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
Monday, January 25, 2016
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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