2008 CDBL Playoff Race Mid-Season Review IF THE PLAYOFFS WERE HELD TODAY - Aaron Division - Montreal Voltigeurs (53-31) Paige Division - Springfield Isotopes (53-32) Gehrig Division - Concord Minutemen (55-29) Tiant Division - Alphaville Caution (58-27) MK Conference Wildcard - Manhatten Beach Mashers (53-34) RY Conference Wildcard - Hong Kong Cavaliers (55-29) #1 League Wildcard - Dedham Destroyers (51-35) #2 League Wildcard - DBL Fishbiscuits (48-37) IN THE WILDCARD PLAYOFF HUNT: Madison Muckrakers (46-39) - 2 games behind League WC Dallas SuperSquad (46-39) - 2 games behind League WC Elk Grove Trout (45-39) - 2 1/2 games behind League WC Boston Bulldogs (45-40) - 3 games behind league WC Detroit Nain Rouge (44-41) - 4 games behind league WC Point Lomas Friars (44-42) - 4 1/2 games behind league WC Albuquerque Maul (43-32) - 5 games behind league WC ************************************************************************************************************** Aaron Division - 1st - Montreal Voltigeurs (53-31) (3 All-Stars) - All hail Manny Ramirez, who nabbed an all-star slot hitting .321 with 21 home runs, 65 RBI and 69 RBI at the break. Jhonny Peralta is hitting .301 with 17 home runs, 63 runs scored and 55 RBI (with an all-star appearance), and BJ Upton has a .385 on base average, 28 stolen bases and 65 runs scored. Hunter Pence is slugging .486 with 46 RBI, and Orlando Hudson has scored 53 runs. Derek Lowe is 12-6 with a 3.75 ERA, Josh Beckett is 9-2 with a 3.43 ERA and Randy Wolf is 9-5 with a 3.51 ERA. Closer Jonathan Papelbon has saved 20 games with a 2.90 ERA and an all-star appearance. The Voltigeurs are in line to make the playoffs, but may need to trade for a back end of the rotation starting pitcher to keep their hold on the Aaron division pennant. 2nd - Manhatten Beach Mashers (53-34, 1 1/2 games behind) (4 All-Stars) - Hot on the trail of the Voltigeurs are the Mashers. Ryan Ludwick is having a monster season, racking up 25 home runs, 67 runs scored and 66 RBI at the break (and an all-star appearance). Brian McCann was an all-star as well, hitting .356 with 10 home runs, 47 runs scored and 56 RBI. Joe Saunders was named to the all-star team, going 8-2 with a 2.36 ERA at the break. CC Sabathia is 9-6 with a 3.39 ERA, and Gil Meche has won 10 games. Closer Grant Balfour saved 23 games with a 1.13 ERA and an all-star appearance. Recent acquisition Scott Kazmir has been very effective, going 3-0 in 4 starts with a 2.45 ERA. It would not be a surprise to see the Mashers at the top of the division by the season's end. 3rd - Dallas SuperSquad (46-39, 7 1/2 games behind) (4 All-Stars) - Brian Giles is having a stellar age 37 year, hitting .305 with 60 runs scored and an all-star nod. Adam Dunn has crushed 21 home runs with 51 RBI and an all-star appearance, and Placido Polanco is hitting .332 with 44 RBI and an all-star spot. Derek Jeter is hitting .311 with 47 runs scored, and Carlos Delgado has smacked 13 home runs with 50 RBI. All-star Roy Halladay is 10-4 with a 3.22 ERA, and Chad Billingsley is 7-3 with a 3.47 ERA. The SuperSquad are in the wildcard hunt, but may need to pick up an extra bat or arm to make it to the post-season. 4th - Elk Grove Trout (45-39, 8 games behind) (1 All-Star) - Justin Morneau is having an all-star year, hitting .302 with 15 home runs, 59 runs scored and 50 RBI. Ryan Braun has raked in the RBI, hitting 19 home runs with 57 RBI. Matt Kemp is hitting .297 with 58 runs scored. Oliver Perez headed into the break with a 9-2 record, but the team pitching overall has a below average 4.53 ERA. Trading for some pitching for the 2nd half may be their key to making the playoffs. 5th - Point Lomas Friars (44-42, 10 games behind) (1 All-Star) - The Friars have one of the best pitching staffs in the league, led by all-star starter Scott Baker (9-3, 1.90). Their team ERA of 3.49 is 2nd best in the majors. Brian Fuentes has saved 12 games with a 2.48 ERA. What's kept the Friars in the back of the pack is their hitting. Evan Longoria leads in team runs with 50 and RBI with 49, but is hitting .245/.323/.455. Xavier Nady has 47 RBI but is only slugging .409. To make the playoffs some majors tweaks and upgrades to the hitting will be necessary. BETTER LUCK NEXT YEAR - Arkham Investigators ************************************************************************************************************** Paige Division - 1st - Springfield Isotopes (53-32) (3 All-Stars) - Heading for their first post-season appearance since the Barry Bonds era, the Isotopes are doing it with pitching, posting a league best 3.19 team ERA at the break. Matt Garza (8-2, 2.82 ERA), and relievers Jose Arredondo, 25 saves, 2.11 ERA) and Bobby Jenks (4-2, 1.01 ERA) all made the all-star team. Mike Pelfrey is currently 10-2 at the break. Dustin Pedroia is hitting .273 with 53 runs scored, and Carlos Quentin has hit 10 home runs with 48 runs scored and 49 RBI. The team as a whole is slugging a mere .399, so an acquisition of a big bat for the stretch run may be in order to make a deep playoff run. 2nd - DBL Fishbiscuits (48-37, 5 games behind) (3 All-Stars) - All-star Albert Pujols continues to be one of the league's elite hitters, hitting .309 with 17 home runs, 68 runs scored and 48 RBI at the break. Fellow all-star Milton Bradley is hitting .312 with 9 home runs and 52 runs scored. Matt Holliday is hitting .270 with 14 home runs and 49 RBI. Asdrubal Cabrera has added 52 runs, and Jose Bautista has 15 home runs and 47 RBI at the break. Edinson Voltquez has won 8 games for the Fishbiscuits, and all-star closer Joey Devine has saved 24, won another 5 and has a 0.87 ERA. Currently sitting on the #2 league wildcard, DBL may need to acquire some additional talent to hold onto the playoff spot if someone else makes a move. 3rd - Madison Muckrakers (46-39, 7 games behind) (2 All-Stars) - Currently on the outside looking in, the Muckrakers are a win streak away from the playoffs. David Wright is hitting .378 with 15 home runs, 57 runs scored an an all-star appearance. Nick Markakis is hitting .302 with 47 runs scored and 46 RBI, while Jimmy Rollins has 45 runs scored, 59 RBI and 26 stolen bases. Denard Span is hitting .280 with 55 runs scored. Joba Chamberlain made the all-star team by going 7-1 with a 2.46 ERA. John Danks is 8-5 with a 2.90 ERA. Madison might make the playoffs with a solution for closer (Francisco Cordero has 17 saves but a 2-5 record and 6.23 ERA) and 1B (Adam LaRoche is hitting .222/.298/.327 at the production spot). 4th - Detroit Nain Rouge (44-41, 9 games behind) (3 All-Stars) - Ian Kinsler is having a fantastic season, hitting .334 with 21 stolen bases, 65 runs scored, 55 BRI and an all-star start. Joe Mauer is hitting .329 with 57 runs scored an an all-star nod, and Jody Gerut is hitting .294 with a .515 slugging average, 17 home runs, 54 runs scored, 53 RBI and an all-star appearance. Jay Bruce has smacked 13 home runs with 59 RBI to contribute. Pitching has not been the team's strong suit, sporting a sky high 4.93 team ERA. To make the post-season some pitching will need to be acquired. BETTER LUCK NEXT YEAR - Tualatin Thunder, Brookeville Bandits ************************************************************************************************************** Gehrig Division - 1st - Concord Minutemen (55-29) (5 All-Stars) - Concord went all-in for 2008, and it is so far, so good. Lance Berkman is hitting .326 with 13 home runs, 57 runs scored and 53 RBI, Chipper Jones is hitting .322 with 17 home runs, 66 runs scored and 63 RBI, and Jermaine Dye is hitting .305 with 22 home runs, 52 runs scored and 88 RBI, with all-star placement for all 3. Ray Durham has a .365 on base average with 60 runs scored. Johan Santana is 10-2 with a 3.15 ERA and a spot on the all-star team, and Brian Bruney saved 13 games with a 1.30 ERA and an all-star nod despite burning out in the first half of the season. Their team ERA is a merely average 4.01 ERA, and they're all tapped out of draft picks to trade, so the team may have to hope their strong start carries them to the Gehrig division title. 2nd - Hong Kong Cavaliers (55-29, 0 games behind) (3 All-Stars) - The Cavaliers are firing on all cylinders. Carlos Beltran is hitting .277 with 23 home runs, 63 runs scored and 62 RBI (and an all-star appearance), Carlos Lee is hitting .289 with 28 home runs, 55 runs scored and 58 RBI, and Jason Giambi has smacked 19 home runs with 53 runs scored and 61 RBI. Melvin Mora is hitting .320 with 47 runs scored, and Alexei Ramirez is hitting .310 with 55 RBI. Jose Lopez has driven in 49 runs and JD Drew has smacked 15 home runs with 47 runs scored. Kevin Slowey is 9-4 with a 3.54 ERA, and Sergio Romo (6-0, 0.96 ERA in relief) and Mariano Rivera (4-0, 23 saves, 0.38 ERA) both made the all-star team. Hong Kong are in a strong position to take the Gehrig division title, despite having most of their starting pitching sporting ERA's above 4.50. 3rd - Albuqerque Maul (43-42, 12 1/2 games behind) (2 All-Stars) - Jose Reyes is having a strong year, hitting .305 with 11 home runs, 51 runs scored and 55 RBI while scoring 43 runs and an all-star spot. Grady Sizemore has 16 home runs, 50 runs scored and 51 RBI. Roy Oswalt is enjoying a good year, going 9-5 with a 2.94 ERA and an all-star appearance. Cory Wade has 20 saves, but is 0-6 with a 3.92 ERA. The rest of the starting rotation have ERA's above 5, which may explain why the team is barely over .500. Some pitching may be needed, but how could they be expected to do better than Brandon Webb, who is currently mired with a 5.51 ERA? BETTER LUCK NEXT YEAR - Topeka Stingers, Anchorage Gold Diggers, Carlsbad Surfers ************************************************************************************************************** Tiant Division - 1st - Alphaville Caution (58-27) (5 All-Stars) - Sporting the best record at the break, Alphaville is the team to beat this year. Hanley Ramirez is the MVP favorite at the halfway point, hitting .330 with 24 home runs, 78 runs scored and 77 RBI (and the all-star start). Kevin Youkilis has a .380 on base average, 19 home runs, 76 runs scored and 55 RBI, and Kelly Shoppach is slugging .526 with 17 home runs and 51 RBI, Randy Winn is hitting .343 with 12 home runs, 53 runs scored and 64 RBI. All 3 joined Ramirez on the all-star team. Lyle Overbay is hitting .327 with 13 home runs and 46 RBI. Elijas Dukes has scored 48 runs, and Nate McLouth has a .353 on base average with 45 runs scored. Rich Harden is 8-0 with a 2.66 ERA and an all-star nod, and John Lannan is 10-3. Hideki Okajima has saved 15 games. With a 7 1/2 game lead in the division, it would take a major collapse to not see Alphaville enter the playoffs as the Tiant division winner. 2nd - Dedham Destroyers (51-35, 7 1/2 games behind) (5-All-Stars) - Currently a league wild-card team, Dedham is having a standout year. Infielder Mark DeRosa made the all-star team, hitting .270 with 13 home runs, 61 runs scored and 55 RBI. Torii Hunter is hitting .285 with 19 stolen bases and 58 runs scored, Prince Fielder has mashed 17 home runs with 52 RBI and Edwin Encarcanion has 15 home runs and 51 RBI. Catcher Geovany Soto made the all-star team with a .516 slugging percentage, 14 home runs and 46 RBI. Cliff Lee started the all-star game, going 12-3 with a 2.66 ERA. He was joined by Jeremy Guthrie who went 10-0 with a 2.80, along with closer (and all-star MVP) JP Howell, who as 22 saves and a 1.91 ERA. Gavin Floyd is 7-4 with a 3.34 ERA. It would be hard for the Destroyers to catch up to the Caution for the Tiant division race, but if current records stand they would face them in the first round of the playoffs to determine who is the best in the division. 3rd - Boston Bulldogs (45-40, 13 games behind) (1 All-Star) - One of the many teams chasing a playoff spot, Boston could still make the post-season with a strong second half. Vladimir Guerrero is hitting .294 with 20 home runs, 53 runs scored and 66 RBI. Ryan Sweeney is hitting .305 with 44 runs scored, and Troy Glaus has 15 home runs with 48 RBI. Boston was well represented at the all-star game with closer Rafael Perez, who has 19 saves and 2.11 ERA. The Bulldogs could likely benefit from acquired pitching and hitting to improve their chances for the post-season. BETTER LUCK NEXT YEAR - Half Moon Bay Dragons, Georgia Pines, Milwaukee Pilots