With 40 games to go, Trenton still in the Playoff Race

Trenton has hit a season-high 20 games over .500 (71-51) with last night's 2-0 win over Vancouver. They seem to have hit their stride lately, with a 22-8 record since the All-Star break. They've passed Washington for second place in the East and are only 3 back of Atlanta. "It was a rough start", said ace starter David Dunwoody, whose Cy Young caliber season has helped keep Trenton in the race throughout. "But things have settled down and we feel like we're playing our best baseball of the season right now."

All-Star team named

Three Traffic players were named to the 8th All-Star Game on the NL team: SP David Dunwoody, CF Watty Miller, and RF/3B Calvin Chang. Dunwoody is making his 7th All-Star appearance, all in the NL but his first with Trenton (the previous 6 appearances were in Salem). He's 11-2 with a 1.89 ERA. Miller is making his second consecutive All-Star appearance for the team- he's hitting .331 with 10 HRs and 41 RBI. Chang will go to the Mid-Summer classic for the 6th time, his first time as a member of the Traffic (previous 5 with San Juan). He's hitting .343 with 18 HRs and 53 RBI in his first season in Trenton.

1st round pick signs

1B Jack Millard, the Traffic's first round pick, has agreed to terms with the team. "We're happy to have Millard sign", said general manager gumbercules. "We think he's a potential middle of the order type guy who should be a great all-around hitter. He's going to need time in the minors, but I think we got a great pick at #29. Four first round picks, including #2 overall pick SS Vic Olivares (San Juan), remain unsigned.

Dunwoody First to 10

David Dunwoody picked up his 10th win of the season tonight against New Orleans, becoming the first pitcher in either league to do so. Dunwoody went 8 innings, giving up only 1 run on 6 hits- he walked 2 and struck out 8 in a 7-1 Traffic win. He is 10-1 in 12 starts this season with a remarkable 1.69 ERA.

Bob Koplove comes to Trenton

The Trenton Traffic pulled off a major deal with Houston recently, landing LF Bob Koplove. Koplove is tied for the all-time lead in homers with 386 (tied with Osvaldo Johnson). Houston received prospects in OF Butch Russell, SP Cookie Cortes, and 1B John Okajima. Koplove has replaced the struggling Enrique Park in the starting lineup, which could signal Park's departure. Koplove has yet to hit a homer in 4 games with Trenton.

Traffic on a roll

Today's 7-1 win in front of the home crowd ran the Traffic's recent winning streak to 8 games. The season-high 8 game winning streak ran the Traffic's record to 31-23, putting them a season high 8 games above .500. The first 6 wins were on the road (3 at Chicago, and 3 at Cheyenne) before taking the first two games of a 4-game set against New Orleans.

Calvin Chang joins Traffic

Yesterday the Trenton Traffic held a press conference to introduce the newest member of their team, star 3B/OF Calvin Chang. "I'm excited to be here", he told a rabid Traffic fan base. "I had a great run in San Juan, but I wanted to be on a contending team. I think we could have a great team here and I fully expect to be playing deep into the playoffs." When asked what he would do first here in Trenton, he joked, "First, buy a winter jacket. After that, I want to find a good sushi restaurant".

Trenton gets superstar Chang

Trenton Traffic and San Juan Dead Bunnies

Trenton gets: 3B/OF Calvin Chang
San Juan gets: SS Brandon Martin, SP Bert Pierre, RF Tony Gutierrez (AAA)

Analysis: Trenton overhauled their offense last season and made great strides even before the Dunwoody/Salmon deal and the Traffic feel this is the last piece of their offense. Chang put up numbers worthy of MVP discussion last season for last place San Juan and should get plenty of opportunities in the middle of an already good lineup. Pierre was arguably Trenton's best pitcher last season before the big trade- he went 10-8 with an ERA of 3.47 last season. Martin's value depends on whether he can develop defensively- he would be a good hitter for a shortstop, but not good enough at any other position (at least on a contending team). Gutierrez is now the heir apparent in RF- he isn't likely to ever hit like Chang, but he's hit .300 with about 20-25 HRs in the minors and that might be good enough for the Bunnies.

From: The Bigs Daily News

Jennings traded to Fargo

Fargo Dirtbags and Trenton Traffic

Fargo gets: RP Chris Jennings
Trenton gets: RP Furio Diggins (Hi-A), RP Roy Stock (AA)

Analysis: The loss of Chris Siddall to free agency left a spot in the Dirtbags bullpen which appears to be filled by Jennings. Jennings can either set up Bert Price or close if Price struggles. Trenton is paying for most of his salary this season, so he comes cheap for one year but he's got three more seasons after this one, which is part of the reason why Trenton was willing to deal him. Trenton received Diggins, who is a #5 starter at best, and Stock, who isn't ever going to be a ML closer but could pan out to be a solid reliever.

From: The Bigs Daily News

Trenton series ends in disappointment

Trenton's playoff aspirations came to a crashing halt as they lost game 5 in Atlanta, 4-3 in 14 innings. Stephen Mills got Trenton off to a 2-0 lead in the first with an RBI double (driving in Bret King and Cap Herrera). Dwight Salmon left with a 2-1 lead and Magglio Perez stretched it to a 3-1 lead in the top of the 8th, but Atlanta tied it in the bottom of the 8th off Chris Jennings and Karl Coleman (Paul Turnbow RBI groundout and Lynn Abernathy 2-out single), then Trenton couldn't seriously threaten (1st and 3rd with 2 outs in the 11th was the closest they came) as Atlanta finally got a run off Will Piper on a Lynn Abernathy single.

Bandits force Game 5

Atlanta apparently has no intention of making their defense of the Season 6 World Series title a short one, as they won both games in Trenton to force a deciding Game 5 Friday night in Atlanta. Their game 4 win was a 7-0 victory over Traffic ace David Dunwoody, who was victimized by a key Enrique Park error in the second. All 7 runs scored in the second, six of which came in after Park booted a routine ground ball. But Dunwoody refused to blame the loss on Park. "Yeah, Ricky's (Enrique Park) error hurt, but I didn't get guys out after. I could have picked him up"

Dunwoody said after the game. When asked about game 5, he said, "I feel good. I've seen Dwight (Salmon) come up big time after time- if I can't be out there, there's nobody in this league I'd rather have out on the mound than him."

Traffic fail in closeout game

Game 3 of their first round series against Atlanta did not go nearly as well as Trenton had hoped. With a chance to close out the Bandits in 3 straight, the Traffic lost at home 13-0. Bert Pierre drew the starting assignment and was terrible, giving up 6 runs in 2+ innings. Will Piper wasn't much better, giving up 6 runs in 4 1/3 innings.

Stan Starr and Albie Torres were the offensive stars for Atlanta. Starr drove in 5 runs and Torres went 4 for 5 and scored 3 times batting ahead of Starr. Stone Curtis gave up 6 hits in 6 innings but didn't give up a run. Matty Eusebio pitched the last 3 innings for the save.

Trenton still has two shots to close out the series, with the first coming tonight with the same pitching matchup as game 1- Steven Michaels vs. David Dunwoody.

Salmon dominant in Game 2 victory

The "other" half of the newly acquired dynamic duo, Dwight Salmon, was utterly dominant in game 2 against Atlanta, leading the Traffic to a 3-0 victory. Salmon pitched 8 shutout innings, allowing only one hit (a leadoff bloop single in the 2nd to Ryan Snyder) and one walk to Albie Torres (to lead off the 4th). He retired the last 13 hitters he faced. In addition to pitching a masterpiece, he also drove in 2 of the 3 Trenton runs with 2-out RBI singles in the 2nd and in the 4th. Magglio Perez added a solo homer to lead off the ninth to provide the final margin of victory. The Traffic are now one win away from their first playoff series win ever.

Trenton takes Game 1 in Atlanta

Trenton earned a 5-2 victory in Game 1 of their 1st round matchup with the Atlanta Bandits. The keys to victory was getting 5 runs in the 6th inning and 8 strong innings from starter David Dunwoody.

Trailing 1-0 (on a sacrifice fly by former Traffic draft pick Paul Turnbow), Shawn Butler led the inning off with a game-tying solo homer to left. After Dunwoody struck out, Watty Miller and Bret King hit back-to-back doubles to give Trenton a 2-1 lead. With two outs and runners on 1st and 3rd, Stephen Mills hit a ground ball to short, which Atlanta SS Eric Baker booted, allowing King to score from 3rd. Magglio Perez and Vasco Lopez both followed with RBI singles, making the Baker error more costly.

Dunwoody was the star of the game. He gave up 2 runs on 4 hits over 8 innings, giving up the sacrifice fly to Turnbow in the 3rd and a solo shot to 3B Albie Torres in the 8th. In both the 5th and 6th innings he stranded runners on first and third with two outs. He walked 2 and struck out 4.

Trenton takes on Atlanta

The Trenton Traffic is all set to take on their division rivals, the Atlanta Bandits, in the 1st round of the playoffs. "We're ready to go. We can't wait to get on that field", said Game 1 starter David Dunwoody just before boarding the team charter to Atlanta for games 1 and 2. Remember, Trenton fans, WTRA 820 AM has wall-to-wall coverage of each and every game, from pre-game coverage to the post-game wrapup and, of course, live coverage of the game in between.

Atlanta clinches division, Trenton locked into Wild Card spot

Atlanta clinched their 4th straight division title with a 4-3 win over Washington coupled with a 7-4 Trenton loss to Norfolk. This means Atlanta will host Trenton in the first round of the playoffs and their upcoming 3-game series in Trenton will not mean anything in terms of playoff position. Trenton GM gumbercules said, "Yeah, it's a little disappointing that we couldn't catch Atlanta, but that doesn't mean we can't get what we want out of this season. We want to win the World Series, and we can do that from a wild-card spot. We're looking forward to the playoffs at this point. We'll get our shot." Expect the Traffic to rest most, if not all, of their starters; Damion Mays has already been announced as the starting pitcher in game 1 of the regular season series against Atlanta in place of David Dunwoody.

Trenton clinches top wild-card spot, eyes division

A day after clinching a playoff spot, the Traffic sew up at least the #5 spot in the NL with a 5-1 victory in San Juan. The victory also pulls the Traffic to within 2 games of division-leading Atlanta, with a 3-game series with the Bandits looming at the end of the season. Whether or not the Traffic catch the Bandits, it appears all but guaranteed the two teams will meet again in the first round of the playoffs as well, as the NL East division winner has little chance of catching Houston for 3rd (placing them 4th) and the second place team in this division is now locked in to the 5th seed.

Traffic clinches playoff spot

The Trenton Traffic clinched a playoff berth with a 13-5 win at San Juan. At 87-67. they currently sit 7 games above the two closest contenders (Austin and New Orleans) with 8 to play, but since Austin and New Orleans still have to play 3 games against each other, they can't both catch Trenton to knock them out. There was no locker room celebration, as they had to wait for the results of other games to come in, but the players were excited once they found out they officially had a spot in the postseason.

"It's been a while", said veteran 1B Stephen Mills, who has been with the organization since its inception. "We've been second every season for the last 4 seasons, with only one playoff appearance. This is probably our best team since the first season, when we won 100."

"I'll agree with Stevie, this is a talented team", added 3B Enrique Park, who has been on Trenton's ML roster all seven seasons. "We're looking to make some noise in the playoffs. "

Cap Herrera felt vindicated. "I took some flak for re-signing here. The critics said this team was stagnant, but I thought we had room to grow. I felt this could be a playoff team, without a doubt.

"This is why Dwight (Salmon) and I are here" added newly acquired sarting pitcher David Dunwoody. "We haven't really been close since winning the title, and Dwight and I both want another one. He and I are making sure the team knows that our work is far from done. Making the playoffs isn't enough for us, and we want the whole team to feel that way."

End of Season Awards

Several Traffic players have been nominated for end of the year awards based on their season's worth of work:

Cy Young: SP David Dunwoody
Fireman of the Year: RP Bernie Corino
Silver Slugger: CF Watty Miller
Gold Glove: SS Shawn Butler

Although Dunwoody and Corino are both in the top 5, they seem unlikely to win, as both have challenging competition. Miller and Butler are the leaders right now, so they could very well come away with the hardware.

Recap of the Latest Homestand

Trenton's last homestand was a very successful one, going 6-2. Here are the three series:

vs. Atlanta (2): The Traffic took both games in Trenton to make it 3 out of 4 in a home-and-home series. The highlight was the final game, a 4-0 victory which was Dwight Salmon's Traffic debut; he pitched 7 scoreless innings.

vs. Washington (3): The Traffic lost 2 out of 3 to divisonal opponent Washington. The only highlight was the 4-3 win in the middle game, where Enrique Park hit 2 home runs, including a solo shot in the 5th to break a 3-3 tie and provide the final margin of victory.

vs. Austin (3): The Traffic swept a good City Limits team, outscoring Austin 31-9. The final game of the series was an 11-0 laugher, with Salmon pitching 7 more scoreless innings. Dave Dunwoody pitched the first game of the series, winning his home debut 8-5.

Trenton passes Atlanta for sole posession of 1st

With exactly 50 games left to go, the Traffic now sit in 1st place by themselves for the first time all season. Trenton's 8-2 win at Philadelphia coupled with Atlanta's 4-0 loss at home to New Orleans gives the Traffic a one game lead in the division. When asked for his thoughts, GM gumbercules said, "The guys are excited, as they've been looking up at Atlanta all season, but they also realize this is far from over. They know there's 50 games left, and we'll see Atlanta again. We know they're the champs, and they're good and have always been well-run. But I'll admit, it's real nice to open the paper in the morning and see Trenton on top."

1st round pick update

Trenton GM gumbercules announced in a press conference yesterday that it is not likely to sign 1st round pick SS Mariano Martis. "We just don't have enough money to sign him", gumbercules said after receiving a reported figure of $6.5 million from Martis's agent, Louis Watson. Gumbercules continued, "This is not an attempt to negotiate in the press- I don't like to do that. We're just too far apart and at this point I don't see it happening. In order to raise enough money to fulfill Martis's demands, we would have to cut salary to the point where we would hurt our playoff chances this year and possibly down the road. I think that would be irresponsible." Martis was one of the top rated high school position players coming out of Baldwin Park High in California.

Traffic in the All-Star Game

Congratulations to CF Watty Miller, LF Bret King, and P Karl Coleman for being named to the All-Star Team. King made his 3rd All-Star team, although the other two were in the AL; Miller and Coleman were each named to the All-Star team for the first time. Miller started as the DH, King came in as a replacement for Alex Lim in the 5th, and Coleman was left in reserve. Miller went 0-2, flying out to left in the 1st and flying out to right in the 3rd. King walked in his only two plate appearances (6th and 8th innings). He was thrown out by Louisville's Steven O'Malley in the 6th trying to steal 2nd, and was stranded on first base after the walk in the 8th.

Wheeling and Dealing

The Traffic have made a few trades in the last week.

1. The Traffic sent CF Gary Nelson and IF Miguel Cerveza to St. Louis for minor leaguers Butch Russell and Ted Kelly. Russell is a speedy RF who can also hit fairly well. Kelly is a defensive SS who will be useful as a defensive replacement if he can't win the SS job someday. GM gumbercules said, "We expect Gary to be a quality player in St. Louis and we thank Miguel for all he's done for this team. But we couldn't pass up a chance to grab a potential RF and SS of the future". The Traffic also save about $10 million this season and next by dealing Cerveza.

2. Later in the week, the Traffic dealt underachieving Alex Sanchez to Salt Lake City for minor leaguers Tito Harris and Joey Hartman. Harris is a durable corner OF/1B type player who could get called up when the rosters expand. He's got a good bat against lefties in particular. Hartman is a decent player across the board- his role on this team is in question. This may have been a deal in which the Traffic were motivated more by money (Sanchez is still owed $21.5 million over the next 3 1/2 seasons) than by getting the most talent back.

3. The Traffic then pulled off a blockbuster deal, dealing Sammy Garrido, Curtis Smart, and Tito Mercedes to Salem for dual aces David Dunwoody and Dwight Salmon. Dunwoody and Salmon split the Season 1 Cy Young Award and led Salem to a World Series title that season. They've been to a combined 9 All-Star games and have won a combined 206 games. GM gumbercules expects they'll become the aces the franchise has never had.

Where we stand

OK, it's been a little while, but we're back in action. Here's where we are one game after the All-Star break:

Record: 53-39
Standing in NL East: 2nd. 4 games behind Atlanta, 10 games ahead of Norfolk, 14 games ahead of Washington
Playoff position: #5 seed, 3 games ahead of Cheyenne, 4 games ahead of Austin
Home record: 27-19
Road record: 26-20

Preview: Chicago Snake Tamers

The Traffic roll into Chicago, just having swept the New Orleans Voodoo at their place.

Chicago Snake Tamers

The Tamers are 18-28, tied with Philadelphia for 3rd in the N.L. North. They sit 10 1/2 games back of 1st place Fargo and 3 1/2 games back of second place Toronto. They've lost 11 of their last 14 games, including 3 games at home to the Traffic last week. The Traffic are 3-0 against Chicago this season.

Probable Pitching Matchups:

Game 1: Alex Sanchez (2-4, 5.06) vs. Mateo Guerrero (1-4, 4.08)
Game 2: York Watson (2-2, 4.25) vs. Jorge Guzman (1-3, 6.13)
Game 3: Damion Mays (0-1, 3.27) vs. Babe Broadhurst (4-4, 4.07)

Interestingly enough, these would be the same 3 pitchers the Traffic faced in their last 3 game series. Sanchez could be pitching for a spot in the rotation here. He'll get a chance to face a lineup that is quite good on paper but is only hitting .239 this season (only Philadelphia is worse).
Broadhurst struggled in his last outing against Trenton, but he's put together great games many times (particularly when he pitched in the NL East with Norfolk) against the Traffic.

Is Sandy Koufax next to be signed?

Trenton has announced they will hold a press conference at 10 A.M. tomorrow to officially announce the signing of international free-agent Juan Marichal (no, not THAT Juan Marichal). The Traffic's Marichal is an 18-year-old left-handed reliever from Tlalnepantla, Mexico. Traffic GM gumbercules is pleased he decided to sign with the NJ franchise. "He's a good signing", said one unnamed NL scout. "At the worst he'll be a very good setup guy- lefties won't touch him. He may end up as a closer". The press conference will be aired on WTRA radio tomorrow in its entirety.

9 Game Road Trip Starts Tomorrow

The Traffic wound up their last series (and homestand) by dropping the last 3 to Toronto, so they'll strike out on the road, starting tomorrow in New Orleans.

New Orleans currently sits at 21-22, 4 games back of first place Austin, 3 games behind Houston, and 6 games ahead of San Juan for third in the division. They're 4th in the NL in runs scored and 14th in ERA. This will be the first matchup of these two teams this season and they should get used to each other; they'll each play 7 of their next 13 games against each other.

Probable Pitching Matchups:

Game 1: Bert Pierre (1-2, 4.75) vs. Cookie Alvarez (6-1, 4.01)
Game 2: Tito Mercedes (4-0, 3.48) vs. Jerome Oliver (2-3, 2.59)
Game 3: Will Piper (5-0, 2.59) vs. Rich Gibson (3-2, 3.14)

New Orleans has a potent lineup spearheaded primarily by three guys at this point: Gregg Black, Matty Matos, and Ray Cepicky. If the three Trenton pitchers can keep those guys from doing damage (and that's a fairly big if), they should be able to navigate the rest of the lineup OK. The Trenton offense struggled a bit in the Toronto series and it gets no easier, as all three pitchers are throwing well so far.

Draft Upcoming

We're now in the scouting period for the upcoming amateur draft. This will be an unusual draft for the Traffic, as they have the 16th pick but will not pick again until the 5th round due to free-agent signings. GM gumbercules said they have a few positions of need in mind (likely starting pitching), but that they would likely go with the best available player. Trenton currently has 2 first-round picks (Vasco Lopez, Gary Nelson) on their ML roster, with another (Sammy Garrido) likely to get a late-season callup. Fans of the team are invited to the stadium's Traffic Cafe (located in the lower concourse near Gate C) starting at 10:30 A.M. on Saturday for the team's official draft party, with the draft starting at 12.

1st Quarter Grades- Pitchers

The first quarter grades for the pitching staff:

STARTERS

Alex Sanchez: D Was brought in to lead the staff. I know some pitchers struggle early, but 2-4 with an ERA over 5 is unacceptable. Eats innings, which is the only reason this isn't an F.

York Watson: B- Good WHIP, ERA is a bit high.

Damion Mays: INC Just got here.

Bert Pierre: C+ Like Watson, the ERA has to come down a bit, but he's been OK for a 3rd or 4th starter. Has more potential.

Will Piper: A- Only negative is he doesn't go far enough into games (averages less than 6 innings per start). When he's in there, he's unhittable at times. He's 5-0 with a 2.59 ERA.

Tito Mercedes: B Swingman has been solid in both roles- if Sanchez and Pierre aren't careful and Mercedes keeps pitching like this, a change might be made at some point this season.


BULLPEN

Bernie Corino: A Yet to blow a save (9 for 9). Had by far his best season last year, and this season has been even better thus far.

Chris Jennings: INC See Damion Mays

Karl Coleman: A+ Has gone from barely making the squad (had a 6.01 ERA last season) to a key contributor on a potential playoff team (0.89 ERA thus far).

Wesley Cora: D+ Pitched a lot of innings out of the pen so far, but I think Trenton was expected more than a 5.68 ERA.

Vince Perez: C- Another free-agent pickup to help the bullpen that hasn't helped as much as hoped.

Vic Rincon: F Was dropped from the rotation. Has an ERA over 6 in both roles and has walked almost as much as he's struck out.

Paul Ulrich: B- Has been pretty good in limited duty.

1st Quarter Grades- Hitters

1st quarter grades for the Trenton Traffic everyday players:

STARTERS

Watty Miller: A An on-base machine is just what was needed for this team in the leadoff spot. If he provided any speed, this would be an A+, but perhaps that's nitpicking.

Bret King: B+ Tailed off a little bit from his very hot start, but is still on pace to have a typical Bret King season, which means a little of everything and a whole lot of runs scored.

Cap Herrera: A+ Leads the NL in hits, and is in the top 5 in the following categories: HRs (5th), RBI (3rd), batting average (3rd), on-base percentage (2nd), slugging (2nd), and OPS (2nd). A legitimate MVP candidate.

Enrique Park: C+ So far, looks like a typical Park season (40 HR, 100 RBI) but with a lower average.

Stephen Mills: B Solid if unspectacular season so far.

Vasco Lopez: B- This could end up being his best offensive season, but some of the pitchers are struggling and he's throwing out less than 20% of runners.

Magglio Perez: B- Improving his average, but power production is a bit down.

Shawn Butler: B- Not paid to hit- good thing. One of the better defensive shortstops in the league- not dazzling, but solid.


BENCH

Miguel Cerveza: A Has been invaluable, providing offensive spark when Perez went down.

Willis Petrov: A Pinch-hitter extraordinaire has never had more than 1 at-bat in a game, yet has managed 30 ABs so far. Hitting .433 in those 30 ABs- it's almost a surprise when he doesn't come through.

Deivi Sierra: INC Hasn't seen much action since Lopez has caught almost every game. That will change as the season goes on.

Gary Nelson: INC See Sierra.

The GM corner

We interviewed Trenton GM gumbercules for his thoughts on the first quarter of the season:

Are you happy with the way the team has played during the first 41 games?

I'd have to say yes. We're back among the top teams in the NL. Obviously there are some things I'd like to see improve, but all in all I've been happy with what I've seen on the field so far.

What would you like to see improve?

The pitching in particular. We've got quality arms that are not performing up to their standard yet. I'm not all that worried, as these are guys with track records.

You made a lot of big free-agent signings in the offseason. Your thoughts on that?

I know we forfeited quite a few draft picks. But we gave up 2nd, 3rd, and 4th round picks and got Bret King, Wesley Cora, and York Watson in return. I think you have to look at value here. Would I be able to get someone better than King for a 2nd round pick? Better than Watson for a 4th? The answer to the first question is maybe, and the second is not very likely, even if you'd be willing to wait for those guys.

You left out Cora of that last statement. Do you regret that signing?

No. The guy's been struggling so far, but he's got a history of performing well. It's way too early to give up on a guy like him.

Did Magglio Perez just get "Wally Pipped" by Miguel Cerveza?

Not likely. Miguel is just really hot right now, so we're planning on riding the hot bat until he cools off. Expect Mags to get his regular playing time after that.

A lot was made of the top three in the order (Miller, King, and Herrera) and that none of them were on the Opening Day roster last season. What do you think of their performance so far?

Well, that was a big part of the reason that we thought this offense would be a lot better this season, and I think so far that's exactly what has happened. Cap and Watty are both in the top 4 in batting, Cap and Bret are top 5 in runs scored, Watty is second in on-base... they're among the league leaders in categories you'd want your top 3 to be good at. They've driven each other in and set up the Enrique, Stevie, Vasco, and Mags. We signed these guys to continue to do just that.

Any thoughts on Atlanta?

Other than that they're really good? We'd like to get a rivalry going with those guys, but we don't beat them often enough to be at that level yet. They might be better than last season, which is scary.

Preview: Toronto Toros

The Traffic have a 4-game set coming up at home against the Toronto Toros

Report on Toronto:

They currently sit at 17-22 (7-12 on the road), good enough for 2nd place in the NL North. They sit 7 back of Fargo for first, and are 2 ahead of both Chicago and Philadelphia. They've scored fewer runs than any team in the NL except for Philly. Their team ERA ranks 5th in the NL.

Likely Pitching Matchups:

Game 1: Rob Cather (3-0, 2.37) vs. Will Piper (4-0, 3.03)
Game 2: Willis Casey (2-3, 3.00) vs. Alex Sanchez (2-3, 4.84)
Game 3: Jesus Estrada (1-5. 6.46) vs. York Watson (2-1, 4.31)
Game 4: Hipolito Santana (1-3, 4.67) vs. Damion Mays (0-0, 7.20)

This could be a tough series, although Trenton would seem to have the advantage on paper. Toronto's pitching has kept them in games thus far in spite of their offense and a few of Trenton's pitchers have struggled (Sanchez in particular). I don't think Trenton will sweep this series.

Who to look out for:
RF Fritz Wilkerson is tied for 5th in the NL in home runs (with, among others, Cap Herrera) with 14- amazingly he only has 22 RBI. The Traffic will have to be careful when pitching to him- the fact that they are throwing 3 lefties in the series (Wilkerson is a lefty) could help.

CF Albert Castro leads the team with a .331 average, a .372 OBP, and 19 runs scored, so keeping him off the basepaths will be a priority.

Recapping the Road Trip

The Traffic played to the same record on their 10-game roadtrip as they did on the last homestand: 6-4. Here's what happened:

Salt Lake City: The Traffic lost 2 of 3 to the 1st place Shakers. They won the third game 8-2 to avoid the sweep; Enrique Park finished a triple short of the cycle and drove in 3. Will Piper gave up 1 run on only 1 hit in 6 innings.

Vancouver: The pesky Golden Otters earned a 4-game split with Trenton. The highlight was in the last game, where former Otter Miguel Cerveza (filling in for the injured Magglio Perez) untied a 3-3 game in the 7th with a 3-run shot.

Chicago: The Traffic swept the Snake Tamers in Wrigley, winning all 3 games by exactly one run. Former Chicago reliever Bernie Corino earned the save in all 3 games.


WHO WAS HOT:

Miguel Cerveza: Went 9 for 20 (.450) filling in for Perez, hitting 4 homers and driving in 8.
Watty Miller: Reached base safely 21 times (15 hits, 6 walks), hitting .340 on the trip.

WHO WAS NOT HOT:

Shawn Butler: Hit .219 on the road trip.
Alex Sanchez: In his two starts, went 0-1 with a 5.73 ERA and 10 walks.


COMING UP: They'll be at home for 4 against Toronto, then go right back on the road for a 9-game trip through New Orleans, Chicago (again), and Cheyenne. Fans, remember that tomorrow night's game is Cap Herrera bobblehead night (available to the first 18,000 fans), so make sure to get to the ballpark early.

Traffic pull into Chicago

The Traffic will start a 3-game series with the Chicago Snake Tamers starting tonight. This will be the last game of the 10-game road trip, with the Traffic going 3-4 thus far.

Report on Chicago:

The Snake Tamers are 15-21, 3rd place in the NL North, 8 games back of Fargo and 2 back of Toronto for 2nd place. They've struggled on the mound (13th in the NL in ERA) and in 1-run games (1-7).

Likely Pitching Matchups:

Game 1: Vic Rincon (2-4, 6.32) vs. Mateo Guerrero (1-4, 4.29)
Game 2: Damion Mays (3-0, 3.43 with Vancouver) vs. Jorge Guzman (1-3, 6.43)
Game 3: Tito Mercedes (3-0, 3.24) vs. Babe Broadhurst (3-3, 3.97)

The Traffic would do well to take 2 of 3 here. Game 2 seems to be the only pitching matchup that really favors them; as good as Mercedes has been, Broadhurst is a better pitcher with a much longer track record. Rincon vs. Guerrero is a toss-up. As for the offense, many of the big bats (Sean Simpson, Neifi McBride, Bernie Soriano, Ryan Snyder) have come out slow, but one pleasant surprise has been the play of former Traffic farmhand Paul Turnbow, who's hitting .280 with 11 HRs (second on team) and 34 RBI (leads team), adding 10 steals.

Trenton re-acquires Mays, gets Chris Jennings from Vancouver

The Trenton Traffic swung a 6-player deal with the Vancouver Golden Otters.

Trenton gets: SP Damion Mays, RP Chris Jennings
Vancouver gets: CF Roscoe Rigby (AAA), 3B Edwin Corey (AAA), P Pedro Hernanez, OF Hal Brinkley

Analysis: Trenton felt that its weakness was in its pitching staff, so the Traffic went out and got a starter and a reliever. Mays makes his return to Trenton (he was 28-27 in about 2 full seasons before being dealt in the trade that brought Cap Herrera to NJ) to solidify the middle of the rotation. Jennings has a good track record as a closer before faltering this season; he'll set up Bernie Corino for now.

Vancouver gets a pretty decent haul here. Rigby is a good defensive CF with a world of speed. Corey has very good speed for a 3B and should hit well-both he and Rigby should be full-time starters soon. Hernandez projects as a middle-to-bottom of the rotation type. Brinkley was included in the deal to make the salaries work, but he's got talent; Vancouver looks like they're going to give him a shot at the RF position.

(Report courtesy of The Bigs Daily News)

Traffic lose Perez for a week

Traffic RF Magglio Perez injured his back trying to leg out a triple in last night's 6-1 victory in Vancouver. The team doctor said he was having back spasms, and that there was nothing major. It's expected that he'll be out about a week and will not have to make a trip to the DL. The manager announced that Miguel Cerveza will take Perez's spot in right and will bat 7th; Enrique Park, who has flip-flopped between 4th and 7th with Magglio all season, will go back to the cleanup spot.

Current Standings

As the Traffic are in the middle of a 10-game road trip, let's look at where they currently stand:

STANDINGS

Record: 19-14
NL East: 2nd place
Distance Ahead/Behind: 6 games behind Atlanta, 2 games ahead of Washington D.C., 3 games ahead of Norfolk
Playoff Position in NL: T-5th (Cheyenne)

RANKINGS (NL)

Runs: 3rd (5.30)
Earned Runs Allowed: 9th (4.41)

Recap of the Homestand

The Traffic went 6-4 on their recent homestand against Fargo, Philadelphia, and San Juan.

Fargo: The hometown team earned a 2-2 split with a very good Fargo team. The highlight of the series was game 1, where the Traffic came back from 3 down in the 9th to tie and then won it in the 11th on a pinch-hit RBI triple by Miguel Cerveza.

Philadelphia: The Traffic lost game 1 of the series, but took the last two. Alex Sanchez finally started to come around, pitching 7 innings of shutout ball with 10 strikeouts in the rubber game.

San Juan: They took 2 out of 3 from the Dead Bunnies as well. Shawn Butler had the second extra inning walk-off hit of the homestand to win game one 11-10.

Who was hot:

Cap Herrera: Hit .432 with 3 homers and 12 RBIs.
Watty Miller: Hit .381 and scored 7 runs.

Who was not:

Bret King: Hit only .175 despite driving in 6.
Shawn Butler: Hit .194 in 10 games.

Welcome to the Trenton Traffic Blog!

Welcome everybody! The Trenton office of The Bigs Daily News has started a local section to focus on the goings-on of the local team, the Trenton Traffic. We plan on having regular updates of the team, previews and recaps of series, interviews with the players and coaches, a (semi)regular GM spot, and whatever else occurs to us. Go Traffic!