Dogs Ready for Playoffs

The Sea Dogs have coasted into the playoffs after clinching the division, finishing by losing their final three games to the Akron Aeros over the weekend. Portland started the season 10-0, then played .500 ball the rest of the way in finshing 76-66 and two games ahead of the Trenton Thunder. Now the Thunder come to tomorrow (Wednesday) night to start the best-of-five first round of the playoffs.

Portland will be led into the series by first-game pitcher Jon Lester, who was named Eastern -League Pitcher of the Year. Lester posted an 11-6 record and led the league with a 2.61 ERA and 163 strikeouts in 148.1 innings pitched. In addition, the hard-throwing lefty had a 1.06 WHIP, .215 opponents' batting average, 9.89 K/9 IP and 3.79:1 K/BB ratio. Lester's ERA was lowest in Portland history, surpassing the 2.61 ERA recorded by Michael Tejera in 1999, and his strikeout total was second best for a Sea Dog, following only Brent Billingsley, who struck out 183 in 1998. Lester is the second Sea Dog pitcher to lead the league in both ERA and strikeouts (Tony Saunders, 1996) and the second, after Tejera in 1999, to be named EL pitcher of the year.

The Sea Dogs will also be carrying the hot bat of Brandon Moss into the playoffs. Moss batted .500 for the week, with three doubles, one home run, four RBI and six runs scored. Moss had five multi-hit games during the week. Moss finished the season batting 268/337/441-16-61 in 135 gtames played. He led the team and was second in the league with 87 runs scored, and he was tied for second on the team and eighth in the EL with 31 doubles on the season.

Trenton's game one starter will be Jeffrey Karstens, who was 12-11 with a 4.15 ERA on the season. Karstens had a 1.38 WHIP and 147 strikeouts vs. 42 walks in 169 innings pitched. His numbers on the season were fairly average, but Karstens has dominated the Sea Dogs - 3-0 with a 0.41 ERA this year. Trenton's other top pitcher for the year was Matt DeSalvo, who was 9-5, 3.02 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and 151/67 K/BB ratio in 149 innings pitched. Justin Pope is Trenton's closer. He recorded 29 saves with a 2.81 ERA and 1.10 WHIP in 57 games (77 IP) on the season.

Trenton's offense will be led by center fielder Melkey Cabrera (275/322/411-10-60 in 106 games) and DH Michael Coleman (265/345/510-9-34 in just 42 games), who hit three home runs when Trenton came to Portland two weeks ago. The Thunder also feature pesky leadoff batter Gabe Lopez (291/388/395-5-42 in 82 games) and slugging first baseman Shelley Duncan, who hit 32 home runs and knocked in 92 runs despite a pedestrian .240 batting average. The Thunder also have top Yankee prospect Eric Duncan, who shows promise but had a bit of a disappointing season: 235/326/408-19-61 in 126 games. Both Duncans strike out a lot. They led the Thunder with 140 and 136, respectively, on the season.

In addition to Moss, the Sea Dogs offense is led by CF and Sea Dogs player of the year David Murphy (275/337/430-14-75), SS Hanley Ramirez (271/335/385-6-52, 26 SB), LF Chris Durbin (282/344/457-12-57), 1B Jeremy West (267/340/411-10-50), 3B Jared Sandberg (233/335/413-18-71) and 2B Scott Youngbauer, who arrived in July and sparked the offense down the stretch (311/360/5495-20 in 45 games).

Following Lester in the Sea Dogs rotation will likely be Anibal Sanchez, who made 11 starts at AA and finished 3-5, 3.45 for Portland. He struggled over his last few starts, but still finished with an impressive 1.20 WHIP, 9.89 K/9 and 3.93 K/BB ratios. David Pauley is Portland's #3 starter. He led the Sea Dogs with 156 innings pitched and compiled a 9-7 record, 3.81 ERA, 1.30 WHIP and 104 K's vs. 34 walks. Jim Mann has been serving as the closer (12 saves, 1.80 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 34 K's/12 BB in 25 IP). Edgar Martinez (1.50 ERA in 18 IP) and Craig Hansen (0 runs allowed in 9.1 IP) have also been effective out of the bullpen, but I'm not sure what their availability will be.

I'll be attending game two of the series on Thursday night and will report back on Friday. Good seats are still available for the playoffs. It seems that people have become so accustomed to Sea Dogs games being sold out that they make the assumption that tickets for the playoff games are scarce. However, according to the ticket office this afternoon, plenty of seats are available for all games. Ticket prices are the same as for the regular season - box seats are just $8. If you are in Portland, I hope to see you there.