Whoa Nelly! It wouldn't be Hardball Heaven if there wasn't to be some dramatics ahead for the final week. For all intensive purposes, it looks as though 3 teams are fighting for that last playoff spot (Ageless One, Plasmatics, and Hardballers). My thoughts on these three in my matchup reviews! The #4 and #5 seeds look like they should stay the same with a matchup consisting of Uticans vs. Hitters. What an offensive explosing that should be! Hate to pick a winner there. BASEMAN and Squirrels are fighting for the coveted #2 position. While Stars just can sit and wait a few more weeks before he really has anything to play for. Oh, that would be nice right about now. Champs, REDS, Zonk and Woodie keep playing hard and demonstrate how truly great this league is. Now for some more details!
Squirrels 6 to Stars 5: This was a possible preview of the championship game with Squirrels tieing the series for the regular season. Squirrels has been on fire lately with a 7-1-1 record in his last 9. The pitching was done this week, but the offense picked it up. Sign of a good team. Although Stars didn't fire on all cylinders offensively. If there is sign of cracking, it is Juan's pitching has not been so stellar of late. This surpises me, but it is something to watch. It really doesn't matter so far though as he keeps winning. Stars, on the other hand, is getting very solid pitching. So when the offense falters, he still keeps it close. If Adrian Gonzalez isn't healthy, then Billy Butler is there to fill the gap. Butler has been hitting of late and was a nice acquisition. Nobody beats Stars in the playoffs this year. NOBODY! I do predict a Stars-Squirrels finals by the way.
BASEMAN 6 to Utica 6: Kerm can beat any team on a given week! His team on offense can blow you out of the water. The problem when I look at his season history is that the biggest win streak is 2. That is why I emphasize again that it will take a miracle for Kerm to win it all. Although Kerm did tie me this week, he still would have lost in the playoffs due to ERA. The offense scares me really as I thought it was wonderful to split with him. But, Kerm should also feel fortunate to split on defense like he did. Kerm, this has been your finest season yet. I like that you have stayed pat a little more with your players. But, when it came down to fine tuning your team and maybe giving up some offense for defense, you chose to do nothing. I think that will be your downfall in the end.
I know not everyone agrees with my philosophy or Plaz's for that matter about pitching, but look at the top three teams. Granted there are better offenses out there like Utica and Tennesse for example, but all three top teams are balanced. All former champions in this league have proven that. Can't win by offense alone.
Hitters 5 to Flaccid 5: Sorry, but will still refer to Timmy's team as Woodie in my posts at least for this year. Although flaccid is quite amusing though! Um, not to repeat myself too much, but like Utica, Tennessee is very similar as a team. Highest win streak? You guessed it.....only 2 this whole year. Tommy has a quality club, but will need to buck the trend to win in the playoffs. Conversely, Squirrels has a win streak of 5 this year. Stars has a win streak of 4 +3 with only losses back to back once, and B-Man has win streaks of 4 +3+3. Hitters had a down week offensively and was fortunate to tie at 5-5. Woodie had lots of power for the number of hits he had. Oh, did I see that Lidge had 2 saves! Yes, 1 loss, but still 2 saves! I think someone has been taking their Viagra lately.
Ageless 6 to Plaz 5: This contest didn't disappoint. Both teams had solid numbers in general. Mike needed a big win, especially after the 10-1 pasting Plaz put on him earlier in the season. One can tell the series was very important as Mike made his 15th move on the waiver wire! Plaz has been plugging away pretty hard lately on the WW that is. For Plaz to pull off a playoff berth with the injuries he has faced this year would be some gratification to a degree. It is hard to stay on top! I look at patterns and lo and behold Ageless is getting hot again! This manager's season has been a tale of two season's. Amassed a 6-0-1 record to start the year and then the losses came in bunches to a tune of 1-7. Now Mike has a 5-0-1 record catapulting him as the frontrunner in the last playoff spot. It would be truly an amazing story for Mike to keep it up. To win it all, he would have to go 9-0-1 most likely. He needs a win next week as well. He faces a tough Squirrels squad and to tell you the truth, I like Juan to win that one. Plaz on the other hand faces Zonk. Now Zonk has been playing tough, but the records speak for themselves. It's a bold prediction, but I like Plaz to sneak in over Ageless for the final playoff spot. Mike's probably thinking why I continue to give him no love, but I have been better than in the past. I'm actually going against my preseason prediction here, where I did pick you in the top 6.
Champions 9 to Hardballers 3: Ok, which way should I go with this matchup. Give much credit to Champs or give Randy, our beloved commish, some crap. Well, I tell you what. I will do a little of both. Champs did play the spoiler role and played it well, but how in the world does a team pull off winning 0 games on defense while losing 8 and then split 3-3 on defense???? Plus how the heck can you win 9-3 with those numbers? I've never seen such a thing! I'll tell you how!! You play a team that is absolutely falling apart!! Randy has got to be beside himself. This is perhaps the most precipitous fall ever in Hardball Heaven. This is a team that started out 7-2-1 and all signs pointed to another first place finish. After week 10, the wheels have just come off, and I mean that literally! The record you ask? It ain't pretty at 1-7-3. Here's a team that had it all! The offense was clicking on all cylinders and most of us thought, here we go again looking up at Randy. Granted, there have been injuries, but this ain't the same team folks! At 2.5 games behind the sixth spot and facing the offensive giant, Uticans, next week, things don't look to turn around. The pitching is in disarray, and the offense isn't pulling its weight. Must be tired of trying to lug the wagon with no wheels! Our commish is awesome, but the team is stuck in manure! Playoffs are a long shot at best!
REDS 6 to Zonk 5: Weird stat. Zonk had 12 HR's, but only 22 runs and 29 RBI's. Something just seems wrong with that. Must have been the .227 average. REDS on the other hand busted out 66 hits and had good overall numbers. Ryan Howard had 5 HR's for Stephen's squad, while Chone Figgins had a nice week for Rick's REDS. REDS gets back on the winning track after 4 losses and Zonk has had a nice 2nd half of the season. The slow start was hard to come back from.
Hope you all enjoyed!
BASEMAN
8.23.2009
Week 20 in Review: Tick Tock
Can you feel the racing of your pulse a little more on Sundays this time of year? Can you envision the minute grains of sand just sifting through an hourglass? Can you endure every last at bat that looms at the end of a long, draining week? If you can say "yes" to these questions then you are in the midst of a pennant race. Let's look at who clings to high hopes.....shall we!
Plaz 7 to Stars 5: I watched this matchup close on Sunday and talk about nip and tuck. Plaz is hanging on for dear life and just went through a meat grinder of a schedule facing Squirrels, B-Man and ending with Stars. He still has life being only 2 games out of the playoff chase. Our defending champ is hanging in there and has a major battle on his hands in the upcoming week with Ageless. This is must see fantasy tv! The win boiled down to the Sox-Yanks game. Stars is getting excellent pitching and David Wright and Jake Peavy will be back soon. That spells trouble for teams and I see Stars walking into the finals. I don't see any of the 4 or 5 seeded teams beating him. Plaz pulled out a major victory here. Brian McCann went off on Sunday and Zobrist for the Rays has been phenomanol this season. I think Plaz has the goods to sneak in at #6.
Squirrels 7 to BASEMAN 4: This season Squirrels has B-Man's number. This was another matchup like Plaz/Stars that went back and forth on the last day. It could have went either way and boiled down to the Sox-Yanks game also. Godzilla....aka Hideki Matsui was just a killer. Juan picked him up and threw him into the lineup on Sunday. He only hit 2 HR's and helped Juan win batting average by 1 point. Matsui has only hit 4 HR's in 3 games now. That timely pickup made the difference. Plus, Juan gets a win from his one starting pitcher Romero for the Jays with B-Man throwing 5 starters and getting 1 W and 4 L's, so another point down the drain. Like I said, when a team has your number! The way I see it, Squirrels, Stars, and B-Man all have the goods to win it all. Not that other teams don't, but it will be a monumental feat to go through these three.
Champs 6 to Utica 5: This was kind of to be expected in terms of who won what points. Utica almost cleared on offense, while Champs kicked Kerm's ass on defense. Derek Jeter could easily be MVP this year! What a season! Joe Mauer could easily earn MVP honors as well! Uticans lineup on offense is just loaded!! Kind of had a down week hitting only .288 with 67 hits. Just fairly average stats from him. Again, the pitching stinks! Buehrle and Burnett have got to turn things around. If they do, then Utica may do some damage. The problem is that Utica is staring down a #4 or #5 seed, unless he kills B-Man this week (it could happen). I give Utica virtually no shot against a Stars team in the 2nd round. Better hope for the #3 seed in my book. Champs had a nice number of 9 steals this week. Has some nice young players, but I would want them in my lineup for the future, not much now. Great victory though to beat a good Uticans squad.
Hitters 9 to Hardballers 2: We in HH may be witnessing one of the biggest collapses of all-time in this league. Randy, our beloved commish, is fighting for his playoff life after cruising for about half the season. Granted the team has had some tough matchups lately, but the losses are piling up and Randy clings to a 1/2 game lead over Ageless. Champs is up next, and Ed's team is good enough to spoil the party. Morneau being out really hurts right now. The pitching wasn't all that bad, but Tommy had some good numbers. How about 8 saves! Randy lost with 6. Now that is a tough break. Sandoval by the way is the real deal. Even though he plays for the Giants, a foe of the Rockies, I like watching Kung-Fu Panda play. Tommy's team reminds me a lot like Uticans. The offense puts up gawdy numbers pretty much weekly. When the pitching comes around like this week, then a kill is in store. A .367 avg. and 79 hits is kicking ass. Jayson Werth went off this week. Jason Marquis is a steal so far and Huston Street keeps piling on the saves. A little plug for my Rockies there. But it is true! If the pitching can catch lightning in a bottle for several weeks during the playoffs, then Tommy like Utica has a shot, albeit slim.
Ageless 7 to REDS 5: Here's a strange stat for you. REDS wins the batting average by 13 points, but no other categories on offense. I can't say I've ever seen that before. The offense was close though with Ageless just sneaking out points. Good thing as Mike's season is on the line. Much needed victory here. It wasn't pretty by any means, but good enough. Just squeaked by on K's too by winning by 1 K. Lee and Martinez are Phillies pitchers leading the way for Rick. Pedro has been getting great run support so far. Big Papi is back. Too bad for Rick he hasn't been swinging a sweet stick all season. Rick so glad to hear the good news! Mike, looking forward to your big showdown with Plaz.
Zonk 10 to Woodie 2: This was the royal beatdown of the week. Woodie had some bad luck on the pitching side of things though. A 2.78 ERA and 52 K's, coupled with only 2 W's and 6 L's. Poor breaks there. But, on the offensive side, there wasn't much to really should about as it was just one of those miserable weeks. I won't be going into great detail as there aren't many details. Zonk really had a pedestrian week on offense, but pedestrian was great this week. Brian Roberts lit it up with power and speed. How about Garrett Jones for the Buccos? Is this guy for real? So far he is! Ride him while he's hot I say. Scott Feldman has been great for the Rangers too. Shoutout the Rays today in the Trop. Not an easy feat!
Here's to our final two weeks of regular season!
BASEMAN
Plaz 7 to Stars 5: I watched this matchup close on Sunday and talk about nip and tuck. Plaz is hanging on for dear life and just went through a meat grinder of a schedule facing Squirrels, B-Man and ending with Stars. He still has life being only 2 games out of the playoff chase. Our defending champ is hanging in there and has a major battle on his hands in the upcoming week with Ageless. This is must see fantasy tv! The win boiled down to the Sox-Yanks game. Stars is getting excellent pitching and David Wright and Jake Peavy will be back soon. That spells trouble for teams and I see Stars walking into the finals. I don't see any of the 4 or 5 seeded teams beating him. Plaz pulled out a major victory here. Brian McCann went off on Sunday and Zobrist for the Rays has been phenomanol this season. I think Plaz has the goods to sneak in at #6.
Squirrels 7 to BASEMAN 4: This season Squirrels has B-Man's number. This was another matchup like Plaz/Stars that went back and forth on the last day. It could have went either way and boiled down to the Sox-Yanks game also. Godzilla....aka Hideki Matsui was just a killer. Juan picked him up and threw him into the lineup on Sunday. He only hit 2 HR's and helped Juan win batting average by 1 point. Matsui has only hit 4 HR's in 3 games now. That timely pickup made the difference. Plus, Juan gets a win from his one starting pitcher Romero for the Jays with B-Man throwing 5 starters and getting 1 W and 4 L's, so another point down the drain. Like I said, when a team has your number! The way I see it, Squirrels, Stars, and B-Man all have the goods to win it all. Not that other teams don't, but it will be a monumental feat to go through these three.
Champs 6 to Utica 5: This was kind of to be expected in terms of who won what points. Utica almost cleared on offense, while Champs kicked Kerm's ass on defense. Derek Jeter could easily be MVP this year! What a season! Joe Mauer could easily earn MVP honors as well! Uticans lineup on offense is just loaded!! Kind of had a down week hitting only .288 with 67 hits. Just fairly average stats from him. Again, the pitching stinks! Buehrle and Burnett have got to turn things around. If they do, then Utica may do some damage. The problem is that Utica is staring down a #4 or #5 seed, unless he kills B-Man this week (it could happen). I give Utica virtually no shot against a Stars team in the 2nd round. Better hope for the #3 seed in my book. Champs had a nice number of 9 steals this week. Has some nice young players, but I would want them in my lineup for the future, not much now. Great victory though to beat a good Uticans squad.
Hitters 9 to Hardballers 2: We in HH may be witnessing one of the biggest collapses of all-time in this league. Randy, our beloved commish, is fighting for his playoff life after cruising for about half the season. Granted the team has had some tough matchups lately, but the losses are piling up and Randy clings to a 1/2 game lead over Ageless. Champs is up next, and Ed's team is good enough to spoil the party. Morneau being out really hurts right now. The pitching wasn't all that bad, but Tommy had some good numbers. How about 8 saves! Randy lost with 6. Now that is a tough break. Sandoval by the way is the real deal. Even though he plays for the Giants, a foe of the Rockies, I like watching Kung-Fu Panda play. Tommy's team reminds me a lot like Uticans. The offense puts up gawdy numbers pretty much weekly. When the pitching comes around like this week, then a kill is in store. A .367 avg. and 79 hits is kicking ass. Jayson Werth went off this week. Jason Marquis is a steal so far and Huston Street keeps piling on the saves. A little plug for my Rockies there. But it is true! If the pitching can catch lightning in a bottle for several weeks during the playoffs, then Tommy like Utica has a shot, albeit slim.
Ageless 7 to REDS 5: Here's a strange stat for you. REDS wins the batting average by 13 points, but no other categories on offense. I can't say I've ever seen that before. The offense was close though with Ageless just sneaking out points. Good thing as Mike's season is on the line. Much needed victory here. It wasn't pretty by any means, but good enough. Just squeaked by on K's too by winning by 1 K. Lee and Martinez are Phillies pitchers leading the way for Rick. Pedro has been getting great run support so far. Big Papi is back. Too bad for Rick he hasn't been swinging a sweet stick all season. Rick so glad to hear the good news! Mike, looking forward to your big showdown with Plaz.
Zonk 10 to Woodie 2: This was the royal beatdown of the week. Woodie had some bad luck on the pitching side of things though. A 2.78 ERA and 52 K's, coupled with only 2 W's and 6 L's. Poor breaks there. But, on the offensive side, there wasn't much to really should about as it was just one of those miserable weeks. I won't be going into great detail as there aren't many details. Zonk really had a pedestrian week on offense, but pedestrian was great this week. Brian Roberts lit it up with power and speed. How about Garrett Jones for the Buccos? Is this guy for real? So far he is! Ride him while he's hot I say. Scott Feldman has been great for the Rangers too. Shoutout the Rays today in the Trop. Not an easy feat!
Here's to our final two weeks of regular season!
BASEMAN
8.09.2009
Week 18 in Review: No Real Surprises
This week had in store lots of close matchups and a few blowouts, but really no big upsets. The one team who needed to come up big was Champs in a 9-2 victory over Zonk. Ed's team needs to continue rolling over opponents though being 8.5 games back with only 4 weeks left. Meanwhile, REDS and Zonk are hanging by a thread at this point. Stars is all but claiming the #1 seed by annihilating Woodie by the score of 11-1. Being 9 games up with 4 weeks left is a nice position to be in. The rest of the matchups were very close and not much movement really happened.
Stars 11 to Woodie 1: Woodie's team started out hot, but wilted down the stretch. Not even Mark Reynolds with a 6 homer week could save the day. Stars on the other hand just had an all around solid outing on offense and defense. Traded away relief, but really that is about the only hole on the team. Plaz hit it on the head by calling it tough for Woodie to have to continue and produce very high numbers. Team just ran out of gas it seemed.
Squirrels 6 to Plaz 6: Quality matchup here with both teams producing for the week. Squirrels has been a hitting machine of late with Adam Dunn belting 4 HR's. The defense was a bit off this week with 7 losses and that allowed Plaz to dominate with pitching. Probably one of Plaz's best pitching peformances of the year, but had to settle for a tie. Ryan Zimmerman has been on fire of late and led the charge. Plaz may take a 6-6 tie with a tough schedule taking place. Needs not to get crushed to stay in the hunt. The team is balanced enough that it shouldn't happen though. Great matchup here between these two quality clubs.
BASEMAN 6 to REDS 5: This contest was nothing to write home about. It was close all week, but nothing really stood out. B-Man reverted back to his old form and had to win with pitching as the offense just seemed to sputter. REDS was aided by Kurt Suzuki this week. Suzuki has had a nice season for the A's, and I wanted to hit him in the shins with a bat this week. Nice job Kansas City for letting this guy terrorize you! Asdrubel Cabrera was another. Who are these guys and what are they doing wreaking havoc? REDS tried the streaming approach on defense, and salvaged a point. B-Man can thank the lousy relief of the Giants and Dodgers for letting 2 easy wins go by the wayside. Outside of Halladay and Lee, the pitching on this squad isn't very good. Anyway, these two teams would have been outmatched by most others this week.
Hardballers 6 to Ageless 6: Just when it looked like Ageless was falling back in the pack, he comes up with a tie. Again a matchup that one team dominated the other on offense, while the other did on defense. Other than 7 saves for Ageless on defense, I won't even discuss the pitching as both team don't have good pitching to begin with and the numbers stunk really. So onward ho! Randy was led by Longoria, Sandoval, and Braun on offense. His studs played like they needed to this week. If Rios goes the the White Sox, will that change anything? The guy loves the SkyDome. If anyone noticed Marco Scutaro hit .600 for the Jays this week for Mike's squad. The claim of Russell Martin off waivers has been quite helpful as well. Who, who in their right mind would let Martin go on the waiver wire? I know he was slumping, but this guy is better than WW material. Let him sit the bench for awhile, but dump the guy?
Uticans 6 to Hitters 5: This match was all over the place for the week and ended up close. Hitters, for his team, had a down week on offense scoring only 1 point and a tie, but then again he went up against the mighty Uticans bats. Hitters did win the battle on defense 4-2 as Uticans struggled again. But, Kerm is still hanging despite my predictions. There are still 4 weeks left to hang on Kerm. Joe Mauer is absolutely ridiculous hitting .480. Now if Josh Hamilton keeps hitting like he did this week, then Kerm's offense will be tough. Miguel Cabrera was a force for Tennessee's team. Both teams have to be in playoff mode right now as they need to keep winning or keeping the scores close. Not much breathing room!
Champs 9 to Zonk 2: Champs keeps his season alive and is in critical condition, while Zonk is on life support. Have to give Ed some credit for getting 2 closers, but why the heck so late in the season? If Bell and Johnson can get you into the playoffs, then you've made the trade of the century. It's a good trade for you, but making it with 4.5 weeks left? This should have been done in the first half of the season in my estimation. Again, this is a playoff worthy team that may have run out of time. Zonk has been aided by Jimmy Rollins, who is on a roll right now! The pitching has been an extreme letdown for the club though.
Calling em' as I see em'
BASEMAN
Stars 11 to Woodie 1: Woodie's team started out hot, but wilted down the stretch. Not even Mark Reynolds with a 6 homer week could save the day. Stars on the other hand just had an all around solid outing on offense and defense. Traded away relief, but really that is about the only hole on the team. Plaz hit it on the head by calling it tough for Woodie to have to continue and produce very high numbers. Team just ran out of gas it seemed.
Squirrels 6 to Plaz 6: Quality matchup here with both teams producing for the week. Squirrels has been a hitting machine of late with Adam Dunn belting 4 HR's. The defense was a bit off this week with 7 losses and that allowed Plaz to dominate with pitching. Probably one of Plaz's best pitching peformances of the year, but had to settle for a tie. Ryan Zimmerman has been on fire of late and led the charge. Plaz may take a 6-6 tie with a tough schedule taking place. Needs not to get crushed to stay in the hunt. The team is balanced enough that it shouldn't happen though. Great matchup here between these two quality clubs.
BASEMAN 6 to REDS 5: This contest was nothing to write home about. It was close all week, but nothing really stood out. B-Man reverted back to his old form and had to win with pitching as the offense just seemed to sputter. REDS was aided by Kurt Suzuki this week. Suzuki has had a nice season for the A's, and I wanted to hit him in the shins with a bat this week. Nice job Kansas City for letting this guy terrorize you! Asdrubel Cabrera was another. Who are these guys and what are they doing wreaking havoc? REDS tried the streaming approach on defense, and salvaged a point. B-Man can thank the lousy relief of the Giants and Dodgers for letting 2 easy wins go by the wayside. Outside of Halladay and Lee, the pitching on this squad isn't very good. Anyway, these two teams would have been outmatched by most others this week.
Hardballers 6 to Ageless 6: Just when it looked like Ageless was falling back in the pack, he comes up with a tie. Again a matchup that one team dominated the other on offense, while the other did on defense. Other than 7 saves for Ageless on defense, I won't even discuss the pitching as both team don't have good pitching to begin with and the numbers stunk really. So onward ho! Randy was led by Longoria, Sandoval, and Braun on offense. His studs played like they needed to this week. If Rios goes the the White Sox, will that change anything? The guy loves the SkyDome. If anyone noticed Marco Scutaro hit .600 for the Jays this week for Mike's squad. The claim of Russell Martin off waivers has been quite helpful as well. Who, who in their right mind would let Martin go on the waiver wire? I know he was slumping, but this guy is better than WW material. Let him sit the bench for awhile, but dump the guy?
Uticans 6 to Hitters 5: This match was all over the place for the week and ended up close. Hitters, for his team, had a down week on offense scoring only 1 point and a tie, but then again he went up against the mighty Uticans bats. Hitters did win the battle on defense 4-2 as Uticans struggled again. But, Kerm is still hanging despite my predictions. There are still 4 weeks left to hang on Kerm. Joe Mauer is absolutely ridiculous hitting .480. Now if Josh Hamilton keeps hitting like he did this week, then Kerm's offense will be tough. Miguel Cabrera was a force for Tennessee's team. Both teams have to be in playoff mode right now as they need to keep winning or keeping the scores close. Not much breathing room!
Champs 9 to Zonk 2: Champs keeps his season alive and is in critical condition, while Zonk is on life support. Have to give Ed some credit for getting 2 closers, but why the heck so late in the season? If Bell and Johnson can get you into the playoffs, then you've made the trade of the century. It's a good trade for you, but making it with 4.5 weeks left? This should have been done in the first half of the season in my estimation. Again, this is a playoff worthy team that may have run out of time. Zonk has been aided by Jimmy Rollins, who is on a roll right now! The pitching has been an extreme letdown for the club though.
Calling em' as I see em'
BASEMAN
8.03.2009
Week 17 in Review: Any Clarity?
Well, after a few weeks hiatus, the week in review is back. After a season of murkiness, we can start to see some clear waters as some of the algae has been cleared away. There are only 5 weeks to go and it looks like 2 teams are most likely eliminated. Now, I could be wrong here, but the fact that on average, it takes about 120 Wins to make it into the playoffs, is ample reason to believe that Morning Wood and Champs have run out of time. Woodie needs 42 Wins in the last 5 weeks to reach the average number of 120. This means a Winning Percentage of .700 going 42-18. Champs needs to go 37-23, which definitely can be done, but look at all the horses in front. Plaz only needs 24 Wins to get to the elusive mark, which means going 24-36. There are currently 5 teams in front of Champs, which means all 5 must lose more than they win and Ed's team gets "really" hot! Mathmatically, everyone is alive, but reality is setting in on the teams mentioned. REDS and Zonk are right on the cusp, but still have a shot in my opinion.
What does all this mean? It means that this late in the season is really the first time reality is hitting some teams square in the face and next year awaits for vengeance. Never have the season gone on this long before teams fall out of contention. There are only 5 WEEKS left!!! Again, I can't say this enough, but certainly this is a testimony on how great the managers are in HH! Woodie's team may be in last place right now, but COME ON! His squad put up some impressive stats last week on offense. He's got a good club. This has been the most competitive year ever in Hardball Heaven and that is really saying something!
BASEMAN 8 to Woodie 3: Let's just look at Woodie's numbers from last week and you tell me if this is really a last place team? 36 runs, 65 hits, 13 HR's, 43 RBI's, and a .298 batting average. Woodie only got 2 points on offense, which is just plain bad luck. Most weeks, he wins on offense with these numbers. B-Man's offense has just been on a tear lately is all. What looked awful the first half of the season has been coming to life in the 2nd half. The offense doesn't look like much at first glance, but now is playing up to potential and hence the solid numbers. What has been Woodie's achilles heal this season is mostly the pitching. Yes, there are lots of K's and W's, but those are only 2 categories. Streaming pitchers constantly is not a recipe for success. Believe me as I had to do it last year, and it sucked. Too much pressure each week to be depending on the waiver wire. The majority of time, one just has to hope for a split. That puts too much stress on the offense to produce every week. Therefore, the streaming strategy the majority of time doesn't work in head to head. Balance, Balance, Balance is the key. This matchup could have easily gone the other way just as well.
Hardballers 5 to Stars 5: What a tight battle this was with Randy coming back on Sunday. Solid numbers from both teams on offense and defense. Other than RBI's and HR's, each category was tight. Randy had a whopping 44 RBI's with Aaron Hill leading the way. That guy is a gem! Stars had 14 HR's with Adrian Gonzalez and Granderson hitting 3 apiece. Too bad for Stephen that Gonzalez never got traded to the Red Sox. He's a nice player, but would rather have him not in San Diego for fantasy purposes. Two of the best playing each other and it was what should be expected. This could easily be a finals matchup!
Squirrels 8 to REDS 2: Juan won big last week, but really had some good fortune playing a REDS team that did not show much resistance. But don't get me wrong, Juan's team is good and is worthy of 2nd place in the standings right now. The ERA was stellar at 1.60. Other than the relief pitching, Juan's team rivals B-Man's and is pretty good. Again, the hitting seems a little light, but if Beltran can come back healthy, then Squirrels will have gathered a "golden acorn!" Why the hell drop Beltran so freaking early onto the waiver wire is beyond me! We'll wait and see what happens here. For Rick, there is not really much to say about his week, except it was the poorest showing overall by any team. Unfortunately, he may take it out on me this week and beat my own team up. Quite possible!
Plaz 8 to Uticans 3: Just when Plaz needs a big win, he gets it. J. Rivera, Crawford, and Zimmerman came through last week and helped get a split on offense. This team can hit with the best of them and even showed some pop! I think Plaz with be right there in the end because it's a team that can do some major team for a few weeks, but it is also a team that can not sustain long winning streaks due to some holes in the arsenal like relief and the power. The team seems to be up and then down. But, not a team to overlook at all! Utica is still depending solely on offense. I keep waiting for this team to falter and it very well could. The pitching is downright terrible! An 8.40 ERA! OK, so he has Buehrle, but he isn't going to always throw perfect games and sure didn't last week as he got raked for 2 losses and an ERA over 10. Even if Utica makes the playoffs, I give the team no shot to win it all due to the poor pitching. In one to maybe two weeks, the defense could surprise, but no way for 4 straight weeks, which is what is necessary to run the table in the playoffs. It would take nothing short of a miracle, even with the offensive laden talent on the club. Just my opinion.
Ageless 7 to Champs 4: Finally for Mike, his team broke out of it's woes. The team has been coming on a bit and had a killer week on offense. I mean 44 runs, 73 hits, 14 HR's, 39RBI's and a .324 avg. The sticks came out this week against ED. Kendry Morales has been a nice pickup. What did I say about getting Aramis Ramirez back too. Pitching was nothing spectacular as the K:BB ratio was absolutely abysmal, but with a hot offense, you can get away with so-so defense. Ageless is lurking and don't be surprised if this team pulls off what happened last year and surprised the hell out of people. Could very well do it again. For Champs, Andrew McCutcheon has been "money" and he is one to watch for next season in fantasy drafting. Ed has tried desparately to fill the holes in his squad and has had mixed success. This is the case of a very intimidating looking team, but when put to paper just a few too many holes in certain categories.
Zonk 6 to Hitters 6: Like Stars vs. Hardballers, this was another great matchup all the way around. Both offensive and defensive numbers were solid. Too bad they played each other. Both teams are still in the playoff hunt. Hitters went nuts with 73 hits as Nyjer Morgan and Miguel Cabrera led the way. Nyjer Morgan has been a great pickup and I wish I never let him go. He really reminds me of a young Juan Pierre. Morgan is another one to watch in next year's draft! Zonk had solid outings from Derreck Lee, Brian Roberts and Ichiro. Not to mention Jimmy Rollins who had 6 SB's. Zonk's speed has really improved. Will Zonk's strategy keep him in the running? It's unique to say the least. You already know my stance on streaming and putting so much pressure on the offense. Zonk needs his offense more than ever now to start reeling off victories to edge closer. Tennesse has the goods to do some damage. A long shot in my mind with the pitching, but nonetheless a dark horse.
Glad to be back with you all in another segment of Week in Review!
BASEMAN
What does all this mean? It means that this late in the season is really the first time reality is hitting some teams square in the face and next year awaits for vengeance. Never have the season gone on this long before teams fall out of contention. There are only 5 WEEKS left!!! Again, I can't say this enough, but certainly this is a testimony on how great the managers are in HH! Woodie's team may be in last place right now, but COME ON! His squad put up some impressive stats last week on offense. He's got a good club. This has been the most competitive year ever in Hardball Heaven and that is really saying something!
BASEMAN 8 to Woodie 3: Let's just look at Woodie's numbers from last week and you tell me if this is really a last place team? 36 runs, 65 hits, 13 HR's, 43 RBI's, and a .298 batting average. Woodie only got 2 points on offense, which is just plain bad luck. Most weeks, he wins on offense with these numbers. B-Man's offense has just been on a tear lately is all. What looked awful the first half of the season has been coming to life in the 2nd half. The offense doesn't look like much at first glance, but now is playing up to potential and hence the solid numbers. What has been Woodie's achilles heal this season is mostly the pitching. Yes, there are lots of K's and W's, but those are only 2 categories. Streaming pitchers constantly is not a recipe for success. Believe me as I had to do it last year, and it sucked. Too much pressure each week to be depending on the waiver wire. The majority of time, one just has to hope for a split. That puts too much stress on the offense to produce every week. Therefore, the streaming strategy the majority of time doesn't work in head to head. Balance, Balance, Balance is the key. This matchup could have easily gone the other way just as well.
Hardballers 5 to Stars 5: What a tight battle this was with Randy coming back on Sunday. Solid numbers from both teams on offense and defense. Other than RBI's and HR's, each category was tight. Randy had a whopping 44 RBI's with Aaron Hill leading the way. That guy is a gem! Stars had 14 HR's with Adrian Gonzalez and Granderson hitting 3 apiece. Too bad for Stephen that Gonzalez never got traded to the Red Sox. He's a nice player, but would rather have him not in San Diego for fantasy purposes. Two of the best playing each other and it was what should be expected. This could easily be a finals matchup!
Squirrels 8 to REDS 2: Juan won big last week, but really had some good fortune playing a REDS team that did not show much resistance. But don't get me wrong, Juan's team is good and is worthy of 2nd place in the standings right now. The ERA was stellar at 1.60. Other than the relief pitching, Juan's team rivals B-Man's and is pretty good. Again, the hitting seems a little light, but if Beltran can come back healthy, then Squirrels will have gathered a "golden acorn!" Why the hell drop Beltran so freaking early onto the waiver wire is beyond me! We'll wait and see what happens here. For Rick, there is not really much to say about his week, except it was the poorest showing overall by any team. Unfortunately, he may take it out on me this week and beat my own team up. Quite possible!
Plaz 8 to Uticans 3: Just when Plaz needs a big win, he gets it. J. Rivera, Crawford, and Zimmerman came through last week and helped get a split on offense. This team can hit with the best of them and even showed some pop! I think Plaz with be right there in the end because it's a team that can do some major team for a few weeks, but it is also a team that can not sustain long winning streaks due to some holes in the arsenal like relief and the power. The team seems to be up and then down. But, not a team to overlook at all! Utica is still depending solely on offense. I keep waiting for this team to falter and it very well could. The pitching is downright terrible! An 8.40 ERA! OK, so he has Buehrle, but he isn't going to always throw perfect games and sure didn't last week as he got raked for 2 losses and an ERA over 10. Even if Utica makes the playoffs, I give the team no shot to win it all due to the poor pitching. In one to maybe two weeks, the defense could surprise, but no way for 4 straight weeks, which is what is necessary to run the table in the playoffs. It would take nothing short of a miracle, even with the offensive laden talent on the club. Just my opinion.
Ageless 7 to Champs 4: Finally for Mike, his team broke out of it's woes. The team has been coming on a bit and had a killer week on offense. I mean 44 runs, 73 hits, 14 HR's, 39RBI's and a .324 avg. The sticks came out this week against ED. Kendry Morales has been a nice pickup. What did I say about getting Aramis Ramirez back too. Pitching was nothing spectacular as the K:BB ratio was absolutely abysmal, but with a hot offense, you can get away with so-so defense. Ageless is lurking and don't be surprised if this team pulls off what happened last year and surprised the hell out of people. Could very well do it again. For Champs, Andrew McCutcheon has been "money" and he is one to watch for next season in fantasy drafting. Ed has tried desparately to fill the holes in his squad and has had mixed success. This is the case of a very intimidating looking team, but when put to paper just a few too many holes in certain categories.
Zonk 6 to Hitters 6: Like Stars vs. Hardballers, this was another great matchup all the way around. Both offensive and defensive numbers were solid. Too bad they played each other. Both teams are still in the playoff hunt. Hitters went nuts with 73 hits as Nyjer Morgan and Miguel Cabrera led the way. Nyjer Morgan has been a great pickup and I wish I never let him go. He really reminds me of a young Juan Pierre. Morgan is another one to watch in next year's draft! Zonk had solid outings from Derreck Lee, Brian Roberts and Ichiro. Not to mention Jimmy Rollins who had 6 SB's. Zonk's speed has really improved. Will Zonk's strategy keep him in the running? It's unique to say the least. You already know my stance on streaming and putting so much pressure on the offense. Zonk needs his offense more than ever now to start reeling off victories to edge closer. Tennesse has the goods to do some damage. A long shot in my mind with the pitching, but nonetheless a dark horse.
Glad to be back with you all in another segment of Week in Review!
BASEMAN
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