In-N-Out Week 15

In four days the fate of a 64/60 staple, the Swing and Swim, will be decided. As of this posting there is a pulse, just not much of one. What was once a grand event talked about for months prior to and lifetimes afterwards has now become a beg and plea for participation. Vacations. geographical limitations, adult responsibilities, and structural changes within the 64/60 have made the 2013 Swing and Swim the make or break campaign. Rice and Jr. are living the high life at some exotic locale, Whitley has a new area code but will continue to bat cleanup and play stellar defense in spirit, Gilbo to Fenney to Richard to Holland not the quartet of a triple play but those 64/60ians who carry the working mans torch this weekend. At this point the event is nothing more than a collection of nothing else to do's, varying %'s, and 4 die hard commits. Josh Coleman, Dave Hobson, Mike McClung and Matthew McClung have all signed their letters of intent. Chris Lee would appear to be a go but will that something better be lurking. We do have the luxury of limited Student Center activity at this point in the year, could eliminate some options from the table. Then we have several non-committals and a group of %'s. Bowe lukewarm response. Hardy 95% but has the potential for a 2-1 with Christian by his side. Finally Ward currently at 25%. The combination of repeat trips and the potential for a repeat of May's failed "friendly" have all but closed the door to last seasons MVP returning. I have faith that in the darkest times the 64/60 will bind together and not allow all that is good to be forgotten. For the sake of my children and my children's children, I sure hope this is the case. Thursday 10PM is the deadline to announce the fate of the Swing and Swim I will communicate that fate to all potential participants. The magic # is 8. Best of 5, 4 on 4, is the format.

The 2013 64/60 Fantasy Football draft will be held August 31st. Due to limited availability this was the only date to work with. Draft will be at 6 or 7 and will last 20 Rounds. I had stated last week that rosters would be cut to 15 this season with 10 active players but after further review I couldn't pull the trigger. I feel strongly that outcomes are too often decided by isolated elite performances the shallower the active roster is. Over the next week I will set the scoring and roster settings. I will hold the Lethal Lottery and post results on August 17th.

Two baseball housekeeping notes. Next weeks All-Star week will be a 2 Week period combining the Week of the All Star game with the following week. Also someone had brought up regular season tiebreakers for playoffs. The Tiebreaker format is set by Yahoo and cannot be altered. Should teams be tied with the same winning % at the end of the regular season the tiebreaker is based on the highest winning % in the final week of the season. Should that be tied it continues through the weeks until the tie can be broken. Not a fan of the system would prefer a H2H winning % but I suppose it's to more easily differentiate from multiple teams. Given the number of teams in this thing you've got to think this could be the year.








Game Recaps

HGH+ Factory 10 vs. Scrote Mashers 1. What do you get when a team with little pitching and a great offense has a bad week with the sticks? Scrote Mashers Week 15. The pitching was it's typical poor self (actually a tad better than it had been), net result 0-5-1. However that vaunted offense did nothing the end result a victory in SB saving the mockery of an entire nation. It's a convenient example for me as to why my playoff family portrait doesn't include Jesse's mug. One bad offensive week away from a 7 game swing in the standings is no way to live when 7 other teams are within 13 games of you. The victory revenges a Week 3 setback at the hands of Ward and returns Mr. Rice to the "if the season ended today" in crowd. Being part of the in crowd will certainly make those Margarita's taste better and the sand to be a little warmer. Good life.

Topps: WHIP-HGH+ .97
O'Pee Chee: Runs-Mashers 34, AVG-Mashers .233, OPS-Mashers .667, K-Mashers 45
MVP: Kershaw 2QS 11K .53/.47/5.82


BCFP 10 vs. Marshall Maniacs 2. 38-18 over the last 5 contest. 3rd place in the standings, a mere 4 games away from the top spot. No place in the most recent Brandon McClung engineered playoff forecaster. My heart bleeds. Close your eyes Jr., can you remember that 34-11 start? You were the alpha 64/60 owner, women wanted to be with you and men wanted to be you. How things have changed. Your father, Bopp, and Holland is the company you keep at your Quarter of the standings. While Bopp may make for a good wingman at one of your post High School social engagements he does not make for desired company in the 2013 64/60 Baseball season. Bottom 25 percentile is where you rank, no SAT needed for this assessment.

Topps: SV-Maniacs 8
O'Pee Chee: K-Maniacs 45, ERA-Maniacs 5.43, K/9-Maniacs 6.60
MVP: Jose Fernandez 2QS 15K 1.93/.79/9.64


Tom Emanski's Deathsquad 10 vs. BCPEDophiles 2. 4-1 H2H, 38-17 total over the last 5 in 5th placing and 11.5 from the top spot. 64/60 let me introduce you to the Deathsquad. I've been banging this drum all season. Up to this stretch it's gotten me a well below .500 team and an offense only the PEDophiles could love. The pitching continues to deal and now all of a sudden these injured players are returning, producers are producing, and the outcomes only confirm what I've been saying all season long. While my preaching's regarding the Deathsquad are beginning to become gospel my backing of the PED's is really starting to look foolish. I get it Chrissy, your tired of always muscling your way through the 64/60 during the regular season. You become all fat and happy and end up getting ousted by some upstart in the early rounds of the playoffs. So you desire a different approach this season. Back yourself against a wall, no margin for error, work pale mentality going everyday at 100% progressing little by little not by talent but by will. Excellent play but perhaps you may want to start the grinding process sooner rather than later. Josh Holland is the lone name that is saving you from the basement of the 64/60. I can't quit them, but day by day I'm losing a little more faith in what the BCPEDophiles can accomplish in 2013.

Topps: QS-Deathsquad 8
O'Pee Chee: HR-PED's 7
MVP: David Price 2QS 15K .56/.69/8.44


Walls Of Jericho 7 vs. The Takeover 4. If it seems it's been forever since Bowe has tasted defeat you would be correct. 7 weeks to be exact. It's gotten to the point there's really nothing to say. The pitching strategy has it's risk but seems to produce every week. The offense, while not the leagues best, is a Top 5 group and features the always coveted Top 5 player. It's at the point now where it's a pointless task giving any analytical comments regarding this squad. Everyone knows this teams a strong contender for the title. The evolution of Holland the owner continues. He's become more active. More willing to meet new people and give others more opportunities than ever before. Gone has become the penchant for red lettered starters and the collection of replacement level options. The results have yet to come but I'm sure they soon will. It's a very good chance playoff appearences and seeding's will be determined by H2H battles with the Takeove.

Topps: K/9- Walls 8.94
O'Pee Chee: SB-Walls, WHIP-Takeover 1.47, QS- Walls 1
MVP: Greg Holland 3SV 6K 0.00/.33/18.00


Free Hats 7 vs. Barboursville Stars 5. Scheduling is everything. Bill Fenney had an excellent hitting week and good pitching to boot and ended up a decisive 10-2 winner. The BCFP posted respectable offensive numbers combined with poor pitching and netted a 10-2 decision. Ole' Senior posted the 3rd best offensive week and stellar pitching and walked away a 5-7 loser. It's times like these when all you can do is scratch. The Hats reminded should have reminded everyone as to why they have dominated the 2013 season in every way except for the standings. Like the Walls this group needs no further analytical breakdown. Unlike the Walls they have no potential issues or weakness outside of an injury down the stretch. After smacking around Jr, and ending a 4 game winless stretch the Stars have lost two in a row in a 8-15 fashion. The Chris Lee quadrant of the standings is now where the Stars reside. Still a contender and certainly more talented then the three teams directly in front of him in the standings. It's less about talent than activity and willingness to make a move. What we have here isn't working and the longer it takes for the Stars to figure that out the less of a chance my preseason predictions for the playoff pans out. Wipe Monitor now is reading aloud.

Topps: Runs-Hat 54, HR-Hat 16, RBI-Stars 57, SB-Hat 14, OPS-Hat .866, K-Stars 78, QS-Stars 8
O'Pee Chee: SV-Stars 0
MVP: Torii Hunter .444/2/5/11/1/1.248


Seal Team 41129 6 vs. Argumentative 9irons 4. A little 64/60 Trivia for you, Two teams within the 64/60 currently have a winning streak of more than two games. While the 7 game streak of Walls has already been noted would you believe the 41129ers are the other? With a 19-14 mark, it hasn't been a flexing of muscle by any stretch. Yet contrary to what Ev might say it's not always bout the style points. This little run has brought the 41129ers from the Chris Lee Quadrant to the door step of the playoffs, currently 5 games out. Sure the pitching has the potential for disaster. Sure the offense isn't among the games elite. But the 41129ers are young, they are upstarts, and they have an owner with the ball sack to make a deal he feels makes them better. On a streak of their own, the 9irons are now losers of 3 straight with a 7-25 mark in those contest. No team has had a more decisive fall than the 9irons during the late stages of June and early July. I feel somehow responsible. The management style has no wavered all seasons. Countless times while the 9irons were amongst the standings elite there roster was resembled broadway and AB were considered a skill set. I realize now Richard lived of Karma. His success was not predicated by activity or submitting a full lineup it was by doing good upon to others that he would somehow find success. Yet over the last three months I have done nothing short of verbally or typingly assaulted Richard on a weekly basis. He was winning, I called it a fluke. He was losing, I criticized his hands off approach. Head Scratcher of the Week awards, Carlos Marmol Mockery. If there has been mud within 25 miles of headquarters I have placed Richard at the seen. It has finally begun to chip away. Gone is the Karma that surrounded this squad in the early parts and what it has become is an underachieving unit of under achievers. For the betterment of the league and for the betterment of one of the 64/60's founding members I'll pull back on the negative stance I have toward the 2013 Argumentative 9irons. Perhaps Karma will return and break this current streak and reverse the current path of the 2013 season.

Topps: ERA-9irons 2.61, QS-9irons/41129ers 8
O'Pee Chee: RBI-9irons 34, SB-9irons 2, SV- 9irons/41129ers 0
MVP: Moore 2QS 15K 0.00/.90/10.13




Power Ranking Offense Pitching Total

1. Free Hat 58 56 114
2. HGH+ Factory 50 38.5 88.5
3. Mashers 63.5 23 86.5
4. Walls 34.5 51 85.5
5. T.E.D 32.5 52 84.5
5. Marshall Maniac43.5 41 84.5
7. B'Ville Stars 42.5 37.5 80
8. BCFP 26.5 50.5 77
9. PEDophiles 26 40 66
10. 9irons 27 37 64
11. 41129ers 26.5 27.5 54
12. Takeover 37.5 14 51.5

Topps: Runs-Mashers, HR-Hats, RBI-Mashers, SB-Mashers, AVG-Takeover, OPS-Hats, SV-BCFP, K-Hats, ERA-Hats, WHIP-Walls, K/9-Walls, QS-Hats

O'Pee Chee: Runs-9irons, HR-Takeover, RBI-Takeover, SB-Maniacs, AVG-PEDophiles, OPS-41129ers, SV-9irons, K-Takeover, ERA-41129ers, WHIP-9irons, K/9-Takeover, QS- Takeover


Pickup Of The Week- Will Middlebrooks, Marshall Maniac. It's a bad week in the Free Agency pool when Brandon is honored for having done something correctly. It's really bad when the pickup is a struggling player who was not long ago demoted for poor play. I was wanting to put the spotlight on Nate Rice for the Wilson Ramos selection but no sooner than I put the note to paper Ramos was placed back into the pool. Having never been a Middlebrooks guy I wasn't shocked by the lackluster 2013 campaign but even I couldn't have seen him playing this poorly. Ultimately I believe he is a .250-.260 hitter with 20HR pop. Given the state of 3B in today's game you'll gladly take that type of production as a CI, 3B depth type. Prior to the demotion Iglesias was playing over his head forcing the Red Sox hand. Wanting Middlebrooks to play everyday, the Sox had little choice but to send him down to "figure it out". Over 70 PA's or so he's played well hitting around .300 with 6 HR perhaps most encouraging is the 10% walk rate, albeit a small sample size, this has been an issue during his time in the show. With the Drew injury, Iglesias has now moved to SS, leaving Brock Holt as the primary 3B at this point. Neither Holt nor Iglesias figure to be long term reasons to keep Middlebrooks down. Unless the Sox make a deal for a 3B type at the deadline I would venture to say there is a 75% chance Middlebrooks returns to the Red Sox in a full time roll and becomes a serviceable fantasy play for the remainder of the season......Naturally the day after praising him he drops Middlebrooks for some marginal pitching help in Miguel Gonzalez.


Head Scratcher Of The Week- Free Hats drop JJ. Putz for Jeremy Hefner. Looking back at the Game Log from Week 14 action, this move could have very well been to attempt to earn the edge in QS. If so the transaction is even less egregious than it already is. Truth be told this is another transaction where I'm just trying to fill the space more so than appalled by the move. While I may have been too quick to rid myself of Heath Bell last week, I assure you his time in the closer role will be short lived. My best guess would be 3 consecutive quality outings by Putz or one more 9th inning HR served and the switch will be made. While Hefner has pitched well over the last month+ nothing in his profile suggest anything other than spot start material in my opinion. So while the Free Hats still have the advantage over the likes of the Stars, 9irons, and 41129ers in the SV department they are behind the pace against likely playoff advisories such as Walls Of Jericho. Ultimately more closers will come into the player pool, as I have stated before, I don't want to be in a race against Chris Lee for the newly appointed closer.