2016 Offseason: Jersey Shore

After taking a tough loss in Game 7 of the World Series against the mighty Hendersonville Hitmen, there was a lot of uncertainty when it came to Jersey players.  A lot of star players with contracts set to be up, a player's option and a few holes opening up.  Here's what has happened since that fateful day in Hendersonville.

 The day after the season Leon Foster decided to accept his 13.87 Million dollar option he was given in 2013 as part of his 4 year extension.  After starting out decent last season Foster strained his hip and missed 3 months.  Jersey brass thought it was inevitable he would take the option but I think deep down everyone hoped he would turn it down.  Foster should start in CF, at least against lefties, this up coming season.  Foster sits 8th on the All-time HR list with 205.

The first two weeks of November had to feel like Christmas for many Jersey Shore fans.  On November 4th Jersey announced they bought out 2, possibly 3 years of arbitration and signed superstar 1B Matt Doyle to a 6 year deal worth 39.35 million dollars.  The deal will keep Doyle in Jersey through the age of 32.  Doyle led the CL in HR last year with 44 and only 2 seasons into his Jersey career he sits only behind Mikey Bryant on the Jersey Shore all time HR list with 77.

Three days later on November 7th, Jersey announced they avoided losing their FA deadline pickup Jerry Burgess by agreeing to a 5 year contract worth 45.29 million dollars.  Burgess won 7 starts after coming over from El Paso and was vital in their playoff run winning 3 of his 6 starts and keeping Jersey within striking distance in Game 7.

Five days after the Burgess signing, Jersey announced they had come to an agreement with FA to be and arguable ace of the staff 30 year old Art Ellis to a 6 year contract which will keep him in Jersey for the remainder of his career.  Ellis posted one of the best seasons put up by a Jersey hurler, posting a 2.94 ERA and striking out 210.

On November 21st, the league announced that MR Brian White recieved a new contract worth 600K through arbitration, which was no surprise, and Catcher Luis Antonio Duran won his arbitration hearing and will receive $8.75 million this upcoming season.  With Duran's number being that high, there is probably a slim chance he will be back for 2017.  Regardless he will be starting the season as the team's starting catcher.

Free agency started November 24th and Jersey said good-bye to two players.  The first being one of the longest tenured player closer Daniel Morris.  With the money going to the starters, there was just not enough to go around.  Morris leaves Jersey leading the team in all-time ERA (2.59), Saves (170), appearances (387), BB/9 (2.0), K/BB (4.18), WHIP (1.17), OOPS (.626) and VORP (139.4). 

Also departing through free agency is the speedy OF Scott Powers, who spent 3 years in Jersey after a trade from Niagara Falls. Powers a multi-use speedy OF, never lived up to the potential Jersey thought they would get when they made the trade in 2013.  His spot on the roster will go to one of the money OF Jersey has stashed away in AAA.

The Rule V draft took place on December 1st and with the 22nd pick Jersey selected MR David Rice with the 22nd pick.  Rice of the former Pittsburgh (now Chicago) franchise.  Rice will become the 2nd lefty in the pen after new closer Jaime Saenz.  Last season Rice pitched in AA and a 3.61 ERA and 140 K's in 124.2 IP.

Jersey also lost a player in the Rule V draft as well.  St. Charles selected speedy utility infielder Dave Henson whom Jersey signed to a MLC in 2014 after being released from Vista.  Henson hit .270 with 14 SB in 63 AB with Tuscaloosa last season.

Towards the end of Spring Training Jersey made a couple of waiver moves.  The first being claiming MR Chris Woodruff from the Jacksonville Jackhammers.  Woodruff struggled in Jacksonville last year posting a 6.44 ERA in 50.1 IP, but the Jersey brass must have seen some potential.

On the same day Jersey claimed Woodruff, Boston claimed 1B Edgardo Gonzales.  Gomzales who has been with Jersey since the inaugural draft always has played well in AAA but has had trouble cracking the 25-man roster.  Gonzales got only 29 AB in the last 3 seasons.

On April 2nd, the day before the season was set to begin Jersey announced another contract extension.  One of the best hitters in last year's playoffs 3B Alberto Perez agreed to a 4 year deal buying out his arbitration years worth nearly $8M dollars.  Perez is slated to start at 3B this season with Adam Morrow sliding over to SS.

Losses: CL Daniel Morris, CF Scott Powers, SS Dave Henson, 1B Edgardo Gonzales
Additions: MR Dave Rice, MR Chris Woodruff
Extensions: SP Jerry Burgess, SP Art Ellis, 1B Matt Doyle, 3B Alberto Perez

2016 is here! Look for the roster breakdown, coming soon!

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

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 

Prospect Lookback and Breakdown - Tim Duncan

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


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


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


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


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


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


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

D-Bags May 2014 in Review

After a complete up and down month in April which saw the Bags finish at 15-13, May come and went and proved to be no different.  Wins followed by losses, hot streaks, cold streaks.  At one point they lost 7 of 8 to Kansas City, Seattle and Vista;  Only to come and win 7 straight starting with a sweep of Regina.  We saw good pitching, horrendous pitching and pretty much a lack of offense.  They finished the month 13-15 for an even 28-28 record for the season.

Players Of the Month

Though the team was up and down as usual a couple carried the team and those we call the POTM, and they are as follows:

SP Dan Macias, 2-2, 2.61 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 38 K's - Macias who had a horrendous start in a D-Bag uniform, Macias turned it around and pitched like the guy Jersey thought they brought over in the trade with Orlando.  The 33 year old statesman finished the month with a 2-2 record, for a 4-6 record overall.  If Jersey is going to compete for the division, he will be leading the pitching charge.

2B Mike Bryant, .343/.393/.713  10 HR, 28 RBI, 37 Hits - After a strong finish to 2013 Bryant is attempting to put himself in that "elite" category.  He broke out hitting 10 HR in the month, which was almost 40% of the teams total HR's for the month.  He leads the 2B category in almost every hitting statistic across the league.

1B Matt Doyle, .308/.417/.450  7 HR, 23 RBI - As if we haven't had enough DOYLE talk this season so far, he comes out in his first month with a bang and wins our POTM, but not only that.  He also took home the CL Rookie of the Month award for May as well.  The kid has a bright, bright future.

On a side note, we would like to congratulate rookie OF Al Ryan on being named the CL Player of the Week for the first week of May.  After a monster April he has really settled down.  He currently has 10 HR and 28 RBI on the season.

Roster Changes, Questions and Answers:

After such a puzzling start, May saw the Bags make a few moves.  The first and biggest of course being Matty Doyle being called up and Derrick Wright going to AAA.  Nothing major was done until the end of the month.  After Jersey lost 6 of 7, OF Bob Thomas, C Albert Lopez, 3B Alberto Perez were all sent to Tuscaloosa and called up in their places were OF Ramon Tavarez, C Tomas Gutierrez, and coming from the DL was Manuel Vazquez.

Injuries during the month plagued two D-Bag players as well.  CF Scott Powers fractured a rib while diving for a ball that set him back 4 weeks while 3B Parker Morrow strained his rotator cuff which also set him back 4 weeks.  both will be eligible to come back during the month of June at some point.  

As we look into June the Bags sit well behind the division leaders and the wild card, one has to wonder that if they fall further behind...will some moves be made?  With most of the AAA talent up at the big club, trades would be the option.  Will they be sellers?  Can they make a comeback and be buyers?  Will they clear up money on a very tight budget?  Only time will tell.  As we bid you adieu, we will make a prediction and say the Bags will bounce back and go 16-11 for the month and crawl back into this race.  

GO D-BAGS

Jersey Shore - September 2013

September was a do or die month for the D-Bags.  They entered the month down 5 games and needed a great Sept to have a sniff at the playoffs, or so they thought.  After their best month of the season going 17-9, they ended up a staggering 8 games out of the division when it was all said and done.  Greenville hit their stride at the right time went 20-7 for the month and ran away with the division.


Players of the Month
With the team playing so well it was hard to choose just a couple of players for POTM, but here they are:


Mike "Coffin" Bryant: 9 HR, 27 RBI, .375/.425/.702. 25R. After displaying some power during the summer, we finally saw the top prospect and former first round pick break out.  He homered once every 10.5 AB, drove in 27 runs in 25 games and killed opposing pitching.  Hate to pre-mature call him a star, but it seems he is destined for big things in this league.


Milliard Cross: 5 HR, 20 RBI, .433/.520/.750.   What happened to Cross after July?  He more than doubled his HR and RBI and hit 400 over the past 2 months of the season.  He went from guy who played when someone needed a rest to starter.  By far the best month of his career


Scott Powers: 5 XBH, 19 RBI, 15 BB, .340/.427/.436, 6 SB.  After stepping his game in August, it was September that really showed why Jersey dealt the talent they did for Powers.  He was an on base machine hitting leadoff, getting on base at a .420 clip.  Look for this not to be his last time in the POTM column.


SP Hector Hernandez: 3-2, 2.12 ERA.  Hernandez's best month of the season.  4 of 5 Quality starts and one of his losses came in a great performance where he gave up 1 ER.  Hernandez is a pending FA, so this might be the last time he graces the POTM.


MR Jose Gomes: 1 Save, 13.2 IP, 21 K, 1.42 ERA, .55 WHIP.  Gomes was nearly unbelievable in September, and ask any Jersey fan and you will hear, "About time!"  After a season in which Gomes struggled  , for him, he put up his finest month by far.  One bad inning he gave up 3 of his 7 baserunners all month long.  Under the radar, the D-Bags signed Gomes to a 5 year deal.


MR Jamie "Mungo" Saenz:   1 Save, 13.2 IP, 16 K, 1.32 ERA, 1.02 WHIP.  Much like Gomes, Saenz was dominate in the late innings.  The month completed his best season so far and helped the D-Bags hold the lead in many of their winnings during September.


Roster Changes, Questions and Answers
We didn't see too many changes to the roster this month.  Sergio Rodriguez, Joe Hernandez, Edgardo Gonzalez all got a hand full of AB's during September and all showed promise. All 3 have a shot at making the active roster next season.  

Being in end of the season we will likely see a lot of change to the roster.  Several big names players have yet to sign a contract extension which would make them FA's in just weeks time.  These players include SP Jose Brito, SP Hector Hernandez and C Jorge Lozano.  Lozano had a career year and as much as everyone in Jersey would love to see him stay, he is 32 and wants a big contract and rumors have it Jersey doesn't have the money.  The same goes for Brito who was very solid this year and the loss of both Brito and Hernandez would put a big dent in the Jersey rotation.


Speculating into the future, Lozano's role can be filled by Mario Ramirez  who tore up AAA pitching this year and has shown he can hold his own against ML pitching.  The SP isn't so easy projected.  Greg Shaefer was having a good year before going down with an injury, he would be slotted to join the rotation and you have to think another SP would come via trade or free agency.  Unless there are some big moves there seem to be starters slotted at every position, which can never be considered a problem.  


The D-Bags fell 1 win short of their 2nd straight 90 season, but yet finished with their 4th straight winning season.  Maybe next year will be Jersey's first trip to the playoffs, only time will tell.  For now look forward to any moves Jersey makes during the off-season!


GO D-BAGS

D-Bags Make Trade, Bring in Powers

Scott Powers was a popular name around the Jersey Shore clubhouse this off-season.  With Damien Balmforth leaving via free agency, it left Ramon Tavarez, Joe Hernandez and Bill Welshman as the only RH OF bats on the roster.  While neither of these players are slouches, management didn't view either as everyday starters.  Powers was rumored to be headed to the Shore in an off season trade but things fell through and the two sides couldn't seem to work things out after that.  As we know Jersey went in a separate direction and acquired power bat and RH OF Leon Foster from the New York Knights.  It was Jersey's only big move of the offseason and paid dividends as Foster is in the Top 5 in HR and is on pace to hit 48.

 Powers

Through a sluggish May and even into June even though the Bags lead the CL in BA/OBP/SLG/Runs/Hits they lack consistency.  No one complains when in the past 7 weeks they have scored 9 runs or more 15 times.  It's the 13 times during that same stretch they have scored 3 or less runs and the 4 times they have been shutout.

After a slow start by the Niagara Falls Frenzy and even slower start by CF Scott Powers, Jersey again reached out and inquired about Powers.  After posting a triple slash line of .311/.376/.434 with a VORP of almost 40 last season, Powers line through the time of the trade looked like a shell of his former self at .250/.361/.321.  A line that is marginally better than a replacement player.  Powers has a contract of nearly 4 million this year and just over 4 million for the next 2 years, which would be put him over the age of 30.  Talks resumed last week and the two teams finally found an agreeable point. 

Niagara Falls sent Powers and a small sum of cash to Jersey Shore in exchange for AAA MR Alonso Jiminez, AAA 2B Benny McCafferty and AAA SP Marty Twombly.  Though Jersey did in fact get their man, they also parted with some quality pieces.  

Jiminez in a solid bullpen arm that some scouts say could be a very good setup man.  He has dominated at every level he has pitched at, including that set up role in AAA this season.  McCafferty was a college on base machine playing at St. John's before being drafted by Jersey.  He struggled in his first 3 minor league seasons before really busting out last season in AA/AAA.  He hit a scorching .351 with AA Gainesville before being promoted to AAA Tuscaloosa where he found a power stroke, bashed 12 HR, amassed 36 XBH in only 114 games.  He should step in and start for Niagara Falls.  

             McCafferty                 Jiminez                

It is unknown where Powers will hit and at this point where he will play for Jersey Shore.  He has seen all his playing time at CF this season, but Jersey sees him more of a corner OF, where he once won a Gold Glove.  If he can get his OBP to his career levels, a lineup of Taylor-Powers-Bonniface-Foster-Lozano could produce a ton of runs and should give fear to many GM's in the league.  That isn't even mentioned former All-Star Parker Morrow, SS Jerome Lindsey, and young studs Mike Bryant and Antonio Ruiz.  If healthy this team could get scary.  They already lead the league in most offensive categories, the two the lack in: BB and SB.....two of Powers specialties.  

With Powers now on the team the Jersey Shore would now like to announce a merchandising special.  We would like to introduce the Power's Muscle Tank.  Perfect for taking to the gym or laying on the beach.  Who's gunna question those guns of yours when you have the word "Power" on your back?

ORDER YOURS TODAY!