Trends are starting to be set and teams are beginning to take shape. Gone is the time to remain patient. The time has come to attempt to correct the issues or weakness that is hurting your team. Scout players, make trades do something because if you wait any longer your season will be gone before you realize. Just ask the Duckies who have a firm grip on last place and a roster full of NA's and DL's who are eating up active roster spots. Otherwise the league is looking really strong and the collective group of owners are the best the 64/60 has seen since it's inception. I realize the dog days of August are still upon us but I really feel that this season will be different. Back to the standings. 10 games separate 11th from 2nd and for the most part these teams have looked good statistically speaking based on the Power Rankings. The Dingers once again claim the top spot this week and bounced back after last weeks loss to the Factory. The Dingers used the hated "Streaming Pitcher" approach to make a comeback on the weeks final day and edged the 41129ers 7-4. The 41129ers were crushed by the defeat and somewhat bitter about the tactics. I myself have always been opposed to the idea of it but I often embrace the tactics myself and find enjoyment in it. A wise man once said "Don't Hate It Date It." I believe that rule applies here. In other league news the critically acclaimed 9irons have now lost 2 in a row this time in convincing 11-1 fashion. Perhaps most surprisingly it was the great offense that let him down this week. This week had great in game action, many free agent acquisitions, some Waiver Claims and even a couple of trades and I am delighted to break it all down for you once again.
Game Recaps
Bear Creek FP Factory 7 vs. Ohio River Carp 5. The Factory had a rather firm grip on this contest all week but the Carp made a nice comeback over the weekend to make this a contest. The Factory posted the better counting stats on offense winning Runs, HR, RBI and SB but the Carp earned victories in the averages taking AVG and OPS. Once again the Factory pitching wasn't pretty but I got the W in QS, K and K/9 which lead me to the overall win.
League Best- BCFP HR 14, Ohio River Carp SV 8
MVP- Nick Swisher .391/3/6/9/0/1.266
BC Dingers 7 vs. LeMaestro's 41129ers 4. Another odd offensive split as the 41129ers won both Runs and RBI despite the Dingers winning HR, AVG and OPS in decisive fashion. The Dingers took 4 of 5 pitching stats with one tie and this decided the outcome. The 41129ers still had a chance on Sunday Night to win the contest but AJ Burnett's poor performance Sunday Night sealed the deal for the Dingers. Butch keep your head up and always remember it's not just you who hates to lose to Chris. As for Dong himself it is another week on top of the 64/60 he should be used to it by now.
League Best- Dingers SB 12, 41129ers Runs 57
MVP- Elvis Andrus .381/0/8/1/5/.861
Tude Smackers 8 vs. Maccabi Hebrewers 4. The Smackers had a good week at the dish while once again the Hebrewers struggled. The Smackers took 4 of 6 offensive categories from the Hebrewers who once again won SB and AVG which has been the early season trend for the squad. The pitching also went in favor of the Smackers 4-2 thus the easy win for the Bad Guy. The Hebrewers used roster changes as a psychological ploys late in the week to rattle Jesse. The Commissioners office was flooded with calls of concern but this did not cause Mr. Ward to lose his focus. It is this focus that once again has the Bad Guy primed for another playoff run.
League Best- Tude Smackers ERA 2.45
MVP- John Buck .357/3/5/4/0/1.357
Rubber Duckies 6 vs. Hell and Damnation 6. Some say the first W can be the most difficult. I believe the Duckies would agree. Despite a terrible offensive week from H&D and a spectacular week from Vlad and Lincecum the Duckies once again come up empty. This was your typical Hitting vs Pitching game as H&D went 1-5 on the offensive stats and 5-1 in the pitching after a very strong week with a ERA below 2.50 and a WHIP of 1.00. It wasn't the best week for Hell and Damnation not only did this team struggle on the field, the Ownership duo had issues of their own to deal with. Now that everything is out in the open hopefully they can move on and grow from this experience. Perhaps a name change is in the near future.
League Best- Rubber Duckies AVG .300, Rubber Duckies OPS .881, Rubber Duckies K/9 9.78
MVP- Vlad Guerrero .360/4/5/13/1/1.185
B'Ville Stars 11 vs. Argumentative 9irons 1. The beatdown of the week belonged to the new number 2 team in the league. The Stars have won 3 or 4 and have a record of 3-1-1 Head To Head on the season. After playing this squad in week 2 I called them a contender and I am confident that this team will be a playoff squad barring injury. The Stars just had a solid week across the board as only a .266 and 2 SV would be considered below par. I would also state that despite my own love for my pitchers and the 41129ers early season success the Stars have the best stable of pitchers in the league. As for the 9irons the once mighty team have feel on some hard times over the last few weeks but I would still feel pretty good about that lineup. The 9irons may be down but I just don't see it lasting.
League Best- Stars K 83, Stars WHIP .96, Stars QS 10
MVP- Adam Wainwright 2 QS, 13K, 1.93 ERA, .93 WHIP, 8.36 K/9
Hendo Colonels 9 vs. Prestige Worldwide 3. The team Christopher Lee appointed as pretenders in week one are now in 3rd place 6 games back of the leader. Yes the Colonels are only 2-2-1 on the year but they have had two decisive wins and only 1 loss by more than 3 which is what it takes to be successful. The Colonels had a very strong offensive week posting 50 Runs, 49 RBI, 13 HR and a .282 AVG with a .791 OPS all among the best in the league this week. The Pitching wasn't as good but sometimes you only have to be as good as your opponent so a 4.96 ERA can sometimes be good enough. Worldwide just had a bad week nothing more nothing less. Look for a bounce back in Week 6.
League Best- Hendo Colonels RBI 49
MVP Vernon Wells .370/1/4/7/1/1.026
Season Best and Worst Set This Week
Best- Tude Smackers ERA 2.45, B'Ville Stars WHIP .96, B'Ville Stars QS 10
Worst- Maccabi Hebrewers Runs 31, Hell and Damnation OPS .659, Maccabi Hebrewers ERA 6.28, Maccabi Hebrewers WHIP 1.65
Pickup Of The Week
Tom Gorzelanny- Prestige Worldwide. Fully intended to snag him up but Prestige struck first. Gorzelanny has been good since coming over from the Pirates last season and the underlying numbers indicate improved skill rather than luck.
Garret Jones- Maccabi Hebrewers. Another player snagged out from under me. Jones hasn't played well this season but a player with good AVG potential and HR power is worth giving a shot. He won't lose playing time in Pittsburgh and will likely continue to bat in the middle of the order. The best part about the Jones addition is that no FAAB budget was used on this FAAB worthy player.
Head Scratcher of the Week
Maccabi Hebrewers acquire Yunel Escobar of Waivers for $13. Nothing at all wrong with adding Escobar to your roster but given his DL status and lack of success thus far could he have been obtained for less? Truth be told this selection is more of a had to chose one selection than a boneheaded move.
Trade Evaluations
Two trades hit the 64/60 this week and as far as I know neither have been opposed by anyone.
Bear Creek FP Factory acquire Pablo Sandoval from the 9irons for James Loney and Matt Cain. The 9irons had offense to spare and were in need of a quality arm. The Factory wanted another big bat and had the arm to spare. My pitching has not been good up to this point but with the edition of Verlander I really feel as though it will come around. Loney is a decent option but you would rather have that CI with power potential. I had actually targeted Morneau but the 9irons didn't budge. If Loney hits 20 HR or my pitching continues to struggle I may regret this move but if Sandoval can top 100 RBI I will be satisfied with the move.
Tude Smackers acquire Evan Longoria and Andruw Jones from the LeMaestro's 41129ers for Ian Kinsler and Josh Hamilton. Longoria is the best most reliable player in the deal but the Kinsler/ Hamilton combo may provide more impact across the board. In a perfect scenario for the 41129ers Kinsler and Hamilton both remain healthy and Hamilton gets on a tear at some point close to the 08 season while Andruw Jones resembles the player of the last three seasons. The Smackers are hoping Longoria remains Longoria and both Kinsler and Hamilton return to there normal spot on the DL then anything Jones produces is gravy.
The 64/60 at the NFBC
Same old story. We find ourselves near the bottom of the standings once again as we are 11th of 12. Overall we are 208 of 288 and up 18 spots from last week. We once again made positive strides on the offensive side, so if we can continue at this pace within a couple of weeks we should be among those teams that are serious contenders for the league prize. The injury bug has certainly effected are lineup as three players are now on the DL and as many as 4 others on are roster have had little playing time over the past two weeks. I still have faith in are offense but I would really like to see Prince Fielders breakout begin really soon.
No comments:
Post a Comment