September, 2014

Chapter Five Recap

Players of the Chapter

The Niagara Locks duo of David Price and Homer Bailey combined to to 10-2 last chapter, with a combined ERA of 2.09 in over 100 innings.  Price held opponents to a .205/.243/.290 triple-slash line, while Bailey held opposing hitters to a miniscule .184/.236/.279 line.  Believe it or not, although I'm awarding those two with co-Pitcher of the Chapter honors, there were two other pitchers in the Niagara starting rotation last chapter whose ERA's were even lower: Jose Fernandez (1.37) and Shelby Miller (1.89).  Fernandez was primarily used out of the bullpen in Chapter Five, and racked up a pair of saves in addition to winning both of his starts.

In the OL, New Milford's Clayton Kershaw (6-1, 1.13 ERA) was the Pitcher of the Chapter.  But let's talk about the runner-up, Stephen Strasburg, instead.  Stras led the OL in ERA in Chapter Five, with a microscopic 0.83, and he limited opponents to a .182/.256/.215 batting line.  Good job, Stras!

The EL Hitter of the Chapter is some guy named Mike Trout.  All he did last chapter was hit .355/.467/.727, and led the league in RBI's (24), runs scored (35), triples (4) and runs created (38.9).  His performance is a big reason why the Ridgebacks are now looking at a three game lead in the division.

In the Ozzie League, the Ravenswood Infidels overtook the Mississippi Meatballs in the Benes Division race, thanks in large part to Hitter of the Chapter Coco Crisp.  Crisp led the OL in batting average (.403), OBP (.473), and slugging (.818), and ranked #2 in runs created (30.0).

Top Stories of the Chapter

Story #1: Bear Country Gains Ground

Two full chapters into this season, the Jamboree owned a record that was four games below .500.  Not only did they trail the Flagstaff Outlaws in their division, but they also trailed the Los Altos Undertakers by five games.  What a difference a few games has made.

Since the second chapter, the Jamboree own a record of 51-25 (.671).  Aside from the Blazers (of course), it is the best winning percentage in the BDBL since that point in the season.  Unfortunately for Jamboree fans, the third best record in the BDBL since that time belongs to the Flagstaff Outlaws.  So, despite winning nearly seven out of every ten games they have played over the last three chapters, the Jamboree has managed to gain only one game in the division race.

At one point in Chapter Five, Bear Country had managed to string together a 32-game stretch in which they went a remarkable 29-3.  They finished the chapter with an incredible 21-7 record...which was tied with Flagstaff for the best record in the BDBL.

Although the Jamboree have been running in place for three chapters in the division race, they have gained quite a lot of ground in the OL wild card race.  Just one chapter ago, Bear Country trailed the Salem Cowtippers in that race by seven games.  Today, that deficit has been slashed to just two.

It isn't much of a mystery as to why Bear Country has been so successful over the past three chapters.  Two words: Miguel Cabrera.  Since the second chapter, Cabrera has hit .338/.420/.731 with 34 home runs and 65 runs batted in.  He has created a whopping 87 runs during that span -- more than 22 percent of the team's total.  No single player in the entire BDBL has had as much of an impact on his team this season as Cabrera.

On the mound, Mat Latos (3-1, 2.10 ERA in 34 + IP) has been phenomenal since his acquisition, and has been light years better than Pat Corbin and Wade Miley.  Ricky Nolasco began the season with a disastrous 6.11 ERA and 2-5 record over the first two chapters.  Since then, he has been the staff's workhorse, with a 4-1 record and a 2.86 ERA over 88 innings.  Hisashi Iwakuma (11-2, 2.60 ERA in 107+ IP) and Matt Harvey (5-2, 2.39 ERA in 98 IP) have been consistently excellent all season, as has the bullpen duo of Tyler Clippard and Ernesto Frieri.

Although this team has made extraordinary gains over the past three chapters, and heads into the final chapter with a full head of steam, there is one potential stumbling block: usage.  Harvey has roughly five starts remaining, and Latos has just four.  To succeed in Chapter Six and capture a spot in the playoffs, the Jamboree will need Nolasco to continue pitching like an ace, and for spot starters like Roberto Hernandez and the newly-acquired Ryan Vogelsong to step up in a big way.

Story #2: Ravenswood Takes the Lead

It wasn't a dominating chapter by any means, but the Infidels got the job done last chapter.  With a 15-13 record, they not only managed to gain ground on the Mississippi Meatballs, but they now hold sole possession of first place at the end of the chapter.  It is the first time since the all-star break that they have been able to make such a claim.

As they have done all season, the Infidels offense pounded their opponents into submission.  They led the Ozzie League in runs scored in Chapter Five, with 149, and hit .268/.341/.470 as a team.  Defensively, Ravenswood held their own, limiting the opposition to 115 runs -- eight more than Mississippi.

Chapter Six poses a huge challenge for Ravenswood.  They play only eight games at home, and twenty on the road, including four at Mississippi.  While the Meatballs are tasked with facing the New Milford Blazers and Granite State Lightning from the Butler Division, the Infidels will face the Salem Cowtippers and Corona Confederates.  Both teams play the Outlaws and Jamboree, but while the Meatballs face the Jamboree at home, Ravenswood plays both teams on the road.

There are five very good teams in the Ozzie League battling for only three playoff spots.  It should be a VERY interesting chapter.

Story #3: A Season for the Record Books

Several long-standing BDBL single-season records appear to be in jeopardy this season.  New Milford's Clayton Kershaw has already reached a milestone that has only been accomplished eight times in league history (once by himself) by winning 25 games this season.  The all-time record (held by C.C. Sabathia in 2009) is only four wins away, and Kershaw likely has six more starts (and who knows how many relief appearances) ahead of him.

The all-time BDBL record for ERA in a single season is 1.81, held by Pedro Martinez in 2004.  Salem's Erik Bedard nearly broke that record in 2007 when he finished the season with a 1.99 ERA.  Another Cowtipper, Max Scherzer, has a chance to break that record once more, as he owns an ERA of just 1.69 with one chapter remaining.

Finally, there is the all-time single season record for home wins by a team.  Currently, that record is held by the 2013 New Milford Blazers.  (Shocking, ain't it?)  The 2014 Blazers are poised to destroy that record, as they already have 59 home wins with eight more to play.  Given their .819 winning percentage at home this season, they can count on at least seven wins in those eight games.  Nothing to see here.  Move along.

Story #4: Wyoming (Finally) On Top

It took them five chapters to do so, but the Wyoming Ridgebacks finally ended a chapter in sole possession of first place, thanks to a 19-9 showing in Chapter Five.  Since the all-star break, the Ridgebacks have won four more games than the Great Lakes Sphinx.  It appears the team has kicked it into high gear just in time for the post-season.

The lone remaining mystery in Wyoming is the curious case of Giancarlo Stanton.  Since changing his name from Mike, Giancarlo just hasn't been the same, it seems.  Perhaps the folks at DMB entered the wrong stats for this young man?  Stanton hit .244/.347/.439 last chapter, which -- believe it or not -- was one of his better performances this season.  On the year, he is hitting just .222/.322/.389, with 16 home runs and 184 strikeouts.  Although he has surpassed his MLB at-bat total by twenty, he has struck out FORTY-FOUR more times in the BDBL than he did in MLB, while hitting eight fewer home runs.  He has also drawn a dozen fewer walks, and collected seven fewer hits.

Maybe he's saving his energy for the playoffs.

Story #5: Niagara Falls...Slowly I Turn...

The Niagara Locks wrapped up Chapter Five with the best record in the Eck League at 21-7.  Although they only scored 108 runs in the chapter (an average of less than 3.9 per game), they held opponents to just 79 runs -- 18 fewer than any other team in the EL.

If the Locks played in the Hrbek Division, they would be in first place by two games.  Unfortunately, they play in the same division as the world-beating defending champion SoCal Slyme.  As a result, their remarkable chapter only managed to cut their deficit in the division to...FIFTEEN games.

Hope isn't dead just yet.  The Locks trail the Sphinx by eight games in the wild card chase, and as the 2010 Cowtippers will attest, that is not an impossible deficit to overcome with 28 games remaining.  Not impossible, yet not likely, either.