Day 4 of Week 22

Well, Regs couldn't have had a better day Thursday. 2 saves and a win from 3 pitchers, 2 home runs and 3 steals from 1/2 his roster, and Jobu threw up a 1/15 day, which is .067, which is not good. It's not over yet by any means, but 3 of the 4 days so far this week, Regs has been in 3rd place. Papi has a slim lead over Longball, but it looks like they've locked up the playoff spots. BH has a stellar 9.51 era so far. Very nice. 3 days to go!!

Day 3 of Week 22

It seems that the playoff teams are pretty secure, barring a miracle or complete meltdown, but the order of the bottom 4 is still very much in doubt. As of right now, Regs has the #3 seed over Jobu, and Longball has taken the 5th seed over Papi. Will Luis Ayala actually continue to close games for the Mets and Regs? Will Anibal Sanchez and Joey Votto be the answer for Jobu? Will standing pat and doing nothing work wonders for Longball and Papi? 4 days left until the season begins for real...

Day 2 of Week 22

Todays Playoff Order:

Snot on the Ball
Legends
Jobu... nuts...
Regulators
Papi
Longball

BH had 3 starters get lit up (Pettitte, Zambrano, Ai Uens) and they're now looking at an 11.30 era and a 2.30 whip. Bounty Hunters needs Longball to have some starters get lit up as well (Oswalt would be first in line), or he needs Longball to doze off and end up with 39IP for the week. Then he needs, NEEDS some power out of guys like McCann, Bradley and Griffey. Longball already has 4 bombs to BH's one, but BH still has some shots at the other offensive categories. Jimmy Rollins had a heck of a week yesterday for Legends, and he's helped put Karma in a pretty deep hole, down 7-3. Swine is also down 7-3 to Snot. Papi took the lead 4-2 against the BOY'Z, but they're not out of the woods yet, as the pitching and most offensive categories are pretty close. Regs has a 6-3 lead over Jobu, but needs a 7-3 win to take #3... grrr...

Day 1 of Week 22

Granted, it's only been one day of a long week of days, but my goodness it sure does look nice to see 'Regulators' in between Snot on the Ball and Jobu's Hats for Bats in the Stat-Tracker standings. Longball sprinted out to a big lead over Bounty Hunters, getting two great starts from Myers and Weaver, and have leap-frogged Papi's Space Cadets, who must be about ready to throttle Gil Meche. Blog's not sure who's in 6th place right now: Papi is 98-106-16, Karma Kameleons is 99-113-8. Karma has 1 more win, but 7 more losses. Blog thinks that Papi's win % is .48039215682745098039215686, and Karma's is .466981132075471698113207547ish. So I guess that give it to Papi for today, but Blog's not entirely sure that Yahoo uses the formula (wins/wins+losses), because sometimes, Blog can't figure Yahoo's math out. Oh well. Until tomorrow! Come on Sheets & Greinke! Let's go Phillies and Jays! Pound out those hits!

Week 21 Review

Regulators DEF Karma Kameleons 7-3

For the 2nd week in a row, Regs cost himself a win by trying to be cute with his roster. Regs sat most his pitchers with an 8-2 lead and a .05 lead in whip. KK’s 2 starters on Sunday were very effective, but so were all of Regs' pitchers on his bench, and KK took whip 1.04-1.05. Doh. But, all that would affect is Reg’s ability to catch Jobu. Jobu has a 3.5 games lead over the Regs for the #3 seed, and well what do ya know… Regs faces Jobu this week. The #3 seed will face the #6 seed in round one, and Legends in round 2, as opposed to facing the #5 seed and Snot in round 2. Karma fell out of the #6 spot and they now trail Longball by 1.5 games (Blog thinks. It could be 2). They face Legends to save their season this week. The defending champs did secure the fourth playoff spot clinced so far (joining Snot from last week and Legends & Jobu this week). Regs made several moves this week, shoring up their bullpen, rotation and team speed. Karma flipped Curtis Granderson for Nate “1st half” McLouth and Jorge Cantu in an effort to try to get a few more homers, as they are 7th over-all in total dingers. Karma has also set some sort of record, going 6 straight weeks without a save. It’s been a tough stretch since Karma Kleansed the roster of closers, as they’ve gone 2-3-1 since week 15, and one of those wins came against Swine, when there wasn’t a save to be found in the entire week. Going into a matchup down 0-1 before the first pitch of the week is thrown is a disadvantage. You won’t find wisdom like that anywhere else in cyberspace.

> Stud of the Week: Rich Harden was awesome last week. 2 dominant starts. He sure would have netted Karma a nice bounty of picks had Karma been willing to part with him before the deadline: 2/0/0.64/0.29/13.50. A .29 WHIP in 2 starts!?!?! Man…

> Dud of the Week: Torii Hunter was pretty invisible last week, and will be the dud: 1/0/1/0/.241, but at least he played. Right JD?


Snot on the Ball DEF Legends 6-3-1

Snot certainly got his wish to have a lively trade deadline. 9 deals happened since 8/21, with 28 players swapping teams. 8 teams made at least one deal in the frenzy. The two teams who didn’t? L.L. Longball and Legends. Let this be a lesson to everyone: before you close on a new home, make sure you square away your internet access FIRST. Snot could sit his entire roster this week to prevent injury and he’ll still have homefield throughout the playoffs. Legends has also clinched the #2 spot by winning the ‘THOSE WHO CAN’T’ division, so the drama from this matchup wasn’t quite what Blog hoped for 10 weeks ago. Blog’s not sure, but Blog would bet that Legends would have rather won this week, rather than lose. However, just the fact that the 9-1 lead that Snot had deep into the week did not hold up should encourage Legends, or something. If Blog were to ask Legends, though, I’m sure he’d rather see Mister Rollins and Mister Beckett actually perform as expected. Snot is now very excited to welcome fantasy stalwarts Randy Winn and Raul Ibanez to his OF. Who needs Carlos Lee?!? The season starts again for these two teams on 9/8.

> Stud of the Week: J-Bay has filled in admirably for Manny in Left for the Sawx, but how about waiver wire wonder Alexei Ramirex? 4/3/11/0/.333

> Dud of the Week: In the classic words of Broadway Joe, Jimmy Rollins is St-ru-gg-l-ing: 2/0/0/0/.080


L.L. Longball DEF BOB’Z BOYZ 6-3-1

Longball put themselves in the driver seat for the right to lose to Jobu or Regs in week one of the playoffs with a solid win over the rebuilding boyz. Longball isn’t even out of the running for the #5 spot, although Papi does have a 3.5 game hold, and, well, Papi plays the BOY’Z this week, so… Longball will need to handle business with Bounty Hunters this week, and have Karma NOT destroy Legends to become the flyest poet ever in the CPL playoffs. Some very interesting stats in this matchup. BB won average with a devastating .232 average, just squeaking out the win over Longball’s .231. Blog was positive that this must have been the lowest winning average for a week, but Blog was shocked to find that .232 was a winner once before! Longball threw up a winning .232 against the Swine Nine in week 5, and the Swine Nine won average with a .233 against Jobu in week 11. Crazy. Longball lost RBI by 1, 34-33. Longball won SB 8-3. On Sunday, Longball’s roster had 0 RBI. Not a single one. But… the Longball bench had 7 RBI. Longball had SB only players like Juan Pierre and Willy Tavares in his OF despite his large SB lead, and he had RBI potentials like Vernon Wells and Pedro Feliz on his bench. In fact, had Wells played all week, he may have been the stud, but he didn’t see one game in the lineup. Fascinating.

> Stud of the Week: yuck. Just yuck. Blog will hold his nose and pick Francisco Rodriguez: 0/3/0.00/1.00/11.25. K-Rod’s reward? Shipped out of town to a contender.

> Dud of the Week: Take your pick: Marcum, Sheffield, Jacobs, Delmon Young, Werth, I-Rod, Reynolds, Howard, Renteria… Let’s give it to Mike Jacobs: 1/0/1/0/.077


Jobu’s Hats for Bats DEF Bounty Hunters 6-3-1

Bounty Hunters saw their playoff hopes take a huge hit with this loss and Longball’s win. The Hunters are actually sitting in NINTH PLACE right now, as the Swine Nine leapt them in the standings. It’s been a very disappointing 2nd half for the first year manager, as they’ve only won 2 weeks since week 7. The hunters will need to throttle Longball this week, and get help from Legends AND Snot to make sure they handle KK and Swine respectively. Blog’s prognosis is that Longball will manage to hold on to the spot, but we shall see. Jobu had a huge offensive week, putting only the 4th 20 HR week this year, and the 9th 60+ RBI week (Jobu has 3). Add CC Sabathia and James Shields to that firepower and you see why Jobu may have had the most productive weekend trade wise. Here’s hoping that Sabathia’s arm falls off after the Brewers throw him for 14 innings against the Pirates this week.

> Stud of the Week: Albert Pujols is still Albert Pujols: 3/2/10/0/.579

> Dud of the Week: Adrian Beltre once hit 40 homers. Once: 2/0/0/0/.200

Swine Nine DEF Papi’s Space Cadets 7-3

Papi missed a great chance to all but secure the 5th playoff spot last week, getting spanked by the 09 Swine. Papi should still be able to stay at 5, as they face the depleted REBUILDING BOY’Z this week, but nothing’s over ‘til the fat lady’s counted her chickens. Swine has staved off elimination until the last week, but they face a tough task to make the playoffs, as they would have to knock the snot out of Snot, and then get other help, which Blog has already discussed above. Blog can’t wait for this week to get started, and Blog just doesn’t have much else to say about this matchup, besides Papi needs his sluggers to start slugging. Hear that Maggs, Vlad, Papi??

> Stud of the Week: Mark DeRosa was very close, but Grady Sizemore filled all 5 categories: 6/2/10/4/.333

> Dud of the Week: Joe Saunders was pretty awful: 0/0/10.13/1.69/0.00

Manager of the Week: Regs is the hottest team wins-wise in the league, and at the right time.

Player of the Week: Sizemore

Pitcher of the Week: Harden

Next week, we’ll have a week 22 review, and then some playoff previews. You know you can’t wait…

34 Facts from 2008 Fantasy Baseball

1. Closers are over-rated.
2. Sports Hernia’s are of Satan.
3. Carla Queentin is now Mr. Carlos Quentin, Sir.
4. Ryan Ludwick is the surprise of the year.
5. Cliff Lee is a close second.
6. Aubrey Huff is third.
7. Lance Berkman is a beast.
8. Players need more nicknames. (Blog will accommodate).
9. Besides Lee, the Indians have been the biggest fantasy disappointment.
10. If you took away the J’s and R’s, the Braves best pitcher would be named Ai Uens.
11. Josh Beckett does not belong on the Can’t Cut List anymore.
12. Neither does Carlos Beltran.
13. There are 10 players as of 8/21 that have at least 5 saves who were not drafted.
14. There will be at least 7 more by the end of the year.
15. Seriously, closers are over-rated.
16. Andruw Jones may be the biggest disappointment of all time.
17. The All-Star game destroyed Dan Uggla.
18. Victor Martinez still doesn’t have a Home Run.
19. Jake Peavy should be chained and locked inside Petco Park
20. There are only 4 players who are 20/20 as of 8/21. No one is 30/30 yet.
21. Eric Hinske is still comparable to Chris B. Young.
22. 3 2009 Breakout Years: Hunter Pence, Chase Headley, Matt LaPorta.
23. David Pryce is very close.
24. One month of great play does not a superstar make. Melvin Mora is not a top 50 player.
25. Neither is Raul Ibanez.
26. Alex Gordon is NOT the next George Brett. He’s not even the next Mike Lowell.
27. Jody Gerut and Fernando Tatis deserve mad props.
28. Erik Bedard is a Canadian Woman.
29. Tim Lincecum is on the brink of a Pedro/Koufax-like 6 year span.
30. Roy Oswalt, Tim Hudson, and Brad Penny are fantasy toast.
31. Dontrelle Willis and Rich Hill are really depressing and deserve our pity.
32. Swine Nine is the clear favorite entering 2009. Only 3 days for someone to make a move for next year.
33. Matt Holliday should sign a 10 year contract with Colorado today.
34. Closers are still over-rated.

Week 20 Review

Snot on the Ball DEF Jobu’s Hats for Bats 5-3-2

The drama Blog was hoping for with this matchup was pretty much gone with Jobu’s mini-skid over the past few weeks. With the win, Snot became the first team to clinch a playoff spot officially, since unofficially they clinched after they started the year with 9 straight wins. Jobu took the 3 prime offensive stats, but dropped all 3 pitching % stats for the 4th time in the past 6 weeks. Since week 15, Jobu has won 3 of the 18 possible pitching % stats. Jobu’s team era has gone from 3.403 after week 15 to 3.793 today. Blog’s not sure how bad that really is, but it’s not great. Due to Jobu’s mini-skid (one win, one tie in the past 5 weeks), they have opened the door to 3rd place, as they only sit 4 games up on the Regs. Jobu and Regs will meet in week 22, and all Regs wants… is a chance…

> Stud of the Week: First there was Jorge Cantu, than there was Melvin Mora. Snot is now the 3B Whisperer. Did you know Melvin Mora has 42 kids or something? 9/3/13/0/.563

> Dud of the Week: Jobu’s manhood, as it’s been skewered by a wedding ring this week. Blog would like to know just one thing: who schedules a wedding just before FBL playoffs? There are only 5 weeks when a wedding should be scheduled: The Monday after the Super Bowl until the 2nd week of March. That’s it. Now, Aaron Heilman’s 11.57 era isn’t pretty, but the 11.57 K/9 is very nice, and the save makes it tough to pick him over Adrian Gonzalez: 0/0/0/0/.190.

Karma Kameleons DEF Bounty Hunters 7-3

The most drama right now in the CPL is the 3 way battle to squeak into the playoffs between KK, BH and Longball. With KK’s big win, they now sit in the driver seat with a 2 game lead over the other 2. If KK claims the playoff spot, they can look at their 15-4-1 record against Bounty Hunters as the key to their… (Blog doesn’t want to call it success… um, their un-failure? Yeah, that works.). Karma put up very good ERA and WHIP, but there must have been a lot of ground balls because their K/9 was only 5.73. Karma didn’t hit the ball terribly well, but BH put up 38/5/31 for the week, so it was good enough. The next 2 weeks will be very interesting. Longball has the easiest schedule, and KK has the toughest, but Longball and BH will square off against each other next week. 2 of these teams are going to wish they had sold some players for picks come August 31.

> Stud of the Week: Dustin Pedroia’s been really good all year: 10/2/5/0/.414

> Dud of the Week: BH will need more production from Brian McCann to make any noise these next weeks: 1/0/0/0/.250.

Legends DEF L.L. Longball 6-4

Longball, despite their sweet team photo, has now dropped 4 weeks in a row and as noted above, needs to get in gear to sneak into the playoffs. They finish the season with the RED HOT BOB’Z BOYZ and Bounty Hunters, so they should have the clearest path to the post season, but stranger things have happened, like keeping Pedro Feliz on the Bench even though each team has 2 DL slots… Did you know Pedro Feliz is on the Phillies? Apparantly, it’s a disgrace for a Phillie to sit on the DL. Phillies don’t get injured, they just get ‘respites’. Legends tied their own record with 64 RBI. They’ve also seen their vaunted rotation get smacked around pretty good the past 4 weeks. They’ve lost ERA and WHIP for 4 weeks in a row, and now Josh Beckett’s numb… not good. and… didn’t you used to be Felix Hernandez? How long before Seattle shuts down their ace…

> Stud of the Week: Manny being Manny was pretty good, but Willy Taveras won SB all by his lonesome 7-4: 2/0/1/7/.435

> Dud of the Week: Ryan Howard apparently drives in runs just by the power of his swings and misses. He hit .083, but did get 6 rbi, so that saves the dud spot for Mike Jacobs: 0/0/3/0/.107

Regulators DEF Swine Nine 6-3-1

First of all, this should have been 7-2-1. Regulators had WHIP won before the Sunday night game, but got greedy and left Grant Balfour in the lineup on the chance he could vulture a win and take wins for Regs. Of course, Balfour finished the game with a 9.00 whip, and Regs whip went up .05 pts, giving the category to swine. To summarize: Regs was leading 7-2-1, wanted to win 8-1-1, but only won 6-3-1. Let that be a lesson to you all: The Fantasy voodoo will get you if you get greedy. Nuts. Regs is still the hottest franchise in the league right now. they haven’t lost since week 11, but they were dealt brutal news for the 2nd week in row. MVP candidate Ian Kinsler was reported to have a sports hernia, which, if you think of it, is the worst thing in the world. There’s a chance he could be back, but losing Crawford and Kinsler in back to back weeks is very, very sad. Swine pulled off the biggest trade of the year in their preparations for next year. Yippee.

> Stud of the Week: Alex Rios FINALLY had a decent week: 8/1/5/2/.423

> Dud of the Week: Jeremy Hermida did not: 1/0/0/0/.056


BOB’Z BOY’Z TIED Papi’s Space Cadets 4-4-2

For the first time this season, BB has gone 3 weeks without a loss. It’s been quite the learning experience for the rookie, and that’s all Blog has to say about that. Papi pretty much has the #5 seed locked down, and if they miss the playoffs, it will be the biggest collapse in the history of life. They finish the season against Swine Nine and BOB’Z BOYZ. Rough. One category they won’t win is saves, that is, unless Matt Capps can save 6 games a week. Blog has a homework assignment for the league this week. That assignment is to just admire Aubrey Huff. As of 8/20, he’s ranked 23rd, and is 81/27/87/2/.302. He’s the 7th ranked CI in the league. Ahead of guys like Morneau, Teixeira, Chipper and Miggy Cabrera. Unreal. In 2003 and 2004, Huff was relevant, but he’s been brutal the past 3 years. Huff fantasy owners just hope that whatever supplement is fueling this resurgence is not detected until he retires.

> Stud of the Week: Javier Vazquez was dealing: 2/0/0.56/0.63/10.13

> Dud of the Week: The Jose Lopez magic has ended: 1/0/1/0/.050.
____________________________________________________________________


Team of the Week: Karma Kameleons gets props for their un-failure.

Player of the Week: Melvin Mora. If Mora’s last name was Jones or Smith, Melvin would sound a whole lot lamer.

Pitcher of the Week: BB needs to trade Javier Vazquez!!!

Rumor Mill - 8/18/08 8:14AM

The word around the water cooler is that Snot on the Ball may be looking to acquire another SP now that Chris Young has found himself back on the disabled list and rumors are lingering that Joba Chamberlain may make his way back to the bullpen. Snot has apparently been attempting to convince a few of the, shall we say, more "weak minded" league owners that a combination of 7th, 8th and 9th round draft picks would be every bit as good as a 1st round pick. Little does Snot know that he possesses neither Jedi Mind Trick abilities nor an 8th round draft pick.

Rumor Mill - 8/13/08 12:40PM

Sources from deep within the Bounty Hunters organization are reporting that team officials are actually planning to assassinate the next team owner who attempts to acquire one of BH's prized closers. No word yet on the method of assassination, but if this current season has been any indication, the team will most likely do nothing.

Rumor Mill - 8/12/08 4:12PM

Pig prints has been seen in the mud around C.C. Sabathia's house, so it's a virtual lock that a deal will be struck soon allowing Swine Nine to acquire Sabathia from BOB'Z BOY'Z. Blog is hearing that BB'z take will be a bevy of players, including Bronson Arroyo, Mark DeRosa, Charlie Zink, Mark Bellhorn, Craig Grebeck, Luis Rivera, a weeks worth of tenderloins and a 17th round draft pick.

Rumor Mill - 8/12/08 2:38PM

Sources from the Karma Kameleons camp are saying the KK may be in search of additional early round draft picks that they would then be able to trade away tomorrow. KK has already traded a #2 and acquired a #1, so additional movement may be forthcoming. Other low level sources are saying the KK may forego all communication with other teams and attempt to trade his own draft picks to himself.

Week 19 Review

Regulators TIED Snot on the Ball 5-5 (but they won ERA, which is the playoff tie-
breaker. FYI)

Normally, when a starting pitcher has an 11-0 lead early on in the game, it’s a forgone conclusion that they’re going to secure the W. Alas, that law doesn’t apply when pitching in Colorado. Sunday, Chris Young promptly gave up 7 runs in the 4th inning, was removed for a PH, and cost Snot a chance to tie WINS and win ERA. Combine that with Regs batting .444 on Sunday to STEAL average, and you get a tie. None of the other SEVEN TIES that Regs has had this year felt as good as this one though. Trailing all week by an average score of 3-7, Regs stole 2 categories and was able to strengthen their grip on the #4 playoff seed. Regs has now gone 8 weeks without losing. Of course, 4 of those weeks were ties, but still… Snot is pretty much on cruise control until their playoffs, but as was demonstrated in week 19, anything can happen in one week. Both teams took some huge injury hits this week, as Carlos Lee and Carl Crawford both went down with 6-8 week injuries, essentially knocking them out of the playoffs. Bummer.

> Stud of the Week: In a losing effort, Carlos Lee ended his 08 fantasy season with a bang: 7/3/11/0/.550
> Dud of the Week: Has to go to Chris Young’s 2 category killing start Sunday: 0/0/8.68/1.93/6.75

Bounty Hunters DEF Scrantonicity 6-3-1

First of all, Bounty Hunters MUST change their smacktalk. Blog has spoken. Second, we have a new #6 seed this week thanks to the Hunters come back victory over the #5 seed, Papi’s Manny Office New Team Name Each Week. This was a very close week as all the offensive categories were determined by very slim margins. Scrantonicity has seen all 3 of their closers lose their jobs in the past few weeks, though at least Wagner will be back soon. Scrantonicity could try to trade for one of the Hunter’s closers, but he better be prepared to offer all 5 of his keepers and a year’s salary to get one. The Hunters have an outside chance of taking the #5 spot, but Blog doesn’t think so. Blog thinks Scrantonicity will go 20-10 over the next 3 weeks to secure the #5 seed, and maybe even steal the #4 seed. Look at that schedule!! Geesh…

> Stud of the Week: Vladdy was awesome, but so was everyone’s favorite 5th outfielder, Raul Ibanez! 5/3/12/0/.355
> Dud of the Week: Russell Martin just saw his Draft Value plummet: 3/0/0/0/.100

BOB’Z BOYZ DEF Legends 7-3

No question, we saw the biggest upset of the season here in week 19. Luckily for Legends it shouldn’t matter, but still… the #2 team got handled by the #10 team. Legends pitching had been a huge strength all season, but not last week. In fact, Legends lost K/9 for the first time all season. Legends past 3 ERA’s have been: 4.78, 5.50 and 5.19. Blog hears that’s not good. Legends did have a decent offensive week, and was just off in 3 categories, but close don’t count, and now….




wait for it…




BOB’Z BOYZ has now won 2 weeks in a row! They are 13-7 over the past 2 weeks! They’re still in last place, sitting on their trade chips hoping they morph into keeper-level players in the next 2 weeks, but at least they have a winning streak! Now, hopefully, they’ll trade their roster for whatever picks they can get. Back to Legends, Blog always finds it enjoyable to find pitchers who have those 3 little letters stashed away on their stat line: INF. Konichiwa, Masa Kobayashi.

> Stud of the Week: Sabathia’s been the stud of the month: 1/0/0.00/0.67/9.00
> Dud of the Week: Kurt Suzuki, the ‘developmentally challenged’ embarrassment to big brother Ichiro, was lousy last week: 1/0/0/0/.100

Jobu’s Hats for Bats DEF L.L. Longball 6-4

Longball’s in trouble. 3 weeks left, and they’re now the team on the outside looking in for a playoff spot. They’ve now dropped 3 weeks in a row, and their strengths (speed, power) are diminishing by the week. 3 steals was the low for Longball since week 1. Jobu was able to get back on the winning track after 3 weeks off it, and they saw their offense rake once again. Jobu’s strategy for the post season is crystal clear: Take as many offensive categories as possible, and try to take Wins and Saves. Who needs a pitching stat with a decimal?!? Jobu faces Snot this week in what should be a fun battle. Blog is hoping for a 0-0-10 week.

> Stud of the Week: Didn’t Albert Pujols needs elbow replacement surgery in April? 6/3/8/1/.455
> Dud of the Week: Pat Burrell was awful! And the Phillies played Pittsburgh! 0/0/0/0/.059

Karma Kameleons DEF Swine Nine 6-3-1

Even Blog, in all its literary grandeur, can’t really make this interesting. Um… both teams had 0 saves. That’s the first time in CPL history that both competing teams tied a record in the same category. Hoozah! Other than that… um… Swine probably secured last place in the CAN division… um… well… What name is harder to spell? Mientkiewicz or Samardzija? Are either of these spellings correct? Blog doesn’t care about that either.

> Stud of the Week: Blog for still writing about this matchup. or Lastings Milledge… a man amongst boys: 3/3/7/1/.478
> Dud of the Week: Mike Adams is just excited to be on a roster, but maybe not for long: 0/0/10.80/2.40/0.00

> Manager of the Week: Blog really wants to put Regs here, but a tie is still a tie, no matter the moral victories included. How about Bounty Hunters with a nice win over a playoff competitor. Ok. Swell.

> Player of the Week: RIP Carlos Lee

> Pitcher of the Week: C.C. Sabathia

Week 18 Review

Legends DEF Jobu’s Hats for Bats 5-4-1

The #2 and #3 ranked teams brawled in a really close match with both teams having huge Sundays. In the end, it was Legends legitimizing their presence in the post-season picture, as they managed to push across enough runs to secure the victory. Legends now has a 6 week winning streak and has a fairly easy schedule heading into what’s looking like their bye week. Jobu all of a sudden has gone 3 weeks without a win, and over those 3 weeks, they’ve only won one pitching % category. Jobu seemed to be making no mistakes as they streamed their starters, but lately, their luck seems to be drying up. And there’s also the sudden drop of Jonathan Sanchez. A top 10 starter through June, he now sits on the waiver wire following an awful July. Legends is still trying to get some consistency from his closers, but it seems like every week 2 or 3 have era’s in the 10’s. In fact, Blog’s curiosity was stirred, prompting Blog to find out that since week 10, Legends has had at least 1 closer with an era better than 9. Very nice! Of course, when you have a hot lineup and 5-6 potential aces, who cares if a closer gives up 3 runs that week? In the end, both franchises maintained their streaks: Jobu still hasn’t lost saves, and Legends still hasn’t lost K/9.

> Stud of the Week: Xavier Nady… Xavier friggin Nady. Regs trades him, he ends up on the Yankees, and he starts channeling Mickey Mantle. Jerk. 7/3/10/0/.526
> Dud of the Week: Berkman was disappointing this week, but not as damaging to Jobu’s future as the loss of Jonathan Sanchez’s effectiveness: 0/0/7.50/2.25/2.25

Regulators DEF L.L. Longball 8-2

32-7-1. These 2 franchises have met 4 times in the past 2 years, and this is their record. No other team has been owned so thoroughly by another. It was a closer week than the score indicates, and Longball even had a lead ½ way through the week, but Regs got some real quality starts down the stretch and did just enough with the bat to win HR and .avg by small margins. This was only the 2nd blowout win for the defending champs. The other was of course, against the ‘hit men’ in week 6 (9-1). Regs posted a K/9 over 10 for the first time this year, won saves for only the 2nd time, but lost SB for only the 2nd time as well. Longball now sits only 1.5 games ahead of Bounty Hunters for the 6th and final playoff spot. They’re 6.5 back from the #5 spot, but they face Jobu and Legends over the next 2 weeks and could find themselves in need of a miracle very soon.

> Stud of the Week: Bobby Abreu for Victor Martinez looks brilliant! 11/4/9/1/.444
> Dud of the Week: Atkins and Hardy were lousy, so was Sherrill, but we’ll plop this on Edgar Renteria! 3/0/2/0/.120

BOB’Z BOYZ DEF Swine Nine 6-4

Who needs David Wright or Brandon Phillips!?! They sure didn’t help the pigs avoid tying the record low for HR’s with 4. There have been 6 teams this week who only managed 4 HR’s. Amazingly, the BOY’Z are not on that list. There were 3 very close categories (R, RBI, W), but the BOY’Z were able to extract a small bit of revenge for the grand theft infield inflicted on them by the swine. Blog expects the BOY’Z to have a fire sale in the next week or 2, as they have some pretty valuable chips to move to contenders. Swine has moved most of their chips, but there may still be some crumbs there, especially if Putz and Izzy can close effectively.

> Stud of the Week: A very limited week offensively on both sides. We’ll go with Jay Bruce, since Blog commanded the BOY’Z to grab him off waivers: 4/2/3/0/.320
> Dud of the Week: David Wright really felt bad for his former manager: 2/0/2/0/.136


Manny’s Backhand DEF Karma Kameleons 7-2-1

This may have been the end of the 2007 runner up’s playoff run. They KK’s are now cellar dwellers in the CAN division, kicking Swine Nine up to 4th despite a loss of their own. Things could certainly change this week as KK faces off against the Swine, but the ship may have sailed for the unlucky lizards. Karma has now gone 3 straight weeks without a save, breaking the record of 2 set by the Regs in weeks 9 & 10. Manny’s Papi had a huge week for their playoff push. They’re mere % points behind Regs for the #4 seed, and have distanced themselves from the rest of the pack. They also have the most favorable schedule down the stretch, as they face 3 teams that are right now in the lottery: BH, Swine and the BOY’Z twice!! Manny destroyed the record for average (.356) which was previously held by KK. They also became the first team to win saves with just a single save for the week.

> Stud of the Week: Prince Fielder is a bad man, but wow… look at Ryan Ludwick: 7/4/8/0/.538. Didn’t Snot cut this guy?
> Dud of the Week: Jeff Baker went 1-23 last week. Nice. 1/0/0/0/.043

Snot on the Ball DEF Bounty Hunters 8-2

Ho-Hum. Snot destroyed another team. They were able to grab their first back to back wins since week 9, but they’re now 15-5 and rolling. Their pitching was devastating last week, even though they couldn’t buy a victory. 3 straight weeks with a K/9 over 10, 2 straight weeks with more than 10 saves, and sick era and whip numbers that are virtually untouchable. And now they add Francisco Liriano? However… all it takes is one week in the playoffs for all of that to mean absolutely nothing. And don’t forget… pitchers sometimes get booboos… right Joba? Bounty Hunters are still fading, not seeing a W next to their name since week 12. But at least they have 3 closers and won saves… Would a team keep 3 closers? We shall see…

> Stud of the Week: Snot got 4 awesome starts last week from Lincecum/Young/Joba and Peavy, but we’ll go with Josh Hamilton: 7/2/3/0/.435
> Dud of the Week: Andy Pettitte had been dynamite for the Hunters. Not this week: 0/0/15.19/2.63/6.75


Manager of the Week: BOB’Z BOYZ get a W against their arch nemesis and make a decent trade that benefits them next year, which is the next time we’ll be close to seeing them here.

Player of the Week: Did you see Bobby Abreu’s numbers?

Pitcher of the Week: Tilt-A-Whirl Lincecum is just amazing.

Week 17 Review

Week 17 Review

Swine Nine DEF Jobu’s Hats for Bats 6-4

The last time Jobu’s Hats for Bats lost a week (week #4 to the Regs. Blog’s just saying…), the Spurs were still the defending NBA champions. The Rays were still the doormat of MLB, Hillary Clinton was still alive, and Blog had not yet conquered the world. Alas, Jobu ran into that buzz saw previously known as the 2009 Swine. Don’t look now, but Swine Nine has 2 wins in a row and would almost be considered the favorite to grab that #6 seed, especially with the way a couple franchises above Swine are trending. Any team with 5 top 20 players can’t be counted out until the end. Thanks to 2 ties and this loss, Jobu has only had one victory in the past 4 weeks. They have a firm grasp on the #3 seed, but they certainly don’t want to back into the playoffs. Some of their stud performers are starting to come back to earth (Sanchez, Soto, Roberts). One thing Jobu does still have is the best trio of CI’s in the league. As Chris Farley would so eloquently put it: They’re awesome.

> Stud of the Week: Even though the Hebrew Hammer was raking, Connor Jackson was the main reason Swine won R and AVG: 9/3/7/1/.542
> Dud of the Week: Brian Roberts let Jobu down bad: 1/0/1/0/.167. How is he still on the O’s???

Papi’s Space Cadets DEF L.L. Longball 7-3

For the 2nd week this season, MC Longball was relaxin’, but they sure weren’t on the point and reactin as they failed to reach their minimum IP requirement. The first time, it didn’t matter since they got smoked in the pitching categories. This time? It only cost Longball ERA, but still… that one loss could loom HUGE with the playoffs now only 5 weeks away. Longball has a 1.5 game lead over Bounty Hunters for the #6 seed. Papi currently sits at #4 and snapped their 2 week losing streak to the #2 and #3 seeds. Papi did tie the record that Legends set in week 5 with ZERO stolen bases. I think 17 weeks into the season that it’s safe to say that Chone Figgins has been a disappointment this year. It’s also safe to say, that Aubrey Huff and Ryan Dempster have not been. Aubrey Huff…. let Blog say it again… Aubrey Huff is currently the 23rd ranked player in fantasy baseball. 23!!! Maybe the Sox can trade Manny for him. Ryan Dempster is ranked 37. Wow. Just wow. Blog would like to point out that Ben Sheets is currently ranked 71, and then Blog would like to punch Ben Sheets in the nose for not being ranked higher, but Blog digresses…

> Stud of the Week: Jon Lester and Miggy Cabrera were great, but Shane Victorino was a stat-sheet filler: 7/3/6/3/.375. Blog would also like to remind all involved that Regs cut Victorino on 4/9. Blog… Angry…
> Dud of the Week: Pedro Feliz: 0/0/0/0/.000. Pedro did nothing until Thursday, when he went on the DL. However, he gets Dud honors because HE STILL SAT IN LONGBALL’S UTIL SPOT all week. Blog thinks Longball needs a new computer.

Regulators TIE Bounty Hunters 5-5

Regs is very glad that the Bounty Hunters are off the schedule. It doesn’t happen too often when a 3.15era and a 1.00 whip LOSE. In fact, the previous low for a losing WHIP was 1.11. This was split right down the middle. Regs smoked the offensive categories, setting a record for runs with 67. Regs also batted .343, which is .002 off the season mark for average. On the other hand, Bounty Hunters had an all-time pitching week. There have been 9 weeks with a WHIP below 1. 4 of them have been AGAINST the Regs. What does that mean? Nothing. Nothing at all. Blog just wanted you to know. BH was able to end their 4 week losing streak, but there is still only one win on their record since week 7. Bounty Hunters has one offensive category win since 12. They won average against Legends in week 15 (.300 to .282). Despite the numbers, BH is committed to riding that Paul Konerko train as far as it will take them. Blog predicts that trains final sop will be that ghost town known as ‘Consolation Tourney’.

> Stud of the Week: Chris Davis is the greatest rookie 1B of all time: 8/3/5/0/.423
> Dud of the Week: Really? No… Paul Konerko sucked last week too? Huh! 0/0/0/0/.125


Snot on the Ball DEF Slump Kameleons 7-3

Let Blog just tell everyone how much Blog HATES team name changes. Blog is debating whether to just refer to owner names because it would make Blog’s life easier, and well, that’s ultimately the most important thing. Stay tuned. Snot continued their see-saw past 2 months following up a defeat with a victory. The lizards certainly needed this win to position themselves for the playoffs, but the losses are starting to pile up. The Lizards actually had a very solid week, posting solid pitching numbers (9.49K/9!) and decent offensive numbers. Snot just had one of those weeks that are certainly possible with that roster. CQ, Hamilton, McLouth, A-Gon were all great, and Joba, Peavy and Tilt-a-Whirl threw jems. That’s 2 week in a row now that Snot’s put up more than 10 K’s per 9, and don’t forget the 13 saves. If only Snot could find a steal…

> Stud of the Week: tough call here. Lots of very good weeks… Blog watched Joba shut the Sox down, so we’ll go with him: 1/0/0.00/0.57/11.57
> Dud of the Week: Chase Utley needs to get healthy: 2/0/1/0/.167

Legends DEF BOB’Z BOYZ 6-3-1

Two teams going in very opposite directions. Legends has taken over the position previously held by Jobu as ‘hottest team in the league’. They’ve won 5 in a row, and have lost only once in the past 10 weeks. Legends has a 13 game lead now and has all but clinched a spot in the CAN division next year. Of course, if Legends’ baseball luck is the same as their football luck, they’re staring at a semi-final loss bearing down on them like a freight train made of cow hide. This same train has already run over BOB’Z BOYZ, stopped, back up over BOB’Z BOYZ, ran the boyz over again, and then dragged them several miles over broken glass, dropping them off next to the corpse of Travis Hafner. (Blog hears rumors that the conductor had a pink, curly tail). The BOY’Z were able to win saves with only 2 closers, where Legends had remnants of 5 closers. Hopefully the BOY’Z will be able to turn those closers into draft picks before the trade deadline… hint… hint… Legends continues to beat the world in K/9, making it 17 straight wins. Week 18 is going to feature a potential classic matchup between the #2 and #3 seeds, Legends and Jobu. And that’s that.

> Stud of the Week: We’ll give the slight nod over Carlos Delgado to Jermaine Dye: 6/3/7/0/.450.
> Dud of the Week: Cody Ross was on fire until he found himself on BOB’Z roster: 1/0/0/0/.091


Manager of the Week: Swine Nine gets the nod for ending ‘the streak’

Hitter of the Week: Shane Victorino was an all-around beast.

Pitcher of the Week: Like Blog said, Blog saw Joba destroy the Sox, and was impressed.