Jersey Shore May 2015 in Review

May 2015 is in the books and your D-bags remain one of the streakiest teams in all of the BSA.  This might be the streakiest month though we have ever seen.  The D-Bags opened the month with high hopes with a tough schedule coming up and in the next 2 weeks managed to have the worst stretch in the team's history going 2-12.  This stretch included 6 1-run losses and bad play all around.  Losing much ground in the division and WC race, the Bags finish the month on a 13-1 run, which included closing out May on an 11 game winning streak.  What gives? What is going on?  Who knows, but here's the month in review.

Players of the Month

SP Rob Goodship 3-0 1.54 ERA 36K's 0.94 WHIP.  With Macias and Ellis on the staff who would have picked Goodship to be the best pitcher through the first 2 months?  He dominated this month giving up 6 ER total while ending the month with 22 straight scoreless innings.

MR Jaime "Mungo" Saenz 2-0 1.62 ERA 23K/2BB in 16.2 IP.  In a month where the bullpen got demolished in the first half of the season Mungo thrived.  Averaging almost 1.5K per inning he allowed the opposition to hit at a .182 clip and led the shaky bullpen.

1B Matt Doyle .299/.362/.335  8HR 34RBI 24R.  After a relatively slow start in April Doyle busted out in May.  Averaging more than a hit and RBI per game he led the offense in hits, HR, RBI and runs.  This is what to expect out of your MVP candidate and 2nd year superstar.

2B Mike Bryant .300/.371/.500 4HR 25RBI 22R.  When Bryant and Doyle hit the D-Bags thrive.  The two combined to knock in 59 runs in 28 games.  Bryant also added 8 2B and 3SB for the month.  He continues to show that his runner up for MVP last season wasn't a fluke.

3B Adam Morrow .317/.450 33H 25BB 22R.  This rookie continued to flourish hitting mainly out of the 2 hole.  His OBP of .450 is a godsend for the big boys behind him and had his 2nd straight 30 hit month.  The early talks of ROY hold merit, the kid can ball.  Won BSA CL Rookie of the Month for May.

RF Peter Larson .300/.463  82B 26BB.  Larson has such a good eye that he averaged 1BB shy of 1 per game.  When his bat is going an OBP of over 450 is never out of the question.  When Larson and Morrow both have a cominbed OBP over 450 is anyone surprised Doyle drove in 34 runs for the month?  He is the catalyst of this offense. 

Roster Questions, Changes and Answers

Thus far ::knock on wood::: the Bags have been injury free.  This creates little room for call ups and ABs for other players. We did see Rule V pick Jose Ortiz return from the DL after his spring training injury and hit 3-14 in limited action.  The Bags would like to see him get more AB's against RHP.  Super prospect CF Tim Duncan got a call up after the Bags struggled so much against LHP early in the season. Duncan who had been tearing the cover off of the ball in AAA pitching for the past 2 years had little success managing 8 hits in 37 ABs in 9 games getting 1 XBH hits and stealing no bases.  The 5th OF position has been a carousel looking for someone to take charge.

OF Taro Kino ripped up in AAA pitching as well with 11 HR hitting .404 with a .500 OBP, look for him to possibly get some BSA AB's this upcoming month.  Also we could see 3B Alberto Perez sometime soon, even though I'm not sure Jersey has a spot for him.  He had an astonishing 45 hits in just 27 games in AAA and is on pace for a monster season.  The 27 year old lost the battle to Adam Morrow in ST, but with the struggles of SS Marvin Taylor and 2B/SS/3B Antonio Ruiz, we could see Perez sooner than later.  

As the Bags end the month on an 11 game win streak all we can think is June plans on being another streaky one!  Let's hope the Bags can stay close in the division and WC so that elusive first playoff berth hopes will still be alive down the stretch!

GO D-BAGS!

A Month of 2 Halves

While there is still a day left in May it has been one of two drastically different halves.

First Half: 2-12

Second Half: 12-1

How does this happen?  While a quick look at the team's played  shows tougher opponents in the first half which helped added to the lopsided record, we go deeper inside the numbers.

Batting:

1st Half: Runs Scored: 66 Runs, 4.71 RPG (Including 12 run outburst vs. Madison) without Madison game, 4.15 RPG. Scored 2 or less runs 5 times.

2nd Half: Runs Scored: 84 Runs, 6.46 RPG.    Scored 2 or less runs 2 times.

Synopsis: 4.71 RPG is just a tick under the CL league average of 4.8.  While 4.15 RPG is just more than a half a run below league average you wouldn't expect this alone would lead to an abysmal 2-12 record.

Pitching:

1st Half: 91 runs allowed, 6.50 RPG. (Including 18 runs allowed vs Madison) without Madison game, 5.62 RPG.  Allowed 2 or less runs 2 times.

2nd Half: 37 runs allowed, 2.85 RPG.  Allowed 2 or less runs 7 times. 

Now this is a drastic difference.  No team can win ball games giving up 6.50 RPG, even one with a great offense.  Do we blame this all on starters? relievers?  We dug deeper:

1st Half: Starters RPG 4.21. ERA 5.52.  This includes the odd game with Madison where Ellis lasted 2/3 IP and gave up 6 unearned runs.

Relievers:  RPG 2.29.  ERA 6.35.  

The relievers were actually worse than the starters!  Pretty much since the team's existence the bullpen has been the team's strong point.  There were only 3 games in this 14 game stretch where the pen didn't allow a run to score.

Now let's take a look at 2nd half pitching:

2nd Half: Starters: RPG 2.54, ERA 3.26.

Relievers: RPG 0.31, ERA 1.25.

Both were considerably better but the relievers were the exact opposite than the first half of the month. In 13 games they allowed 4 runs, and had 9 games where they didn't allow a run to cross the plate.

Here's a chart that displays:

Now, we don't think the pitching is as bad as it was in the first half, especially the pen.  On the other side of the coin we don't think the pitching is as good as they have been in the 2nd half.  Regardless we feel it's closer to the 2nd half than the first half, and with a 14-13 record during this stretch, regressing back to the norm should result in more wins for the D-Bags.

GO D-BAGS

Brian Wilson No-Hit Magic

Who knew the cool spring night on April the 24th in Tuscaloosa would be a special one?  A crowd of just over 3800 piled into Tuscaloosa Municipal Stadium to see the home town Trout Slayers take on the Zanesville Gunslingers, the AAA team of Cleveland Monsters.  28 year old veteran Brian Wilson took the bump for the Trout Slayers who came in with a 4.41 ERA and 3 no decisions in his first 3 starts of the season. 

Game time was 7:05 and Wilson promptly walked the lead off man but took care of the next 3 hitters in order via 2 fly-outs and a strikeout.  The Trout Slayers went to work early starting their half of the inning off with 3 straight singles with the third bringing in the first run of the game.  SS Aaron Bailey then stepped to the plate and launched a 340 foot 3-run HR into the left field bleachers.  The 4 run first inning would be more than enough for Wilson on this night.

A ground-out, another walk and a pair of K's finished the 2nd.  A 1-2-3 3rd and 5th innings sandwiched with another walk given up in the 4th and we were through 5 innings.  0 hits, 3 BB.  A 2-run HR by OF Albert Rodriguez made it 6-0 in the bottom half of the 4th.  4 more runs in the 5th inning made it 10-0 Trout Slayers and the game was getting out of hand.  All the runs and hits from Tuscaloosa made the no-hitter through 5 innings seem non-existent. 

Wilson walked the leadoff man again in the 6th for his 4th walk of the evening but retired the next 3 batters to get out of trouble.  Back to back strikeouts and a groundout and he was through the 7th inning in just 7 pitches.  Through 7, 98 pitches 0 hits, 4 BB. 

A lengthily bottom half of the 7th saw the Trout Slayers send 7 men to the plate and Aaron Bailey knock in his 4th run to push the lead to 11-0.  It was at this time everyone in the dugouts and stands knew what was going on.  Wilson sat on the end of the bench alone with his thoughts and the stands were still full.  Wilson took the mound for the 8th and struck out the leadoff man on 3 pitches.  The 2nd batter walked on 5 pitches but a lazy fly ball to Center and a weak grounder to 2nd ended the inning.  Wilson had 8 no hit innings while throwing 112 pitches, which was already a season high.  

The Trout Slayers had a single and a walk in the bottom of the 8th but couldn't produce another run and we were onto the 9th.  Wilson had 2 coats on to keep that arm warm and every eye was on him as he made the slow walk to the mound.  After a handful of warm up pitches Marty Ward stepped to the plate and drew a 5 pitch walk with the only strike coming on a close pitch which could have easily been called a ball.  The 6th walk of the evening and questions by every fan wondering if he had anything left in the tank.  His arm was obviously fatigued as his fastball was several miles an hour below the 90 MPH he usually throws.  After 2 called strikes on the 2nd batter a changeup just missed the outside corner which had the crowd in an uproar.  Mark Bryant took the next pitch and poked it towards the 1st baseline where First Base replacement Xin Zhang was perfectly positioned.  He fielded it on 2 hops stepped on first and threw to 2nd where Aaron Bailey made the tag, and......DOUBLE PLAY!!  Just like that Wilson was one out away.  The crowd was on their feet as 34 year old veteran Antonio Reynoso stepped into the box.  Wilson set and delivered and Reynoso tagged the first pitch to deep right CF, with the entire stadium holding their collective breath, the speedy CF Tim Duncan chased back, and back on the warning track and MAKES THE CATCH!!  The entire team mobbed Wilson and carried him off the field on their shoulders.  

While Wilson reaching his prime might never make the Major Leagues, this was a moment he would call the most special one in his career up to this point.  Wilson's gem was on the 6th No-Hitter in ITL league history and only the 2nd since the VBL/BSA take over.  

 

Brian Wilson was the 82nd overall selection in the 2008 draft by the then Bugaboo Creek Caribou.  He grew up in Shelby, Montana and played his college ball at the University of North Carolina.  He was traded by the formerly known Edison Colonels, now Boston Rebels, to the Jersey Shore D-Bags in the off-season of 2011 in the Rob Whitley trade.   This is his 6th season of pitching at the AAA level and 4th for the Tuscaloosa Trout Slayers.  He is currently tied with John Sharp of the Indianapolis organization with 63 wins which is the most in ITL history.  

April 2015 In Review

It seems like the season just got underway and POOF we have a full month under our belts.  Technically we are 17% of the way through 2015 just like that.  This season started again with high expectations for your Jersey Shore D-Bags.  After winning a franchise high 94 games last season, they bring back a nearly identical team with added pitching ace Art Ellis. The season started in true D-Bag fashion, with the Bags dropping 3 in a row for a quick 0-3 start.  They would rebound at one time winners of 7 straight and even a 2-3 final week of the month the Bags finish with a 18-10 record, good for a share of the CL East lead with the Greenville 84's and a comfy 3 game Wild Card lead at this point in the season.  The April mark bests last year's 15-13 record by 3 games, but the Bags open May up with a tough stretch.  They will finish out their 4 game set with  the 84's with 2 more games, travel to defending BSA Champions Hendersonville for a 3 game set before coming home to greet the current NL West leaders Los Cabos for a 3 game tilt.  Also during month includes a trip to Toronto who holds a BSA record of 23-5 and also a visit by NL West leading St. Charles.  May will really determine how serious this team is about contending this year.

Players of the Month

SP Rob Goodship 2-0, 2.09 ERA, 25K.  After 1 month of play surprise, surprise Goodship leads the CL league in ERA.  In 6 starts he has given up 2 or more runs only twice and if he had any run support at all he would be sitting at 4+ wins.  It's great to see him finally turn a corner after a down Sophmore year.

SP Art Ellis 1-0, 2.49 ERA, 38K, 5QS.  Speaking of run support, where is it for Ellis??  Jersey is averaging 2.83 runs per game for his starts which shows with Ellis only having 1 win on record despite being superb thus far.  Any of the critics who said they gave up too much for Ellis is eating crow right now

MR Jose Ruiz 2-1, 1.38 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 10/3 K/BB.  While the likes of Saenz and Morris in the pen have been struggling, rookie Ruiz has stepped in nicely to add to an already formidable bullpen.  At only 22 years old look for Ruiz to be around for awhile throwing that high 90's heater.

3B Adam Morrow .355/.454/.445, 19R, 39H, 7 2B.  When Parker Morrow was traded giving way for rookie Adam Morrow to start I don't think anyone saw this hot start coming.  Hitting primarily out of the 2 hole Morrow has been an OBP machine on pace to best 100 runs scored and 100 base-on-balls.  Bryant then Doyle now Morrow, third year in a row a rookie could be an added impact bat in this Jersey lineup.   It's been almost 2 years since we broke down Morrow, read about what we thought about him then, right here.

RF Al Ryan .439/.500/.805.  3HE, 10RBI, 6 2B.  We saw what Ryan could do last year as he blasted 20 HR as a rookie for this team and he just continues to add to that this year.  He started out as a 4th OF but has slowly been taking playing time away from veterans Leon Foster and Scott Powers as he rakes with the hot stick.  He only played in 18 games, but is hitting .500/.570/.867 against RHP.  Hard to keep that out of the lineup.

Roster Questions, Changes and Answers

Even though we did have some nice breakout performers there were also those players who still have us scratching our heads.  First that comes to mind is CL Daniel Morris.  The usual steady rock has blown 5 saves already and attributed for 4 losses.  To put that in perspective that's as many saves as he has blown in the past 2 years combined.  He has already walked as many batters as he did all of last season as well in 43 less innings.  There have been talks of taking him out of the closers role to regain composure, we will see if it happens.

Matt Doyle, Luis Antonio Duran, Peter Larson and Antonio Ruiz are all hitting below the .225 mark.  These of course are all plenty below career marks and could be a concern.  On the bright side Doyle leads the team in HR and RBI while Duran and Larson both have matching OBP's of .379, not hitting could cause a decrease in playing time. 

While there may not be any roster changes for now, look for a mix up in the backup catching situation this month as Albert Lopez has struggled mightily having only 3 hits in 34 AB's.  Also former Rule V pick Jose Ortiz will have to be called up in the next 2 weeks as he rehab assignment will end and look for him to replace Taro Kino or possibly 1B Derrick Wright.  There are also a slew of players hitting the snot out of the ball in AAA, including CF Tim Duncan, 3B Alberto Perez, LF Sergio Rodriguez and 2B Aaron Bailey.  Depth is never a problem and you never know when an extra bat might come in handy.

May should be a tough month, let's hope the D-Bags can win enough to keep up with Greenville!

GO D-BAGS

Slow Start

After a hot spring training the Bags were looking to change things up and get off to a hot start this year in 2015.  5 out of there first 6 games were decided by 1 run and left the D-Bags with a 2-4 record.  At the half way part of the month the Bags sit 8-6 with some surprises, both good and bad.

The Good:

Starting pitching has been excellent.  Jersey's starters sit with an ERA of 3.17 which is 4th in the league. Led by Art Ellis, Rob Goodship and Greg Shaefer who all have an ERA under 2.75.

The rise of Adam Morrow.  The draftee of 2010 (one round behind Mike Bryant) waited patientlly putting up huge numbers in AAA back to back years. Now hitting either leadoff or in the 2 hole has gotten off to a scorching start hitting .367 with an OBP of .441 and a team high 10 runs scored.

The return of dominant middle men.  The combination of Gomes, Saenz and Ruiz have been virtually unhittable giving up 10 hits in 22 2/3 IP while giving up 3 runs and striking out 23 while picking up 3 of the team's 8 wins thus far.

The Bad:

Bats off to a slow start.  Although with each sim the batting average goes up a little bit each, it still sits at .242 which is 10th in the league and a slugging percentage of .403 which is 8th in the league.  These are bound to go up but they can be attributed to the low scoring 1 run losses. 

Mike Byrant and Peter Larson slow starters.  When the 2-3 hitters in your lineup are either below 200 or barely above you know you will have problems.  Larson, though taking walks at a high pace has not hit....at all, getting 8 hits in 53 AB.  Mike Bryant who is and will be the catalyst of this offense, got off to a brtual start hitting .156 with no HR or RBI in the team's first 7 games.  He has turned it on some hitting a couple of bombs and raising the average to .213, but he needs to step it up.

Daniel Morris not automatic?  In the first 3 games he pitched in, he gave up 6 runs, struck out only 2 batters and attributed for 2 losses and a blown save.  Though in the last 4 games he has given up 1 hit, it was totally unlike Morris, who is usually Mr. Automatic.  It won't matter if the pen is lights out if Morris isn't.

As usual Greenville is off to a hot start.  Despite a few key injuries already, the 84's have raced out to an 11-2 record, 3.5 games ahead of the Bags.  They don't play their first series with Greenville until the end of the month giving the 84's plenty of time to cool down before these teams meet. 

GO D-BAGS

2015 Is Here; And a Major Change

Welcome back D-Bag fans!  As I type this we are just days away from the start of a new and exciting season full of promise for your Jersey Shore D-Bags!  We have a few new faces, but for the most part the Bags bring back the majority of the same team that won a team record 94 games last season.

The major news in the off-season is the addition of SP Art Ellis.  Ellis pitched in Madison last year after 3.5 seasons in Hendersonville.  He marks the first player ever to come play for the D-Bags who has a BSA championship ring from the current period, and he has 2.  After an injury plagued season in Madison last year which held him to 23 starts, he is healthy and ready to be the #2 starter behind Cy Young runner up Dan Macias.  This could be the 1-2 punch Jersey has been looking for in previous years.  For his career Ellis has won 89 games while posting a 3.83 ERA.

As of opening day the rotation will look like this:

1. Dan Macias

2. Art Ellis

3. Rob Goodship

4. Greg Shaefer

5. Kenny Stanford

 After losing Marv Williams to injury for most of the season, he became a FA and ultimately signed with the New Orleans Looters.  Gordon Brown was traded for right before the deadline and an extension couldn't be reached and he signed a 1 year deal with Niagara Falls this off-season.  With neither of these players being retained it opened up a spot in the bullpen.  After some solid pitching in Spring Training, the open spot will go to 22 year old Jose Ruiz.  Ruiz has climbed through the Jersey system since 2010 and finished last year with a 3.27 ERA in AAA along with 56 K in 41.1 innings.

The current bullpen looks like this:

MR1 Lucio Tapia

MR2 Jose Ruiz

MR3 Brian White

SU1 Jose Gomes

SU2 Jamie Saenz

CL Daniel Morris

Much of the faces on offense will look the same, in fact every players has had some playing time in a Jersey uniform except one player.  That player is OF Jose Ortiz.  Ortiz was picked in the Rule V draft coming over from the Reno organization.  He is 26 and never played above A ball, but Jersey think he has the type of skills to compete for the 4th-5th OF position.  In order to acquire Art Ellis the D-Bags traded all time hits leader Parker Morrow.  Morrow had been a D-Bag since the inception of the league and while it was sad to see him go, he will be replaced in the lineup by another Morrow, Adam Morrow.

The opening day starting lineup will look like this:

RF Peter Larson

3B Adam Morrow

1B Matt Doyle

2B Mike Bryant

DH Manny Romero

SS Antonio Ruiz

CF Leon Foster

C Luis Antonio Duran

LF Scott Powers

With a bench of:

C Albert Lopez

1B Derrick Wright

SS Marvin Taylor

LF Taro Kino

RF Al Ryan

RF Jose Ortiz*  Will begin year on DL.

With much of the team in tact, Ellis adding to the rotation, Peter Larson and Matt Doyle staples in the top of the lineup for the whole year, Jersey has a reason to be excited.  Expectations are high, but still have to some how find a way to overcome the dominance of the Greenville 84's and the tough competition atop of CL.

Jersey needed a change, not a managerial change, not a player change....but a change.  Something to break them out of their slump of missing the playoffs and something to send them over the top.  And with that, I would like to introduce to you the new logo of the Jersey Shore D-Bags.

Boom.  Enjoy.  

GO D-BAGS

2014 In Review

2014 started and finished in true D-Bag fashion.  After a 16-0 Opening Day loss in Dan Macias first ever Jersey Shore start, the season ended with the same Macias shutting out Greenville for his first career 20 win season and the first ever in Jersey history.  The year contained 4 winnings months, including a 21 win September, 2 losing months including a 12 win August and finished with the D-Bags notched a team record 94 wins and falling 2 games short of their first playoff spot.  This marked Jersey's 5th straight winning season where they have compiled a 440-370 record, good for a winning percentage of .540.  

Before the season Jersey built arguably their most talented team with bringing in of Macias, the emergence of 2nd year up and comer Mike Bryant combined with a young core group of players in their 2nd or 3rd seasons.  At the end of the year it was the veteran Macias combined with the bullpen on the pitching side and a young offensive core that drove Jersey's drive for a playoff spot.  5 of their 6 top offensive performers were all in their 1st or 2nd full season which creates an amazing buzz of hope for the future.

Offensive MVP - Mike Bryant

Unless you have been living in a cave, this is a no brainier.  Not only did he finish near the top of the league in every category, Mike "The Monster" Bryant also shattered nearly every record in the Jersey Shore record book.  His batting average of .329 bested the prevoius best by 1 point, his slugging percentage of .600 shattered  the old record of .567 set by Leon Foster.  His offensive VORP of 72 best Mason Bonniface's old record by 11.5, and his OPS was short that only of Bonniface's 2011 season.  He also set team records for hits (209), runs (113), total bases (381), HR (37), and RBI (130).  He won the CL player of the week award 3 times and player of the month award once.  He was selected as a starter at the All Star game and finished 2nd in MVP voting only to Morales of the 84's.  It was a season for the record books and it came in Bryant's full official season after playing 91 games his rookie year.  What else does Bryant have in store for us?

Runner Up - Matt Doyle (see below)

Pitching MVP - Dan Macias

Again like Bryant, another no brainier.  This 34 year old who came over in a trade with Orlando in the off season found his youth again pitching his best season since the 2008 campaign.  He became Jersey's first 20 game winner, the only 20 game winner in the CL, as well as the first Jersey starter to have an ERA under 4.00 for a full season, which he shattered by putting up a 2.82 ERA.  25 of his 36 starts were quality ones, including 2 shutouts and tying a career high of 227 strikeouts.  Despite finishing 2nd in Cy Young Voting to "Prince" Clemente of Madison, Macias's WAR this season was 9th all time since the inception of the VBL/BSA in 2010, only trailing seasons by the names Hill and JTF.  His VORP of 74.5 also ranks 9th all time. Both marks of those that Clemente posted, but it came down to the voters.  The only categories Macias trailed Clemente eas ERA and WHIP, but led him in W, K, FIP, VORP and WAR but regardless Macias had an amazing season.

Runner Up - Rob Goodship

Although Goodship's season numbers do not scream anything positive, he did finish 14-14 with a 4.44 ERA.  His overall season was a down step from his "rookie" year as a Jersey starter.  But not everything was negative.  Goodship won his last 7 starts in a row, beating 4 playoff teams in the stretch. His ERA for his last 12 starts was around 3.25 showing much promise on being a solid #2 on this staff.  If he had pitched nearly that good earlier in the season we might be talking playoffs. 

Rookie of the Year - Matt Doyle

#Call Up Doyle becoming a trending sensation in the early goings of the season while Doyle ripped up pitching in AAA during the first month of the season.  What Doyle did with the time he did have in Jersey was nothing less of sensational.  He finished with a line of 33 HR 108 RBI with a slash line of .326/.389/.570 with a VORP of 51.2.  He played 4 months in the big leagues and won the Rookie of the Month award for the CL 3 of those months.  Despite leading all rookies in the CL in OBP, SLG, OPS, wOBA, HR, RBI, BB and ISO he finished runner up in ROY voting to LuGo of Toronto.  Doyle also finished runner up to only LuGo in Avg, WAR, hits, runs and total bases.  Bryant and Doyle emerged this season as one of the most feared duos in all of baseball.  Combined they have played in only 380 games total, be prepared for the duo to bring fear to pitchers for the next decade.

Runner Up - Al Ryan

In a trade just days before the season started, Jersey acquired Al Ryan from division rivals greenville in exchange for MR Gabriel Barrentez. Ryan had showed some power promise hitting 16 HR in 294 AB for Greenville's AAA affiliate last season and figured to be a 4-5th bench spot.  Ryan played in 90 games, getting 273 AB's and fully took advantege of them .  He belted 20 HR combined with 50 RBI on way to a VORP of 12  giving Jersey another prominent lefty in their lineup.  In a normal year Ryan probably would have been a ROY candidate.

The Off-Season

Entering the off season Jersey will be short 3 players due to free agency.  Two of those players were acquired during the season in MR Gordon Brown and 3B David Paquette.  Paquette had the biggest impact, playing in 42 games for the Bags after coming over from Indianapolis hitting 7 HR, driving in 17 RBI hitting .297 with an OBP of .355.  The former All Star was asking for a big extension the Bags just couldn't sign at this point.  MR Brown came over from New Orleans after pitching a very good season could never get it going with the Bags.  In 19 appearances, he had an ERA arond 7.50.  He does carry a B-level compensation pick if he is signed.  The other FA the Bags are seeing leaving is MR Marv Williams.  Marv continued his Jekyl and Hyde performances this year after throwing a very respectable year last year.  Williams appeared in 14 games, sporting an ERA around 9.00 before tearing a muscle in his back ending his season.  

With only the 3 vacancies and 2 25-man roster spots don't expect much FA talk from Jersey this off season.  MR Jose Ruiz expects to challenge for the open MR slot in the spring and the combo of Adam Morrow/Alberto Perez plans to be a good one for the last spot on the offensive side of things.  

Rumors have it that Jersey is deep in talks with a couple of clubs to acquire another starting pitcher to pair up with Dan Macias and Rob Goodship, but nothing has been announced yet.  Stay tuned to the Bag Report for any moves, big or small upcoming the Jersey D-Bag world.

GO D-BAGS