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
Showing posts with label vista. Show all posts
Showing posts with label vista. Show all posts
Saturday, November 5, 2016
Saturday, April 11, 2015
Jersey Rallies From 5 Down & Wins in Extras; Seattle Butt hurt in Process
The Seattle Pikes visited Jersey earlier this month for a 3-game set which the D-Bags would eventually sweep. The middle game of the series was the game of the year for Jersey Shore and one of the biggest comebacks in team history. Down 5 going into the bottom of the 9th, there was little hope for the home town team. Especially considering a comment GM Kevin Carter made just days earlier on Twitter about "the great pen" Seattle is suppose to have. The best part about the comeback is All-Star Jim Nelson retired Kisuki and Bryant back to back to start the inning with 2 outs. Then all hell broke loose.
A single from Dodd gave an extra batter and the next man up was Francisco Torres would would take a 1-2 pitch and deposit it the Right-Center bleachers for a 2-run HR. Still, the Bags would still trail by 3. Seattle would go to the pen and bring in wonderkid Christian Escobar and his 99 MPH fastball. Rookie Own Carter would leg out an infield single that "King" Martinez couldn't make a play in time with. 3B Fabrice Brodeur would then walk on 5 pitches to put the tying run at the plate, another rookie, 2B John Moore. Moore would fight off 3, 1-2 pitches, fouling them all back before slicing a double down the left field line. Both Carter and Broduer would score, making it a 1 run game. Seattle would opt to leave Escobar in the game to pitch to SS Lawrence Schroeder, which would turn out to be a bad decision. Schroeder would take a 2-2 pitch and knock it up the middle scoring Broduer. The game almost ended when Moore, who was off with the pitch, came sliding home only be to be tagged out at the last second to send the game the extras.
Both bullpens would match each other until the 14th inning when Ricardo Berroa would walk, take 3rd on a single from Brodeur and score on an errant throw when he was sliding into 3rd base. It was a walk off win but there was more talk about the HBP from Jersey closer Gerald Johnson that broke Seattle's DH Luka Lagerweij's hand in the 13th inning.
Seattle GM Kevin Carter came out in the post game press conference and blamed the Jersey staff for intentionally hitting and hurting Lagerweij. GM Swain had this rebuttle. "I completely respect Lagerweij's game. I actually feel bad for the guy. He has supreme power and he plays his home games in one of the hardest parks to hit a HR for a left-handed hitter. One thing I don't respect though is showing up pitchers. In the 1st inning he hit a 3-run HR. Yes, our pitcher Garcia made a mistake and he capitalized on it, but you don't stand and admire your work, plus it was a 349 foot shot. He acted like he hit 500 feet. Our catcher Carter noticed he kept creeping closer and closer jamming the plate and our Manager Negrete told Johnson to brush him off the plate. The ball tailed a little bit and got him on the hand. No negligence. Part of the game. We hope for a speedy recovery and this conversation is over."
Through Saturday May 28th, Jersey Shore sits with a 35-16 record which is the best in the CL, and that's after a current 4-game losing streak. With 3 games left in May, the D-Bags need to win 2/3 for a 20 win month. They finish a quick 2-game tilt with Vista before finishing the month with 2 @ division rival Chicago.
A single from Dodd gave an extra batter and the next man up was Francisco Torres would would take a 1-2 pitch and deposit it the Right-Center bleachers for a 2-run HR. Still, the Bags would still trail by 3. Seattle would go to the pen and bring in wonderkid Christian Escobar and his 99 MPH fastball. Rookie Own Carter would leg out an infield single that "King" Martinez couldn't make a play in time with. 3B Fabrice Brodeur would then walk on 5 pitches to put the tying run at the plate, another rookie, 2B John Moore. Moore would fight off 3, 1-2 pitches, fouling them all back before slicing a double down the left field line. Both Carter and Broduer would score, making it a 1 run game. Seattle would opt to leave Escobar in the game to pitch to SS Lawrence Schroeder, which would turn out to be a bad decision. Schroeder would take a 2-2 pitch and knock it up the middle scoring Broduer. The game almost ended when Moore, who was off with the pitch, came sliding home only be to be tagged out at the last second to send the game the extras.
Both bullpens would match each other until the 14th inning when Ricardo Berroa would walk, take 3rd on a single from Brodeur and score on an errant throw when he was sliding into 3rd base. It was a walk off win but there was more talk about the HBP from Jersey closer Gerald Johnson that broke Seattle's DH Luka Lagerweij's hand in the 13th inning.
Seattle GM Kevin Carter came out in the post game press conference and blamed the Jersey staff for intentionally hitting and hurting Lagerweij. GM Swain had this rebuttle. "I completely respect Lagerweij's game. I actually feel bad for the guy. He has supreme power and he plays his home games in one of the hardest parks to hit a HR for a left-handed hitter. One thing I don't respect though is showing up pitchers. In the 1st inning he hit a 3-run HR. Yes, our pitcher Garcia made a mistake and he capitalized on it, but you don't stand and admire your work, plus it was a 349 foot shot. He acted like he hit 500 feet. Our catcher Carter noticed he kept creeping closer and closer jamming the plate and our Manager Negrete told Johnson to brush him off the plate. The ball tailed a little bit and got him on the hand. No negligence. Part of the game. We hope for a speedy recovery and this conversation is over."
Through Saturday May 28th, Jersey Shore sits with a 35-16 record which is the best in the CL, and that's after a current 4-game losing streak. With 3 games left in May, the D-Bags need to win 2/3 for a 20 win month. They finish a quick 2-game tilt with Vista before finishing the month with 2 @ division rival Chicago.
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
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
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
Sunday, April 21, 2013
Prospect Breakdown; Meet Javier Garcia
Meet 20 year old Starting Pitcher Javier Garcia. The Mexican born "plump" pitcher was signed by the Vista Panthers as a raw 17 year old back in 2014. He came over the Jersey Shore in the deal that sent Antonio Ruiz out of down and also brought OF Miguel Rosa to Jersey's farm system. At the time Garcia was just an out of shape kid who threw in the low 90's and had a fairly bleak future. He was already in his 3rd year of playing A ball in Vista's system and seemed to regress from his first 2. He was still young at 18, but not a good sign.
That's when the trade happened. With Jersey promoting kids to fill their IF positions, the struggling Antonio Ruiz. who was once considered a blue chip prospect, was the odd man out. Garcia was one of the hand picked teenagers by Josh Swain. He had this to say, "He had great mechanics. He was a bit sloppy and left the ball out of the plate way too much, but we saw some potential. Now we didn't see him as a guy we could turn into an Ace, but at age 18, we knew we would have a lot of time to work with him over the years."
He came to Manhattan to started 17 times in 2015 and looked more like his 2014 self than the regressed Garcia we saw in 2015 with Vista. During the offseason he was put on a muscle training program and worked with Dan Macias at Jersey's Florida complex and the results were more than noticeable. He came into the 2016 season with a much lively fastball and while before he touched on 93 MPH, he was dialing it back and hitting 97-98 on the radar gun consistently. He spent most of the 2016 in A ball pitching better than ever before, giving up less hits and considerably less HR while keeping his K rate over 10 K/9. He was called up to AA Gainesville late in the season in time to get 12 starts where he would struggle, but was to be expected being 19 at a level where most guys are much older.
We turn to the current season. Just past the half way point and Garcia has gotten 18 starts at AA and scouts have said his fastball is hitting 99 MPH. His K/BB rate is at it's highest point since his last season in A ball and while his K/9 has slipped under 10, he is walked less than ever. Swain says there is no time table for promotion to AAA or the BSA, but he will have to be put on the 40 man roster aher this year to avoid the Rule V draft. He also stated his main problem is still leaving that ball up over the plate. Statistically for his career he has also had a groundball rate of under 50% and his propensity to give up the long ball will not suite him well in Jersey, that is the main focal point to work on. "If we can get him to where he is at his A level of HR giving up at less than 1/2 per 9/IP that would be ideal. Right now he is at 1, the way the ball flies out in the Ballpark at the Shore, he would get eaten alive in some starts. That's our goal for Mr. Garcia at this point."
We suggest you keep an eye on Javier Garcia over the next few years. While he is not a blue chip prospect, he very well could be a valuable addition to the back end of the rotation in the future.
Thursday, February 7, 2013
Bags Finish Off Vista in 5; Head Back to CLCS
After starting the series 1-1 playing the first two games in Vista, Jersey headed back home to The Ballpark at the Shore for their first 3 home games of these 2016 playoffs. Jersey won game 1 handily with Art Ellis pitching them to an 8-2 win. Game 2 was a masterpiece turned in by Michael Hoffmeyer who out dueled the rookie Jose Ramos for a slim 2-1 victory, a victory that GM Josh Swain was afraid of. "We have the bats, they have the arms. There's no doubt in my mind that we can beat them in a shoot out, its the 1-0, 2-1, 3-2 games that will lose us this series. We need to stay away from those," is a quote from Swain before the series, thus far he seems to be right. On to Jersey!
Game 3
Gane 3 would feature a matchup between Tyler "Big Train" Law of Vista and Dan "Simple Man" Macias of Jersey. Law, who missed more than 2 months with elbow tendonitis during the year, pitched great all season, including a no-hitter against the Reno Cards. He shut down Jersey in both his starts this season, pitching 14.2 innings of shutout ball. Macias, the the 36 year old veteran, had his worst season as a pro as his strike out totals fell and ERA rose. He did have a great September which Jersey is hoping for good signs during this postseason.
Macias, who struggled mightily in the playoffs a year ago, would get things started nicely for Jersey taking the first 3 Vista hitters in order. The stadium was packed down to standing room only tickets and gave an ovation as he got All-Star John Doby to strike out to end the first. Tyler Law would take the mound for Vista and whatever concerns Jersey hitters had about him shutting them down all season quickly disappeared. Two quick walks and a hit by pitched loaded the bases for Matt Doyle with no one out. Doyle would waste no time and take the 2nd offering to the gap in left-center bringing home 2 runs an sending Bryant to 3rd. The next batter Dodd would walk on 4 pitches to re-load the bases, still with no one out. A harmless fly ball would get Romero, but Bryant would tag and score the third Jersey run. Catcher Warren Goyer would fly out for the 2nd out before Alberto Perez would single on a line drive over shortstop to load the bases for the 3rd time in the inning. Law's control problems would continue as Tim Duncan would step in and not take the bat off his shoulder for 4 straight pitches forcing in the 4th run from 3rd base and surprisingly ending Law's night. It resulted in the shortest outing of the season for him. Carlos Arevalo would relieve Law and strike out leadoff man Sergio Rodriguez on 3 pitches. But the damage was done. After 1 inning, Jersey held a 4-0 lead.
Macias apparently came to work. Even after the long delay of batting around he came out and retired the side in order for the 2nd straight time. Jersey would waste no time getting more. SS Lawrence Schroeder led off the inning with a single and 2 batters later Matt Doyle would connect and pull a line drive down the line that barely stayed fair for a 2 run HR. It chased Arevalo from the game, and the 6 runs would be more than Jersey needed today.
An RBI triple from Schroeder would bring in the 7th run in the 3rd and an RBI single from Perez would bring home the 8th run in the 4th. Macias would stay out of the trouble until the 5th when Torres connected on a 2 run HR. Brian Cash would leadoff the 6th with a solo HR to bring the Jersey lead to 8-3 and follow that up with an RBI sac fly in the 7th to shave one more run off. A triple and wild pitch would bring home Vista's 5th run in the 8th before Macias was done for the night. Even though he gave up 5 ER he was effective enough to pick up the win. Jose Gomes and Jaime Saenz would close out the last 5 batters to preserve the 8-5 win for the Bags and give them a 2-1 series lead.
Final Score: Jersey 8 Vista 5
POTG: Matt Doyle 2-5, 2R, 2B, HR, 4RBI
Game 4
Game 4 would turn out to be the most interesting game of the series. Vista would bring Cipriano Montanez back on short rest while Jersey would send the embattled Jerry Burgess to the mound. Burgess was regulated to bullpen duty for much of August and September before coming back and throwing a quality start against Pocatello during the last series of the year.
Things did not start well for Burgess. A walk, single and walk loaded the bases with no outs, just like Jersey did the day the before. Vista would get their 4 runs but they did it on one swing. Roberto Bojorquez would only need one swing to send a Burgess offering high, deep and gone over the CF wall to put Jersey in a 4-0 hole before an out was recorded in the game. Burgess would shake it off and retire the next 3 batters before heading to the dugout in a quiet stadium. Montanez was sharp in the 1st inning, needing only 8 pitches to saw through 3 Jersey hitters to get us to the 2nd inning. Either Manager Kevin Davis had faith in Burgess or just didn't want to waste his bullpen, but Burgess headed out to the mound for the 2nd inning. A walk, double play, single and groundout ended the top half, while Jersey would go down in order in the bottom half to end the inning.
Burgess would go back to work in the 3rd giving up a lead off single Bojoquez before getting 2 straight outs. But a single from Torres and back to back walks would force in Vista's 5th run, but Brian Cash couldn't capitalize and break the game open by grounding out to end the threat. The Bags would finally show some sign of life in the 3rd getting two free passes to start things off before Luis Antonio Duran came to plate. Duran would single up the middle which would score one, and advance the runners on the throw to home. An RBI groundout from Larson would plate the 2nd run, giving the Bags a runner on 2nd with one out. An Adam Morrow single would put runners at the corners and Mikey Bryant would be the 2nd D-Bag to be hit by a pitch, which loaded the bases. Montanez probably got the biggest out of the day by getting masher Matt Doyle to weakly hit into a 4-6-3 double play to end the inning. Both teams left the bases loaded. Jersey shaved part of the lead off, going into the 4th, Vista led 5-2.
Burgess would finally get the hook when he surrendered a 1 out double Doby and was replaced by Greg Schaefer. Schaefer would get an out before giving up back to back singles where Vista would plate their 6th run. Torres would strike out with 2 runners on to end the threat. As usual Jersey batters wouldn't lay down. The struggling Dave Dodd led off the inning with an exciting triple and came around to score on Perez's single before Montanez retired 3 batters in a row to end the 4th. Both teams score, 6-3 Vista lead. The 5th went by without any damage from Vista, but MVP showed up for Jersey. 2 pitches after Schroeder pulled a double down the left field line, Bryant would take a Montanez fastball the other way landing 340 feet away and bringing the Bags to within 1 and the crowd to their feet. It was Bryant's 1st HR of the series and just his 2nd and 3rd RBI in 4 games.
Both teams would pose threats in the 6th and 7th innings but no one could come up with a clutch hit until the bottom of the 8th. Vista would bring in Evan Brown to pitch to the left handed hitting rookie Torres, who would get the best of him and single on a line drive to CF. Brown would be replaced with rookie 1st round pick Edward Cadle who gave up a line drive single to former ROY Adam Morrow to put 2 runners on with no outs. Arevalo would replace Cadle who had a battle with Peter Larson before getting him to ground into a HUGE unassisted DP from Brian Cash. Arevalo couldn't get all the way out of trouble though. Lawrence Schroeder would hit a grounder pasts a diving Cash to score the runner from third and knot up this ballgame at 6 runs apiece. There could have been more trouble when he walked both Bryant and Doyle, but got Dodd to lazily fly out to send to send us to the 9th tied up.
Both teams would go down in order in the 9th sending us to our first extra inning game of the series. The 10th was no different, 6 up and 6 down. This was a pivotal game for both teams. Vista would threaten in their half of the 11th getting a lead-off single from Cash and a successful sac bunt from Cassidy to give Vista a runner in scoring position. John Doby would be given a free pass and like many other times in this series, the Vista bats wouldn't come through. Flame thrower Mungo Saenz would get Ashur and House both swinging to a huge ovation from the crowd. They wanted a Jersey win. With the meat of the order coming up, there would be no better time for the Bags. Bryant quickly got his 4th hit of the game a double into the left field corner and Doyle was walked to set up the double play. Goyer would pinch hit for Dodd and fly out to right field to bring up last year's playoff hero and this year's All Star game hero Alberto Perez. Why not? Perez took a 2-0 pitch and grounded the ball up the middle. Bryant would score without a throw and and was met at the plate by the team for a mini mosh pit to celebrate the walk off win. Down 5-0 and to come away winners was a great feeling. Going up 3-1 in the series with a chance to close it out at home was an even better one.
Final Score Jersey 7 Vista 6
POTG: Roberto Bojoquez 2-4, R, HR, 4RBI
Game 5
If you were expecting a close nail-biter this wasn't your game. Game 1 Art Ellis winner would take the mound against Game 2 winner Michael Hoffmeyer pitching on short rest. Ellis was nothing short of brilliant on this evening. Hoffmeyer labored, couldn't avoid the Jersey bats and this one was over before it even began. Jersey scored in every inning but the 3rd and the 5th highlighted by Home Runs from Bryant and Doyle in the 4th and the 6th, 4 total hits for Bryant and 4 hits from Peter Larson. Every Jersey regular besides Alberto Perez had a hit and Art Ellis would go 7 scoreless innings giving up 4 singles and 1 walk on his way to 8 strikeouts and his 2nd win of the series. Hoffmeyer wouldn't get out of the 4th inning and 4 other relievers would pitch and all would give up runs. In the end the Bags won in laughing fashion 11-0 in front of 35,000 fans and would earn their right to take on the winner of the Toronto-Greenville series, which Toronto holds a 3-2 lead in.
Final Score: Jersey 11 Vista 0
POTG: Mike Bryant 4-5, 2R, 2 2B, HR, 3RBI
Summary:
From what we said in the pre-series summary, if Vista is going to win they need to limit the Jersey bats. They did in 1 game, which resulted in a Vista win. In the other 4 games Jersey scored 8,8,7 and 11. The bats were just too much for the Panthers. I also want to give much respect to the bullpen. They were outstanding, only 3 hits in 15+ innings giving up no runs and striking out 16.
Series MVP: Mike Bryant 13-22 (.591) 7R, 5 2B, 2 HR, 6 RBI
Other notable performers:
Alberto Perez: 8-21, .381, 5RBI
Matt Doyle: 6-21, 5R, 2HR, 8RBI
Art Ellis: 2-0, 1.42 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 14 K
Entire Bullpen: 15.2 IP, 3H, 0ER, 0R, 3BB, 16K
Game 3
Gane 3 would feature a matchup between Tyler "Big Train" Law of Vista and Dan "Simple Man" Macias of Jersey. Law, who missed more than 2 months with elbow tendonitis during the year, pitched great all season, including a no-hitter against the Reno Cards. He shut down Jersey in both his starts this season, pitching 14.2 innings of shutout ball. Macias, the the 36 year old veteran, had his worst season as a pro as his strike out totals fell and ERA rose. He did have a great September which Jersey is hoping for good signs during this postseason.
Macias, who struggled mightily in the playoffs a year ago, would get things started nicely for Jersey taking the first 3 Vista hitters in order. The stadium was packed down to standing room only tickets and gave an ovation as he got All-Star John Doby to strike out to end the first. Tyler Law would take the mound for Vista and whatever concerns Jersey hitters had about him shutting them down all season quickly disappeared. Two quick walks and a hit by pitched loaded the bases for Matt Doyle with no one out. Doyle would waste no time and take the 2nd offering to the gap in left-center bringing home 2 runs an sending Bryant to 3rd. The next batter Dodd would walk on 4 pitches to re-load the bases, still with no one out. A harmless fly ball would get Romero, but Bryant would tag and score the third Jersey run. Catcher Warren Goyer would fly out for the 2nd out before Alberto Perez would single on a line drive over shortstop to load the bases for the 3rd time in the inning. Law's control problems would continue as Tim Duncan would step in and not take the bat off his shoulder for 4 straight pitches forcing in the 4th run from 3rd base and surprisingly ending Law's night. It resulted in the shortest outing of the season for him. Carlos Arevalo would relieve Law and strike out leadoff man Sergio Rodriguez on 3 pitches. But the damage was done. After 1 inning, Jersey held a 4-0 lead.
Macias apparently came to work. Even after the long delay of batting around he came out and retired the side in order for the 2nd straight time. Jersey would waste no time getting more. SS Lawrence Schroeder led off the inning with a single and 2 batters later Matt Doyle would connect and pull a line drive down the line that barely stayed fair for a 2 run HR. It chased Arevalo from the game, and the 6 runs would be more than Jersey needed today.
An RBI triple from Schroeder would bring in the 7th run in the 3rd and an RBI single from Perez would bring home the 8th run in the 4th. Macias would stay out of the trouble until the 5th when Torres connected on a 2 run HR. Brian Cash would leadoff the 6th with a solo HR to bring the Jersey lead to 8-3 and follow that up with an RBI sac fly in the 7th to shave one more run off. A triple and wild pitch would bring home Vista's 5th run in the 8th before Macias was done for the night. Even though he gave up 5 ER he was effective enough to pick up the win. Jose Gomes and Jaime Saenz would close out the last 5 batters to preserve the 8-5 win for the Bags and give them a 2-1 series lead.
Final Score: Jersey 8 Vista 5
POTG: Matt Doyle 2-5, 2R, 2B, HR, 4RBI
Game 4
Game 4 would turn out to be the most interesting game of the series. Vista would bring Cipriano Montanez back on short rest while Jersey would send the embattled Jerry Burgess to the mound. Burgess was regulated to bullpen duty for much of August and September before coming back and throwing a quality start against Pocatello during the last series of the year.
Things did not start well for Burgess. A walk, single and walk loaded the bases with no outs, just like Jersey did the day the before. Vista would get their 4 runs but they did it on one swing. Roberto Bojorquez would only need one swing to send a Burgess offering high, deep and gone over the CF wall to put Jersey in a 4-0 hole before an out was recorded in the game. Burgess would shake it off and retire the next 3 batters before heading to the dugout in a quiet stadium. Montanez was sharp in the 1st inning, needing only 8 pitches to saw through 3 Jersey hitters to get us to the 2nd inning. Either Manager Kevin Davis had faith in Burgess or just didn't want to waste his bullpen, but Burgess headed out to the mound for the 2nd inning. A walk, double play, single and groundout ended the top half, while Jersey would go down in order in the bottom half to end the inning.
Burgess would go back to work in the 3rd giving up a lead off single Bojoquez before getting 2 straight outs. But a single from Torres and back to back walks would force in Vista's 5th run, but Brian Cash couldn't capitalize and break the game open by grounding out to end the threat. The Bags would finally show some sign of life in the 3rd getting two free passes to start things off before Luis Antonio Duran came to plate. Duran would single up the middle which would score one, and advance the runners on the throw to home. An RBI groundout from Larson would plate the 2nd run, giving the Bags a runner on 2nd with one out. An Adam Morrow single would put runners at the corners and Mikey Bryant would be the 2nd D-Bag to be hit by a pitch, which loaded the bases. Montanez probably got the biggest out of the day by getting masher Matt Doyle to weakly hit into a 4-6-3 double play to end the inning. Both teams left the bases loaded. Jersey shaved part of the lead off, going into the 4th, Vista led 5-2.
Burgess would finally get the hook when he surrendered a 1 out double Doby and was replaced by Greg Schaefer. Schaefer would get an out before giving up back to back singles where Vista would plate their 6th run. Torres would strike out with 2 runners on to end the threat. As usual Jersey batters wouldn't lay down. The struggling Dave Dodd led off the inning with an exciting triple and came around to score on Perez's single before Montanez retired 3 batters in a row to end the 4th. Both teams score, 6-3 Vista lead. The 5th went by without any damage from Vista, but MVP showed up for Jersey. 2 pitches after Schroeder pulled a double down the left field line, Bryant would take a Montanez fastball the other way landing 340 feet away and bringing the Bags to within 1 and the crowd to their feet. It was Bryant's 1st HR of the series and just his 2nd and 3rd RBI in 4 games.
Both teams would pose threats in the 6th and 7th innings but no one could come up with a clutch hit until the bottom of the 8th. Vista would bring in Evan Brown to pitch to the left handed hitting rookie Torres, who would get the best of him and single on a line drive to CF. Brown would be replaced with rookie 1st round pick Edward Cadle who gave up a line drive single to former ROY Adam Morrow to put 2 runners on with no outs. Arevalo would replace Cadle who had a battle with Peter Larson before getting him to ground into a HUGE unassisted DP from Brian Cash. Arevalo couldn't get all the way out of trouble though. Lawrence Schroeder would hit a grounder pasts a diving Cash to score the runner from third and knot up this ballgame at 6 runs apiece. There could have been more trouble when he walked both Bryant and Doyle, but got Dodd to lazily fly out to send to send us to the 9th tied up.
Both teams would go down in order in the 9th sending us to our first extra inning game of the series. The 10th was no different, 6 up and 6 down. This was a pivotal game for both teams. Vista would threaten in their half of the 11th getting a lead-off single from Cash and a successful sac bunt from Cassidy to give Vista a runner in scoring position. John Doby would be given a free pass and like many other times in this series, the Vista bats wouldn't come through. Flame thrower Mungo Saenz would get Ashur and House both swinging to a huge ovation from the crowd. They wanted a Jersey win. With the meat of the order coming up, there would be no better time for the Bags. Bryant quickly got his 4th hit of the game a double into the left field corner and Doyle was walked to set up the double play. Goyer would pinch hit for Dodd and fly out to right field to bring up last year's playoff hero and this year's All Star game hero Alberto Perez. Why not? Perez took a 2-0 pitch and grounded the ball up the middle. Bryant would score without a throw and and was met at the plate by the team for a mini mosh pit to celebrate the walk off win. Down 5-0 and to come away winners was a great feeling. Going up 3-1 in the series with a chance to close it out at home was an even better one.
Final Score Jersey 7 Vista 6
POTG: Roberto Bojoquez 2-4, R, HR, 4RBI
Game 5
If you were expecting a close nail-biter this wasn't your game. Game 1 Art Ellis winner would take the mound against Game 2 winner Michael Hoffmeyer pitching on short rest. Ellis was nothing short of brilliant on this evening. Hoffmeyer labored, couldn't avoid the Jersey bats and this one was over before it even began. Jersey scored in every inning but the 3rd and the 5th highlighted by Home Runs from Bryant and Doyle in the 4th and the 6th, 4 total hits for Bryant and 4 hits from Peter Larson. Every Jersey regular besides Alberto Perez had a hit and Art Ellis would go 7 scoreless innings giving up 4 singles and 1 walk on his way to 8 strikeouts and his 2nd win of the series. Hoffmeyer wouldn't get out of the 4th inning and 4 other relievers would pitch and all would give up runs. In the end the Bags won in laughing fashion 11-0 in front of 35,000 fans and would earn their right to take on the winner of the Toronto-Greenville series, which Toronto holds a 3-2 lead in.
Final Score: Jersey 11 Vista 0
POTG: Mike Bryant 4-5, 2R, 2 2B, HR, 3RBI
Summary:
From what we said in the pre-series summary, if Vista is going to win they need to limit the Jersey bats. They did in 1 game, which resulted in a Vista win. In the other 4 games Jersey scored 8,8,7 and 11. The bats were just too much for the Panthers. I also want to give much respect to the bullpen. They were outstanding, only 3 hits in 15+ innings giving up no runs and striking out 16.
Series MVP: Mike Bryant 13-22 (.591) 7R, 5 2B, 2 HR, 6 RBI
Other notable performers:
Alberto Perez: 8-21, .381, 5RBI
Matt Doyle: 6-21, 5R, 2HR, 8RBI
Art Ellis: 2-0, 1.42 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 14 K
Entire Bullpen: 15.2 IP, 3H, 0ER, 0R, 3BB, 16K
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
2016 CLDS Jersey Shore vs. Vista; In Depth Breakdown
It took a team record of wins of 101, it took a Triple Crown Winner and a new RBI record and a rookie hurler to win 12 games in 16 starts, but Jersey is back in the playoffs! The out battled the Chicago Machine who had a great season but fell off in September and finished 5 games back of Jersey. The Bags will be facing this year's only newcomer to the playoff scene, the Vista Panthers. Vista will be making their first ever trip to the postseason, and being the winner's of the CL West, they will be the home time, albeit having won 11 less games than Jersey.
This season in 9 head to head match ups, Jersey held the edge 6-3. Jersey went 4-2 at home, and 2-1 on the road. 6 of those games were before the All Star break, and if you watched the BSA this season you know Vista was a different animal after the break. Vista's hails from Southern California and plays in a home park opposite of Jersey Shore's. It is very pitcher friendly and in general it is death to right handed hitters with the left field foul pole sitting 382 feet from home plate featuring a 10 foot wall.
Let's break down the teams:
Not many AB for most of the Jersey players against the Big 3 of Vista, but not a whole lot of success for Jersey hitters. One thing to note is both Bryant and Doyle have homered off of each starter in their career. Does this mean anything? Probably not. But it's baseball, we break stuff down, it's what we do.
This season in 9 head to head match ups, Jersey held the edge 6-3. Jersey went 4-2 at home, and 2-1 on the road. 6 of those games were before the All Star break, and if you watched the BSA this season you know Vista was a different animal after the break. Vista's hails from Southern California and plays in a home park opposite of Jersey Shore's. It is very pitcher friendly and in general it is death to right handed hitters with the left field foul pole sitting 382 feet from home plate featuring a 10 foot wall.
Let's break down the teams:
Offensively:
As you can see Jersey holds a distrinct offensive advantage. Dominating every category, especially in runs. Jersey on the season scored 5.92 runs per game, while only 4.28 for Vista. This of course has to do with how different their home parks are as well as the offensively friendly parks in the CL East compared to the CL West, but also do to how the teams are built, Vista is primarily built on pitching.
Pitching:
Vista holds a distinct advantage in team ERA and starter's ERA. A main to watch in this series will be how the Vista starters handle Jersey's big bats. If they can limit damage from the 3-4-5 spots in the order, they will definitely give themselves a chance in this series. If Vista is to win the series, I foresee them winning low scoring close games. It will be tough for them to win a slug fest with the Bags.
The Starters vs. Vista:
Art Ellis: 0-1, 0.00 ERA, 8.2 IP, 6HA, 0ER, 1BB, 6K
Jose Ramos: 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 7.1IP, 6HA, 0ER, 4BB, 4K
Dan Macias: 1-0, 6.00 ERA, 6.0IP, 8HA, 4ER, 1BB, 5K
Rob Goodship: 0-2, 4.09 ERA, 11.0IP, 14HA, 5ER, 5BB, 9K
Jerry Burgess: 2-0, 0.63ERA, 6HA, 1ER, 8BB, 6K
Lineups:
Jersey plans to run with the usual lineups, which are as follows:
vs RHP:
1. LF Peter Larson
2. SS Lawrence Schroeder
3. 2B Mike Bryant
4. DH Matt Doyle
5. RF Dave Dodd
6. 1B Alberto Perez
7. C Luis Antonio Duran
8. CF Fransisco Torres
9. 3B Adam Morrow
vs LHP:
1. CF Sergio Rodriguez
2. SS Lawrence Schroeder
3. 2B Mike Bryant
4. 1B Matt Doyle
5. RF Dave Dodd
6. DH Manny Romero
7. C Warren Goyer
8. 3B Alberto Perez
9. LF Tim Duncan
Hitters against probable Vista starters:
vs. Hoffmeyer
Bryant 6/14 2HR .429
Perez 3/8 .375
Morrow 3/11 .273
Doyle 2/8 1HR .250
Duran: 2/11 .182
Larson 1/9 .111
Torres 0/4 .000
Schroeder 0/3 .000
Dodd 0/3 .000
vs. Montanez
Torres 2/4 .500
Schroeder 1/3 .333
Bryant 7/23 2HR 304
Larson 7/25 .280
Romero 3/11 .273
Doyle 5/19 1HR .263
Perez 2/9 .222
Duran 4/19 1HR .211
Morrow 1/6 .167
Dodd 0/4 .000
vs Law
Schroeder 1/2 .500
Taylor 3/7 1HR .429
Romero 2/6 .333
Dodd 1/3 .333
Doyle 2/8 1HR .250
Bryant 2/9 1HR .222
Duran 1/5 .200
Perez 1/5 .200
Rodriguez 0/7 .000
Larson 0/6 .000
Goyer 0/3 .000
Morrow 0/3 .000
Not many AB for most of the Jersey players against the Big 3 of Vista, but not a whole lot of success for Jersey hitters. One thing to note is both Bryant and Doyle have homered off of each starter in their career. Does this mean anything? Probably not. But it's baseball, we break stuff down, it's what we do.
There will be more on this series and much more playoff talk as the week progresses!
GO D-BAGS
Sunday, July 15, 2012
D-Bags make 2 trades: Bring in Burgess, Send Ruiz Packing
Burgess Trade
The big piece in the trades was bringing in SP Jerry Burgess from the El Paso Diablos. Now over the past 2 seasons Jersey has brought in Dan Macias, Art Ellis and Jerry Burgess. To get Burgess they had to dip into their deep talent-rich farm system to pull off the deal, but let's talk about Burgess first.
Jerry Burgess is a 28 year old left hander who stands at a statue tall 6'7" and will be calling Jersey his 4th home in just 5 seasons under his belt. Drafted by Madison in the inaugural draft, he played his first 2 professional seasons there in 2011-2012 before being traded to Hendersonville where he would help them win a title in 2013. He would be dealt at the 2014 deadline to El Paso in the Yokoyama deal and pitched a week short of a full season there before landing in Jersey today.
Burgess has a career record of 55-41, 4.20 ERA, and averages over 1K/IP for his career. This year has been the worst so far as a professional, but Jersey brass has confidence that a change of scenery can help him turn it around.
The deal was a 6-1 trade that included: SP Kenny Stanford who was struggling in his 2nd season as a D-Bag and is an impending FA this offseason. 32 year old SP/MR Justin Terry who has been a staple on the AAA staff for years now. OF Harold Robinson, saw brief time last season in Jersey and should be on a ML roster but due to the D-Bags he found himself buried in AAA.
The main real piece of this deal was 20 year old SP Ignacio Colon. The Cuban SP is in his 3rd season of AA and has improved on each one. Scouts say that if he was coming out in the rookie draft this year he would be a Top half of the first round talent. Also from AA OF Jorge Melendez, who has tremendous talent potential, who socked 24 HR in 370 AA AB's last season. The last piece is MR Victor Lopez, 19 year old RHP, who projects to be a solid bullpen arm someday.
A lot of pieces for 1 arm, but a move that Jersey hopes can help push them over the hump this year. A rotation of Macias-Ellis-Burgess-Goodship-Schaefer is one the Jersey ownership claims is Top-5 in the league and should help us to our first playoff berth this season.
Ruiz Swap
IF Antonio Ruiz is one of the only remaining players on the Jersey franchise since the inaugural draft of 2010. He was spending his 4th season in a Jersey uniform and earlier this season signed a very, very team friendly contract of 3 years and 1.98 million dollars. Coming off a season where he hit 20 HR, this came as a surprise to many folks to see him packing his bags, but today Jersey announce they have sent Ruiz to the Vista Panthers in exchange for 2 minor leaguers.
When GM Josh Swain was asked about why, he had this to say: "We have always like Mr. Ruiz in this organization. We thought he signed a great deal for us, but we had some reservations. While it rare to find a SS who can hit for 20+ HR, his batting average and OBP haven't been there over the past 2 seasons, which are two main components. With bringing in Burgess, we now have 5 starters who are considered ground ball pitchers, and while Ruiz can play the MI positions, his strengths lie at 1B and 3B, which are currently occupied by Doyle and Morrow. This combined with the fact we have a very, very good player in Alberto Perez who has been in AAA far too long without getting a shot, led to our decision to trade Antonio."
With Perez being demoted we can expect to see defensive specialist Marvin Taylor see time at SS against RHP and Adam Morrow being shifted to SS against LHP to allow Alberto Perez to play 3B. We are also pretty sure that the play of former 1st round pick Lawrence Schroeder in AAA this year gave some insurance in case of disaster or injury.
In exchange for Ruiz, the D-Bags receive 2 18 year old players. The 1st is SP Javier Garcia, whom Vista discovered and signed out of Mexico in 2013. He is a workhorse who throws 6 pitches, the best being his fastball. His movement is lacking in his game and Jersey plans on looking in and fiddling around with this in the offseason. The other player is 18 year old OF Miguel Rosa whom the Vista Panthers discovered and signed out of Cuba in 2013. Rosa is a speedy left hander who has 50+ SB in the last 2 seasons combined and projects with plus power. He is still very raw with the bat and glove, but at only 18 years old, there is plenty of time to see him progress.
Garcia Rosa
Hopefully these 2 trades will reap the rewards and turn out to be wise decisions for the D-Bags this season and beyond.
GO D-BAGS
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Bags Make Deal; Ship Roghi Off to Vista
In 2010 Jersey scouts searching through Europe came across young men on a semi-pro Italian team warming up and saw a big kid who threw hard. They decided to stay and watch as the 6'3" dark haired Italian kid marvel the opponents with a fastball that touched 97 and devastating, yet a tab uncontrollable sinker. Not 3 weeks later the Jersey Shore D-Bags had signed the kid and he was pitching in A ball affiliate Gainesville. His name was Ciro Roghi, a left handed reliever from Rome. It only took 2 years for the kid to find his way to the Jersey Shore and insert himself as a main cog in the Jersey bullpen. An ERA of 2.90 in his rookie season in 77 innings turned some heads, but it really was the 1.95 ERA and 61 K's in 55 IP that got peoples attention.
GM Josh Swain wants it to be noted that this trade is in no way "conceding," even though the Bags sit back almost 10 games in the division.
Roghi
This current season, the now 26 year old, had lofty expectations. He struggled out of the gate and never really turned in around. Through the middle of June he had an ERA of 4.56 and had walked batters at a much higher rate than previously. The team announced on 6/15 that Roghi had been traded to Vista.
This is when the reports started to come out. Many players mentioned he had been sluggish in many appearances this year. Not all there. Tired. Words like this being thrown around. After Jersey personnel looked into this more, they found out why. On night's after many home games, Roghi was seen jumping into his sports car and racing up the coast, through the Holland Tunnel into Manhatten, NY, then all the way into Little Italy. Usually staying late and coming home in the wee hours of the morning, even on game days.
When confronted, Roghi denied at first, but when photos were shown he came clean. In a quote, "I miss my home cooking! Jersey food is terrible, I want an Italian meal!!!!" On Roghi's player card, his weight is listed at 225, which teammates think is laughable. According to them he comes in AT LEAST 240. I guess that chicken parm does add weight huh? Roghi wasn't too pleased with his new destination of Vista, quoting California pizza is the biggest sham out there, but Jersey brass thinks it will work well for them and a Vista team in need of a hard throwing lefty in their pen.
In exchange for Roghi the Bags picked up some quality pieces. The first peice being OF Ken Taylor. Taylor is a 26 year old power hitting left hander with limited time in the big leagues. Last season combined in AA and AAA he hit 40 HR and drove in 98. He won't hit for average, but loves pounding balls to the gap and over the fence. This season in 27 games for Vista, he has 8 2B and 4 HR. GM Josh Swain says he has had his eye on Taylor for awhile, and even acknowledged having conversations about him with GM Travis Hayes in the off season. He plans to get AB's against RHP for a Jersey OF that has been less than spectacular.
Taylor
Also coming over in the trade is 19 year old MR Luis "Bugs" Cortez. Cortez was found in Chile last season when scouts noticed a 6'7" kid pound the strike zone over and over. Ticket to the BSA. Cortez is a hard worker and was known by his HS coach as a true team leader. Pitching in Chula Vista this year in 19 games, Cortez has a 1.66 ERA. 0.69 WHIP, only allowing 11 hits in 21+ innings. Though he is young, he does have a nice upside. He will report to Gainsville where he should move into the closers spot.
Cortez
GM Josh Swain wants it to be noted that this trade is in no way "conceding," even though the Bags sit back almost 10 games in the division.
Here's to Taylor bombing some into the Ocean and Cortez working his way through the system and one day being part of the lethal Jersey bullpen
GO D-BAGS
Saturday, November 5, 2011
Summer Swoon
Through a long baseball season there will be ups and downs, a good team will minimize the downs and thrive on long periods of ups. Getting through the down trodden parts are the hardest part though. For this Jersey Shore team we have already seen a few high and lows. At the All-Star break this team was riding high, having taken over the Eastern Division lead and sat atop with a 1.5 game lead. It was a rare time for the D-Bags, and it was one of the first and if not THE first time they held the division lead outside of the month of April. Starting pitching was adequate, upper half of the CL. Bullpen was the best in the league and the bats were hot, red hot. Over 5.5 runs a game were being scored. Decent starting pitching led to a dominant shut down bullpen who rarely gave up hits nor runs. But as the AS break came and went things changed. Why is the unkown, but we break it down here:
The AS break took place July 8-11, which left 17 games left in the month of July. The D-Bags didn't tank but compiled a 8-9 record in that time frame, but it was the end of the month when the real trouble started.
After taking 2 of 3 from KC, Jersey welcomed the 84's to town and took 2 of 3 from them as well. Next to town was the Knights of New York. The Knights punished D-Bag pitching to the tune of 25 runs in 3 games, but the Bags salvaged one game in a 10-7 win. After an off-day the D-Bags made the travel to Maui to visit the Tropics with a 3 game set. Somewhere on the long plane ride over to Hawaii the bats were misplaced. Jersey scored 7 runs in 3 games and were swept, including a 1-0 series finale where former D-Bag Jugerta Wemusa out dueled Rob Goodship. Next came was a trip to Oklahoma. Oklahoma handed the Bags 2 one run losses before thoroughly beating the Bags 7-1. The last loss represented Jersey's 8th straight loss, the longest such streak since the team relocated here over 3 years ago. It had to end here right?
A trip to St. Louis seemed all Jersey needed to bust out of their slump. They ended the losing streak at 8 with a 7-2 win and went on to take 3 of 4 from the Browns and welcomed the Vista Panthers to town and promptly took 2 of 3 from them. The Bags seem to be back on their feet with a 3 game road trip to play St. Louis again, who had the worst record in all the BSA. Things didn't go as planned as the Browns outscored the Bags 21-9 in a 3 game sweep.
When all was said and done since the break the Bags have turned in a 13-18 record and have gone from 1.5 games up in the division, to at one point down 6.5 games out, now to 4 games out. Things could be a lot worse, but the competitive division has everyone beating on everyone, so 4 games should be considered a blessing. The bags have an off-day tomarrow, their only off day in the month of August BTW, then go on a 21 day stretch of having a game every day. The next 3 weeks probably will determine if the Bags will make a run or fall short as they did a year ago.
Before the break:
5.6 runs per game
After the break:
4.4 runs per game
Take out the 2 big outbursts of 10 and 12.....3.9 runs per game.
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