the winner getting a clear cut 3-2 advantage. We would see Sergio Martinez take on Long Haul Lopez. The Bags would get the scoring started right away with home runs by Boyd and Doyle in the 1st innings as well as a solo HR by Serna in the 4th. The Stars would cut into the 4-0 in the 7th with back to back homers from Davidson and Guerrero, but give them right back in the bottom half with a 2-RBI double from Doyle. Davidson would again homer in the 8th, but the Stars just started scoring too late and the boys from Jersey would win the contest 7-4 and go back to Springfield with the series lead.
With the series on the line, Springfield would go to Game 5 hero of the CLDS Hyo-Chin Ch'oe to try and send this series to a deciding Game 7. Cristobal Santos would take the mound on 3 days rest for Jersey. It was smooth sailing for both pitchers through 2 innings until Jersey would appease the hometown crowd with 4, third inning runs coming off the bats of Dodd and Doyle. The Bags would add 2 more runs in the 4th to take a commanding 6-0 lead. Ch'oe would be knocked out in the 5th inning, but that didn't stop the D-Bags from adding on runs. After 6 innings, the lead was 10-2 and would stay like that. Springfield would load the bases with no outs in the 7th, but would fail to score. With the Irvine-Baffin Island series still going on, Jersey Shore would finally get to celebrate the victory with cases of champagne in their own clubhouse taking their 1st CL Pennant since the 2022 team did.
Now comes Irvine. The wire-to-wire best team in the BSA all season long. The team with the best staff in the league. Their 477 runs given up rank 2nd all time, only behind the epic staff of the 2015 Hendersonville Hitmen. Their ace Masutaro with a historic 13.8 WAR season which shattered Scott Hill's previous record. They led the NL in OBP and finished 3rd in runs scored. The BSA will have a new champion this year. Either way, I think we are in for a great series. Congrats Larry and good luck!
GO D-BAGS
Friday, November 11, 2016
Jersey Shore Ousts Pocatello and Springfield to Reach 4th World Series
The ride here has been anything except boring for the boys of the Jersey Shore D-Bags. After leading the CL East for most of the season, it took winning 5 of their last 7 games, including a sweep of Greenville just to reach a 1 game playoff for the 84's. Late home runs by Boyd and Doyle lifted the Bags to their 1st division title in 6 years and a chance to host Pocatello, a team in the playoffs for the 1st time in 15 years, in the division round.
Jersey Shore quickly found themselves down 3-1 in the series with Boccabellas facing elimination on the road. But the team wouldn't let that happen. An 8-2 win fueled by 12 hits and a gritty 6 inning outing by Sergio Martinez on 3-day's rest sent the D-Bags back home, where they had to win both games, including beating the reigning 3-time Cy Young award winner Kevin Bush. Cristobal Santos would match Bush for 7 innings before handing things off the bullpen and a walk-off RBI double from Pat Zimmerman off of All-Star closer Adrian Martinez would send us to Game 7. Call it a high, momentum or just plain confidence but Jersey Shore would dominate Game 7, led by Roland Martin's 7 shutout innings and emerging star catcher Luis Rios with 3 hits out of the 9 hole as well seldom used 4th outfielder Wilson Martinez who doubled twice and knocked in 2 runs. A final score of 8 to nothing couldn't even be celebrated as the D-Bags loaded up and flew to Springfield that same night to face the Stars in Game 1 of the CLCS the very next day.
The Stars finished with the best record in the CL as well as best record in team history at 111-51. It was the Springfield's franchise 1st playoff appearance since 2011 when they were known as the Kansas City Cougars. That 2011 team was led by some names you might have heard of. They include the great Jean-Thomas Francoeur, John Garrett and John Crowe. The 2026 Stars might not have the HOF names yet, but they are loaded with talent. Trotting out the most productive outfield the BSA has ever seen in Derek Davidson, Calvin Bennett and Felipe Guerrero. Trotting out other bats that include Elliot Newell and Juan Rodriguez, the Stars led the BSA in runs with 1006. They became just the 2nd CL team in history to cross the 1000 run threshold, as the only other team to do so were the 2022 Greenville 84's. BTW....the 2022 Springfield Stars? A CL record of just 555 runs scored. What a difference 5 seasons can make.
The Stars strolled into the postseason with the #1 seed and looked part in beating the powerhouse Greenville team by scoring 28 runs in 5 games and finishing off the 84's with a shutout in a Game 5, 3-0 win on the road. They would get 3 days off to rest before Jersey Shore would come to town for the CLCS. Maybe the off days got them out of a rhythm or a funk, but the offense never came for the Stars. Jersey would take the first two games of the series in Springfield. Game 1 a close 4-3 contest, as the D-Bag bats put up 4 runs on Kyu-Pyeong Pak with the go ahead runs coming in the 6th inning off of the bat of Pat Zimmerman by way of a 2-run HR. Game 2 saw a slugfest in the 1st 3 innings, as Jersey came out in the 4th inning up 6-5. Jesse Green would pitch out of trouble multiple times in the next 3 innings before handing things off to the bullpen who tossed 3 nearly perfect innings leading to a 7-5 Jersey win to take a firm grip on the series, which was heading to Jersey Shore for the next 3 games.
Game 3 saw an early rain delay knock both starters out before the 6th inning while the Stars took advantage of 2 Jersey errors for 3 unearned runs. The score of 4-3 after 4 innings wouldn't change as both bullpens were dynamite. The bullpens combined for to throw 9 innings, giving up 5 hits, 0 runs, 1 BB and 6 strikeouts. Springfield would avoid going down 3-0 and breathed new life going into Game 4. The Stars would send Pak back to the mound and would face Roland Martin, the Jersey ace for the 1st time in the series. Pak would go on to toss a gem, allowing just 2 singles in 7 shutout innings and would get help with a 3 run 3rd inning fueled by a Derek Davidson 2-run HR as the Stars would go onto win the game 4-2 and even the series at 2 games apiece. The pressure would move to Game 5 with the winner getting a clear cut 3-2 advantage. We would see Sergio Martinez take on Long Haul Lopez. The Bags would get the scoring started right away with home runs by Boyd and Doyle in the 1st innings as well as a solo HR by Serna in the 4th. The Stars would cut into the 4-0 in the 7th with back to back homers from Davidson and Guerrero, but give them right back in the bottom half with a 2-RBI double from Doyle. Davidson would again homer in the 8th, but the Stars just started scoring too late and the boys from Jersey would win the contest 7-4 and go back to Springfield with the series lead.
With the series on the line, Springfield would go to Game 5 hero of the CLDS Hyo-Chin Ch'oe to try and send this series to a deciding Game 7. Cristobal Santos would take the mound on 3 days rest for Jersey. It was smooth sailing for both pitchers through 2 innings until Jersey would appease the hometown crowd with 4, third inning runs coming off the bats of Dodd and Doyle. The Bags would add 2 more runs in the 4th to take a commanding 6-0 lead. Ch'oe would be knocked out in the 5th inning, but that didn't stop the D-Bags from adding on runs. After 6 innings, the lead was 10-2 and would stay like that. Springfield would load the bases with no outs in the 7th, but would fail to score. With the Irvine-Baffin Island series still going on, Jersey Shore would finally get to celebrate the victory with cases of champagne in their own clubhouse taking their 1st CL Pennant since the 2022 team did.
Now comes Irvine. The wire-to-wire best team in the BSA all season long. The team with the best staff in the league. Their 477 runs given up rank 2nd all time, only behind the epic staff of the 2015 Hendersonville Hitmen. Their ace Masutaro with a historic 13.8 WAR season which shattered Scott Hill's previous record. They led the NL in OBP and finished 3rd in runs scored. The BSA will have a new champion this year. Either way, I think we are in for a great series. Congrats Larry and good luck!
GO D-BAGS
Jersey Shore quickly found themselves down 3-1 in the series with Boccabellas facing elimination on the road. But the team wouldn't let that happen. An 8-2 win fueled by 12 hits and a gritty 6 inning outing by Sergio Martinez on 3-day's rest sent the D-Bags back home, where they had to win both games, including beating the reigning 3-time Cy Young award winner Kevin Bush. Cristobal Santos would match Bush for 7 innings before handing things off the bullpen and a walk-off RBI double from Pat Zimmerman off of All-Star closer Adrian Martinez would send us to Game 7. Call it a high, momentum or just plain confidence but Jersey Shore would dominate Game 7, led by Roland Martin's 7 shutout innings and emerging star catcher Luis Rios with 3 hits out of the 9 hole as well seldom used 4th outfielder Wilson Martinez who doubled twice and knocked in 2 runs. A final score of 8 to nothing couldn't even be celebrated as the D-Bags loaded up and flew to Springfield that same night to face the Stars in Game 1 of the CLCS the very next day.
The Stars finished with the best record in the CL as well as best record in team history at 111-51. It was the Springfield's franchise 1st playoff appearance since 2011 when they were known as the Kansas City Cougars. That 2011 team was led by some names you might have heard of. They include the great Jean-Thomas Francoeur, John Garrett and John Crowe. The 2026 Stars might not have the HOF names yet, but they are loaded with talent. Trotting out the most productive outfield the BSA has ever seen in Derek Davidson, Calvin Bennett and Felipe Guerrero. Trotting out other bats that include Elliot Newell and Juan Rodriguez, the Stars led the BSA in runs with 1006. They became just the 2nd CL team in history to cross the 1000 run threshold, as the only other team to do so were the 2022 Greenville 84's. BTW....the 2022 Springfield Stars? A CL record of just 555 runs scored. What a difference 5 seasons can make.
The Stars strolled into the postseason with the #1 seed and looked part in beating the powerhouse Greenville team by scoring 28 runs in 5 games and finishing off the 84's with a shutout in a Game 5, 3-0 win on the road. They would get 3 days off to rest before Jersey Shore would come to town for the CLCS. Maybe the off days got them out of a rhythm or a funk, but the offense never came for the Stars. Jersey would take the first two games of the series in Springfield. Game 1 a close 4-3 contest, as the D-Bag bats put up 4 runs on Kyu-Pyeong Pak with the go ahead runs coming in the 6th inning off of the bat of Pat Zimmerman by way of a 2-run HR. Game 2 saw a slugfest in the 1st 3 innings, as Jersey came out in the 4th inning up 6-5. Jesse Green would pitch out of trouble multiple times in the next 3 innings before handing things off to the bullpen who tossed 3 nearly perfect innings leading to a 7-5 Jersey win to take a firm grip on the series, which was heading to Jersey Shore for the next 3 games.
Game 3 saw an early rain delay knock both starters out before the 6th inning while the Stars took advantage of 2 Jersey errors for 3 unearned runs. The score of 4-3 after 4 innings wouldn't change as both bullpens were dynamite. The bullpens combined for to throw 9 innings, giving up 5 hits, 0 runs, 1 BB and 6 strikeouts. Springfield would avoid going down 3-0 and breathed new life going into Game 4. The Stars would send Pak back to the mound and would face Roland Martin, the Jersey ace for the 1st time in the series. Pak would go on to toss a gem, allowing just 2 singles in 7 shutout innings and would get help with a 3 run 3rd inning fueled by a Derek Davidson 2-run HR as the Stars would go onto win the game 4-2 and even the series at 2 games apiece. The pressure would move to Game 5 with the winner getting a clear cut 3-2 advantage. We would see Sergio Martinez take on Long Haul Lopez. The Bags would get the scoring started right away with home runs by Boyd and Doyle in the 1st innings as well as a solo HR by Serna in the 4th. The Stars would cut into the 4-0 in the 7th with back to back homers from Davidson and Guerrero, but give them right back in the bottom half with a 2-RBI double from Doyle. Davidson would again homer in the 8th, but the Stars just started scoring too late and the boys from Jersey would win the contest 7-4 and go back to Springfield with the series lead.
With the series on the line, Springfield would go to Game 5 hero of the CLDS Hyo-Chin Ch'oe to try and send this series to a deciding Game 7. Cristobal Santos would take the mound on 3 days rest for Jersey. It was smooth sailing for both pitchers through 2 innings until Jersey would appease the hometown crowd with 4, third inning runs coming off the bats of Dodd and Doyle. The Bags would add 2 more runs in the 4th to take a commanding 6-0 lead. Ch'oe would be knocked out in the 5th inning, but that didn't stop the D-Bags from adding on runs. After 6 innings, the lead was 10-2 and would stay like that. Springfield would load the bases with no outs in the 7th, but would fail to score. With the Irvine-Baffin Island series still going on, Jersey Shore would finally get to celebrate the victory with cases of champagne in their own clubhouse taking their 1st CL Pennant since the 2022 team did.
Now comes Irvine. The wire-to-wire best team in the BSA all season long. The team with the best staff in the league. Their 477 runs given up rank 2nd all time, only behind the epic staff of the 2015 Hendersonville Hitmen. Their ace Masutaro with a historic 13.8 WAR season which shattered Scott Hill's previous record. They led the NL in OBP and finished 3rd in runs scored. The BSA will have a new champion this year. Either way, I think we are in for a great series. Congrats Larry and good luck!
GO D-BAGS
Saturday, November 5, 2016
Jersey Clinches Playoff Spot Despite Decimated Starting Rotation
Jose Ramos, Roland Martin, Ramon Ruiz, Sergio Martinez and Stephen Puckett. The forceful rotation that was set to lead the Jersey Shore D-Bags to the playoffs and contend for their first BSA title. That's what many of fans and management alike saw heading into Spring Training for the 2026 BSA season. Fast forward to today, just 7 days left in the regular season and the D-Bags have clinched a playoff spot, but the starting rotation wasn't how they got there.
The injuries started on April 27th, when 5th starter and former Vista Panther, Cristobal Santos would leave a home game in the 2nd inning against Chicago with immense pain his shoulder. Jersey trainers were hoping it was a sprain, but news quickly came that he had a partially torn labrum which would require surgery and keep Santos out of action up to 4 months. To the DL goes Santos.
The D-Bags would promote super prospect Stephen Puckett to take his place and hopefully cement his place in the rotation for years to come. Everything was going smoothly especially with Jersey Shore up in 1st place in the CL East until June 6th when Puckett left a contest against the Madison Bombers with discomfort in his elbow. A worst case scenario was soon found out as Puckett would need surgery to remove bone spur from the elbow on his pitching arm. Best case scenario following surgery was a 4-5 month time frame, which would put Puckett out for the rest of the season.
Before the D-Bags had time to re-group, just 4 days later, 15 game winner from 2025 Ramon Ruiz would be pulled after 2 innings against Chicago and not return. Similar results would come back and Ruiz would require surgery to remove bone chips from his pitching elbow and would miss the rest of the season and could possibly push into Spring Training. What now?
With AAA also having a few injuries and the talent level barren, the D-Bags looked outside the organization and quickly sparked up a trade with the Vista Panthers. Jersey would bring in veteran starting pitchers Jesse Green and Jose Zamora looking to patch the rotation. To Vista went promising former 1st round pitching prospect Sloan Sanders, who at the time was dominating single-A pitching. Though neither were world beaters, Green and Zamora slotted into the 4th and 5th rotation slots.
With a strong bullpen and very strong offense, the D-Bags would trudge on through the summer months with the CL East lead in hand. On August 17th, Santos was sent to AAA for rehab and was recalled to the big club on September 7th. He was slotted back into the rotation and Zamora would head to the bullpen, though this wouldn't last long.
Just 10 days later staff ace and one of the team captains, 3 time 20 game winner Jose Ramos would leave a game with the Kings in the 2nd inning. Jersey brass feared the worst and soon received news that Ramos would be on the shelf for 3 months with bad elbow inflammation, effective ending his season. Since then the D-Bags have gone 3-7, coughing up the division lead.
With a week to play, the D-Bags who have clinched a playoff spot, trail their arch rival Greenville 84er's by 2 games and eye the playoffs down their top 2 starters and their ace young gun who they had such high hopes for. If the season ended today Jersey would host division rival St. Louis in the best of 3 Wild Card round with a win pitting them against the best team and a similiar built team in the Springfield Stars. For the D-Bags to advance deep into the playoffs, they must have Roland Martin and Sergio Martinez step up and lead this staff as winning slugfests in the playoffs are not how you win ballgames.
Can the D-Bags do it? Of course. Is the road a tough and very uncertain one? Very much so.
GO D-BAGS
The injuries started on April 27th, when 5th starter and former Vista Panther, Cristobal Santos would leave a home game in the 2nd inning against Chicago with immense pain his shoulder. Jersey trainers were hoping it was a sprain, but news quickly came that he had a partially torn labrum which would require surgery and keep Santos out of action up to 4 months. To the DL goes Santos.
The D-Bags would promote super prospect Stephen Puckett to take his place and hopefully cement his place in the rotation for years to come. Everything was going smoothly especially with Jersey Shore up in 1st place in the CL East until June 6th when Puckett left a contest against the Madison Bombers with discomfort in his elbow. A worst case scenario was soon found out as Puckett would need surgery to remove bone spur from the elbow on his pitching arm. Best case scenario following surgery was a 4-5 month time frame, which would put Puckett out for the rest of the season.
Before the D-Bags had time to re-group, just 4 days later, 15 game winner from 2025 Ramon Ruiz would be pulled after 2 innings against Chicago and not return. Similar results would come back and Ruiz would require surgery to remove bone chips from his pitching elbow and would miss the rest of the season and could possibly push into Spring Training. What now?
With AAA also having a few injuries and the talent level barren, the D-Bags looked outside the organization and quickly sparked up a trade with the Vista Panthers. Jersey would bring in veteran starting pitchers Jesse Green and Jose Zamora looking to patch the rotation. To Vista went promising former 1st round pitching prospect Sloan Sanders, who at the time was dominating single-A pitching. Though neither were world beaters, Green and Zamora slotted into the 4th and 5th rotation slots.
With a strong bullpen and very strong offense, the D-Bags would trudge on through the summer months with the CL East lead in hand. On August 17th, Santos was sent to AAA for rehab and was recalled to the big club on September 7th. He was slotted back into the rotation and Zamora would head to the bullpen, though this wouldn't last long.
Just 10 days later staff ace and one of the team captains, 3 time 20 game winner Jose Ramos would leave a game with the Kings in the 2nd inning. Jersey brass feared the worst and soon received news that Ramos would be on the shelf for 3 months with bad elbow inflammation, effective ending his season. Since then the D-Bags have gone 3-7, coughing up the division lead.
With a week to play, the D-Bags who have clinched a playoff spot, trail their arch rival Greenville 84er's by 2 games and eye the playoffs down their top 2 starters and their ace young gun who they had such high hopes for. If the season ended today Jersey would host division rival St. Louis in the best of 3 Wild Card round with a win pitting them against the best team and a similiar built team in the Springfield Stars. For the D-Bags to advance deep into the playoffs, they must have Roland Martin and Sergio Martinez step up and lead this staff as winning slugfests in the playoffs are not how you win ballgames.
Can the D-Bags do it? Of course. Is the road a tough and very uncertain one? Very much so.
GO D-BAGS
Wednesday, September 14, 2016
Trio For the Ages
You have to go back almost a decade to the year 2017 to find a lineup that featured Mike Bryant, Matt Doyle and Dave Dodd. That Jersey Shore team would win a CL record of 119 games that still stands today. In a huge upset, the Austin River Sharks would bounce them in 7 games in the 1st round of the playoffs and immediately after the season ended GM Josh Swain shipped out slugger Matt Doyle to Toronto to try and stabilize the rotation. Doyle was coming off of a 32 HR, 124 RBI season. He hit clean up behind league MVP and Triple Crown winner Mike Bryant and ahead of 23 year old up and coming sophmore sensation Dave Dad. That year the three of them combined for 99 2B, 109 HR, and 375 RBI. Doyle would go on to play the next 7 season in Toronto and 1 season in LA, winning two titles along the way.
After letting 1B Tadahisa Kisuki walk to free agency, Jersey Shore was in need of a 1B, and they went looking Doyle's way. At 36 years of age, he is not the same player he once was, but still managed to hit 17 homers last year with the Bruins. At about the same time, Jersey Shore decided to bring back Mike Bryant seemingly for 1 more year after after having by far the worst season of his career at age 37. With Dave Dodd in the 2nd year of his 7-year, $175M dollar contract, the trio would be re-united for one last season.
Wearing a D-Bag uniform, the three have combined for 995 home runs and sit 1st, 2nd and 4th in D-Bags history. Doyle would need 20 home runs to pass Kisuki and take over 3rd on the list. What's even more interesting is the trio sits 3rd, 4th and 5th on the all time HR list, which historically speaking is something we have never seen before. 1282 career HR out of just the 3 of them.
We are into May and they haven't been in the same lineup yet. An early season fractured finger from Doyle kept him out of the lineup for the first couple weeks. When he was able to come back, Bryant was stuck on the shelf with a hamstring strain. They were finally all healthy for 1 game when Dodd missed a week with neck spasms. Now they are all healthy again, Manager Carlos Uribe has said he would like to see them all starting for at least a game.
While Dodd is still in his prime but starting to age at 32, this is almost the end of an era for Jersey Shore. Bryant has been a staple in the lineup for 12+ years. Doyle a top prospect and a star with a late homecoming. The future pieces are already in Jersey, but for fans this year represents one last chance for the old crew to make a run. They are still chasing that elusive 1st title. While Bryant and Doyle probably won't have nearly the impact they once had, it should be a fun summer for fans and a last chance to see these stars play together.
GO D-BAGS
Tuesday, May 24, 2016
How Much are Titles Worth? Breaking Down the German Rivas Trade.
On June 5th, 2015 one of the biggest trades in BSA history took place. German "Golden" Rivas, the face of the Orlando franchise, was sent to the Toronto Titans for a staggering 14 players. Playing in a contract year with the Calrissian who were on pace to lose 100+ games, Jason Goldberg and James Patterson struck a monumental deal which would change both franchises. 3 years short of the 10 year anniversary of this trade, how did both teams fare? Who got the better end? Let's break it down.
To TORONTO:
OF German Rivas. The then 29 year old Rivas would sign a 6 year deal worth $88.5M and would spend the entire length of the contract with the Titans, giving him 6.5 seasons in a Toronto uniform. Over that time period, Rivas would put up 30.7 WAR, a triple slash line of .299/.393/.530 to go with 192 HR, 201 2B, 652 RBI and 141 SB. He would make the CL All Star team 4 times in those 6 years following the trade and was an instrumental part of a lineup that would go onto win back-to-back BSA Championships in 2018 and 2019.
Totals: 30.7 WAR, 4 AS games, 2 titles.
To ORLANDO:
SP Reagen Wear. One of two crown jewels of the deal. The 33rd ranked prospect before the 2015 season. Wear has been everything that he was projected to be and then some. The 30 year old SP has a career record of 126-95 with a 3,46 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and a career WAR of 49.7. His 2021 season in which he won the NL Cy Young was one of the best seasons in BSA history for a starting pitcher where he posed a BSA record 1.22 ERA, 0.79 WHIP and 10.7 WAR. Wear is under contract with Orlando for next 4 seasons as well.
126-95 record, 49.7 WAR, 1 Cy Young, 6 AS games
1B/DH Santiago Marquez. The 2nd of crown jewel prospects found in the trade. Marquez was ranked the 85th prospect before the season in 2015. Known simply as Q in Orlando, Marquez was 18 when the trade happened and though probably rushed, he played 85 games with Orlando that season. The now 28 year old is under contract with the Calrissian for the next 4 seasons as well. In his career thus far, Q has put up 35.1 WAR, 321 HR, 301 2B, 1032 RBI as well as winning the 2024 NL MVP award. He is a fan favorite and is probably heading towards 3000 hits and 500 HR.
35.1 WAR, 6 AS games, 1 MVP
CF Bryce Hopkins. The 28 year old Hopkins came over in the trade to be a replacement for Rivas in CF. He won the 2014 gold glove the year before and while he only would spend the remainder of 2015 in Orlando and the next 3 years, he would have 3 of his top 5 overall seasons there. Hopkins played in 576 games over 3.5 seasons putting up 21.1 WAR with a triple slash line of .280/.343/.438 with 134 doubles, 28 triples and 58 HR. He would make one all star team before leaving the team via free agency in 2019.
21.1 WAR, 1 AS game.
MR Max Jones. A 29 year old reliever at the time of trade, Jones would be a staple in the Orlando bullpen from 2015-2018 before bouncing around the minors for a few years and retiring in 2021. Jones pitched in 209 games over a 4 year span with a 3.27 ERA, striking out 216 batters in 242 innings and produced a 2.3 WAR/
2.3 WAR.
MR Randolph Plante. A 28 year old reliever who put up a 2.81 ERA in Toronto in 16 innings in 2014. He would throw in 94 games over the next 2 years for Orlando, including a league high 91 appearances in 2016. In 2 seasons he put a 4.72 ERA, striking out 94 batters in 108.2 IP, which was good for a 1.7 WAR,
1.7 WAR
MR Jorge Ibarra. A 28 year old reliever at the time of trade, Ibarra had a spectacular 2014 in the Toronto pen, which ended with a 0.43 ERA, 0.79 WHIP and completely aided by a .155 BABIP. He would pitch for the Calrissian for 2.5 seasons before leaving for Irvine in free agency and ultimately retiring in 2023. He would pitch in 76 games, including 34 starts for Orlando. He would end his time in Orlando pitching 214 innings of 4.91 ERA ball, good for 1.4 WAR.
1.4 WAR
MR Michael Taylor. A 32 year old reliever who was a big part of the Titans bullpen in 2014. He would pitch in the Orlando pen for remainder of 2015 and parts of the next 4 years before becoming a free agent and eventually retiring in 2019. His time in Orlando saw him pitch in 198 games, 210 innings with a 3.34 ERA and contributing 1.3 WAR
1.3 WAR.
OF Salvador Gonzales. A 19 year old and ranked 67th best prospect before the 2015 season who showed a lot of promise in AA after coming over in the trade. He would be called up in 2016 at the age of 20 and would struggled in 68 games. Over the next 2 seasons he would generally play in AAA and would look major league ready mid-way through the 2018 season where he would put up his best season in 130 games. He would eventually be claimed off of waivers by Reno in 2020. He played in 372 games for the Calrissian, putting up a line of .264/.313/.408 with 28 HR and 167 RBI. Good for a WAR of 0.3.
0.3 WAR
MR Tetsunori Okamoto. A 35 year old throw in who would start 3 games in Orlando before being released just over a month after the trade. He went 1-2 in his 3 starts with an ERA of 9.82 and WHIP of 2.25, where he walked 6.8 batters per 9 and had a .368 BABIP. His time in Orlando would be the last he would see of the bigs and he retired in 2017.
0 WAR
SS Michael Cooke. At the time of trade, Cooke was your glove first utility infielder. He would play the next season with Orlando, playing excellent 2B and SS and struggling at the plate. He would become a free agent and sign with Seattle in 2017 before eventually retiring in 2019. in 106 games with the Calrissian, Cooke would put up a triple slash line of .226/.274/.276 with a ZR of +8.3 at 2 posititions.
-0.1 WAR
MR Kenneth Duncan. A 33 year old journeyman reliever at the time, would get 2 starts in Orlando during the 2015 season, neither of which went well. He gave up 12 runs in 11.2 innings pitched and was released shortly after. He would sign back with Toronto after the season and appear in 30 games with the Titans over the next 2 years.
-0.2 WAR.
MR Bill Boland. At the time the 30 year old reliever was bouncing between AAA and the big league club. He would pitch 2 seasons for Orlando appearing in 55 games. His overall stat line was a 5.23 ERA and a -0.2 WAR. After becoming a free agent following the 2016 season he would fail to pitch in the majors again, finally retiring in 2022.
-0.2 WAR.
MR Juan Reyes. A 26 year old reliever who had never seen the majors before coming to Orlando in 2015. He would struggle in 2 seasons before being claimed off the waiver wire by Irvine in 2017. He would go on to have some decent seasons in Los Cabos and is one of the only players still active in the trade, as he was recently signed to a minor league contract by the Cartel. He appeared in 103 games for Orlando, putting up a 5.56 ERA as control has never been his forte.
-0.4 WAR
2B Vicente Morales. A toss in who would never see a game in an Orlando uniform and also would never find his way back to the big leagues who eventually retired in 2022.
Total for Orlando: 112 WAR, 13 AS games, 1 Cy Young, 1 MVP
Once broken down, the 14 players to Orlando turned out to be 3 good prospects, 1 ML player and generally a group of middling veterans who wouldn't produce much. Wear is still an ace, Marquez is a monster and both are locked up for the next 4 years. Rivas helped Toronto to two banners and Toronto went to the playoffs in 6 of the 7 seasons he was there.
So what's your opinion? Who's side do you want?
Saturday, March 12, 2016
Last Sim of the Season; What to Watch For
Well here we are! There are 4 days left in the regular season and what a wild ride it has been. Not 1 of the 6 divisions have been clinched yet and there are still 4 playoff spots to be taken. So what's at stake?
NL EAST
Much like last year, the NL East race might go down to the season's final day. At the moment, Niagara Falls leads Baffin Island by 1 game. The Frenzy will visit Boston for a 4 set while Baffin will stay home and welcome Plymouth to town. If you remember last season, these two played a one game playoff for the division. The Beavers are looking for their 9th NL East division title while if the Frenzy can hang on, this would be their 1st. The division winner would clinch the 2 seed and play the NL South winner in the Divisional Round while the loser will clinch Wild Card spot #2 and be the visiting team in a 3 game set against the other Wild Card winner, which will be Los Angeles or Irvine.
NL WEST
After winning the division comfortably by 16 and 17 games over Irvine the last two seasons, 3 games separates the two with just 4 games left to play. Both will be at home, Los Angeles welcomes Maui meanwhile the Bandits of San Francisco will be visiting Irvine. If the Bruins can take care of business they will win their 14th division title in 16 years. Irvine is looking for their 2nd division title, while their only one came in 2021. The winner of the division will be rewarded with the #1 seed and will await the winner of the Wild Card round. The team that places 2nd will be rewarded with the #1 Wild Card seed and will host either NFF or BAF.
NL SOUTH
Two years removed from a World Series win and one year removed from the best record in the BSA, the Hendersonville Hitmen find themselves 2 games up on the resurgent New Orleans Looters, who are attempting a worst to first story. The Hitmen lead by 2 and will welcome the Looters for a 4 game series to end the season. The Looters will need to take 3/4 to tie for the division and a series sweep to win it outright. The Hitmen are looking for their 15th division title in 16 season, with their only blemish coming in 2021 when Orlando took home the crown. The Looters are looking for their 1st division title and 2nd playoff appearance.
CL EAST
The best division in baseball. They will have 3 teams finish with at least 96 wins. Atop of the division and on the verge of clinching are the St. Louis Browns. The Browns lead the division by 4 games with just 4 to play over the Greenville 84ers. St. Louis will travel to Chicago where only 1 win is needed to clinch their 1st division title in team history. The 84ers welcome Madison where they will need a 4 game sweep and 4 losses from St. Louis just to tie the division. If the miracle happens, they will win their 11th division title. The winner will be the #1 seed in the CL playoffs, meanwhile the loser has already locked up the #1 Wild Card.
CL WEST
Almost identical to the East, the St. Charles Sheens lead the Portland PhilosopherStones Kings by 4 games with just 4 to play. Unlike the East these two will play each to finish off the season as the Sheens travel to The Kallipolis for a 4 game set. One win for the Sheens will give them their 4th division title and third in a row. If Portland can sweep and then cause a 1 game playoff and win again, they would win their first division title and their first playoff appearance. Their 93 wins are already 13 ahead of the franchise's best 80, set back in 2010. Portland is in the Wild Card race, explained below.
CL CENTRAL
After a close race all season long the Toronto Titans hold a 4 game lead with 4 games to play over the Springfield Stars. The Stars had their chance in the last series, but the Titans won the last 2 games of the series to push Springfield on the brink of elimination. The Titans will travel to rival Austin for 4 while the Stars go to Kalamazoo. The Titans are looking for their 12th division title while Springfield is looking for a miracle to take home their first title. Their only playoff appearance was a Wild Card berth in 2011.
CL WILD CARD
The 1st Wild Card position has already been clinched by St. Louis/Greenville, but we have a two team battle for the 2nd. Jersey Shore currently leads Portland by 1/2 game as both teams are playing amazing baseball. Jersey gets an off day before heading to New York to finish their season, while Portland welcomes St. Charles for 4 games. The Jersey Shore is looking for their 8th playoff spot, while Portland is still searching for their 1st.
TRIPLE CROWN WATCH
Santiago Marquez, or Q, of Orlando is still in contention for the NL Triple Crown. If you remember last year he led the league in RBI, but finished 2nd in AVG and 3rd in HR. With 4 games to play he leads the NL in AVG and HR but trails Ruben Calderon of Los Angeles by 6 RBI. It would take some huge games, but it is still in reach.
RECORD WATCH
There are a few season records that could be in jeopardy going into our final 4 days. Jeff Daniels of Portland is 10 hits shy of Dave Dodd's record of 239 hits set back in 2021. Daniels needs to average 2.5 hits per game in his last 4 to tie. Ronnie Brown of Boston sits at 166 singles on the season. The current record is held by his teammate Rob Whitley who singled 175 times back in 2016. Brown would 9 in his final 4 games to tie. Meanwhile in Boston, Bill Wilson has been a doubles machine and currently sits with 61 for the year. The record of 67 was set by Jin-yu Son way back pre-BSA in 2007. The current day BSA record is 63 set by Dan Best in 2014. Derek Davidson currently sits at 156 RBI on the year and is 10 behind Dave Dodd's record of 166 set in 2021. Thought it is a long shot, Davidson has 4 games.
On the pitching side of things, Irvine closer Kuang-Yin Yue sits at 48 saves with 4 games to play. The current BSA record for saves is 50, which is shared by 4 players. 2 will give him a tie with this foursome while 3 would give him the outright record. Jose Rivera of San Fran and Armando Lopez of Niagara Falls have both appeared in 101 games this season, which turns out is a new BSA record for appearances in a season.
NL EAST
Much like last year, the NL East race might go down to the season's final day. At the moment, Niagara Falls leads Baffin Island by 1 game. The Frenzy will visit Boston for a 4 set while Baffin will stay home and welcome Plymouth to town. If you remember last season, these two played a one game playoff for the division. The Beavers are looking for their 9th NL East division title while if the Frenzy can hang on, this would be their 1st. The division winner would clinch the 2 seed and play the NL South winner in the Divisional Round while the loser will clinch Wild Card spot #2 and be the visiting team in a 3 game set against the other Wild Card winner, which will be Los Angeles or Irvine.
NL WEST
After winning the division comfortably by 16 and 17 games over Irvine the last two seasons, 3 games separates the two with just 4 games left to play. Both will be at home, Los Angeles welcomes Maui meanwhile the Bandits of San Francisco will be visiting Irvine. If the Bruins can take care of business they will win their 14th division title in 16 years. Irvine is looking for their 2nd division title, while their only one came in 2021. The winner of the division will be rewarded with the #1 seed and will await the winner of the Wild Card round. The team that places 2nd will be rewarded with the #1 Wild Card seed and will host either NFF or BAF.
NL SOUTH
Two years removed from a World Series win and one year removed from the best record in the BSA, the Hendersonville Hitmen find themselves 2 games up on the resurgent New Orleans Looters, who are attempting a worst to first story. The Hitmen lead by 2 and will welcome the Looters for a 4 game series to end the season. The Looters will need to take 3/4 to tie for the division and a series sweep to win it outright. The Hitmen are looking for their 15th division title in 16 season, with their only blemish coming in 2021 when Orlando took home the crown. The Looters are looking for their 1st division title and 2nd playoff appearance.
CL EAST
The best division in baseball. They will have 3 teams finish with at least 96 wins. Atop of the division and on the verge of clinching are the St. Louis Browns. The Browns lead the division by 4 games with just 4 to play over the Greenville 84ers. St. Louis will travel to Chicago where only 1 win is needed to clinch their 1st division title in team history. The 84ers welcome Madison where they will need a 4 game sweep and 4 losses from St. Louis just to tie the division. If the miracle happens, they will win their 11th division title. The winner will be the #1 seed in the CL playoffs, meanwhile the loser has already locked up the #1 Wild Card.
CL WEST
Almost identical to the East, the St. Charles Sheens lead the Portland Philosopher
CL CENTRAL
After a close race all season long the Toronto Titans hold a 4 game lead with 4 games to play over the Springfield Stars. The Stars had their chance in the last series, but the Titans won the last 2 games of the series to push Springfield on the brink of elimination. The Titans will travel to rival Austin for 4 while the Stars go to Kalamazoo. The Titans are looking for their 12th division title while Springfield is looking for a miracle to take home their first title. Their only playoff appearance was a Wild Card berth in 2011.
CL WILD CARD
The 1st Wild Card position has already been clinched by St. Louis/Greenville, but we have a two team battle for the 2nd. Jersey Shore currently leads Portland by 1/2 game as both teams are playing amazing baseball. Jersey gets an off day before heading to New York to finish their season, while Portland welcomes St. Charles for 4 games. The Jersey Shore is looking for their 8th playoff spot, while Portland is still searching for their 1st.
TRIPLE CROWN WATCH
Santiago Marquez, or Q, of Orlando is still in contention for the NL Triple Crown. If you remember last year he led the league in RBI, but finished 2nd in AVG and 3rd in HR. With 4 games to play he leads the NL in AVG and HR but trails Ruben Calderon of Los Angeles by 6 RBI. It would take some huge games, but it is still in reach.
RECORD WATCH
There are a few season records that could be in jeopardy going into our final 4 days. Jeff Daniels of Portland is 10 hits shy of Dave Dodd's record of 239 hits set back in 2021. Daniels needs to average 2.5 hits per game in his last 4 to tie. Ronnie Brown of Boston sits at 166 singles on the season. The current record is held by his teammate Rob Whitley who singled 175 times back in 2016. Brown would 9 in his final 4 games to tie. Meanwhile in Boston, Bill Wilson has been a doubles machine and currently sits with 61 for the year. The record of 67 was set by Jin-yu Son way back pre-BSA in 2007. The current day BSA record is 63 set by Dan Best in 2014. Derek Davidson currently sits at 156 RBI on the year and is 10 behind Dave Dodd's record of 166 set in 2021. Thought it is a long shot, Davidson has 4 games.
On the pitching side of things, Irvine closer Kuang-Yin Yue sits at 48 saves with 4 games to play. The current BSA record for saves is 50, which is shared by 4 players. 2 will give him a tie with this foursome while 3 would give him the outright record. Jose Rivera of San Fran and Armando Lopez of Niagara Falls have both appeared in 101 games this season, which turns out is a new BSA record for appearances in a season.
Monday, January 25, 2016
Li-xue Si-ma Jersey's Best Pitcher?
On Saturday Li-xue Si-ma was named the winner of the Pitcher of the Month award winner for the month of May in the CL. During the month Si-ma started 6 games, going 5-0, giving up only 20 hits in 43.2 IP while walking 15 and striking out 29 batters. It was his first such honor in his career and those 5 wins were nearly 30% of Jersey's 18 wins during the month. But where did this come from?
Si-ma signed a 2 year deal with Jersey Shore this past offseason after spending the rest of his career in Maui. Last season he went 11-7 with a 4.09 ERA and 1.6 WAR. Jersey signed Si-ma to be the 5th starter and more of a place holder until top pitching prospect Stephen Puckett was ready to join the rotation. Now let's look into the numbers.
On the season Si-ma is 7-0 through 10 starts and has a BSA low 1.24 ERA to go with a 0.90 WHIP. While he is striking out 6.0 batters per 9 innings which is right along with his career average, his BB/9 sits at 2.9 which is nearly a full walk below his career numbers. Batters are also hitting a BSA low .169 against him. Is it all good pitching, or is he getting lucky? His FIP currently sits at 3.60 which is 2 runs higher than his actual ERA and .70 better than his career norms. The number that really stands out is his .197 BABIP which is absurd and very not sustainable.
While I think everyone in Jersey does not expect Si-ma to continue this amazing season, with Jose Ramos struggling to the tune of 6-4 with a 3.99 ERA, Si-ma has helped pick up the pieces and keep Jersey near the top of a crowded playoff race. Currently the D-Bags sit 3rd in the CL East and are 3 games behind the division leading Greenville 84's and 1.5 games behind the St. Louis Browns. In the Wild Card race, they are currently tied with the Portland Philosopher Kings for the 2nd wild card spot. With the added playoff spot the CL is shaping up to be a great race and probably won't be settled until very late in the season.
GO D-BAGS
Si-ma signed a 2 year deal with Jersey Shore this past offseason after spending the rest of his career in Maui. Last season he went 11-7 with a 4.09 ERA and 1.6 WAR. Jersey signed Si-ma to be the 5th starter and more of a place holder until top pitching prospect Stephen Puckett was ready to join the rotation. Now let's look into the numbers.
On the season Si-ma is 7-0 through 10 starts and has a BSA low 1.24 ERA to go with a 0.90 WHIP. While he is striking out 6.0 batters per 9 innings which is right along with his career average, his BB/9 sits at 2.9 which is nearly a full walk below his career numbers. Batters are also hitting a BSA low .169 against him. Is it all good pitching, or is he getting lucky? His FIP currently sits at 3.60 which is 2 runs higher than his actual ERA and .70 better than his career norms. The number that really stands out is his .197 BABIP which is absurd and very not sustainable.
While I think everyone in Jersey does not expect Si-ma to continue this amazing season, with Jose Ramos struggling to the tune of 6-4 with a 3.99 ERA, Si-ma has helped pick up the pieces and keep Jersey near the top of a crowded playoff race. Currently the D-Bags sit 3rd in the CL East and are 3 games behind the division leading Greenville 84's and 1.5 games behind the St. Louis Browns. In the Wild Card race, they are currently tied with the Portland Philosopher Kings for the 2nd wild card spot. With the added playoff spot the CL is shaping up to be a great race and probably won't be settled until very late in the season.
GO D-BAGS
Sunday, January 17, 2016
End of April Marks Double Milestones for Dodd
As April 2024 winded down, Dave Dodd eyed two career milestones. 1000 RBI and 1500 career hits. The RBI mark would fall first as the Porland Philosopher Kings would visit Jersey on April 28th.
In the 5th inning Dodd would launch a solo HR off of 2nd year pitcher Jose Garza that bring Jersey Shore within one run and make the score a 5-4 game. After watching Portland's young slugger Jeff Daniels put the Philosopher Kings up 3 with a 2-run HR in the top of the 7th, Dodd would get his chance in the bottom half. Tadahisa Kisuki would lead off the inning with a single and Mikey Bryant would just miss a home run with his ball careening off the wall in right-center field that would end with Kisuki at 3rd and Bryant at 2nd. Edgardo Guzman, the flame throwing 26 year old lefty for Portland, would get ahead of Dodd 1-2. Dodd would take a borderline pitch that was called ball 2 before fouling another pitch back to the screen. Guzman would make the next mistake hanging a high curveball that Dodd would deposit 408 feet later over the spot that Bryant had previously doubled for his 328th career HR and 1000th career RBI which also tied the game. The D-Bags would go on to score one more run in the inning and go on to win the game 8-6.
Dodd became the 21st player in BSA history to reach the 1000 RBI milestone, 14 of which of those are active players. Next on the list is the retired Louis May, who sits at 1006 RBI. At age 30 Dodd has a good chance at making a run at the all time record, currently held by Shumei Yokoyama at 1579. Yokoyama is still active playing for the Niagara Falls Frenzy.
After an off day, the San Francisco Bandits would come to town on April 30th, which marked Dodd's 30th birthday. Dodd would get his 1st hit in the 1st inning and also drive in the games first run with an RBI single off of starter Tomiji Takuda. Dodd's 2nd hit of the game would come in the bottom of the 6th inning, also off of Takuda. With 2 outs and the bases empty, Dodd would smoke a line drive the other way past the 3rd baseman. The ball would rattle around in the corner while Dodd coasted into 2nd with a stand up double. Hit number 1499. He would be stranded at 2nd. Dodd would get his first crack at 1500 when he would lead off the 9th inning with his D-Bags down 13-8. Veteran Pedro Castillo would was on the bump for the Bandits and that proved as a good sign for Dodd as he was 5-9 lifetime against Castillo up to this point. Dodd would foul off 5 straight pitches to start the at bat before taking a 94 MPH fastball the other way which would clear the 15 foot wall in left center and land in the 4th row for his 1500th career hit. Though Jersey would go on to lose the game 13-9, Dodd would join Mike Bryant as the only two players to join the 1500 career hit club in Jersey Shore uniforms. As a career achievement the hit mark isn't as impressive as the RBI mark, but it does make Dodd the 47th BSA player to reach the mark.
With 3 gold gloves, 4 all star appearances and 3 straight MVP's, Dodd is probably a shoe in already for the BSA Hall of Fame, but could he become one of the best ever? At only 30 years old all current BSA records seemingly are in play. If he has the health and longevity that his teammate Mike Bryant has nothing is off the tables, but as we all know, nothing in the BSA is a given as we have seen players at all ages fall abruptly off the table. What Dodd and Jersey Shore fans want next is a World Series ring.
GO D-BAGS
In the 5th inning Dodd would launch a solo HR off of 2nd year pitcher Jose Garza that bring Jersey Shore within one run and make the score a 5-4 game. After watching Portland's young slugger Jeff Daniels put the Philosopher Kings up 3 with a 2-run HR in the top of the 7th, Dodd would get his chance in the bottom half. Tadahisa Kisuki would lead off the inning with a single and Mikey Bryant would just miss a home run with his ball careening off the wall in right-center field that would end with Kisuki at 3rd and Bryant at 2nd. Edgardo Guzman, the flame throwing 26 year old lefty for Portland, would get ahead of Dodd 1-2. Dodd would take a borderline pitch that was called ball 2 before fouling another pitch back to the screen. Guzman would make the next mistake hanging a high curveball that Dodd would deposit 408 feet later over the spot that Bryant had previously doubled for his 328th career HR and 1000th career RBI which also tied the game. The D-Bags would go on to score one more run in the inning and go on to win the game 8-6.
Dodd became the 21st player in BSA history to reach the 1000 RBI milestone, 14 of which of those are active players. Next on the list is the retired Louis May, who sits at 1006 RBI. At age 30 Dodd has a good chance at making a run at the all time record, currently held by Shumei Yokoyama at 1579. Yokoyama is still active playing for the Niagara Falls Frenzy.
After an off day, the San Francisco Bandits would come to town on April 30th, which marked Dodd's 30th birthday. Dodd would get his 1st hit in the 1st inning and also drive in the games first run with an RBI single off of starter Tomiji Takuda. Dodd's 2nd hit of the game would come in the bottom of the 6th inning, also off of Takuda. With 2 outs and the bases empty, Dodd would smoke a line drive the other way past the 3rd baseman. The ball would rattle around in the corner while Dodd coasted into 2nd with a stand up double. Hit number 1499. He would be stranded at 2nd. Dodd would get his first crack at 1500 when he would lead off the 9th inning with his D-Bags down 13-8. Veteran Pedro Castillo would was on the bump for the Bandits and that proved as a good sign for Dodd as he was 5-9 lifetime against Castillo up to this point. Dodd would foul off 5 straight pitches to start the at bat before taking a 94 MPH fastball the other way which would clear the 15 foot wall in left center and land in the 4th row for his 1500th career hit. Though Jersey would go on to lose the game 13-9, Dodd would join Mike Bryant as the only two players to join the 1500 career hit club in Jersey Shore uniforms. As a career achievement the hit mark isn't as impressive as the RBI mark, but it does make Dodd the 47th BSA player to reach the mark.
With 3 gold gloves, 4 all star appearances and 3 straight MVP's, Dodd is probably a shoe in already for the BSA Hall of Fame, but could he become one of the best ever? At only 30 years old all current BSA records seemingly are in play. If he has the health and longevity that his teammate Mike Bryant has nothing is off the tables, but as we all know, nothing in the BSA is a given as we have seen players at all ages fall abruptly off the table. What Dodd and Jersey Shore fans want next is a World Series ring.
GO D-BAGS
Friday, January 8, 2016
Tracking Mikey Bryant's Assault on the Record Books; Volume 7
This will be 7th year in a row we will continue to follow Mikey Bryant's rise on the career leaderboards. Mikey turned 36 just two weeks ago and his career appears headed towards a close, but at a gradual pace. 2023 was the 1st season Bryant finished under 5 WAR since his rookie campaign but still managed 36 HR and 105 RBI. Jersey Shore reached the conference championship round again before losing to Greenville, and Bryant's time to get a ring is running out.
Besides the HR, Mikey had 192 hits, walked a career best 66 times and still had a fairly productive season mainly playing from the DH position for the D-Bags.
Bryant's average of .304 was the lowest mark he has put up in his career and dropped his career average to .324. Bill Wilson and Paco Rosas remained in the top two spots and we have a newcomer to the list, as Bryant's teammate Tadahisa Kisuki has enough AB's to pass Bryant for 3rd. Bryant remained 3rd overall in slugging, but fell in OPS behind the retired Mel Fields and slugger Shumei Yokoyama, good for 6th.
In hits SS Oliver Hernandez remains in the top spot and needs 157 hits this season to become the first BSA player in history with 3000 career hits. With his 192 hits, only his 2nd full season below 200, Bryant moved past the the retired Crowe and active players Copriviza and Rivas to sit in 6th place as we start the season. The recently retired Gordon McMahon sits 189 above Bryant. Another 30+ double campaign made Mikey the 19th player in BSA history to reach the 400 doubles plateau and good for 19th place. Bryant also finished the 2023 season 5th in total bases which put him 5th all time and 71 short of 4000 for his career.
His 36 HR last year was enough to top the 400 HR mark, following Crowe, Newell, Cobra and Yoko. Yoko took over the career lead last year and sits at 431 and we should see 3 more sluggers reach the 400 mark this year in Delaney, Rivas and Doyle. His 10th straight 100+ RBI season slots Mikey into 6th all time, just 3 behind Newell, 25 behind the retired Crowe and 26 behind the retired Sagar. 65 RBI would make Mikey the 3rd player ever to reach 1400 RBI.
It was another productive year stats wise, but most categories down down down as expected. Bryant is playing with a $26M contract this year which was a team option picked up by Jersey Shore this past off-season. At 36 years old, what does Jersey do with Mikey? Does he come out and have a solid year at 36? Is the year when we see things start to slide off the table? Time will tell this season. Stay tuned!
Current All-Time Rank. (Previous 6 years are in parenthesis)
BA: 4th (3rd, 2nd, 2nd 2nd, 2nd, 1st): .3240
OPS: 6th (4th, 3rd, 2nd, 2nd, 2nd, 2nd): .9557
SLG: 3rd (2nd, 1st, 1st, 1st, 1st, 1st): .5744
VORP: 8th (8th, 9th, 13th, 20th): 624.94 - apparently OOTP doesn't track anymore
Hits: 6th (8th, 14th, 27th. 34th, 57th, 96th): 2216
Doubles: 19th (25th, 29th, 42nd, 57th, 82nd, NR): 402
Triples: 12th (15th, 17th, 28th, 46th, 75th, NR): 54
Triples: 12th (15th, 17th, 28th, 46th, 75th, NR): 54
Total Bases: 5th (8th, 11th, 14th, 23rd, 41st, 73rd): 3929
HR: 5th (8th, 8th, 10th, 15th, 20th, 35th): 401
RBI: 6th (7th, 8th, 9th, 19th, 32nd, 53rd): 1335
Runs: 7th (11th, 14th, 22nd, 28th, 55th, 86th): 1249
WAR: 6th (6th, 10th, 11th,13th, 18th, 24th): 66.74
Meet the 2024 Pitching Staff
2023 saw the Jersey Shore D-Bags take another deep run into the playoffs before eventually falling to the World Champions Greenville 84's. While only losing one piece of the staff in the off-season, the staff remains nearly unchanged.
Starting Pitching - Bags bring back the Big 4 with a new face
SP Jose Ramos - Coming off a 24 win season and 2nd in the Cy Young voting, this is the first year in his $163M contract. Ace.
SP Roland Martin - 2022 Rookie of the Year and 17 game winner last season, Martin is a budding star. With a devastating change-up, he and Ramos make a mean 1-2 punch.
SP Ramon Ruiz - Hard throwing lefty who struggled last season after 2 good years. Control will always be his issue, but has the stuff to strikeout 10/9 and be a great 3.
SP Sergio Martinez - Martinez has won at least 14 starts in 5 straight years now and rounds out a very good 1-4 staff. He is in a contract year and it will be interesting to see if this is his last year in Jersey.
SP Li-Xue Si-ma - With SP Gianluigi Ciotton being selected in the expansion draft to Nassau, the D-Bags looked to free agency to fill their #5 spot. Si-ma has previously won 14 games on 2 occasions in Maui and came over on a cheap 2 year deal. He walks a lot but does keep the ball in the ballpark.
The Bullpen
MR Angel Lara - Had an awful 2023 but won the job in ST. Hits 99 with his fastball but needs to improve on his K/BB which was less than 2.
MR John Hall - Groundball pitcher with a good fastball. Had his best season as a pro last year and will work middle relief.
MR Luis Cortez - 29 year old righty coming off 3 straight solid years. Won't overpower many hitters, but does have a tricky curveball in his arsenal, will also work the middle innings.
MR Claude Pinard - Left handed power arm who had 129 K's in 105 innings last year. Historically has been tougher on righties than lefties. His sinker is his out pitch and home runs off of him is a rarity.
MR Hyo-chin Kim - At 27, Kim is probably one of the best non-closers in the BSA. Career 3.03 ERA in 424 appearances and is only 27 years old. Coming off two sub-1.80 ERA years and will act as the set-up man.
CL Gerald Johnson - With back-to-back All Star appearances, Johnson is becoming one of the premier closers in baseball. He led the league with 42 saves last season while striking out more than 13 batters per 9.
In the Wings
SP Stephen Puckett - Former 2nd round pick out of High School, Puckett had a full year of AAA last season with decent results. He may not be ready now, but could be an injury fill in and possibly a staple in the rotation as soon as next year.
MR Gil Dickson - Dickson looked good and improved in what very little time he got after missing most of all 2023 to injury. If he can limit walks he should be an average reliever down the road.
MR Jonathan Phillips - Very hard throwing 25 year old right hander who can hit triple digits. He struck out 171 batters in 108 innings last year in AAA, but managed to walk 81 as well. Don't be surprised if he is the first reliever up this season.
MR Alfonso Martinez - 23 year old junk ball pitcher who survives with a great change-up. Struggled in AAA last year after walking more than 6 per 9 innings. He is still young, but the jury is still out.
GO D-BAGS
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