Jersey Clinches 1st Division Title; Breaks CL Record for Wins

An improbable season, an improbable break out star, business as usual for the D-Bags.  September 14th, Jersey was on the road in the middle of a 3 game series with the Vista Panthers.  After winning the first game of the series 4-2, Jersey knew that this was the first day they would have a shot at clinching the the CL Eastern division for the first time in their history.  It would take a Jersey win over Vista and a Greenville loss at Reno to clinch on that night, not probable, but what was probable this season?

Both games started at 7:05 MST and were played in the Pacific time zones.  Jersey would get the scoring started in the 2nd inning, when singles by Goyer and Perez would put runners on the corners with one out.  A RBI single by 3B Adam Morrow would score Goyer and back to back wild pitches from Michael Hoffmeyer would bring in Perez making it 2-0 Bags in the 2nd.  Vista would get one back when a Yun-qi Qiao would hit an RBI groundout making it a 2-1 game after 2 innings of play. 

Jersey 2-1. End of 2.

Cruising along in Reno, the Cards would get on the board first when Kent Hall, who is having a very rough year, doubled down the left field line scoring breakout rookie Sugiyama who had earlier tripled.  Reno would lead 1-0 after 3.

Reno 1-0. End of 3.

Back to Vista, it didn't take long for Jersey to get the run they gave Vista in the 2nd as they quickly loaded the bases and Mike Bryant would score on a long fly out sac-fly from Warren Goyer.  A walk from rookie Fransisco Ibarra would re-load the bases for Alberto Perez, whose solid hit line drive would find the outfield and bring home 2 more runs making the Jersey lead 5-1. A 1-2-3 inning on 3 pitches from Greg Schaefer would put Jersey to bat again and MVP candidate Bryant hit a scorching line drive that left the park easy for a 6-1 Jersey lead which would stand through the 4th.

Jersey 6-1. End of 4.

While Jersey was busy scoring in Vista, 1st overall pick in this year's amateur draft Jaime Guzman and and fellow 21 year old rookie Cristobal Santos had a pitchers duel going.  Few men reached base as threw zeros  up on the board which lasted until the bottom half of the 6th inning.  Free agent signing Cade Delaney would hit a fly ball that looked routine which just kept carrying 401 feet for his 34th HR of the year giving Reno a 2-0 lead heading into the 7th inning.

Reno 2-0.  End of 6. 

After getting in a little trouble in the 5th Greg Schaefer switched on cruise control and would walk one and hit one batter over the next 3 innings.  Jersey threatened a couple of times but Vista pitching would skirt out of trouble each time as the score remained the same through 7 innings.

Jersey 6-1. End of 7.

Players like Jaime Guzman are the reasons Reno fans have bright hope for the future.  Guzman would go 7 1/3 before being pulled after a 10-pitch AB resulting in a single from 84's catcher Fransisco Diaz.  It was by far the rookie's best ever outing and left to an ovation from the Reno crowd.  A combination of relievers would take us to the bottom half of the inning where Kent Hall's 2nd RBI double of the game gave Reno a 3-0 heading into the 9th inning.  Closer Didyu Ghosh would be called upon to save the game for the Cards.  He would get Donahue and Hickman easily before a mini scare as former MVP Felix Morales would ruin the shutout with a solo HR into the RF bleachers.  It would take only 3 pitches to get promising youngster Enzo Diaz to groundout and secure the win for the Cards.

Reno 3-1. FINAL 9:32 MST.

The final score was posted on the scoreboard in Vista and cheers came from the Jersey dugout and sparingly throughout the crowd.  Schaefer would be pulled after 7 1/3 finishing his night on his 6th K of night night getting Artie Kelley swinging.  Jose Gomes would take over and finish the 8th and 9th with no more trouble sending the D-Bags running out onto the field as 1B Alberto Perez fielded an unassisted ground-out for the final out of the game.  Smiles could be seen around the crowd and Schaefer received a gatorade bath as this performance improved his record to 17-3 on the season, his previous career high coming in 2015 with 13 wins.

Jersey 6-1. FINAL 10:14 MST.

This win was Jersey's 109th win of the season and later and 4 days later with a walk-off win against Seattle Jersey would break the CL record for wins in a season with 112 which was previously set by the Regina River Sharks (now Austin) in the 2013 season where they would advance to the World Series. At the time of this publication Jersey sat with a 117-42 record with 3 games left to play in the season.  117 wins puts them 3rd all time behind two juggernaut Hendersonville teams of 2015 and 2014. 

Not only did this Jersey team set the record for most wins in the CL, they also clinched the best record in the BSA this season, the 1st time a CL team will ever finish with the most wins in the BSA for a season.  Quite an improbable run from a team who lost their ace in spring training which left big question marks heading into this season.  With 3 games left, GM Swain plans on playing mainly back ups and saving pitchers to start in the playoffs.

It has been confirmed that Jersey will take on Austin in the 1st round of the playoffs.  Swain has come out and said they plan on throwing Ramos, Schaefer and Ellis in the 1st 3 games as well.   Here's to the boys finishing the season strong and looking forward to this year's playoffs!

GO D-BAGS

We're In! Bags Claim First Postseason Berth!

Nearly 6 years after a tedious inaugural draft that left the D-Bags with a good, not great team, a team that was always good enough, but that not good, has finally clinched a place in the postseason tournament.  Jersey has of the last few years been known as the best never to make an appearance, playing out of the tough CL East and missing the playoffs last season by 2 games with 94 wins finally can shed that title.

A rough September which left them 10-10 for the month still surprising left them with 6 games to play and a Magic number of 1 over the reeling Austin River Sharks.  With all 6 games being home games and Reno coming to town it looked inevitable, but as Swain as seen his vast days of baseballing, nothing is set in stone. The gang got to the stadium early to watch Austin on TV beat Madison in a game to keep their season alive. They knew a win meant celebration.  They didn't want to clinch on a loss anyways.

Jersey would run this year's ace Art Ellis on the mound and a lineup full of the usual characters.  Reno countered by sending Clarence Seals to the mound, whom Jersey had beaten up on in his only start against them earlier this season.   Reno scored early in the 1st and took a 4-0 lead in the 3rd on which was capped off by last year's 2nd overall pick Seaug-chun "Air" Mun hit a 2 run blast off of Ellis.

This was September for Jersey, a team with high aspiration, laying down in September, we have never seen these Bags before.

But Jersey wasn't going to roll over like that.  In their half of the third a single, walk and a single left 2 runners on while one was thrown out at the plate.  Bryant and Doyle both connected on RBI singles to halve the score at 4-2.  Both pitchers settled in until the 6th when Reno struck again.  Back-to-back-to back hits brought in 2 more runs and pushed the lead back to 4 runs at 6-2.  But of course Jersey wasn't done, Scott Powers added an RBI single and Adam Morrow knocked in 2 more to bring the score to 6-5 at the end of the 6th.  

The crowd of nearly 38,000 really got a rise to their feet when Mr. D-Bag Mikey Bryant pulled a ball high into the air down the right field line that barely snuck inside the foul pole for a game tying solo HR in the bottom of the 7th.  Maybe tonight was the night!  Mungo came in to pitch and a combination of a single, sac bunt, intentional walk and a double brought the go ahead run across the plate.  Just like that, 7-6 Reno.

Back to  back singles for Powers and Kino led off Jersey's 8th and a Morrow groundball advanced them to 2nd and 3rd.  Up to bat came, from Reno by way of the Rule V draft, OF Jose Ortiz.  On the 5th pitch of the AB, Ortiz grounded between 3B and SS that got through and Powers scored easily and Kino beat the throw by mere feet for a 9-8 lead.  That 2nd run wouldn't matter because the next batter C Duran would blast a 2-run HR down the RF line to make it 10-7 and the crowd on their feet.  A solo  HR by Doyle 2 batters later really brought the crowd to a frenzy which lasted the remainder of the game.  Mungo came out and retired the side in order and not a soul had left.  

The D-Bags celebrated on the field, Gatorade buckets were dumped and the champagne was on ice inside the clubhouse.  It's not a division title, but a postseason berth. The only batters on the roster with postseason experience are Scott Powers and Leon Foster.  While on the pitching side only Burgess and Ellis has experience, both being part of a Hendersonville championship team.

Jersey will travel to Toronto to take on the Titans in the 1st round of the CL playoffs.  The rosters are not set yet, but after the regular season concludes we will be back to preview this opening round 7 game series.

GO D-BAGS

Great August Puts 1st Playoff Appearance in Reachable Sight

The Jersey Shore D-Bags picked a great time to string together their best two months of the season in July and August, but should it come as a surprise to anyone considering the way this team has played over the years?  Widely known as a 2nd half team, the Bags record of 81-55 put them on pace to finish the season with 96 which would set a new team record and in this case probably would secure a playoff spot.  The 19-11 record in August put them 6 games up on the Austin River Sharks for the Wild Card spot in the CL and marks the first time they entered the last month of the season in the lead for a playoff spot.

Players of the Month

SP Art Ellis.  1-2. 2.77 ERA, 1.44 WHIP, 38K/39 IP.  Though his W/L record doesn't show it Ellis was far and away the best starter in the month of August. In 4 of his 6 starts he gave up 2 ER or less and twice gave up 0 ER, once earning him a loss (4 unearned runs) and the other a no decision.  Ellis's great August kept him in the lead in the CL in the ERA race and makes it likely he will set the team record in this category which was set by Dan Macias last season.

MR Jaime "Mungo" Saenz.  4-0, 2 saves. 0.00 ERA, 0.65 WHIP, 31K/21.2IP.  Mungo was as we call it flat out nasty in August.  In fact this probably is the best month from a Jersey reliever ever, and that's saying something.  Appearing in 17 of the teams 30 games he didn't give up a run and only allowed 6 hits in 21.2 innings.  Mungo is showing that if the Bags can't work out an extension with closer Daniel Morris that he is more than able to do the job going forward

1B Matt Doyle. 10 HR, 22 RBI, .364/.456/.710.  1.166 OPS.  Another POTM for Doyle, even if it wasn't as big as his July.  He continued to lead the CL in HR and his average crept higher towards that .326 he hit last year, finishing the month at .298. His 10 HR was tied for 3rd in the BSA only behind Caro's 11 of NFF and "Superman" Phillips's 16 also of NFF.

3B Alberto Perez. 4 HR, 15 RBI, 10 2B, .390/.420/.701 1.121 OPS.  Antonio Ruiz who?  Perez has been a highly coveted asset with no place to play in Jersey until the trade that sent Ruiz to Vista before the deadline.  Now that he is getting AB's he is showing the fans of Jersey what he can do.  Despite a handful of AB's over the past two season this was by far his best month in the big leagues, adding 30 hits and 15 of those for extra bases.

2B Mike "Coffin" Bryant.  10 HR, 23 RBI, .316/.374/.598.  Bryant's stellar 2nd month in a row puts him in the MVP chase again and ended the month ranked 3rd in AVG, 3rd in HR, 2nd in RBI while leading the leading the league in runs scored.  The past 2 September's have been huge for Bryant earning him POTM from the Bag Report for each of them, don't be surprised to see him here again next month.

LF Sergio Rodriguez. 4 HR, 17 RBI, .351/.424/.689, 1.114 OPS.  Sergio is another player like Perez who is an AAA standout but just lacked a place to get AB's on the Jersey big league club.  He continued his above average July with a stellar September month, much of the time playing CF.  The drawback was he had an elbow injury towards the end of the month which will sideline him for 3 weeks.  With Scott Powers and Foster coming off the DL, Jersey will have replacements for him, but it always is a downer losing a hot bat.

Roster Changes, Questions and Answers:

Ah, September always brings a time to see the young kids called up and get their "cup of coffee."  This year should be no different as we expect to see a a group of new faces joining the club.  With Leon Foster coming off the DL, he should join the Bags the first week of August after his rehab stint gets over with.  Sergio Rodriguez is the only member of the club on the DL at the moment, should miss the first 2 weeks on the DL and might get a small rehab stint before joining the club the last week of the season.

We talk about him almost every month in this section, but OF Tim Duncan has been called up to the big club.  In fact in August he played in 2 games and hit his 1st career HR and stole his 1st career base in the same game, so congrats to him.  We aren't sure yet if he will start on a regular basis, but expect him to at least get pinch run and some late inning defense in.  The Bags are also expected to recall MR Takafumi Ogusuku to give the bullpen some rest before their late season playoff push.  He was so-so with the Bags in July posting an ERA north of 5.00.  

We also expect at least at some point in the month that 1B Edgardo Gonzales, 2B Aaron Bailey, SP Jose Reyes, C Albert Lopez, and LF Ken Taylor to be recalled for some AB's.  With Tuscaloosa being 14 games up in the AAA standings, their magic number is 9 and would get their players back before the playoffs started.  

Until next time, go out and root on your Bags as their quest for their first playoff spot could come to and end this month!!

GO D-BAGS

Prospect Breakdown; Meet SS Lawrence Schroeder

 

Growing up in Fontana, California had it's perks.  Hop on I-10 for an hour and be in Hollywood, take a little more time and head south and be in Redondo Beach.  Great weather for the beach, for surfing, for people watching, this was after all Southern California. What Lawrence Schroeder liked the most though is being mere minutes from the Little League baseball facility in San Bernadino, California.  For a week and a half every summer the West Regional tournament was held in San Bernadino.  Though Schroeder never had the chance to to participate he loved watching the kids from all over the western side of the country play baseball. He was especially envious of those last 4 teams who's games are always televised on ESPN and ESPN2.  Playing baseball on TV what a thrill!

Schroeder was always athletically talented.  His father was 6th round draft pick in the NFL and played parts of 2 seasons.  His mother a high school track star.  He excelled in basketball in high school, maturing early hitting his 6'3" height when he was just a sophomore in High School. He made the baseball team as a Junior and quickly became one of the better players on the team.  His high school coach said he was always one of the first ones are practice and almost always the last one there.  The kid loved to practice, loved to get better and it helped the guys around him want to get better too.  

Upon his senior year he was scouted by a few teams and eventually accepted a scholarship to play for the University of Virginia all the way across the country.  They were the only school willing to let Schroeder play both basketball and baseball for them.  He joined the Cavaliers baseball team in 2010, which was a team led by older players  In fact he was the only bat on the team who wasn't a junior and a senior. At first it was hard being the newcomer and by far the youngest kid on the team but in the end he learned more from those guys than any coach out there.  Though they lost to Nebraska 2-1 in the best of 3 series in the first round it was Schroeder's first taste of playoff baseball, and he loved it.  The pressure, everything on the line.  He played in 43 of the team's 48 games, leading the team in doubles and showing off his great eye at the plate.  He only hit .259, but his OBP of .385 was good for 4th on the team.

2011 was another Virginia team led by seniors, but Schroeder like his freshman year was in the thick of things.  He and current Austin River Shark Jerome Miles led the team and became one of the best 1-2 punches in the country.  Schroeder officially put himself on the national radar hitting .400, 9 HR, 17 2B with an OBP of .525 again leading Virginia to the playoffs, and again ending in defeat by way of the Nebraska Cornhuskers in the first round.

2012 was going to be their year.  Virginia named Schroeder team captain before the season started and a slew of young talented players led Virginia for a record of 32 victories which still stands.  The offense featured 5 players in double digit HR's including Schroeder who hit a career high of 14.  He also posted some very high numbers, which many are still in the top 25-30 in college baseball history.  He hit .404 with an OBP of .530 and an OPS o 1.284.  Not to mention that Lawrence had developed a very slick glove at shortstop.  Virginia made the playoffs again and rallied around Schroeder and Miles to knock off their ACC rival Duke in the first round of the playoffs 2-0.  They went on to play powerhouse UConn who led the nation in wins with 39 behind a big pitching staff, current ROY candidate Eliot Helen, former first round picks Ramiro Navarro and Jorge Torres.  Virginia took care of business 2-0, moved on to face Kentucky who they also swept to reach the championship in a bout against the Oregon Ducks.  The series was a joke with Virginia beating them 2-0 to win their first and only national championship.  Currently the 2012 Virginia team is on the 2nd team along with South Florida to sweept through an NCAA playoffs without a loss.  

For the next two years Schroeder would put up decent numbers but nothing compared to the magical summer of 2012. He was a highly touted and ranked prospect going into the 2014 draft, but on draft fell down the draft board and finally was picked by the Jersey Shore D-Bags with the 28th overall pick.  GM Josh Swain said "We were ecstatic and actually very surprised he fell to us.  He was Top 13 on our big board and just kept falling.  It's hard to find a SS with that good of glove/contact with some pop.  The fact he was about to 24 at the time of the draft was also enticing.  We felt he would be one of the faster movers in the entire draft and with need for a SS on the big club, it was a perfect fit."

Schroeder was dissapointed due to his drafted position but was also encouraged.  The 2014 season we saw the breakout of stars in Jersey as Mike Bryant and Matt Doyle lit up the CL with tape measure HR's and names being all over national publications.  "Being not far from Jersey while I was in school I saw them a lot.  They are one of the best team in developing home grown talent, so it really was an honor being drafted by them.  I knew if I was going to make the big leagues, this was a great place for me."

Schroeder signed a 1.29M signing bonus not a week after the draft and was sent to AA Gainesville skipping right over A ball.  While he didn't match his college numbers, he posted respectable numbers in the 67 games he played in with them, he hit 11 HR while hitting .254.  In the winter of 2014 really worked with Schroeder on evening out his swing to produce more line drives and helping him keep his weight back to try and help his power game.  His maturity was evident early on in 2015 as he smacked around AA pitching for 2 weeks and earned a surprise promotion to AAA affiliate Tuscaloosa.  He immediately took over the starting SS position for them, while getting some good time at 2B as well this season.  He has been everything he was advertised as with a slash line of .299/.353/.474 hitting 15 HR and driving in 80 runs in 111 games thus far this season. The one drawback is he striking out a lot, but plans to work on that in the off season. 

While Jersey has no immediate plans to call up Schroeder, his future is bright.  He was named the 31st best prospect before the season started and with his success in AAA so far, things are looking up.  But really should anyone be really surprised?  Even if Schroeder spends the rest of the season and 2016 in AAA, in 2017 we could be looking at a Jersey infield of Doyle, Bryant, Schroeder and Adam Morrow.  What do these players have in common?  All players drafted by Jersey, 3 1st round draft picks, Morrow being the only 2nd round pick of the bunch.   Did we mention 2013 1st round pick 1B/3B 21 year old Richard Coker is starting to tear it up in AA and talks of a promotion have been abound the Jersey clubhouse?  It could be something rare to see that many home grown players in one clubhouse and starting lineup.

For now we will monitor Schroeder's progress in AAA.  They have a 16 game lead in their division and well on their way to their 6th straight playoff appearance and could be on their way to their 4th title in 6 years.  Schroeder is excited to get back into some playoff competition but also added, " I want a shot at Greenville and Toronto!"  While we are excited he is anticipating playing against Jersey's biggest rivals, we will end in saying, young man your time will come.  

GO D-BAGS

Jersey Shore July 2015 In Review

July was a successful month for Jersey who compiled a 15-8 record in the game shortened month causes by the All Star break.  The stars showed up to shine and the Bags will start August with a 4.5 game lead in the Wild Card race over the Austin River Sharks.  It's an odd place for Jersey who usually finds itself chasing other teams at this point and not holding any sort of lead.

Players of the Month

2B Mike "The MACHINE" Bryant: .385/.431/.703 8 HR 30 RBI 22 R.  Why not start off with the CL Player of the Month?  Bryant won the award for the 2nd time in his career for the month of July, he also won it July of 2014 as well.  Bryant had 12 multi hit games, 9 multi RBI games, including having 4 RBI on 3 separate occasions.  He started at 2B for the CL All Star team earlier in the month and has put himself back into the midst of MVP talks for the 2nd year in a row.

1B Matt "Down Home" Doyle: .357/.421/.667 8 HR 30 RBI.  Doyle joined Bryant to create quite the 2 some for the month.  He was also selected as a reserve for the All Star game and matched Bryant's HR and RBI totals.  The combined 16 HR and 60 RBI in 23 games is an incredible amount.  It was Doyle's 2nd 8 HR and 30 RBI month of the season, the other coming in May.  He currently sits 2nd in the league in HR and leads the league in RBI, also he was the first BSA player to reach 100 RBI on the season.

3B Adam Morrow: .323/.405 31 H 13BB 16R.  Super rookie continues to impress as he had his 3rd 30 hit month of the season.  Leading off most games he ranks in the Top 10 in the CL in hits and runs.  He has put himself right in the thick of things in a crowded CL ROY conversation as well.

SP Jerry Burgess: 4-0  2.70 ERA  28K/4BB  0.90 WHIP.  The new acquisition dazzled winning all 4 starts after coming over from El Paso.  His 4 wins were more than he had in 3 months with El Paso and his first month with less than double digit walks.  Apparently the bats like when he is on the month as well, in his 4 starts they scored:  11, 14, 13 and 15 runs in his starts. 

SP Art Ellis: 3-0  2.01 ERA  1.12 WHIP  26K/6BB.  Ellis continued his torrid first season with the Bags and is making a run at Dan Macias's team record for ERA which he set last year at 2.82.  After his last July start he sits at 2.44.  Ellis was selected to the All Star for the 2nd time this month and his first time since the 2011 season.

MR Jaime "Mungo" Saenz: 2-0  1.35 ERA   0.75 WHIP 16K.  After a rough start to the season in April for Mungo, he finished July as the 3rd month in a row with an ERA sub 2.00.  The hard throwing lefty is having a bounce back season after a "down" 2014.  This marks the 2nd year in a row he has registered 9 wins, he currently sits at 9-0.

CL Daniel Morris:  1-0  6 Saves  1.08 ERA  0.96 WHIP.  Morris had been having the exact opposite of what a contract season should be, but July he finally looked like the Morris of old.  2015 marked the 2nd year in a row Morris was left off the CL All Star team after a streak of making the team 3 years in a row.

Roster Questions, Changes and Answers

Leon Foster still has 3 weeks left on the DL and we won't see him probably until late August or September.  Scott Powers suffered a Knee contusion on 7/23 and will miss 3 weeks with the injury.  With him being out of the lineup it gave more AB's to Sergio Rodriguez and Taro Kino in the OF. Sergio had 60 AB in July and hit .300 with 2 HR.  

Jose Gomes was also injured on 7/30 with some shoulder tendonitis and is set to miss 3 weeks.  In his absence the Bags added Takafumi Ogusuku, the Japanese native to the 40 man roster and the active roster.  In one game in July he gave up 3 ER in 2.1 IP vs San Fransisco.  At only 19 years old he rose quickly through the Bags system to make it to the big club.

Edgardo Gonzales, Aaron Bailey and Tim Duncan continue to impress in AAA Tuscaloosa for the Bags but right now there just isn't any room for any bats.  Look for one or all 3 of them to get September callups to see what they can do for the big club, especially if the Bags start to pull away in the WC race. 

GO D-BAGS