Trio For the Ages

You have to go back almost a decade to the year 2017 to find a lineup that featured Mike Bryant, Matt Doyle and Dave Dodd.  That Jersey Shore team would win a CL record of 119 games that still stands today. In a huge upset, the Austin River Sharks would bounce them in 7 games in the 1st round of the playoffs and immediately after the season ended GM Josh Swain shipped out slugger Matt Doyle to Toronto to try and stabilize the rotation.  Doyle was coming off of a 32 HR, 124 RBI season.  He hit clean up behind league MVP and Triple Crown winner Mike Bryant and ahead of 23 year old up and coming sophmore sensation Dave Dad.  That year the three of them combined for 99 2B, 109 HR, and 375 RBI.  Doyle would go on to play the next 7 season in Toronto and 1 season in LA, winning two titles along the way.

After letting 1B Tadahisa Kisuki walk to free agency, Jersey Shore was in need of a 1B, and they went looking Doyle's way.  At 36 years of age, he is not the same player he once was, but still managed to hit 17 homers last year with the Bruins.  At about the same time, Jersey Shore decided to bring back Mike Bryant seemingly for 1 more year after after having by far the worst season of his career at age 37.  With Dave Dodd in the 2nd year of his 7-year, $175M dollar contract, the trio would be re-united for one last season.

Wearing a D-Bag uniform, the three have combined for 995 home runs and sit 1st, 2nd and 4th in D-Bags history.  Doyle would need 20 home runs to pass Kisuki and take over 3rd on the list.  What's even more interesting is the trio sits 3rd, 4th and 5th on the all time HR list, which historically speaking is something we have never seen before.  1282 career HR out of just the 3 of them.  

We are into May and they haven't been in the same lineup yet.  An early season fractured finger from Doyle kept him out of the lineup for the first couple weeks.  When he was able to come back, Bryant was stuck on the shelf with a hamstring strain.  They were finally all healthy for 1 game when Dodd missed a week with neck spasms.  Now they are all healthy again, Manager Carlos Uribe has said he would like to see them all starting for at least a game.

While Dodd is still in his prime but starting to age at 32, this is almost the end of an era for Jersey Shore.  Bryant has been a staple in the lineup for 12+ years.  Doyle a top prospect and a star with a late homecoming.  The future pieces are already in Jersey, but for fans this year represents one last chance for the old crew to make a run.  They are still chasing that elusive 1st title.  While Bryant and Doyle probably won't have nearly the impact they once had, it should be a fun summer for fans and a last chance to see these stars play together.

GO D-BAGS

April Breezes By; Jersey Leads CL East

The Jersey Shore D-Bags have loaded up once again and take aim at their try for a first World Series title ever after failing in 3 previous attempts.  First off though, they must get make their way through a grueling season, but with a 16-8 April they are off on the right foot, but it didn't begin that way.  The month got off to a rough start losing the first 4 games of the season, including a 3 game sweep at the hands of division rival, the St. Louis Browns.  That was followed up by a 8-6 loss in Seattle and not a start they had envisioned.  Things changed from there as they would only lose one other series all month and that was to John Bosma's Greenville 84's.

Led by ace Jose Ramos, who would win the CL Award for Pitcher of the Month, going 4-1 in 5 starts with a 0.88 ERA, 0.68 WHIP and a 27/4 K/BB ratio.  It is Ramos's 6th POTM award.  The rest of the staff overall was brilliant outside from the struggles of SP Sergio Martinez who did only finish the month at 0-1, but a 6.33 ERA averaging just over 5 innings per start didn't help.  

After a great 2020 season which earned 1B Tadahisa Kisuki the CL Rookie of the Year honors, a 2021 season which Kiuski had a WAR of 6.6 and looked he was a for sure superstar to be was derailed in 2022 when his numbers fell sharply in all categories.  He looks out to regain that momentum he had in 2021 with a monster April.  Kisuki hit .391/.436/.736 with 8 HR, 13 RBI, 6 2B and scoring 17 runs primarily hitting out of the 2 hole in the lineup.

Not to be outdone was your 2 time MVP Dave Dodd who was right behind Kisuki with 6 HR, 19 RBI, a CL leading 4 intentional walks to go along with 10 stolen bases.  Dodd has started the 2023 campaign on pace for 11.6 WAR which would be his 2nd highest total behind his Triple Crown season.

Down on the Farm

Leading the AAA Tuscaloosa charge are two bats you very might well see in Jersey this season.  Those two players would be RF Albert Morgan and 2B Ricardo Gonzalez.  They combined for 79 hits, 16 doubles, 36 RBI and 36 walks in 26 games for the month.  Morgan, who profiles as a DH and possibly a RF in a pinch saw a little use in spring training and as of right now he sits off of the 40 man roster.  Gonzalez was seen a lot in Spring Training, starting at both middle infield positions but struggled mightily with the stick.  His improving bat and eye to go along with his elite defense are good reasons why he has seen as Jersey's long term solution at 2B to replace the eventual face of the franchise, Mike Bryant.

Even with Jersey's hot start, the Greenville 84's finished the month 15-10, while the St. Louis Browns sit at 13-13.  This year should be another tight race as we trudge through the last year of the league containing 28 teams.  There is a lot to watch for in Jersey and around the league as a lot of young and upcoming stars are replacing the stars of yesteryear.  2023 is a transition for the BSA and hopefully that means Jersey Shore transitioning into finally getting over the hump and winning that title.

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.

Your All-Time Jersey Shore Team

I thought this seemed like a fun idea.  To find the best team I could from former Jersey Shore teams.  Rules: You can only use a player once, regardless if he played another position.  Some decisions were tough, some were easy, but here you have it:  

SP: 2019 Jose Ramos.  23-6, 2.76 ERA, 2.88 FIP, 1.05 WHIP, 8.2 WAR

SP: 2014 Dan Macias. 20-8, 2.82 ERA, 2.81 FIP, 1.16 WHIP, 8.9 WAR

SP: 2015 Art Ellis. 13-8, 2.94 ERA, 3.73 FIP, 1.20 WHIP, 5.0 WAR

SP: 2019 Sergio Martinez. 17-3, 3.08 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, 4.5 WAR

SP: 2017 Greg Schaefer. 18-3, 3.82 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 3.9 WAR

MR: 2016 Jose Gomes. 10-1, 4 saves. 1.31 ERA, 2.05 FIP, 1.02 WHIP, 3.6 WAR

MR: 2014 Daniel Morris. 6-5, 31 saves.  1.52 ERA, 1.94 FIP, 1.03 WHIP, 2.0 WAR

MR: 2013 Lucio Tapia. 8-1, 2 saves.  2.19 ERA, 1.77 FIP, 1.21 WHIP, 3.0 WAR

MR: 2019 Jose Ruiz.  6-3, 40 saves. 2.83 ERA, 2.92 FIP, 1.09 WHIP, 1.3 WAR

MR: 2013 Ciro Roghi. 1-0, 0 saves. 1.95 ERA, 2.15 FIP, 1.30 WHIP, 1.2 WAR

CL: 2017 Jaime Saenz. 8-2, 49 saves.  1.94 ERA, 1.96 FIP,  0.99 WHIP, 2.8 WAR

C: 2013 Jorge Lozano. .303/.388/.511.  36 2B, 24 HR, 107 RBI, 5.1 WAR

C: 2017 Warren Goyer. .257/.329/.541. 20 2B, 42 HR, 116 RBI, 3.4 WAR

1B: 2015 Matt Doyle. .302/.386/.572.  25 2B, 44 HR, 147 RBI, 5.7 WAR

1B: 2021 Tadahisa Kisuki.  .366/.424/.560.  32 2B, 18 HR, 57 RBI, 5.7 WAR

2B: 2016 Mike Bryant.  .347/.407/.618.  48 2B, 40 HR, 158 RBI, 9.6 WAR

3B: 2015 Adam Morrow. .282/.402/.360.  31 2B, 4 HR, 61 RBI, 3.9 WAR

3B: 2012 Parker Morrow. .313/.390/.418.  29 2B, 10 HR, 62 RBI. 3.6 WAR

SS: 2020 Lawrence Schroeder.  .306/.341/.542.  27 2B, 19 HR, 74 RBI, 4.7 WAR

SS: 2011 Jerome Lindsey.  .343/.427/.480.  23 2B, 9 HR, 56 RBI, 4.2 WAR

UTIL: 2020 Fabrice Brodeur.  .325/.365/.465.  29 2B, 10 HR, 61 RBI, 3.4 WAR

OF: 2021 Dave Dodd.  .388/.455/.799.  46 HR, 119 RBI, 9.7 WAR

OF: 2011 Mason Bonniface. .328/.433/.556.  23 HR, 78 RBI, 6.1 WAR

OF: 2010 William Hinson.  .308/.404/.538.  23 HR, 91 RBI, 4.3 WAR

OF: 2013 Leon Foster.  .272/.338/.567.  33 HR, 105 RBI, 3.7 WAR

Starting Lineup:

SP: 2014 Dan Macias. 20-8, 2.82 ERA, 2.81 FIP, 1.16 WHIP, 8.9 WAR

1.  SS 2011 Jerome Lindsey

2. DH 2021 Tadahisa Kisuki

3. 2B 2016 Mike Bryant

4. RF 2021 Dave Dodd

5. 1B 2015 Matt Doyle

6. C 2013 Jorge Lozano

7. LF 2011 Mason Bonniface

8. CF 2013 Leon Foster

9. 3B 2015 Adam Morrow

How does your team stack up?

GO D-BAGS

Superstar in the Making?;Meet Rookie Ricardo Berroa

Not really too surprising but in his 2+ months in the big leagues, rookie Ricardo Berroa is excelling and adding another dangerous bat into an already potent offense in Jersey Shore.  He was called up June 21st to play mainly against right handed pitching and hasn't looked back since.  He started his career with a 16 game hit streak and through 49 games played and 194 plate appearances, Berroa has a line of .324/.387/.497 to go along with 13 doubles, 4 triples, 3 home runs and 6 stolen bases.  

Berroa was discovered by scouts early in the 2016 season in Cuba and began his ascent through the Jersey Shore farm system.  He came out of the gates a raw but talented 19 year old and was named the #22 prospect in all the BSA by the OSA scouting department prior to the 2017 season.  That season he would go on to have a monster season in A ball putting up a 5.9 WAR and rightfully earned promotion to AA the following year.

As a 21 year old in AA, he would top his monster year in A ball by posting a 6.1 WAR to go with his .562 slugging percentage and 49 doubles.  Jersey knew they had something special in Berroa.  He was kept in AA the first month and a half of the 2019 season before being promoted to AAA Tuscaloosa.  He would struggle adjusting to AAA pitching at first, but ended the 2019 season with a .273/.398/.528 in 66 games.  

With a crowded outfield in Jersey Shore which included Vancini, Dodd, Torres, and Ibarra, Jersey chose not to invite Berroa to spring training and named him the starting LF in Tuscaloosa.  The first 2.5 months of this season showed Jersey management they had no choice but to promote him.  Berroa was hitting a career high .351 to go with an outstanding .466 on base percentage and an OPS of 1.207 when he got the call to the big league club.  It was also the first time in his career where his walks would out number his strikeouts. 

Combined with Jersey's 24 year old rookie starting 1B Tadahisa Kisuki and their trio of young starting pitchers in Jose Ramos, Sergio Martinez and Ramon Ruiz the future is bright for the D-Bags. Though it seems like he has been on the team forever as well, Dave Dodd is just 26 and on pace for another 5.5+ WAR season.  So while the days of the solid core of Bryant/Perez/Morrow/Ellis get older this new group of core players look to help Jersey remain competitive well beyond the foreseeable future and hopefully for the next decade.

GO D-BAGS

The Machine that is Tuscaloosa

When you think dynasties you think the Murderer's Row and the Yankees of the 20's and 30's, the Celtics of the 60's, the Showtime Lakers, Steel Curtain Steelers, Jordan's Bulls, the late 90's Yankees, and most notably the Hendersonville Hitmen the modern era.  A little less talked talked about modern dynasty is what is  going on for Jersey Shore's AAA affiliate in Tuscaloosa.
Tuscaloosa is most well known for the the powerhouse that is the Alabama Crimson Tide of the collegiate football world, but in the last 9 years, the Trout Slayers of Tuscaloosa have donned the championship hats and shirts 5 times and are set to tangle this week with the Trenton Stars in a best of 5 series aiming for their 6th title in 10 years.  

In this being the 10th year of the modern BSA, Tuscaloosa has won 8 division titles and made the playoffs as the Wild card team the 2 remaining years.  This season with their 108 wins it marked the 6th time they eclipsed the 100 win barrier and marked the 3rd straight year they have seen over 1 million in attendance for the season.

In a league and for a team that is very much offensive based, the Trout Slayers feature a player who has taken International league hitting to new heights and that player is 25 year OF Juan Mendoza.  Originally a 2nd round pick of the Jacksonville Jackhammers way back in the 2014 season, Mendoza was signed and then released nearly a month later and say as a free agent for 3 weeks before Jersey offered him a minor league deal and was sent to A ball Manhattan. Always projected as a power prospect, he didn't show it until the 2016 season hitting 26 HR in A ball and a combined 22 HR between A and AA the following year.  2018 was a stellar year for Mendoza as he bashed 39 HR and drove in 135 runs to go with 100 walks in AA Gainesville before being promoted to AAA to finish the 2018 season.  2019 Mendoza finally was put on the 40 man roster and was invited to Spring Training for the D-Bags where he struggled in 31 AB, only hitting .161 with a single HR.  Being sent back to AAA gave Mendoza a push.  He hit double digit HR in every month except September and had his banner month in August.  In 106 AB in 28 games he 17 HR, 45 RBI, walked 22 times on way to a slash line of .349/.461/.858.  He won player of the month for both June and August and sprinkled in 3 player of the week awards in their as well. This season he set the ITL record for SLG (.713), OPS (1.97), Total Bases (430), HR (72), RBI (185) and WAR (9.8).  Those are some big numbers.

Not only did the 2019 feature the record breaking Mendoza, they also had Tadahisa Kisuki, a very possible next star in Jersey at 1B, who hit .366/.452/.561 and 3B Xin Zhang who added 25 HR and hit .322/.431/.552.  Not only could they hit they had four 16 game winners led by top prospect Ramon Ruiz who went 21-4 in 28 starts with an ERA of 2.91 and a WAR of 6.9 and not to mention one of the best bullpens in the ITl. While Trenton does have a very stacked roster, the Trout Slayers have a very good chance to add a 6th title to their wall.

Many of Jersey Shore players past and present have been part of championship teams and added to the storied past which is Tuscaloosa.  From that first Championship year in 2010 which featured players such as: former MVP Ricardo Vargas, long time major leaguers David Pena, Damien Balmforth, Sergio Rodriguez, Jugurtha Wemusa and Jose Reyes to long time Jersey bullpen arms such as Jaime Saenz, Lucio Tapia and Jose Ruiz.  The 2014 Championship team featured former ROY Adam Morrow, 5-time All Star Matt Doyle, Jersey starter Alberto Perez, Jersey starting pitchers Sergio Martinez and Greg Schaefer and current bullpen arms Jose Ruiz and Yin-zhen Zong.  

With Jersey's long time strategy to build within and through the draft, it is evident to this how many home grown players have come up and won in the Jersey system playing together.  This can only mean a championship is coming to Jersey......right?

GO D-BAGS

Jersey Shore August 2012 in Review

In Jersey picked anytime to have their best month so far of the season it was August, especially after the subpar and sub .500 month they had in July.  Coming into the month they sat 1.5 games back of Chicago for the CL Wild Card spot and when things were said and done a 19-9 record pushed them to 1/2 up on the Machine.  The bats got hot scoring over 8 runs in 11 of their 19 wins and a 21 year old rookie won the CL Pitcher of the Month Award. 

Players of the Month

SP Jose Ramos: 5-1, 2.62 ERA, 2CG, 1.12 WHIP.  Wow, Ramos went from big time prospect dominating AAA hitters to CL Pitcher of the Month faster than anyone could have expected.  With Jerry Burgess struggling, Ramos stepped in at the right time to pick up 7 wins in his first 10 starts and bring another formidable starter to the Jersey rotiation.

SP Art Ellis: 2-1, 1.95 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, 37 K in 33.1 IP.  After having his worst month as a D-Bag in July, Ellis bounced back in a remarkable way.  The lone loss was against Toronto where he surrounded 4 ER, but didn't allow more than 1 in any other start for the rest of the month.  He even picked up a no decision against Vista allowing 0 ER.  If Jersey is going to find their way back to the playoffs this year, Ellis will be a main cog in getting them there in September.

2B Mike Bryant: .363/.406/.552. 3HR, 29RBI, 42 hits, 9 2B.  Familiar face this season.  While the power dipped a little bit for Bryant in August, the hits kept on coming.  His 4th 40 hit month, 4th month to have more RBI than games played and scored a season high 31 runs for the month.  This is the dream season for Bryant, if he can keep it up BSA records will fall.

1B Matt Doyle: .355/.430/.645. 8HR, 30 RBI, 39 hits, 8 2B.  Welcome back Matt Doyle! After a summer swoon which saw Doyle hit for .238 and .255 with 6 combined HR for the months of June and July, Doyle found that stroke he had in May and much of his rookie year bashing 16 XBH, his 2nd 30+ RBI month and a glimpse of how devestating the 3-4 holes in the Jersey lineup can be with he and Bryant are both clicking.

Questions, Concerns and Answers

The main concern heading into September is will this team make the playoffs?  Both Chicago and Jersey are playoff caliber teams and both could win 95-100 games this year with one being left at home. 

Will Jerry Burgess be given his rotation spot back? Since his demotion to the pen, he has only pitched 6.1 IP but only has given up 1 ER in that time span.  He also struck out 10, compared to 4 BB.  The control has been the issue for him much of this season.  While Goodship and Shaefer have not been terrible, they haven't put up numbers bad enough to be replaced in the rotation.  Plan on seeing Burgess get a spot start or two, or more if Jersey can take the lead in the WC race.

September is a time for call up but since we have seen Ramos, Schroeder and Torres is there anyone else we might see during the month?  I don't think we will be seeing any more rookies, but catcher Duran will be off the DL as well OF Jose Ortiz, plan on seeing both back.  We will probably also see OF Duncan and OF Kino come back up to be bats off the bench.  There is an outside chance of seeing a rookie pitcher, for depth.  If I had to guess MR Zong, Lara or Cortez could be given a couple of September innings.

Minor Leaguers of the Month

Pitcher
MR Bernardo Pacheco (AAA):  1-0, 1 save, 0.63 ERA, 1.12 WHIP.  While pitching mainly middle relief and set up for Tuscaloosa, Pacheco was money in his 14.1 IP in August.  He allowed 1 ER, which was on a solo HR and tallied 13 K to only 3 BB.  Pacheco, 28, is in his 4th year at AAA and each year his ERA has gotten lower.  He will be 29 next year, and if he becomes a minor league free agent, he could catch on somewhere and help a bullpen.



Hitter

1B Tadahisa Kisuki (AA): .408/.487/.582. 3 HR, 27 RBI, 40 hits.  Signed in April 2015 out of the free agent pool, the 20 year old is really picking it up since he his subpar play in A ball last year.  He crushed A pitching this year, and August was his best month playing in AA Gainesville.  While he doesn't hit for a lot of power, the gap is there totally 37 2B between the two levels while hitting over .350.  There's a good chance he will get the promotion to AAA before the year is over.  At only 20 years old the kid could see the show before a lot of players his age are even out of college.