It is hard to believe, that the playoffs are near with only 5 weeks left in the regular season. I always like to look back at last year and see where teams were and lo and behold the top teams haven't changed much. The top 3 teams (Stars, B-Man and Tennesse) were 1, 3,and 4 respectively last season. That is being pretty consistent and unless there is a complete collapse in the final weeks, don't look for much to change. Squirrels and Plaz who made the playoffs last year are still in the running, but have to do some damage quickly. Plaz, especially, has come on of late, but needs to continue his torrid pace to sneak in. Squirrels has really fallen off. There is time, but the team has been going in the wrong direction. Uticans, who was another playoff team last year is just playing out the string as his season has been over for some time now. Teams that are hot right now are Zonk, Stars, and Ageless. Don't look for much to change there. That leaves one playoff spot open with REDS and Hardballers being the frontrunner. I have no idea who would take that one? I said Randy earlier, but not as positive about that now. What went on in the matchups last week? Let's take a look!
Stars 10 to REDS 2: The jury was out for Stephen's Stars team at one point in the season due to youth and well players that haven't yet proven themselves. Well, the jury has spoken and says that this team is for real. The numbers keep climbing as the stats prove it. Stephen was winning early, but not always deserving. Now the wins are demonstrative and deserving of first place. It's going to be a showdown for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place, but you can believe Stars team will be one of these spots. Where do I even start after last week's performance over a REDS team that had decent numbers, but got ripped apart. Let's start with Carlos "Cargo" Gonzalez. This guy is phenomenal. First player since Dwight Evans to hit for the cycle with a walk off 3 run bomb and I mean "BOMB." Hit it into the 3rd deck at Coors, which is a rare feat. The guy has nagging injuries from time to time, but what a hitter. Joey Votto is just as good in my mind, except for the speed. Aaron Hill is starting to show just what kind of player he was last year for the Jays as well. To me more important than the offense right now is how the pitching is rolling along. There was some underperforming earlier in the year, but right now is clicking on all cylinders. Francisco Liriano is unhittable at the moment. Javier Vazquez has stepped it up and Ted Lilly is now a Dodger meaning more W's. Scary situation right now for anyone playing Stars. Rick's REDS for as good as they are just got demoralized this week and got knocked down to the 8th spot in a tie with Randy. Just when a team looks like they are moving up, they get knocked down more than a peg in this league. Hard to keep positioning it seems. With 3 guys on the DL on offense, this leaves little flexibility in Rick's offense, and the pitching is a short staff too. Can this team hang on? David Wright and Miguel Cabrera you can count on, but having 3 Cubs on offense is asking for an awful lot. Brad Lidge scares me to death after watching some of his outings of late. Rick's team is walking a tightrope right now and can't afford another big defeat. Although a game out of the playoffs, this team will have to barely sneak in, as I don't see it dominating. Remains to be seen what will happen, but not giving my vote of confidence here.
BASEMAN 7 to 15.5 Games in ???? Weeks: Timmy have to recommend you get some better names going as these latest are hard to really get a feel for. Anyway, Timmy may want to change his name to "Out of It" as there is just too much ground to make up. This was a very tough contest though as B-Man is really having a hard time lately as was the case again until the last day. The pitching was excelling for Timmy this week going 5-0 in Wins and Losses with a 2.30 ERA. Plus 15 BB's to 61 K's is remarkably good. The hitting which wasn't great at all was led by David Ortiz with 3 bombs and newly acquired Carlos Lee with 2. The trade did prove to be a good one for Timmy as Beltre and Lee both had excellent weeks. Without them and Ortiz, not much else was going on. With the addition of Vladimir, watch for the offense to do some damage. Pitching was led by Garza and his no-hitter. B-Man had no chance to hang with the pitching this week as it was too good. B-Man still had a decent week all the way around. When the team hits .251 and gets 33 runs and 36 RBI's, as well as 10 HR's and 61 hits, there is some production going on. Need Victorino and Pedroia to get back to help with a more flexible lineup. Two big catalysts are out, but there has been enough depth to still get good numbers. Pitching hasn't been bad, but has ran into hot defensive teams lately like Plaz and Timmy's team. It's a testimony to how savvy teams are in this league when a 10.5 game lead is evaporated in 3 weeks.
Tennessee 6 to Hardballers 5: Question here? How does Randy's team go 1-7 in W's and L's, but finish with a 3.75 ERA. Bad luck has to be the answer. Don't see those types of numbers too often. Tommy was fortunate to win this one as his pitching saved him and it wasn't that dominant. Randy showed again, his weak spot is RBI's and HR's, yet no moves have been made to shore up this area. I can see the strategy of winning 4 offensive categories, and at least splitting pitching, but the conservative approach right now is keeping Hardballers on the outskirts of a playoff spot. There are some trading pieces on this team and I honestly would be looking long and hard to shore up some weak spots, so I wouldn't just sneak into the playoffs only to be knocked out in either round 1 or 2. Hitters on the other hand has made some valuable moves off the waiver wire to continue and bring this team up the rankings. Proof lies in Pagan, Dickey, Colby Lewis, Keppinger, and Axford. Team doesn't look the best name wise, but getting the job done nonetheless. Tennessee would shock us all if he can get a first place finish, which he is in the running for. No one really expected much from this team at the beginning of the season and Tommy is looking to make those of us who doubted him look "Silly."
Ageless 8 to Squirrels 4: Ageless's team reminds me a lot of Tennessee's. You look at it and think ok there some key pieces here, but nothing really grabs you. Wrong! What was surprising this week is that the team had 12 SB's and only 31 runs, but had 36 RBI's. I would think the runs would be larger. Point is that the team can produce a little bit of everything. Mike has also shored up his pitching with Zito. Clayton Richard and Brett Myers have been nice surprises as well. Shrewd pickups like on Tennessee has vaulted this team into a good standing at the moment. Don't bet against this team as Utica and I are always saying now! Squirrels like I said before is in a freefall and hopefully for Juan some of his additions via trade will help because he needs help fast. The offense was a nightmare last week and although it is better than it showed, I don't believe it will win most points on most weeks. The pitching I love and most weeks will win more points than the opponent. The problem is that Squirrels needs dominating wins right now. It will be tough to do so with the offensive production it's getting. Will have to get some luck to get back in it.
Champs 6 to Zonk 6: Again with Champs it is his pitching versus the other's team's hitting. In this case it was Zonk's offense having a stellar week. 17 Hr's may be the record on the season, and 50 is one of the top numbers for RBI's. Oh yeah, there was a measly 44 runs. Too bad for Stephen he wound up with a tie! Champs pitching wasn't at his usual impeccable numbers, but still better than most of us. Very tough to beat him in pitching. I like the trade for both teams actually. Surprised ED gave up Jimmy Rollins, but Zonk needs a shortstop and Rollins should be an upgrade over Barmes. Zonk also got a reliable pitcher in Santana and Ed had the pitching to give up. Getting Morneau and Nelson Cruz was most valuable for Champs. This team now has a shot to win it all. But are there now chinks in the pitching? Petitte and Strasburg on the DL with Santana gone? It may have taken a step back, but still a solid staff. I like the fact that both of these two teams took a risk to shake things up when something needed to be done! Good trade.
Plaz 8 to Uticans 3: I'm sorry, but I have to stick with the Uticans moniker after all these years. Not the best of matchups here according to the numbers, but Plaz did just enough to get a convincing win he needed. Plaz is getting healthy. Is there enough time though? Would be great to see a run to make the playoff chase even more interesting. The offense is loaded. Can the pitching hang in there? Plaz cannot falter one week. Uticans keeps plugging along despite a dismal season. Ok, I will reference the name as Kerm is in Fantasy Hell right now at the bottom, but now needs to change his name to "IN Fantasy Hell." There is no coming back!
Hope you enjoyed!
BASEMAN
8.02.2010
7.11.2010
Week 14 in Review: Parity Reigns
The fun is getting even better now that we are 2/3rds into the season. Just as the weather has been scorching hot, so do the weekly battles in the race for playoff positioning. I thought previous years' races were tight, but this year there are almost 9 teams at .500 or over. Zonk and Ageless are just below, but at one time during the week there were exactly 9 teams at this plateau. That is remarkable this late in the season. Stattracker isn't up to date at this very moment, but if memory serves me correctly the 8th and 9th place teams are only 3 games or so back of playoff position, while teams 3-7 are bunched as well. Positioning changes each week and this is what Hardball Heaven has become (one very bad week) and what looks like good position can evaporate like a small puddle on a hot summer's day. Now on with the review.
BASEMAN 6 to Champs 6: GREAT MATCHUP! This was strictly top offense vs. top defense and ended in a stalemate. Ed's pitching is PHENOMENAL. Although Ryan Franklin had an ERA of about 124.00 one evening, Ed managed a 2.80 for the week. That was the lone loss also. The staff is downright "Sick!" and the term is used in the most positive way. All I could do was shoot low in my pitching stats for the week and hope to take 2 categories. I barely could do that. Champs had a BB:K ratio of 52:9 (almost 6:1)! So, B-Man barely hung onto BB's for one point. Was fortunate to get saves at 6-4 for the other point. I say fortunate because Champs has Mariano Rivera, Heath Bell, and Ryan Franklin. These are all winning teams that give their closers more opportunities. While I on the other hand have Kerry (Balsa) Wood, Alfredo Simon of the woeful O's, and Leo Nunez, who actually is having a fine season, despite playing for an under 500 club in the Marlins. So yes, I was fortunate to get saves. Now on offense, Champs did prove worthy in the power dept, which is a strength. Anyone notice what Adam Dunn did this week? Only 5 HR's, 10 runs and rbi's, and a robust .455 average! Ed is also trying to upgrade with speed so have to give him some credit for trying to help a weaker part of the squad. I do have to mention that Ed did miss out on a Rajai Davis grand salami after releasing him. Oh well, he didn't need him anyhow. Ed had a great week and only lost 4-2 on offense, but here's the problem with this squad despite awesome pitching. The offense is too streaky and usually won't hit for high average, hits, or runs, while speed will come and go. I happened to hit this team at the wrong time and had to have some big offensive numbers to winpoints on offense, but Adam Dunn and Mike Stanton aren't going to go off each week like that. The same goes for Jonny Gomes, Jay Bruce, and Troy Glaus. Because of pitching that no one else in the league can come close to matching, I like Champs to make the playoffs. But to get on a roll and win the whole thing will be a long shot due to the sporadic offense. One needs a team that is consistent for week to week on offense to win it all and Champs offense can't do that. But for this week anyway, Champs gets congrats for a great week. BASEMAN was fortunate to walk away with a tie! Oh yeah, did I mention I hate relievers!
P.S. ED I hope to see you in the Springs next year and we should hook up for a Rockies game.
Stars 9 to Uticans 2: Talk about running into a team at the wrong time! OUCH! Did Kerm get hurt or what? Stars offense was just a wrecking ball this week clobbering 15 HR's, collecting 50 runs and 72 hits, and posting a .323 average. Poor Kerm actually had good enough offensive numbers to take 4-5 points from several teams. When it is not going right.....well you know the rest. OUCH! OUCH! OUCH! Stars has made some tremendous pickups in Posey and Santana. Posey only hit .562 with 3 dingers and this has been going on now for some time. Not just this week. Carlos Gonzalez is another youngster who just tore the cover off the ball this week hitting .519. What a crime this guy is not on the NL All Star team will Omar Infante is! The league needs to change having to select a utility guy as that is a joke. And to even think Joey Votto had to be voted in! Come on Major League Baseball! Get your act together. Anyway, the youngsters stepped up for Stars this week. I am not usually sold on so many on a team, but these guys are all stars in the making. Utica could have done more on defense though as Stars numbers weren't great, but Kerm only managed one point and a tie. Had to stream to get the K's category and a tie in W's on the last day too. It is strictly pasting together a staff and hoping for the best. Doesn't work too often in this league of ours. Sorry Kerm, but until you start developing a system for putting together a decent pitching staff, it will be tough to ever win this league. It's your achilles heel and we all know it. Great win by Stephen, who may very well be getting back on track in his own words. Stephen has high expectations for success obviously.
Hardballers 7 to Squirrels 3: Two very good teams in a big matchup that was quite close on Sunday, but Randy pulls it out in the end taking hits and average on offense and winning more points on defense against a strong pitching staff for Juan. Miguel Olivo, another all star crime victim, had another huge week hitting .562 and coming through in the clutch for the Rockies. Someone tell me why the Rockies get no love out there when they damn well deserve it? Never on national television, no respect from the east coast media, and made the playoffs last year. Just glad I get to watch them anytime on tv as they are one exciting team pulling out some huge comeback victories this week. Oh yeah, this is a Week in Review column! Sorry for digressing. Another interesting tidbit about Hardballers is that Martin Prado hit an unusual number of HR's this week (3), but only hit .192. That is backwards for Prado. Dare I go on about the Rockies? Yes, because I must add that Jason Hammel has been a tremendous pickup for Randy. Hammel has won something like 6 straight games now. Huge addition to the pitching staff. I still like this team to make the postseason in HH, but I think it will be a dogfight. There are some question marks in certain categories, but Randy is savvy and will see his way through somehow, someway this year. Juan's team really had a decent offensive week putting in 11 HR's and 42 RBI's for solid output. Carlos Quentin has been hot, and Juan jumped on him off the waiver wire.Much needed addition and adds even more pop! The problem was the pitching this week. If the pitching can't be depended on, then Squirrels has problems. I wouldn't be too worried yet, but something to watch as Carpenter hasn't been himself, Romero got shelled and Niemann left Sunday with a tight back.
Hitters 7 to Road to .500 4: Both teams played rather well in this matchup, but unfortunately for Tim, he came up short. Timmy's team has played well of late, but just can't make up enough points or get that big win to get back in it. Might want to be changing that name right about now. Hitter's team is kind of like the Ageless One. Doesn't always get the respect it deserves is what I mean. Like Tommy, who is quiet on the message boards and we just don't hear much, the team is kind of quiet and sneaks up on you. Nobody talks about how intimidating Hitter's team is, but when all is said and done, the team is constantly in the playoff hunt. One noticeable stat was 8 W's with a 4.70 ERA. 8 W's is impressive, but 3 of those wins came from closers. That means some fortune took place because unless tied in the 9th or whatever, usually closers have to give up runs to get a win. Axford got 2, while Street got 1. Street also got 3 saves, so a big week from Huston Street. Another huge pickup has been Angel Pagan for the Mets. I'm telling you, a few smart waiver wire additions can make all the difference and Pagan has been solid for Tommy. Also, Teixeira and Howard are showing muscle, so the offense is gelling. Gavin Floyd and Cliff Lee are two nice pitchers that will keep this team in contention as well. Carlos Silva is coming back to earth, but there are enough pieces in place to make a run at what I believe would be the #6 seed. Sneaky good team here. On Timmy's side, I like Mat Latos and what he has done for the Padres. Wish I had him. Offense was led by Matt Holliday with a .320 average, 5 HR's and 12 RBI's. Despite hit only .175, Matt Kemp had 5 steals. Kemp still has been a disappointment so far this season, and when high draft picks don't pan out, it can really hurt a team. The team is steady and has turned things around after the abysmal start, yet it is too big a climb at this point in the season to overcome the slow start.
REDS 6 to Zonk 5: Tale of offense vs. defense here. Rick almost sweeps on offense, and Stephen almost sweeps on defense. REDS had an explosive offense this week with 74 hits and 40 RBI's. I must add that the average was .309. These days in the post steroid era, it is almost worth mentioning if a team hits over .300 for the week because overall averages are down. So good stat there for Rick's team too. Geovany Soto led the way with a .545 average with Miguel Cabrera following at .435 and Curtis Granderson at .400. Rafael Furcal even hit 2 dingers. Big offensive week. Adam Wainwright did his usual solid performance and Tim Hudson has had a nice comeback year. Weaver and Pelfrey hurt REDS this week though. Tough team and will be in the playoff hunt for the rest of the way. Zonk is another team that will continue to be in the playoff mix despite being behind right now. I really like Verlander, King Felix and even Andy Pettite at the top of the rotation. Zito has been good as well. Is Tommy Hunter for real? Not sure? Corey Hart and Scott Rolen are the unsung heroes who have helped keep the offense rolling. I even have to add Chris Young to this list. Last year was not a good one for him, yet he has good numbers this season. Zonk must have these 3 continue to provide extra offense for this club. At least this week, Zonk didn't get a raw deal in terms of score as offensive numbers were down compared to most teams. It is really hard to pick playoff teams 3-6 at this time, but I assure you that Stephen's team will compete for one of those spots despite being out of them for practically the whole season. The numbers back that up as the team should be higher as it is.
Ageless 6 to Plaz 5: This was Ageless' offense to Plaz's defense in this one. When Mike drafted Carl Crawford early in the draft, most thought he was crazy. I know I did and laughed. Umm, I at least am eating crow right now! Crawford only posted a .379 average with 4 HR's, 9RBI's, 8 runs, and 2 steals. Can you say contract year for Crazy Legs Crawford! This guy will make bank and it won't be in Tampa. Adrian Gonzalez also showed why he is an all star with impressive numbers this week as well. Hitting outside of Petco Park for the week didn't hurt. I look at the offense as a whole though and just shake my head as to how they are doing it. Stats are toward the bottom, but this team is right in the thick of the playoff hunt. Outside of Josh Johnson, the pitching staff isn't electric or anything. Clayton Richard has been a nice surprise, and despite a big ERA, James Shields has some ok numbers. But, what is going on here? I tell you what is going on and the Ageless One is savvy at getting the most points where he can. He strategizes on the pitching end and has enough pesky hitters to get him points on offense. Keeps him in the playoff hunt at about .500! It would be stunning for this team to win a title this year, but after seeing how Mike manages his team, I wouldn't surprise me at all for this team to sneak past others and find a spot in the playoffs. I'm not guaranteeing this, but he's done it before and can definitely do it again and defy the odds despite what the roto stats say. Plaz, on the other hand like Road to .500 and Utica, is just playing out the string at this point and hoping for the best in the consolation rounds. Bad luck had befallen Pete this year (kind of like last) with the injury bug. Not many teams can survive losing the top two draft picks for extended time such is the case with Utley and Tulo. That is just rotten luck. Geesh, I even missed Jake Peavy being gone for the season. Some bright spots though have been Josh Hamilton of course. Also, Nick Swisher has been a bonus with an unusual high batting average for him. He deserves his all star bid. Gardner, also of the Yanks, has been another nice surprise. Besides losing players to injury, Justin Upton, another high draft pick, hasn't been all that he was supposed to be. Now I see, Greinke has shoulder discomfort. The jury is out on that, but how much more can Plaz take if he loses Greinke? I picked this team towards the bottom at the beginning of the year. It looks like I am going to be right, but not for the reasons I thought. Plaz has done an admirable job with this team despite of all the injuries and should be commended. The pitching is honestly not a strength and there are some streaky hitters on the club, but Plaz may just not have been out of the running if not for the rash of injuries to hit. Just have to chalk it up to one of those years. No way is there quit in his team or any team in this great league of ours. I assure you that much.
Hope you all enjoyed! Until next time.
BASEMAN
BASEMAN 6 to Champs 6: GREAT MATCHUP! This was strictly top offense vs. top defense and ended in a stalemate. Ed's pitching is PHENOMENAL. Although Ryan Franklin had an ERA of about 124.00 one evening, Ed managed a 2.80 for the week. That was the lone loss also. The staff is downright "Sick!" and the term is used in the most positive way. All I could do was shoot low in my pitching stats for the week and hope to take 2 categories. I barely could do that. Champs had a BB:K ratio of 52:9 (almost 6:1)! So, B-Man barely hung onto BB's for one point. Was fortunate to get saves at 6-4 for the other point. I say fortunate because Champs has Mariano Rivera, Heath Bell, and Ryan Franklin. These are all winning teams that give their closers more opportunities. While I on the other hand have Kerry (Balsa) Wood, Alfredo Simon of the woeful O's, and Leo Nunez, who actually is having a fine season, despite playing for an under 500 club in the Marlins. So yes, I was fortunate to get saves. Now on offense, Champs did prove worthy in the power dept, which is a strength. Anyone notice what Adam Dunn did this week? Only 5 HR's, 10 runs and rbi's, and a robust .455 average! Ed is also trying to upgrade with speed so have to give him some credit for trying to help a weaker part of the squad. I do have to mention that Ed did miss out on a Rajai Davis grand salami after releasing him. Oh well, he didn't need him anyhow. Ed had a great week and only lost 4-2 on offense, but here's the problem with this squad despite awesome pitching. The offense is too streaky and usually won't hit for high average, hits, or runs, while speed will come and go. I happened to hit this team at the wrong time and had to have some big offensive numbers to winpoints on offense, but Adam Dunn and Mike Stanton aren't going to go off each week like that. The same goes for Jonny Gomes, Jay Bruce, and Troy Glaus. Because of pitching that no one else in the league can come close to matching, I like Champs to make the playoffs. But to get on a roll and win the whole thing will be a long shot due to the sporadic offense. One needs a team that is consistent for week to week on offense to win it all and Champs offense can't do that. But for this week anyway, Champs gets congrats for a great week. BASEMAN was fortunate to walk away with a tie! Oh yeah, did I mention I hate relievers!
P.S. ED I hope to see you in the Springs next year and we should hook up for a Rockies game.
Stars 9 to Uticans 2: Talk about running into a team at the wrong time! OUCH! Did Kerm get hurt or what? Stars offense was just a wrecking ball this week clobbering 15 HR's, collecting 50 runs and 72 hits, and posting a .323 average. Poor Kerm actually had good enough offensive numbers to take 4-5 points from several teams. When it is not going right.....well you know the rest. OUCH! OUCH! OUCH! Stars has made some tremendous pickups in Posey and Santana. Posey only hit .562 with 3 dingers and this has been going on now for some time. Not just this week. Carlos Gonzalez is another youngster who just tore the cover off the ball this week hitting .519. What a crime this guy is not on the NL All Star team will Omar Infante is! The league needs to change having to select a utility guy as that is a joke. And to even think Joey Votto had to be voted in! Come on Major League Baseball! Get your act together. Anyway, the youngsters stepped up for Stars this week. I am not usually sold on so many on a team, but these guys are all stars in the making. Utica could have done more on defense though as Stars numbers weren't great, but Kerm only managed one point and a tie. Had to stream to get the K's category and a tie in W's on the last day too. It is strictly pasting together a staff and hoping for the best. Doesn't work too often in this league of ours. Sorry Kerm, but until you start developing a system for putting together a decent pitching staff, it will be tough to ever win this league. It's your achilles heel and we all know it. Great win by Stephen, who may very well be getting back on track in his own words. Stephen has high expectations for success obviously.
Hardballers 7 to Squirrels 3: Two very good teams in a big matchup that was quite close on Sunday, but Randy pulls it out in the end taking hits and average on offense and winning more points on defense against a strong pitching staff for Juan. Miguel Olivo, another all star crime victim, had another huge week hitting .562 and coming through in the clutch for the Rockies. Someone tell me why the Rockies get no love out there when they damn well deserve it? Never on national television, no respect from the east coast media, and made the playoffs last year. Just glad I get to watch them anytime on tv as they are one exciting team pulling out some huge comeback victories this week. Oh yeah, this is a Week in Review column! Sorry for digressing. Another interesting tidbit about Hardballers is that Martin Prado hit an unusual number of HR's this week (3), but only hit .192. That is backwards for Prado. Dare I go on about the Rockies? Yes, because I must add that Jason Hammel has been a tremendous pickup for Randy. Hammel has won something like 6 straight games now. Huge addition to the pitching staff. I still like this team to make the postseason in HH, but I think it will be a dogfight. There are some question marks in certain categories, but Randy is savvy and will see his way through somehow, someway this year. Juan's team really had a decent offensive week putting in 11 HR's and 42 RBI's for solid output. Carlos Quentin has been hot, and Juan jumped on him off the waiver wire.Much needed addition and adds even more pop! The problem was the pitching this week. If the pitching can't be depended on, then Squirrels has problems. I wouldn't be too worried yet, but something to watch as Carpenter hasn't been himself, Romero got shelled and Niemann left Sunday with a tight back.
Hitters 7 to Road to .500 4: Both teams played rather well in this matchup, but unfortunately for Tim, he came up short. Timmy's team has played well of late, but just can't make up enough points or get that big win to get back in it. Might want to be changing that name right about now. Hitter's team is kind of like the Ageless One. Doesn't always get the respect it deserves is what I mean. Like Tommy, who is quiet on the message boards and we just don't hear much, the team is kind of quiet and sneaks up on you. Nobody talks about how intimidating Hitter's team is, but when all is said and done, the team is constantly in the playoff hunt. One noticeable stat was 8 W's with a 4.70 ERA. 8 W's is impressive, but 3 of those wins came from closers. That means some fortune took place because unless tied in the 9th or whatever, usually closers have to give up runs to get a win. Axford got 2, while Street got 1. Street also got 3 saves, so a big week from Huston Street. Another huge pickup has been Angel Pagan for the Mets. I'm telling you, a few smart waiver wire additions can make all the difference and Pagan has been solid for Tommy. Also, Teixeira and Howard are showing muscle, so the offense is gelling. Gavin Floyd and Cliff Lee are two nice pitchers that will keep this team in contention as well. Carlos Silva is coming back to earth, but there are enough pieces in place to make a run at what I believe would be the #6 seed. Sneaky good team here. On Timmy's side, I like Mat Latos and what he has done for the Padres. Wish I had him. Offense was led by Matt Holliday with a .320 average, 5 HR's and 12 RBI's. Despite hit only .175, Matt Kemp had 5 steals. Kemp still has been a disappointment so far this season, and when high draft picks don't pan out, it can really hurt a team. The team is steady and has turned things around after the abysmal start, yet it is too big a climb at this point in the season to overcome the slow start.
REDS 6 to Zonk 5: Tale of offense vs. defense here. Rick almost sweeps on offense, and Stephen almost sweeps on defense. REDS had an explosive offense this week with 74 hits and 40 RBI's. I must add that the average was .309. These days in the post steroid era, it is almost worth mentioning if a team hits over .300 for the week because overall averages are down. So good stat there for Rick's team too. Geovany Soto led the way with a .545 average with Miguel Cabrera following at .435 and Curtis Granderson at .400. Rafael Furcal even hit 2 dingers. Big offensive week. Adam Wainwright did his usual solid performance and Tim Hudson has had a nice comeback year. Weaver and Pelfrey hurt REDS this week though. Tough team and will be in the playoff hunt for the rest of the way. Zonk is another team that will continue to be in the playoff mix despite being behind right now. I really like Verlander, King Felix and even Andy Pettite at the top of the rotation. Zito has been good as well. Is Tommy Hunter for real? Not sure? Corey Hart and Scott Rolen are the unsung heroes who have helped keep the offense rolling. I even have to add Chris Young to this list. Last year was not a good one for him, yet he has good numbers this season. Zonk must have these 3 continue to provide extra offense for this club. At least this week, Zonk didn't get a raw deal in terms of score as offensive numbers were down compared to most teams. It is really hard to pick playoff teams 3-6 at this time, but I assure you that Stephen's team will compete for one of those spots despite being out of them for practically the whole season. The numbers back that up as the team should be higher as it is.
Ageless 6 to Plaz 5: This was Ageless' offense to Plaz's defense in this one. When Mike drafted Carl Crawford early in the draft, most thought he was crazy. I know I did and laughed. Umm, I at least am eating crow right now! Crawford only posted a .379 average with 4 HR's, 9RBI's, 8 runs, and 2 steals. Can you say contract year for Crazy Legs Crawford! This guy will make bank and it won't be in Tampa. Adrian Gonzalez also showed why he is an all star with impressive numbers this week as well. Hitting outside of Petco Park for the week didn't hurt. I look at the offense as a whole though and just shake my head as to how they are doing it. Stats are toward the bottom, but this team is right in the thick of the playoff hunt. Outside of Josh Johnson, the pitching staff isn't electric or anything. Clayton Richard has been a nice surprise, and despite a big ERA, James Shields has some ok numbers. But, what is going on here? I tell you what is going on and the Ageless One is savvy at getting the most points where he can. He strategizes on the pitching end and has enough pesky hitters to get him points on offense. Keeps him in the playoff hunt at about .500! It would be stunning for this team to win a title this year, but after seeing how Mike manages his team, I wouldn't surprise me at all for this team to sneak past others and find a spot in the playoffs. I'm not guaranteeing this, but he's done it before and can definitely do it again and defy the odds despite what the roto stats say. Plaz, on the other hand like Road to .500 and Utica, is just playing out the string at this point and hoping for the best in the consolation rounds. Bad luck had befallen Pete this year (kind of like last) with the injury bug. Not many teams can survive losing the top two draft picks for extended time such is the case with Utley and Tulo. That is just rotten luck. Geesh, I even missed Jake Peavy being gone for the season. Some bright spots though have been Josh Hamilton of course. Also, Nick Swisher has been a bonus with an unusual high batting average for him. He deserves his all star bid. Gardner, also of the Yanks, has been another nice surprise. Besides losing players to injury, Justin Upton, another high draft pick, hasn't been all that he was supposed to be. Now I see, Greinke has shoulder discomfort. The jury is out on that, but how much more can Plaz take if he loses Greinke? I picked this team towards the bottom at the beginning of the year. It looks like I am going to be right, but not for the reasons I thought. Plaz has done an admirable job with this team despite of all the injuries and should be commended. The pitching is honestly not a strength and there are some streaky hitters on the club, but Plaz may just not have been out of the running if not for the rash of injuries to hit. Just have to chalk it up to one of those years. No way is there quit in his team or any team in this great league of ours. I assure you that much.
Hope you all enjoyed! Until next time.
BASEMAN
7.04.2010
D-Backs/Yankees Game
Well, I finally knew what it was like to be a Diamondbacks fan for one day! Let me tell you in the 2010 season that ain't saying much as we witnessed a 6-5 win by the Yankees in 10 innings. But, while in the desert why not root for the home team even if it is a bad version of the AZ club. It doesn't matter who is playing as a matter of fact because I was just enjoying a new major league experience and had a wonderful time with family at the game. My brother-in-law gave me a post birthday gift experience at Chase Field and despite sitting around numerous Yankee fans (as I am a Yankees Hater), we enjoyed quite close to the field almost behind home plate! I would have to estimate that half the crowd were Yankee fans, but in my estimation many were wannabe fans who were loyal to the Yankees because they win so much. The reason I say this is because multiple fans lived out west and not even born in NY. Let's just say they more than likely acted like Yankees fans though being quite obnoxious later in the game with security coming around our section twice. No, despite my love of the game, I do behave myself with the common cheering that goes on at a baseball game. My wife on the other hand? Anyway, the place was packed and was quite the atmosphere for a regular season game. It wasn't the 2001 World Series or anything where Luis Gonzalez heroics happened or anything, but not bad. It's interesting how teams without a long rich tradition hang on to the good old days as there were video highlights of the 2001 World Series to help the suffering D-Backs fans remembers the years of lore! I did my best to join in the atmosphere of the home team by wearing the inaguaral 1995 jersey. I believe this is right, but somebody correct me if I'm wrong. A dear friend of mine in the Springs spent some time growing up in AZ and lent me the jersey. No, I did not buy one for myself and become a traitor of the Rockies. In a way, I may have traded sides for one day, but had to enjoy the moment. I relished it all even when Arizona's god awful bullpen gave up the game in the 9th. I even basked in the festivities when the D-Backs couldn't get a run across in the 10th against Mariano Rivera despite loading the bases with no outs to lose 6-5! Oh well, it was a major league game in a new setting for me and nothing else mattered! Just wanted to share my experience with you all and hope you enjoyed the pics.
Mark (aka....BASEMAN)
6.07.2010
Week 9 in Review: The Old Guard Still Stands
Just like Celtics-Lakers rivalry once again in the NBA Finals, it's the same ol', same ol' for Hardball Heaven in the league standings. I know that it probably gets a little old and tiring as the Lakers-Celtics matchup in the finals doesn't do it for me anymore, but it is what it is. Currently both BASEMAN and Stars are atop the standings and we won't relinquish supremacy that easy. There have been teams like the Spurs (aka, Plaz and REDS), who occasionally crash the party, but Hardball Heaven reminds me of Chamberlain-Russel, Bird-Magic, and Kobe-vs. the Celts. Just like Lebron James reaching for league supremacy, will there be an upcoming team looking to captivate just like the "King?" I'm not ready for this to happen, but some team somewhere may want to force the issue and be a fantasy media darling this summer!
Now here's the week's recap.
BASEMAN 11 to Hardballers 1: I have to admit that this score shocked me after week's end. Not many teams have this much of a point discrepancy over Randy, plus this was #1 vs. #2 in roto points. Not likely for this score to happen, but one never knows. First of all, I am going to give my team major publicity right now. May be B-Man's best team ever in my estimation. Doesn't mean I will win the title in the end, but this team is built for balance, even without Kendry Morales. Yes, there was the year where I was in front all season, but this is different. The league is much tougher as a whole and all participants pay attention to detail. Losses will happen, but the discrepancy of my wins says something. Being picked to finish towards the bottom of the league at the beginning of the year was quite the mistake. This team is 1st in runs scored, HR's, and SB's, 2nd in runs and RBI's, and 5th in average. Now if that isn't balance, then I don't know what is. In pitching, the team is 2nd in W's and ERA, and 4th in saves and losses. This staff wasn't given much of a chance in the beginning of the year, but is proving the naysayers wrong. Jimenez and Lester are bonafide ACES and Billingsley, although not an Ace, hasn't done too bad himself. There it is in a nutshell. Ok, I am bragging about my team here, but after a week where all my offensive stats beat every other team 6-0, then I can officially do so. Like I have said before, give me a reason to give a little braggadacio about your team AND I WILL DO SO!
As for Randy, despite the score being lopsided against his team, he still posted some good numbers. I mean getting 74 hits will win a point probably 90-95% of the time. I mean this is a team that belted out 19 hits on Sunday! That is impressive. One looks at the lineup and there are absolute hitting machines on it. Cano can compete for league MVP in my mind and doesn't slow down. Prado for the Braves continues to pound out hits atop the order. Ethier is having a stellar season for the Dodgers. We all know about Fielder and Sandoval. The team may have got jipped this week playing a hot B-Man team, but it is for real and will be competing for a first round bye in the playoffs throughout the summer. Not sure about letting Kurt Suzuki go out there on the waiver wire, but a big thank you as Kurt blasted 3 HR's for me this week with 6 runs, 6 RBI's and a .355 average. Thanks Randy!
Champs 6 to Stars 4: This was another colossal matchup this past week and Ed's team proved it can play with the big boys once again. Champs pitching is just phenomenal! All pitching stats are in the top half for roto stats (1st in W's and ERA, 2nd in Losses and BB's, 5th in saves, and 6th in K's). Finished with a 1.74 ERA this week. Give me a break! Killing all teams in ERA for the season. David Price has come into his own and is shutting down the opposition. Phil Hughes is doing the same for the Yanks. Now if Stephen Strasburg does the same, Yikes! The bullpen of Rivera, Bell, and Franklin is one of the league's best. But with all that pitching it still took a good offensive week to barely steal the victory away from Stars. A-Rod finally gets is going and so did Brian McCann to finish off with 34 runs and 34 RBI's. Ed's team is a legit playoff contender, but to compete at the top will need to have more consistent production from the offense. This week it happened and we shall keep our eye on Stanton for the Marlins. Ed loves to make moves for up and comers. With an offense that needs some more output, why not take the chance? It could make the difference on offense and for Champs season to continue in the upper echelon. Stephen made a similar move by picking up Buster Posey. The Giants are going to give Posey AB's and opportunities to play. Why else call him up, so if this move pans out, then Stars is all the better for it. Colby Rasmus had a big week for Stars with a .438 average and 7 runs scored. Joey Votto came back nice after missing some games due to injury. Aramis Ramirez, although not playing much for Stephen these days, looks to be finally coming around a little bit after watching him in action. If he gets hot, then some newly injected power will be added. The team has a good blend of speed and power. But for some reason, some weeks I am sold on this team and some weeks I am not. Stars is getting wins, but there is definite underachievement from some players. The potential is there for this team to break out, but then again, there is potential for this team to slide. I just am not sure what way this team will go, both offensively and defensively? Very puzzling to me? Any thoughts from the league? Usually I have a good read on teams and Stars is succeeding obviously at 2nd place overall, but not sure if this is a legit title contending team or not?
Hitters 5 to Squirrels 4: Tightly contested matchup here with Hitters getting the victory despite one point in pitching. Hitters can thank Ichiro with 13 hits for the week and 4 SB's! Cliff Lee is proving the M's made a good move, albeit maybe for less than a year though, by acquiring him from Philly. He rarely walks anyone and has good K's. Man, if Philly still had him! Good pickup of John Axford as he looks like the closer at least for now in Milwaukee. At least Tommy got rid of a Cubs pitcher in Randy Wells! Brett Cecil is another nice pitcher to have along with the surprise of Carlos Silva who tamed the Buccos today. I still think a trade is in order if this team wants a playoff position. Otherwise, I say no way despite a victory over a good Squirrels club. Juan is getting solid production from Mike Napoli. Napoli with regular playing time now, may just be what he needed. Loads of power and along with Pujols, Reynolds and Vlad, this team will should show some more pop. Ricky Romero doesn't get his due as a pitcher in Toronto and produces good numbers. Can Ely continue and do the same in LA? If Haren comes around, then watch out. This team can make a run UPWARD in the standings. Big win by Tennessee this week in a big upset in my mind.
Ageless 7 to Utica 4: I know Kerm thought that by picking Ageless, he would find victory, but Mike's team continues to surprise the hell out of the league. One of the shortest staffs in the league managed to find a way to get 4 victories and tie Kerm there. The strategy of pitching fewer innings than anyone almost every week seems to work. The ERA was a measly 2.24 with everyone having good weeks, except Trevor Hoffman. Let's just say, "YOU CAN HAVE HIM!" Adrian Gonzalez and Garret Jones went bonkers this past week to help overcome a good hitting Utica team. Utica's pitcing stunk up the joint this week and came back to earth. The same old Utica, most of the time not much pitching, and hoping the offense can beat you. The offense wasn't too bad, but Ageless had a better week. Utica has run into some tough luck to say the least. Youkilis and Berkman led the way, and Zobrist just continues to hit. Berkman is finally getting back to his old self, which can only help the fallen Uticans. Good job getting Gallardo in a trade, but too many question marks in the starting staff and relief. Kerm does have enough to challenge for a playoff spot despite the slow start, but not enough to be competitive on a regular basis with the upper tier.
REDS 7 to Plaz 3: Very tightly contested contest on offense, while pitching was a blowout. For Rick's Reds, he gets continued production for M. Cabrera, who is probably AL MVP right now. David Wright has bounced back from a down 2009 season. REDS offensive numbers prove impressive, but took a step back this week despite decent HR's at 9 and an ok average at .279. Averages are down this season, so that number isn't too bad. Roids era seems to be gone and offensive numbers are down. The game is no longer a pinball machine! Mike Pelfrey has been a nice surprise for Rick and Lidge is now back for the Phils. What will Rick get there?? Adam Wainwright continues to be a reliabe ace. REDS team can be a pain, but needs some more speed to be a threat week in and week out. On the other hand, it is got to be tortorous for perennial contender Plaz. Offesnively was ok in some areas with Tulo, J. Hamilton and Vernon Wells leading the way. Chase Utley needs to get back to old form. In a slump right now. Still has some potent offensive weapons, but the pitching is a disaster right now. Even "The Great Greinke" is having problems. It has to be tough pitching in KC, where they just don't give him much run support and now he is giving up more runs than usual. Hamels ERA was 40.50. If those two pitchers are on, the Plaz is in serious trouble with no depth. Streaming was in no short supply as I see about 14 different starters were used. That may be a record. I'm all for streaming, but hopefully only 1 to 2 pitchers a week at most should have to be utilized. This was going to a new level and only provided 2 W's and 8 losses with a 6.89 ERA. Most of the time when streaming takes place so many times in a week, the only thing being chased is W's and K's. And that didn't even come close to happening for Plaz this week. The pitching is in absolute disarray and I don't see it getting much better. It totally sucks to have to hope and pray waiver wire pitchers are going to pull you through for a few points each week. It is not a recipe for success the majority of time. Due to a streaky offense and poor defense, Plaz is going to have to just chalk this year up to a learning experience of how not to assemble a team in the future. Like I said before the season started, it is going to be a long one for Plaz.
White Flag 6 to Zonk 5: Another tightly contested matchup, especially on offense. Both teams put up good numbers really. White Flag has been impressive lately since the name change as the team is keeping contests close and numbers are improving. Matt Kemp, Holliday and V. Mart showed their capabilities this week as did Tori Hunter. They have to keep producing for Timmy though. There are some holes otherwise. Very balanced attack against a solid hitting Zonk club. The pitching of Timmy's team is ok, but nothing spectacular and Matt Capps seems to be coming to earth after 16 of 16 saves to start the year. I think that's right. I love Matt Cain and Garza (when he's on), and Santana is doing better of late. Big win this week, but not sure if the team has enough "Juice" to get over the hump after a slow start. Had to use some of a former name, since there have been so many. For Zonk, his roto stats show power and there was nothing short of that this week in HR's, but fell victim of 1 point losses in SB's, Runs, and RBI's. Another team like Utica that has run into bad luck in timing. Scott Rolen has turned back the clock like it was the 90's again in good old St. Louis. If he can stay healthy, then I believe he will continue to hit. The key is staying healthy! Thank goodness the team has some high average guys like Mauer, Butler, and for the moment Morneau because despite all the power, other numbers can suffer. I like the pitching more so than the past Zonk clubs. Team is underachieving, but don't look for that to continue as things tend to balance themselves out. Could upset BASEMAN this week too!
Hope you all enjoyed the latest installement of The Week in Review!
BASEMAN
Now here's the week's recap.
BASEMAN 11 to Hardballers 1: I have to admit that this score shocked me after week's end. Not many teams have this much of a point discrepancy over Randy, plus this was #1 vs. #2 in roto points. Not likely for this score to happen, but one never knows. First of all, I am going to give my team major publicity right now. May be B-Man's best team ever in my estimation. Doesn't mean I will win the title in the end, but this team is built for balance, even without Kendry Morales. Yes, there was the year where I was in front all season, but this is different. The league is much tougher as a whole and all participants pay attention to detail. Losses will happen, but the discrepancy of my wins says something. Being picked to finish towards the bottom of the league at the beginning of the year was quite the mistake. This team is 1st in runs scored, HR's, and SB's, 2nd in runs and RBI's, and 5th in average. Now if that isn't balance, then I don't know what is. In pitching, the team is 2nd in W's and ERA, and 4th in saves and losses. This staff wasn't given much of a chance in the beginning of the year, but is proving the naysayers wrong. Jimenez and Lester are bonafide ACES and Billingsley, although not an Ace, hasn't done too bad himself. There it is in a nutshell. Ok, I am bragging about my team here, but after a week where all my offensive stats beat every other team 6-0, then I can officially do so. Like I have said before, give me a reason to give a little braggadacio about your team AND I WILL DO SO!
As for Randy, despite the score being lopsided against his team, he still posted some good numbers. I mean getting 74 hits will win a point probably 90-95% of the time. I mean this is a team that belted out 19 hits on Sunday! That is impressive. One looks at the lineup and there are absolute hitting machines on it. Cano can compete for league MVP in my mind and doesn't slow down. Prado for the Braves continues to pound out hits atop the order. Ethier is having a stellar season for the Dodgers. We all know about Fielder and Sandoval. The team may have got jipped this week playing a hot B-Man team, but it is for real and will be competing for a first round bye in the playoffs throughout the summer. Not sure about letting Kurt Suzuki go out there on the waiver wire, but a big thank you as Kurt blasted 3 HR's for me this week with 6 runs, 6 RBI's and a .355 average. Thanks Randy!
Champs 6 to Stars 4: This was another colossal matchup this past week and Ed's team proved it can play with the big boys once again. Champs pitching is just phenomenal! All pitching stats are in the top half for roto stats (1st in W's and ERA, 2nd in Losses and BB's, 5th in saves, and 6th in K's). Finished with a 1.74 ERA this week. Give me a break! Killing all teams in ERA for the season. David Price has come into his own and is shutting down the opposition. Phil Hughes is doing the same for the Yanks. Now if Stephen Strasburg does the same, Yikes! The bullpen of Rivera, Bell, and Franklin is one of the league's best. But with all that pitching it still took a good offensive week to barely steal the victory away from Stars. A-Rod finally gets is going and so did Brian McCann to finish off with 34 runs and 34 RBI's. Ed's team is a legit playoff contender, but to compete at the top will need to have more consistent production from the offense. This week it happened and we shall keep our eye on Stanton for the Marlins. Ed loves to make moves for up and comers. With an offense that needs some more output, why not take the chance? It could make the difference on offense and for Champs season to continue in the upper echelon. Stephen made a similar move by picking up Buster Posey. The Giants are going to give Posey AB's and opportunities to play. Why else call him up, so if this move pans out, then Stars is all the better for it. Colby Rasmus had a big week for Stars with a .438 average and 7 runs scored. Joey Votto came back nice after missing some games due to injury. Aramis Ramirez, although not playing much for Stephen these days, looks to be finally coming around a little bit after watching him in action. If he gets hot, then some newly injected power will be added. The team has a good blend of speed and power. But for some reason, some weeks I am sold on this team and some weeks I am not. Stars is getting wins, but there is definite underachievement from some players. The potential is there for this team to break out, but then again, there is potential for this team to slide. I just am not sure what way this team will go, both offensively and defensively? Very puzzling to me? Any thoughts from the league? Usually I have a good read on teams and Stars is succeeding obviously at 2nd place overall, but not sure if this is a legit title contending team or not?
Hitters 5 to Squirrels 4: Tightly contested matchup here with Hitters getting the victory despite one point in pitching. Hitters can thank Ichiro with 13 hits for the week and 4 SB's! Cliff Lee is proving the M's made a good move, albeit maybe for less than a year though, by acquiring him from Philly. He rarely walks anyone and has good K's. Man, if Philly still had him! Good pickup of John Axford as he looks like the closer at least for now in Milwaukee. At least Tommy got rid of a Cubs pitcher in Randy Wells! Brett Cecil is another nice pitcher to have along with the surprise of Carlos Silva who tamed the Buccos today. I still think a trade is in order if this team wants a playoff position. Otherwise, I say no way despite a victory over a good Squirrels club. Juan is getting solid production from Mike Napoli. Napoli with regular playing time now, may just be what he needed. Loads of power and along with Pujols, Reynolds and Vlad, this team will should show some more pop. Ricky Romero doesn't get his due as a pitcher in Toronto and produces good numbers. Can Ely continue and do the same in LA? If Haren comes around, then watch out. This team can make a run UPWARD in the standings. Big win by Tennessee this week in a big upset in my mind.
Ageless 7 to Utica 4: I know Kerm thought that by picking Ageless, he would find victory, but Mike's team continues to surprise the hell out of the league. One of the shortest staffs in the league managed to find a way to get 4 victories and tie Kerm there. The strategy of pitching fewer innings than anyone almost every week seems to work. The ERA was a measly 2.24 with everyone having good weeks, except Trevor Hoffman. Let's just say, "YOU CAN HAVE HIM!" Adrian Gonzalez and Garret Jones went bonkers this past week to help overcome a good hitting Utica team. Utica's pitcing stunk up the joint this week and came back to earth. The same old Utica, most of the time not much pitching, and hoping the offense can beat you. The offense wasn't too bad, but Ageless had a better week. Utica has run into some tough luck to say the least. Youkilis and Berkman led the way, and Zobrist just continues to hit. Berkman is finally getting back to his old self, which can only help the fallen Uticans. Good job getting Gallardo in a trade, but too many question marks in the starting staff and relief. Kerm does have enough to challenge for a playoff spot despite the slow start, but not enough to be competitive on a regular basis with the upper tier.
REDS 7 to Plaz 3: Very tightly contested contest on offense, while pitching was a blowout. For Rick's Reds, he gets continued production for M. Cabrera, who is probably AL MVP right now. David Wright has bounced back from a down 2009 season. REDS offensive numbers prove impressive, but took a step back this week despite decent HR's at 9 and an ok average at .279. Averages are down this season, so that number isn't too bad. Roids era seems to be gone and offensive numbers are down. The game is no longer a pinball machine! Mike Pelfrey has been a nice surprise for Rick and Lidge is now back for the Phils. What will Rick get there?? Adam Wainwright continues to be a reliabe ace. REDS team can be a pain, but needs some more speed to be a threat week in and week out. On the other hand, it is got to be tortorous for perennial contender Plaz. Offesnively was ok in some areas with Tulo, J. Hamilton and Vernon Wells leading the way. Chase Utley needs to get back to old form. In a slump right now. Still has some potent offensive weapons, but the pitching is a disaster right now. Even "The Great Greinke" is having problems. It has to be tough pitching in KC, where they just don't give him much run support and now he is giving up more runs than usual. Hamels ERA was 40.50. If those two pitchers are on, the Plaz is in serious trouble with no depth. Streaming was in no short supply as I see about 14 different starters were used. That may be a record. I'm all for streaming, but hopefully only 1 to 2 pitchers a week at most should have to be utilized. This was going to a new level and only provided 2 W's and 8 losses with a 6.89 ERA. Most of the time when streaming takes place so many times in a week, the only thing being chased is W's and K's. And that didn't even come close to happening for Plaz this week. The pitching is in absolute disarray and I don't see it getting much better. It totally sucks to have to hope and pray waiver wire pitchers are going to pull you through for a few points each week. It is not a recipe for success the majority of time. Due to a streaky offense and poor defense, Plaz is going to have to just chalk this year up to a learning experience of how not to assemble a team in the future. Like I said before the season started, it is going to be a long one for Plaz.
White Flag 6 to Zonk 5: Another tightly contested matchup, especially on offense. Both teams put up good numbers really. White Flag has been impressive lately since the name change as the team is keeping contests close and numbers are improving. Matt Kemp, Holliday and V. Mart showed their capabilities this week as did Tori Hunter. They have to keep producing for Timmy though. There are some holes otherwise. Very balanced attack against a solid hitting Zonk club. The pitching of Timmy's team is ok, but nothing spectacular and Matt Capps seems to be coming to earth after 16 of 16 saves to start the year. I think that's right. I love Matt Cain and Garza (when he's on), and Santana is doing better of late. Big win this week, but not sure if the team has enough "Juice" to get over the hump after a slow start. Had to use some of a former name, since there have been so many. For Zonk, his roto stats show power and there was nothing short of that this week in HR's, but fell victim of 1 point losses in SB's, Runs, and RBI's. Another team like Utica that has run into bad luck in timing. Scott Rolen has turned back the clock like it was the 90's again in good old St. Louis. If he can stay healthy, then I believe he will continue to hit. The key is staying healthy! Thank goodness the team has some high average guys like Mauer, Butler, and for the moment Morneau because despite all the power, other numbers can suffer. I like the pitching more so than the past Zonk clubs. Team is underachieving, but don't look for that to continue as things tend to balance themselves out. Could upset BASEMAN this week too!
Hope you all enjoyed the latest installement of The Week in Review!
BASEMAN
6.01.2010
Week 8 in Review Cont.:
Zonk 5 to Plaz 4: This can't be described as the prettiest matchup, but it was the closest anyway. If it was a tie, it really would be like kissing your sister. Kind of blah! Where do I even start on this one? Ok, I usually don't start with saves ,but both teams had 4, which was decent. Zonk's days with Jenks are probably numbered. Ozzie Guillen has lost faith in the guy. Can Villanueva for the Brew Crew get it done? He did last week with 7 K's and a 0.00 ERA. Kevin Gregg is the real surprise to me. Must be that jump to the American League. Enjoy him while the good times last! Billy Butler has been a reason to smile for the Zonk team as well hitting .409 for the week and is a bright spot for those KC Royals. For Plaz, Tulo is starting to heat up and hitting with power. Look for this to continue. Nick Swisher has been on a roll and was a new pickup. Plaz needs him to continue the hot streak. Too many streaky players on this team. Some weeks will bash your brains in, and others (like this one) will completely stink up the joint. Plaz's team is too inconsistent right now to get on a hot winning streak, which he will need to climb back into the race. Pitching can be good and has some quality, but not much depth. I am not real nice with my comments here it seems, but speaking on facts really. Just hate to run into this team when it's hot though!
Hitters 8 to REDS 4: Much needed win by Tommy, who had a pretty decent week in most categories. For REDS, I all need to say is Miguel Cabrera. Wow, he looks like Albert Pujols in the American League. Too bad, he needs more pieces on offense to go with him. Great ERA at 1.80, but like Uticans had bad luck by only taking 2 points. Somehow, somewhere you at least have to steal 3 points. Tommy on the other hand had an excellent BB:K ratio at 13:48. Forgive me for questioning some strategy here, but why carry 3 Cubs pitchers for Tommy's team? Why carry both Tex and Howard? This team needs pitching in the worst way. Hmmmm? Need I say anymore here? Could really improve the club here to make a nice push in the standings if you ask me. For Rick, Derrick Lee is getting hot. Also Magglio Ordonez had a nice week. Hitting with M. Cabrera on your club will help his numbers! Now if Granderson gets it rolling, then this team can move up like Hitters. Pitching is a question mark though.
BASEMAN
Hitters 8 to REDS 4: Much needed win by Tommy, who had a pretty decent week in most categories. For REDS, I all need to say is Miguel Cabrera. Wow, he looks like Albert Pujols in the American League. Too bad, he needs more pieces on offense to go with him. Great ERA at 1.80, but like Uticans had bad luck by only taking 2 points. Somehow, somewhere you at least have to steal 3 points. Tommy on the other hand had an excellent BB:K ratio at 13:48. Forgive me for questioning some strategy here, but why carry 3 Cubs pitchers for Tommy's team? Why carry both Tex and Howard? This team needs pitching in the worst way. Hmmmm? Need I say anymore here? Could really improve the club here to make a nice push in the standings if you ask me. For Rick, Derrick Lee is getting hot. Also Magglio Ordonez had a nice week. Hitting with M. Cabrera on your club will help his numbers! Now if Granderson gets it rolling, then this team can move up like Hitters. Pitching is a question mark though.
BASEMAN
5.31.2010
Week in Review: Week 8
Changing of the guard has been the question going into this season and even over the past few seasons. Well at least into the regular season, this seems a moot point at the moment because it's not happening according to standings. Right now 4 teams that made the playoffs last year are currently in the top 6 with those being Stars, Baseman, Squirrels, and Ageless. Hardballers historically has been there as well. Champs has in the past and is experiencing a resurgence. Changing of the guard may happen still, but some changes will have to take place. Here's my Review of the Week.
Stars 9 to Ageless 2: Well, Mike's team came back to earth a bit after his rousing victory over B-Man. Stars feasted on the Ageless One and it may have appeared closer that it really was due to Mike's team having a big last day. But really this was a one-sided affair. Stars was led by Carlos Gonzalez and Jose Reyes. Cargo is the real deal and has surpassed my expectations this year. Reyes is coming on strong as he had 13 hits. This is much needed for the offense which is about middle of the pack or just above it in overall stats. Will Posey be the real deal? Can Aramis Ramirez start hitting? If this happens, then Stars, who is kind of overperforming record-wise so far will bust out. Also, what is going on with Linecum? Still good stats, but not the Lincecum we are used to seeing. Right now Stars has to be real pleased where he is at. Ageless seems to pitch low in innings and hope to steal about 3 categories each week. Other than Josh Johnson and some decent relief, no one really jumps off the page. Johnson had some tough luck finishing with a 0.00 ERA, but suffered a loss. Kubel is coming alive and Crawford has been a bonafide all-sgar this year. Crawford is playing for big free agent dollars. Not a real exciting matchup numbers wise, but a big win by Stars to move into first place.
BASEMAN 9 to Utica 2: Wow, was this a close one statistically, but not by the score. B-Man had the lead all week, but just by some nosehairs. Easily could have switched on Sunday, but Mark's team had a big day to spoil Utica's hopes. For the Uticans to only win 2 points in pitching was a crime. He had a 1.51 ERA and lost to B-Man's 1.11 ERA. Had 7 W's and no losses, but still tied in losses as B-Man had 0 as well. The pitching numbers by Utica usually would win a team 4 points, but he was unlucky and only got 2. Offensively Utica had an off week for him and got swept. Lost in SB's with 9 to B-Man's 10. Rarely will that ever happen. Anyway, bright spots for Kerm were Hunter Pence, who is swinging a hot bat and Evan Longoria. Both of the players showed speed with 3 bags each. Longoria stealing bags is another dimension that teams now need to fear. B-Man just keeps riding the coattails of Ubaldo Jiminez. After Monday's peformance, he has a 0.78 ERA, which is ridiculous. This playing in Colorado of all places. The Rocks play spectacular defense and is one of the best in baseball to help matters. Jon Lester and Randy Wolf threw up 0.00 ERA's as well. For those rooting against B-Man, there was the loss of Kendry Morales, so the offense took a hit. But, I will find a way to plug the gap.
Hardballers 6 to White Flag 5: Let's just say Timmy came on like gangbusters the last day to make this a close contest. David Ortiz is back! 3 homers and a .391 average looks pretty good about now. Why does it take this guy so long to get going though! We will see if the trade for Garza pans out. Terrible week for him and didn't get the win against the Jays tonight. We shall see? For Randy's team, they can roll out the hits. Cano is just unstoppable most weeks and a huge pickup is Miguel Olivio for the Rockies who hit .571. The piching is solid as well even though Sabathia had his hiccups. Clay Buchholz has been the pitcher everyone thought he could be. If Oswalt gets traded to a decent team then watch out. I like the makeup of this team, and they will outhit most teams every week. When Fielder starts getting on a roll for more power, then it can be lights out for opponents. Very solid club here.
Champs 7 to Squirrels 5: Outside of Squirrels 9 HR's and Champs 1.36 ERA, this matchup was nothing to write home about. On second thought, I must give props to Halladay's perfect game. Too bad Champs just got one performance from the guy. He is absolutely amazing. Two perfect games in one year before the end of May! Champs is dominating the pitching stats to keep his team afloat. Now if he only had some offense, then bend over and grab the ankles. Oh yeah, and Stephen Strasburg will be up soon to face the overpowering Pirates. Champs just gets better in pitching. Feast or famine on offense. Good team here that is not going away! What is happening with Dan Haren for Juan's club? He has given up 16 dingers already. What I expected to be a good staff has been only mediocre. The offense has holes, but with Pujols getting hot, a lot of the deficits can be covered. Luke Scott or Andruw Jones in left? Not going to cut it. Not sure what getting Castro is going to do either at SS? Better hope Vlad keeps it up and Heyward keeps hitting as well.
I will have to do the other two matchups tomorrow. Must go to bed.
BASEMAN
Stars 9 to Ageless 2: Well, Mike's team came back to earth a bit after his rousing victory over B-Man. Stars feasted on the Ageless One and it may have appeared closer that it really was due to Mike's team having a big last day. But really this was a one-sided affair. Stars was led by Carlos Gonzalez and Jose Reyes. Cargo is the real deal and has surpassed my expectations this year. Reyes is coming on strong as he had 13 hits. This is much needed for the offense which is about middle of the pack or just above it in overall stats. Will Posey be the real deal? Can Aramis Ramirez start hitting? If this happens, then Stars, who is kind of overperforming record-wise so far will bust out. Also, what is going on with Linecum? Still good stats, but not the Lincecum we are used to seeing. Right now Stars has to be real pleased where he is at. Ageless seems to pitch low in innings and hope to steal about 3 categories each week. Other than Josh Johnson and some decent relief, no one really jumps off the page. Johnson had some tough luck finishing with a 0.00 ERA, but suffered a loss. Kubel is coming alive and Crawford has been a bonafide all-sgar this year. Crawford is playing for big free agent dollars. Not a real exciting matchup numbers wise, but a big win by Stars to move into first place.
BASEMAN 9 to Utica 2: Wow, was this a close one statistically, but not by the score. B-Man had the lead all week, but just by some nosehairs. Easily could have switched on Sunday, but Mark's team had a big day to spoil Utica's hopes. For the Uticans to only win 2 points in pitching was a crime. He had a 1.51 ERA and lost to B-Man's 1.11 ERA. Had 7 W's and no losses, but still tied in losses as B-Man had 0 as well. The pitching numbers by Utica usually would win a team 4 points, but he was unlucky and only got 2. Offensively Utica had an off week for him and got swept. Lost in SB's with 9 to B-Man's 10. Rarely will that ever happen. Anyway, bright spots for Kerm were Hunter Pence, who is swinging a hot bat and Evan Longoria. Both of the players showed speed with 3 bags each. Longoria stealing bags is another dimension that teams now need to fear. B-Man just keeps riding the coattails of Ubaldo Jiminez. After Monday's peformance, he has a 0.78 ERA, which is ridiculous. This playing in Colorado of all places. The Rocks play spectacular defense and is one of the best in baseball to help matters. Jon Lester and Randy Wolf threw up 0.00 ERA's as well. For those rooting against B-Man, there was the loss of Kendry Morales, so the offense took a hit. But, I will find a way to plug the gap.
Hardballers 6 to White Flag 5: Let's just say Timmy came on like gangbusters the last day to make this a close contest. David Ortiz is back! 3 homers and a .391 average looks pretty good about now. Why does it take this guy so long to get going though! We will see if the trade for Garza pans out. Terrible week for him and didn't get the win against the Jays tonight. We shall see? For Randy's team, they can roll out the hits. Cano is just unstoppable most weeks and a huge pickup is Miguel Olivio for the Rockies who hit .571. The piching is solid as well even though Sabathia had his hiccups. Clay Buchholz has been the pitcher everyone thought he could be. If Oswalt gets traded to a decent team then watch out. I like the makeup of this team, and they will outhit most teams every week. When Fielder starts getting on a roll for more power, then it can be lights out for opponents. Very solid club here.
Champs 7 to Squirrels 5: Outside of Squirrels 9 HR's and Champs 1.36 ERA, this matchup was nothing to write home about. On second thought, I must give props to Halladay's perfect game. Too bad Champs just got one performance from the guy. He is absolutely amazing. Two perfect games in one year before the end of May! Champs is dominating the pitching stats to keep his team afloat. Now if he only had some offense, then bend over and grab the ankles. Oh yeah, and Stephen Strasburg will be up soon to face the overpowering Pirates. Champs just gets better in pitching. Feast or famine on offense. Good team here that is not going away! What is happening with Dan Haren for Juan's club? He has given up 16 dingers already. What I expected to be a good staff has been only mediocre. The offense has holes, but with Pujols getting hot, a lot of the deficits can be covered. Luke Scott or Andruw Jones in left? Not going to cut it. Not sure what getting Castro is going to do either at SS? Better hope Vlad keeps it up and Heyward keeps hitting as well.
I will have to do the other two matchups tomorrow. Must go to bed.
BASEMAN
5.07.2010
April Splits Offense vs Defense
The last post demonstrated the total team standings as it relates to the "Recipe for Success". Today I will give the OFF/DEF splits.
1st we will look at the Offensive standings
Probably no real surprises in those #'s as some managers are traditionally more offensively inclined than others. There is also the possibility that some teams have key players that are traditionally slow starters.
Now a look at the Defensive standings.
The 1st thing that stands out to me in this group is the increased # of ties. This further supports the strategic aspect of the pitching categories. Does your individual results reflect the strength of your staff or the shrewdness of you managing skills?
The splits definitely point to some strengths and weaknesses for individual teams. Just in case you were wondering where you needed to hone up your staff. Of course it is only 1 month but do you feel the results accurately define your team makeup or just demonstrate your early season luck?
Only you can decide
Hardballers
1st we will look at the Offensive standings
| Team | W | L | T | ||
| Halfway | 18 | 5 | 1 | ||
| Reds | 16 | 7 | 1 | ||
| Baseman | 15 | 8 | 1 | ||
| Stars | 14 | 8 | 2 | ||
| Uticans | 14 | 8 | 2 | ||
| Plaz | 12 | 11 | 1 | ||
| Blind Squirrels | 11 | 12 | 1 | ||
| Zonk | 10 | 14 | 0 | ||
| Coyote Utley | 9 | 13 | 2 | ||
| Champions | 7 | 16 | 1 | ||
| Tenn | 5 | 18 | 1 | ||
| Ageless | 4 | 20 | 0 |
Probably no real surprises in those #'s as some managers are traditionally more offensively inclined than others. There is also the possibility that some teams have key players that are traditionally slow starters.
Now a look at the Defensive standings.
| Team | W | L | T |
| Champions | 18 | 3 | 3 |
| Blind Squirrels | 15 | 7 | 2 |
| Stars | 13 | 9 | 2 |
| Zonk | 12 | 8 | 4 |
| Tenn | 11 | 10 | 3 |
| Coyote Utley | 10 | 11 | 3 |
| Halfway | 10 | 12 | 2 |
| Reds | 8 | 12 | 4 |
| Plaz | 8 | 15 | 1 |
| Baseman | 7 | 12 | 5 |
| Uticans | 7 | 15 | 2 |
| Ageless | 6 | 13 | 5 |
The 1st thing that stands out to me in this group is the increased # of ties. This further supports the strategic aspect of the pitching categories. Does your individual results reflect the strength of your staff or the shrewdness of you managing skills?
The splits definitely point to some strengths and weaknesses for individual teams. Just in case you were wondering where you needed to hone up your staff. Of course it is only 1 month but do you feel the results accurately define your team makeup or just demonstrate your early season luck?
Only you can decide
Hardballers
5.06.2010
April in Review
Baseball more than any other fantasy sport is a game of #'s. Players tend to play to their averages and follow trends. As I have become more familiar with fantasy baseball I have realized that the better understanding you have of the #'s the better able you are to compete on a weekly basis. That is not to take anything away from the daily managing of your team. You still have to react in a timely manner to things such as injuries, slumps, hot streaks and trades.
We all know there is a luck factor in baseball as well. Nothing is more frustrating than to have a good week statistically and still lose the match because you run up against a team a little hotter than you. Nothing can be more rewarding than to run up against a team that is experiencing a down week. Such is baseball. Just ask any pitcher that comes out on the short end of 2-1 ballgame.
One statistic that I have tracked for the last few seasons has been what I call the "Recipe for Success". Quite simply it is the average stat in each category based on league results. My theory being that if I can exceed the "average" in each category then I am playing well enough to win. Over the course of the season if I can consistently meet or exceed the average stat then I should be in the playoffs. Now we all know that may not happen but at least I am giving myself a chance. One thing I have noticed is that the average stat is amazingly consistent in each category from year to year.
What I want to try and do is track the recipe on a monthly basis. See how much deviation, if any, there is as the season progresses. So with that in mind here is the "Recipe for Success" for April.
Now, based with that information, I decided to see if I could quantify the "luck" factor. For that I am simply using the above #'s as the standard line score. Then I compare each teams weekly results against it. Beat that # and you get a W, drop below that # and you get an L, tie that # and well you get a tie. Not particularly scientific but I would contend that if you beat the above #'s in a category in any given week then you played well enough to win the category. Drop below those #'s and you did not deserve to win the category.
The usual disclaimers apply especially as it relates to managers reacting to their competition. If you have a SB/HR option at a position and you are trailing in HR's then obviously you may opt to forgo the SB ops for HR possibility. Pitching is it's own special monster as the decision to freeze out your opponent in order to maximize points may have you actually conceding a category or two in the process.
Here are the standings as they would be if we all competed against the Recipe each week.
Now if you compare your actual standing against this standing I think you can get an idea of which side of the "luck" factor you have wound up on.
Also I think you can use this standing to get a feel for your "strength of schedule" so far for the year. Have you been stacked up against the hotter teams? or have you been the benefactor of a cake walk so far?
Randy
We all know there is a luck factor in baseball as well. Nothing is more frustrating than to have a good week statistically and still lose the match because you run up against a team a little hotter than you. Nothing can be more rewarding than to run up against a team that is experiencing a down week. Such is baseball. Just ask any pitcher that comes out on the short end of 2-1 ballgame.
One statistic that I have tracked for the last few seasons has been what I call the "Recipe for Success". Quite simply it is the average stat in each category based on league results. My theory being that if I can exceed the "average" in each category then I am playing well enough to win. Over the course of the season if I can consistently meet or exceed the average stat then I should be in the playoffs. Now we all know that may not happen but at least I am giving myself a chance. One thing I have noticed is that the average stat is amazingly consistent in each category from year to year.
What I want to try and do is track the recipe on a monthly basis. See how much deviation, if any, there is as the season progresses. So with that in mind here is the "Recipe for Success" for April.
Offensively
| R | H | HR | RBI | SB | AVG |
| 31 | 57 | 7 | 29 | 5 | 0.272 |
Defensively
| W | L | S | BB | K | ERA |
| 4 | 2 | 3 | 19 | 45 | 3.60 |
Now, based with that information, I decided to see if I could quantify the "luck" factor. For that I am simply using the above #'s as the standard line score. Then I compare each teams weekly results against it. Beat that # and you get a W, drop below that # and you get an L, tie that # and well you get a tie. Not particularly scientific but I would contend that if you beat the above #'s in a category in any given week then you played well enough to win the category. Drop below those #'s and you did not deserve to win the category.
The usual disclaimers apply especially as it relates to managers reacting to their competition. If you have a SB/HR option at a position and you are trailing in HR's then obviously you may opt to forgo the SB ops for HR possibility. Pitching is it's own special monster as the decision to freeze out your opponent in order to maximize points may have you actually conceding a category or two in the process.
Here are the standings as they would be if we all competed against the Recipe each week.
| Team | W | L | T |
| Halfway | 28 | 17 | 3 |
| Stars | 27 | 17 | 4 |
| Blind Squirrels | 26 | 19 | 3 |
| Champions | 25 | 19 | 4 |
| Reds | 24 | 22 | 2 |
| Baseman | 22 | 20 | 6 |
| Zonk | 22 | 22 | 4 |
| New York | 21 | 23 | 4 |
| Plaz | 20 | 23 | 5 |
| Coyote Ugly | 19 | 24 | 5 |
| Tenn | 16 | 28 | 4 |
| Ageless | 10 | 33 | 5 |
Now if you compare your actual standing against this standing I think you can get an idea of which side of the "luck" factor you have wound up on.
Also I think you can use this standing to get a feel for your "strength of schedule" so far for the year. Have you been stacked up against the hotter teams? or have you been the benefactor of a cake walk so far?
I may try and break this down offensively and defensively in a separate post if you think you would find it interesting. I am interested in hearing some feedback. Do you think this is useful information or just another infamous "Useless Info" conglomeration of stats?
Randy
5.02.2010
Week 4 in Review: April Sunshine, May Snowflakes
I am so glad there is no more "global warming," but to be politically correct we now have "climate change." I know climate change has affected our baseball season this year, but so far it's for the better. Where were all the common rainouts in April? Shoot, I had no excuses for my team losing due to lack of AB's due to constant rainouts. Actually, it was a joy not seeing the PPD come up on my fantasy screen. Now could May be a different story? I know if the Rockies were at home today, the game would have been cancelled due to SNOW! So, instead of "May Flowers", might we in Hardball Heaven again start cursing our screens due to some cancellations. They are bound to happen, so watch out for some of that inclement weather. For those who may be wondering, I am more for "polar cooling" actually. Then, baseball can be played in nothing but domes and there will never be PPD's. Just a little satirical view on "political correctness" that unfortunately has to epitomize our society. Now onto some baseball information!!
Uticans 6 to Champions 4: Was this a true upset? Champions has been at the top all season so far. It was an upset, but a minor one in my estimation. Champs easily has the better staff, and it showed, but the offense is stagnant and dropping each week. Of course, Utica's offense dominated and only hit .248. Champs better enjoy his reign at the top for now, because it ain't going to last much longer. Outside of SB's, the offense was absolutely abysmal. With the likes of Jay Bruce and Adam Dunn, this team is going to go through some droughts. Jose Guillen isn't going to keep it up forever either and he came back to earth this week. I'm not buying into any Ike Davis hype either. Don't get me wrong, the offense has the potential to blow you out of the water some weeks, but there are going to be some severe power outage numbers like this week that is bound to drag this team down. Pitching is relied on heavily for this team to succeed over the long haul. It is a better than average staff, but not enough to overcome the offensive shortcomings. Look for Ed's fantastic start to start leveling off. As for Uticans, had an off week offensively and won. The offense is a given with Longoria and Jeter delivering on cue every week. I think Austin Jackson will not continue to deliver like a madman soon as the league figures him out, but ride him while you can. Pitching staff actually had a decent week, but still lost out. More often than not they will as they can be wild. Riding a roller coaster will be what Utica experiences with this bunch all season long. Reminds me too much of last year's squad. Good win to beat a first place team though.
Stars 6 to Hardballers 6: Stars just hung on in this tightly contested thriller after pouncing all over Hardballers early in the week. Stephen's team was putting up some frightening awesome numbers early on. Drafting Carlos Gonzalez was brilliant as he hit .390 with 2 dingers, 10 RBI's, and 3 SB's. This guy can flat out play as I watch him almost daily. Ryan Doumit hit well on the left coast this week posting a .400 batting average. If only Stars pitching staff performed like the first 3 weeks, then this matchup could have gotten ugly for Randy. But to be kind, his staff really had a nice week, so the points were very deserving on the defensive end. Who is the best player in MLB right now. Hands down, it is Robinson Cano! He hit .440 with 11 hits and 4 HR's. Not the first week, he has put up some impressive numbers either. It may not be pretty for teams when Prince Fielder gets going either. I haven't even mentioned Andre Eithier who hit 4 HR's himself with 10 Runs, 10 RBI's and a .385 average. OK, a lot of that onslaught was against the Pirates, but the last I checked they were a major league team (I think?) This was a matchup to watch this week!
Blind Squirrels 10 to Zonk 1: Swami predicted this one to be a no-brainer. Looks like it was with Squirrels putting an ass whooping on Zonk. Yet, it was predicted that Squirrels would get an ass kicking, so what was up? Squirrels numbers offensively and defensively was "UP!" Squirrels had an outstanding pitching performance and I warned the league about this before the season began. If Juan can hold his own offensively, the this team is going to be tough to deal with. Chris Carpenter was dealing with 2 W's. Dan Haren was his usual self. Niemann plays for an offensive power on the Rays. Ricky Romero is underrated playing in Toronto. Unfortunately for Squirrels is that De La Rosa may be out for some time with a torn tendon in his finger. The big question on offense is if the young guns can keep it up throughout the long season like Heyward, McCutcheon, and Escobar. Kelly Johnson has been spectacular in AZ. Can he keep up the pace? There are proven commodities in Pujols, Reynolds, and Kinsler (just coming back), but some question marks. Also, Ivan Rodriguez is hitting excellent right now. Can this offense keep it going??? It did this week and won BIG! Zonk has had some misfortune happen to his club and it showed. Losing Ellsbury and Nelson Cruz is a big blow. Cruz was literally, tearing the cover off the ball. This team has some serious weapons! Theriot was a great pickup as he continued his hot streak hitting .419 with 13 hits. Butler was solid, but the rest of the offense took the week off. King Felix had a surprising bad week with 2 losses. You won't see that much. Now Trevor Hoffman is killing this team! He reminds me of Kevin Gregg, whom I had to suffer with last year. OMG, Zonk has Kevin Gregg too! Yikes! I love the starting pitching staff, but the relief pitching is going to be murder for Stephen's team to deal with all year. It won't last!! But, let's just say playing Zonk now in the schedule is the time to be doing it. When the offense gets healty, this is one of the last teams I would want to deal with. This will easily be the worst loss of the season for Zonk!
BASEMAN 9 to Hitters 3: Don't know why it is, but always have good fortune against Tommy's team. The offensive categories were close until about 2 days left and then B-Man's team exploded! The league was warned about the offense before the season, and of course most teams thought I was being biased. Maybe that looked like the case, but check the stats and one will see I wasn't kidding. Now watch my team lay a goose egg next week.....LOL. I knew all was going well when I had to use Brandon Inge to sub for Zimmerman, and Inge only hit 3 HR's. Then Zimmerman comes back on Friday and hits me 2 HR's. Hanley R. hit 4 dingers this week. One weird stat came in pitching where Tommy got his first victory in saves. Despite having 3 legit closers to Tommy's one closer in Feliz, Hitters wins 3 saves to 0 saves. Now who would have thought that. But then, my team win the W's, but pitches about 4 games less. Pitching is one facet very tough to figure out. Let's just say you hope to have an ace or two who you hope to give you the best chance to win! Tommy's team will step it up. The offense is too good. Rickie Weeks at 2nd base is a huge question mark, but the rest of the pieces are there. Cliff Lee came back strong with 0 BB's and 8 K's, but didn't pick up the win despite giving up 0 runs. Problem with Seattle is they don't score much. Question? Tommy, are the Orioles your favorite team because you have a boatload of them? Why is a bigger question?
REDS 7 to Ageless 4: Rick RED'S took out the sticks this week for an impressive offensive performance. Ageless' offense might have well not even played this week as it was just plain "Sorry." Let's start with some positives, which was REDS performance. 4 guys hit over .4oo this week. Standouts were Asdrubal Cabrera, Tejada, Marlon Byrd and David Wright. Marlon Byrd has been a nice surprise this season and D. Wright is back to his old self. Tejada must have discovered the fountain of youth because he just keeps on keeping on! Bad break losing Granderson and Manny will help big time when he comes back. Teams need to take advantage of Rick's team now. Not sure what happened to the pitching, but was almost a complete sweep for the lone bright spot for Ageless. James Shields and Josh Johnson were dominant with 12 K's apiece. Mike needs these 2 horses to continue and carry the load. Sizemore and Kubel need to get the bats going soon as well. Garrett Jones has stopped hitting after a decent start. This team drastically underachieved this week and was fortunate the loss wasn't a massive beat down! Ageless needs to right the ship in a hurry or this team will be way off course of finding any sort of destination.
Plaz 7 to Coyote Utley 4: For two teams at the bottom, they sure didn't play like it. These clubs do have some holes, but they won't stay at the bottom. First off, looking at the offense, I see Power!Plaz led the league this week with 44 runs. A ton of participants in that category. The teams won't win any batting titles, but they do produce. Vernon Wells is playing up to his might contract and Josh Hamilton is healthy and starting to hit like his old self. Good news for Plaz! There is punch on this squad. For Utley, Konerko and Cantu had a great month of April. If they can keep it up, then this team will climb. Lots of power as evidenced by 13 HR's and 38 RBI's. In pitching, Colby Lewis has been a gem so far for Utley. Matt Cain had a nice performance as well. The problem is Javier Vazquez. What is it with him and NY? Ben Sheets had an awful week. These two pitchers have to turn it around for Coyote to get back in contention. Plaz has had terrible luck with Grienke, who has pitched like his Cy Young self, but getting absolutely no support from KC's punchless offense. Hamels has not got it really going yet and he is going to be crucial to Plaz's success. Can these two clubs turn it around. Oh yes, but how far is the question?
Hope you enjoyed!
BASEMAN
Uticans 6 to Champions 4: Was this a true upset? Champions has been at the top all season so far. It was an upset, but a minor one in my estimation. Champs easily has the better staff, and it showed, but the offense is stagnant and dropping each week. Of course, Utica's offense dominated and only hit .248. Champs better enjoy his reign at the top for now, because it ain't going to last much longer. Outside of SB's, the offense was absolutely abysmal. With the likes of Jay Bruce and Adam Dunn, this team is going to go through some droughts. Jose Guillen isn't going to keep it up forever either and he came back to earth this week. I'm not buying into any Ike Davis hype either. Don't get me wrong, the offense has the potential to blow you out of the water some weeks, but there are going to be some severe power outage numbers like this week that is bound to drag this team down. Pitching is relied on heavily for this team to succeed over the long haul. It is a better than average staff, but not enough to overcome the offensive shortcomings. Look for Ed's fantastic start to start leveling off. As for Uticans, had an off week offensively and won. The offense is a given with Longoria and Jeter delivering on cue every week. I think Austin Jackson will not continue to deliver like a madman soon as the league figures him out, but ride him while you can. Pitching staff actually had a decent week, but still lost out. More often than not they will as they can be wild. Riding a roller coaster will be what Utica experiences with this bunch all season long. Reminds me too much of last year's squad. Good win to beat a first place team though.
Stars 6 to Hardballers 6: Stars just hung on in this tightly contested thriller after pouncing all over Hardballers early in the week. Stephen's team was putting up some frightening awesome numbers early on. Drafting Carlos Gonzalez was brilliant as he hit .390 with 2 dingers, 10 RBI's, and 3 SB's. This guy can flat out play as I watch him almost daily. Ryan Doumit hit well on the left coast this week posting a .400 batting average. If only Stars pitching staff performed like the first 3 weeks, then this matchup could have gotten ugly for Randy. But to be kind, his staff really had a nice week, so the points were very deserving on the defensive end. Who is the best player in MLB right now. Hands down, it is Robinson Cano! He hit .440 with 11 hits and 4 HR's. Not the first week, he has put up some impressive numbers either. It may not be pretty for teams when Prince Fielder gets going either. I haven't even mentioned Andre Eithier who hit 4 HR's himself with 10 Runs, 10 RBI's and a .385 average. OK, a lot of that onslaught was against the Pirates, but the last I checked they were a major league team (I think?) This was a matchup to watch this week!
Blind Squirrels 10 to Zonk 1: Swami predicted this one to be a no-brainer. Looks like it was with Squirrels putting an ass whooping on Zonk. Yet, it was predicted that Squirrels would get an ass kicking, so what was up? Squirrels numbers offensively and defensively was "UP!" Squirrels had an outstanding pitching performance and I warned the league about this before the season began. If Juan can hold his own offensively, the this team is going to be tough to deal with. Chris Carpenter was dealing with 2 W's. Dan Haren was his usual self. Niemann plays for an offensive power on the Rays. Ricky Romero is underrated playing in Toronto. Unfortunately for Squirrels is that De La Rosa may be out for some time with a torn tendon in his finger. The big question on offense is if the young guns can keep it up throughout the long season like Heyward, McCutcheon, and Escobar. Kelly Johnson has been spectacular in AZ. Can he keep up the pace? There are proven commodities in Pujols, Reynolds, and Kinsler (just coming back), but some question marks. Also, Ivan Rodriguez is hitting excellent right now. Can this offense keep it going??? It did this week and won BIG! Zonk has had some misfortune happen to his club and it showed. Losing Ellsbury and Nelson Cruz is a big blow. Cruz was literally, tearing the cover off the ball. This team has some serious weapons! Theriot was a great pickup as he continued his hot streak hitting .419 with 13 hits. Butler was solid, but the rest of the offense took the week off. King Felix had a surprising bad week with 2 losses. You won't see that much. Now Trevor Hoffman is killing this team! He reminds me of Kevin Gregg, whom I had to suffer with last year. OMG, Zonk has Kevin Gregg too! Yikes! I love the starting pitching staff, but the relief pitching is going to be murder for Stephen's team to deal with all year. It won't last!! But, let's just say playing Zonk now in the schedule is the time to be doing it. When the offense gets healty, this is one of the last teams I would want to deal with. This will easily be the worst loss of the season for Zonk!
BASEMAN 9 to Hitters 3: Don't know why it is, but always have good fortune against Tommy's team. The offensive categories were close until about 2 days left and then B-Man's team exploded! The league was warned about the offense before the season, and of course most teams thought I was being biased. Maybe that looked like the case, but check the stats and one will see I wasn't kidding. Now watch my team lay a goose egg next week.....LOL. I knew all was going well when I had to use Brandon Inge to sub for Zimmerman, and Inge only hit 3 HR's. Then Zimmerman comes back on Friday and hits me 2 HR's. Hanley R. hit 4 dingers this week. One weird stat came in pitching where Tommy got his first victory in saves. Despite having 3 legit closers to Tommy's one closer in Feliz, Hitters wins 3 saves to 0 saves. Now who would have thought that. But then, my team win the W's, but pitches about 4 games less. Pitching is one facet very tough to figure out. Let's just say you hope to have an ace or two who you hope to give you the best chance to win! Tommy's team will step it up. The offense is too good. Rickie Weeks at 2nd base is a huge question mark, but the rest of the pieces are there. Cliff Lee came back strong with 0 BB's and 8 K's, but didn't pick up the win despite giving up 0 runs. Problem with Seattle is they don't score much. Question? Tommy, are the Orioles your favorite team because you have a boatload of them? Why is a bigger question?
REDS 7 to Ageless 4: Rick RED'S took out the sticks this week for an impressive offensive performance. Ageless' offense might have well not even played this week as it was just plain "Sorry." Let's start with some positives, which was REDS performance. 4 guys hit over .4oo this week. Standouts were Asdrubal Cabrera, Tejada, Marlon Byrd and David Wright. Marlon Byrd has been a nice surprise this season and D. Wright is back to his old self. Tejada must have discovered the fountain of youth because he just keeps on keeping on! Bad break losing Granderson and Manny will help big time when he comes back. Teams need to take advantage of Rick's team now. Not sure what happened to the pitching, but was almost a complete sweep for the lone bright spot for Ageless. James Shields and Josh Johnson were dominant with 12 K's apiece. Mike needs these 2 horses to continue and carry the load. Sizemore and Kubel need to get the bats going soon as well. Garrett Jones has stopped hitting after a decent start. This team drastically underachieved this week and was fortunate the loss wasn't a massive beat down! Ageless needs to right the ship in a hurry or this team will be way off course of finding any sort of destination.
Plaz 7 to Coyote Utley 4: For two teams at the bottom, they sure didn't play like it. These clubs do have some holes, but they won't stay at the bottom. First off, looking at the offense, I see Power!Plaz led the league this week with 44 runs. A ton of participants in that category. The teams won't win any batting titles, but they do produce. Vernon Wells is playing up to his might contract and Josh Hamilton is healthy and starting to hit like his old self. Good news for Plaz! There is punch on this squad. For Utley, Konerko and Cantu had a great month of April. If they can keep it up, then this team will climb. Lots of power as evidenced by 13 HR's and 38 RBI's. In pitching, Colby Lewis has been a gem so far for Utley. Matt Cain had a nice performance as well. The problem is Javier Vazquez. What is it with him and NY? Ben Sheets had an awful week. These two pitchers have to turn it around for Coyote to get back in contention. Plaz has had terrible luck with Grienke, who has pitched like his Cy Young self, but getting absolutely no support from KC's punchless offense. Hamels has not got it really going yet and he is going to be crucial to Plaz's success. Can these two clubs turn it around. Oh yes, but how far is the question?
Hope you enjoyed!
BASEMAN
4.19.2010
Most Interesting Add Transactions of the Past Week #1
Most Interesting Add Transactions of the Past Week #1
Swami Takes Time For an Analysis Review
I thought it would be interesting for the Swami to review the add/drops and waiver wire moves made in the first week of league activity. Keep in mind, I don’t know what was in anyone’s head and their reasoning behind their transactions. Rather, think this as an outsiders view of what going on in the league.
The following report does not include the add/drop moves immediately following or draft. Those changes were reflected in the Roster Grids I sent to all of you, along with the Swami’s 2010 forecast for all teams and predictions as where they finish at the end of the regular season period.
Last – comments were made at the time of the transaction. Subsequent activities or status of the players may of changed since.
Baseman
A proven and valuable backup catcher.
Stars
A very good SP prospect and pickup Swami believes.
Swami said this move does make a lot of sense.
Ageless One
Picked up a decent longshot for his pitching staff. He had a very favorable first start and showed he can still get the job done.
Reds
Swami has mixed emotions in this move for he likes both players. However he sez, the more valuable guy just could be the one acquired by this team. I don’t believe Damon will be a free agent for long.
Interesting speculation here Sez Swami. Barajas is a power hitter and if he gets good time behind the plate, l would expect him to get his fair share of good stats
Swami believes Kevin Gregg may be one legit closer in waiting and should be kept. Joel Pineiro could be a good starter, but I figure Gregg would be more appropriate for the Hitters roster.
I consider it very fortunate for Tenn San Francisco
Coyote Utley
Highly rated prospect for the Blue Jays looks decent to the Swami – much better than Mastersons chance with Oakland
Swami thought this was a great pick-up, but Coyote changed his mind, replacing him later in the day.
Zonk
Swami likes this move for it is a good chance that Barry Zito could have an exceptional year. Keep in mind he sez, Zito finished 2009 strongly.
Week in Review #2: Champs is Riding High!
Ubaldo Jimenez: Pitched Rockies 1st No-HitterWho's name is that atop the standings, but noneother than Ed's Champions teams at 19-5, and that record could be even better if Coyote didn't make a last minute run for a few points. Ed's team is legit. Good pitching! Decent speed and some boppers! Oh, yeah and some good relief pitching! Plaz may be right about loading a team up with Phillies and Yankees. I actually like Placido Polanco in that Phillies lineup. Hitting #2 in that order means you really have to be a stiff not to get any numbers. Joe Guillen has been a boon so far as well. Shin Soo Choo was an absolute terror this past week with a .579 average and 3 HR's. The one downside to this team that we haven't seen too much of yet, may be the batting average with the likes of Adam Dunn, Jay Bruce and Nick Swisher. Possibly the hits from time to time, but the rest of the numbers are there. This is a legit team and quite possible Champs shot to win it all. I predicted this team as a playoff team and it looks all that. I haven't even mentioned Halladay yet. Santana isn't his dominant self of old, but for your #2 starter, he's pretty good! Phil Hughes and David Price could surprise as sleepers and so far are off and running. Plus, they play for good teams, so there is some margin for error when pitching. I'm not sure how J.A. Happ does it, especially with that BB:K ratio (8 walks to 5 K's), but he doesn't give up many runs. Again, another Philly! I don't like Pavano and expect him to blow up or get hurt, but I said the same about his last year and the guy does surprise. Although his last outing was terrible. Relief pitching is Rivera and Bell. Need I say more. I guess I need to add Madson, another Philly, but he hasn't earned any praise yet. ED, this is a great shot for you this season. I know you have one finals entrance under your belt, but there have been some meek years. Now is your time to shine again! This is the team to do it with.
As for Uticans (Swami), his record last week was 3-3 putting his overall record at 5-7. We need to give him a grace period. It's way too early in the year and some players absolutely don't do well in April. Keep up the good work though with all the research and time you have been putting in. I know I look forward to it.
Also, a shout out to Ubaldo Jimenez for the Rockies! First no-hitter ever for them! Even pitching in Coors, this guy is a legit #1 starter. With the humidor and his nasty heavy sinker, I need this guy to step it up big this season.
BASEMAN
4.11.2010
Week #1 in Review: Beginning of the Grind
Congrats to Champs for starting off Week #1 in first place. For those teams that got off to a good start, I'm sure it feels good. For the rest, it is only the first week and hope springs eternal!
Despite not starting out great myself, I enjoyed my one wonderful week of free MLB on Direct TV with all the games! My wife hated it, but I was in heaven! Now it is back to stattracker, the Rockies games, ESPN, Fox, and MLB TV. Still plenty of outlets, but not quite the same as having every game live at my fingertips. I think I wore out the remote going back and forth watching my players. It was awesome!!! Well, mostly awesome. Watching stinking Trevor Hoffman blow another save opportunity against the Cards Sunday evening was brutal, which cost me a point against Squirrels as Carpenter wiggled off the hook for a loss. Some of the relief pitching out there is absolutely awful. The position is already volatile for some teams and its just the first week. OK, now onto the review of matchups, starting with first place Champs against Plaz.
Champs 10 to Plaz 2: Ed's team tore it up in week 1, and Plaz had to be the whooping boy in this one. I agree that Champs must enjoy the limelight while it lasts as I don't see it lasting at the top all season. The reason why is the average won't hold up and despite Halladay and Santana, I don't believe the pitching can do what it did this week consistently. But props goes out to getting Polanco at 2nd base for the Phils. Batting 2nd in that lineup, he will put up numbers. Rollins looks to be a new player this year so far. I can't figure that guy out?? Rajai Davis ran wild. David Price, Happ, and Pavano are ok, but they won't pitch like that every week. Halladay is the real deal who should win the CY Young in my mind. Santana plays for the Mets, whose offense is a bit worrisome. I like Champ's team and he will be good, but not this good! 43 runs in the first week is ridiculous! Plaz ran into a buzzsaw and despite his misfortune, the team's overall numbers were ok on offense and had bad luck on defense by getting edged with a 2.91 ERA. If Vernon Wells has healthy wrists and Soriano can bounce back, and J. Hamilton stays healthy, the Plaz can surprise. I started out 3-9 last year, so a 2-10 start can easily be overcome. The offense will hurt you on various weeks, but don't see enough depth in the pitching. Not a good start, and I still see a long year for Plaz.
Hitters 8 to Ageless 4: I guess someone had to win this matchup as the numbers weren't great. Not quite sure what Hitters is doing with his lineup either, but somehow got 8 points? No catcher on Sunday, no reliever to speak of (although now Feliz has the Texas job), and Texeira on the bench?? Has 1 win on defense, 5 losses and 0 saves, but gets 8 points?? How the hell does that happen?? Living right the first week is how. Can't continue against the top notch clubs. Ageless trots out his usual team of speed with a little power mixed in. I love Garret Jones right now, and was hoping to scoop him up. That is a nice benefit for the Ageless One. The offense will be much better than this week, but is not intimidating. Outside of Johnson and maybe Beckett, the pitching needs help. Not enough heat and too many walks on the staff. Tommy enjoy your opening week victory and the 2nd place standing right now because if some managing strategy doesn't improve, it will be short lived.
Zonk 7 to Hardballers 3: Stephen had one of the best all around offensive performances of the week. I know I didn't give this team much love in my predictions and I am still skeptical, but they performed well this week. Beltre has an excellent first week for the Red Sox with a .400 average. Mauer did his usual hitting .380 and Morneau is in a nice hitting spot. Nelson Cruz was unconsious this week with 4 dingers. Still think there are too many sluggers with low batting averages which will hurt in the long run, but they scored big this week. The pitching will get better as Verlander started slow and King Felix a bit too. But, they will be strong. Zonk will do his usual mainstreaming with pitchers as the depth is thin after the big two. Randy's team had a good number of hits, but not much to show for it. Only 20 RBI's and 26 runs was unusual. Will have to ride C.C. and Hanson in the pitching dept. Although, Slowey was a nice surprise this week. Almost a no-no for C.C. against the Rays as well. Good start for Zonk and a welcome surprise.
REDS 7 to Utica 4: I disagree with Rick. This win was pretty as the numbers proved it. For the first week, this showdown had impressive hitting. Usually we don't start seeing these kinds of numbers until later in the summer. Tough offensive battle here. Utica leaves off right where he did last year by laying out 68 hits and a .317 average, only to be outdone by Rick's 70 hits and .321 average. Tough break there. Miguel Cabrera is just a stud, and if Magglio Ordonez can keep it going like the days of yesteryear, the REDS may be onto something. I do think David Wright will improve upon last year's performance. REDS had a good pitching performance too. 2.54 ERA with Wainwright doing his usual and Weaver and Buerhle having good outings. Not sold having 3 Detroit Tigers on offense and the pitching can't keep it up, but for the week, REDS looked good. Uticans deserved better this week on offense, but ran into the wrong club at the wrong time. Can Feldman be for real for the Rangers? Will Harden stay healthy? Some questions marks on the pitching staff, but if the pitching can prevail, the Uticans will be tough. Longoria may have an MVP type year as he started out good!
Squirrels 7 to Baseman 4: Having the 1st pick in the draft two years in a row doesn't hurt! Pujols only had 4 HR's this week and 10 RBI's and 7 Runs. This guy can carry a fantasy team, and outside of Jason Heyward, practically did. This was a close contest, but B-Man felt like running uphill all week and just couldn't make the final spurt. Is Jason Heyward for real? Sure looks like it. If he can continue to hit like he did this week with 3 HR's, then Squirrels will battle for the title. Vladimir Guerrero looked like his old self in the Texas lineup too. Pitching doesn't walk many people with only 10 BB's. Will be hard to beat this lineups power. B-Man had some bad luck in relief despite posting quality numbers. Not the best week and could have gotten blown out though, so will take the loss instead of being in a deeper hole. Injuries already creeping up on B-Man with Montero on the DL and Zimmerman with a hurt hammy. Pitching numbers were good, but Squirrels was a bit better. Squirrels got revenge in this one!
Stars 6 to Coyote Utley 5: This was the tightest matchup of the week both by score and numbers. Lincecum once again is the real deal. Man, I miss him already from my team last year. Now Stars gets to benefit. Did okay in the pitching stats despite poor performances by Nolasco and Kershaw. Garza picked up the slack though. The relief pitching is scary though to say the least. The Astros are atrocious and how many opportunities will Lindstrom get? Gonzalez is a joke on the mound for the O's. Dotal plays for the Buccos. Enough said there. I don't blame Stephen for picking relief late, but these are not quality relievers at all or play for bad teams. Love the offense and it will be more potent as the season heats up. Enough said there. I also like Utley's offense. 38 RBI's with only 55 hits is pretty nice! Coyote went big on the pitching, so will try to survive sometimes by number of starts it seems. timmy definitely won't repeat last year's debacle with this squad. Two quality teams that were locked in a heated battle. Look for these teams to rise in the standings in due time.
Hope you enjoyed the 2010 first edition of "Week in Review." Please feel free to give comments my way, even when you disagree. I think???
BASEMAN
Despite not starting out great myself, I enjoyed my one wonderful week of free MLB on Direct TV with all the games! My wife hated it, but I was in heaven! Now it is back to stattracker, the Rockies games, ESPN, Fox, and MLB TV. Still plenty of outlets, but not quite the same as having every game live at my fingertips. I think I wore out the remote going back and forth watching my players. It was awesome!!! Well, mostly awesome. Watching stinking Trevor Hoffman blow another save opportunity against the Cards Sunday evening was brutal, which cost me a point against Squirrels as Carpenter wiggled off the hook for a loss. Some of the relief pitching out there is absolutely awful. The position is already volatile for some teams and its just the first week. OK, now onto the review of matchups, starting with first place Champs against Plaz.
Champs 10 to Plaz 2: Ed's team tore it up in week 1, and Plaz had to be the whooping boy in this one. I agree that Champs must enjoy the limelight while it lasts as I don't see it lasting at the top all season. The reason why is the average won't hold up and despite Halladay and Santana, I don't believe the pitching can do what it did this week consistently. But props goes out to getting Polanco at 2nd base for the Phils. Batting 2nd in that lineup, he will put up numbers. Rollins looks to be a new player this year so far. I can't figure that guy out?? Rajai Davis ran wild. David Price, Happ, and Pavano are ok, but they won't pitch like that every week. Halladay is the real deal who should win the CY Young in my mind. Santana plays for the Mets, whose offense is a bit worrisome. I like Champ's team and he will be good, but not this good! 43 runs in the first week is ridiculous! Plaz ran into a buzzsaw and despite his misfortune, the team's overall numbers were ok on offense and had bad luck on defense by getting edged with a 2.91 ERA. If Vernon Wells has healthy wrists and Soriano can bounce back, and J. Hamilton stays healthy, the Plaz can surprise. I started out 3-9 last year, so a 2-10 start can easily be overcome. The offense will hurt you on various weeks, but don't see enough depth in the pitching. Not a good start, and I still see a long year for Plaz.
Hitters 8 to Ageless 4: I guess someone had to win this matchup as the numbers weren't great. Not quite sure what Hitters is doing with his lineup either, but somehow got 8 points? No catcher on Sunday, no reliever to speak of (although now Feliz has the Texas job), and Texeira on the bench?? Has 1 win on defense, 5 losses and 0 saves, but gets 8 points?? How the hell does that happen?? Living right the first week is how. Can't continue against the top notch clubs. Ageless trots out his usual team of speed with a little power mixed in. I love Garret Jones right now, and was hoping to scoop him up. That is a nice benefit for the Ageless One. The offense will be much better than this week, but is not intimidating. Outside of Johnson and maybe Beckett, the pitching needs help. Not enough heat and too many walks on the staff. Tommy enjoy your opening week victory and the 2nd place standing right now because if some managing strategy doesn't improve, it will be short lived.
Zonk 7 to Hardballers 3: Stephen had one of the best all around offensive performances of the week. I know I didn't give this team much love in my predictions and I am still skeptical, but they performed well this week. Beltre has an excellent first week for the Red Sox with a .400 average. Mauer did his usual hitting .380 and Morneau is in a nice hitting spot. Nelson Cruz was unconsious this week with 4 dingers. Still think there are too many sluggers with low batting averages which will hurt in the long run, but they scored big this week. The pitching will get better as Verlander started slow and King Felix a bit too. But, they will be strong. Zonk will do his usual mainstreaming with pitchers as the depth is thin after the big two. Randy's team had a good number of hits, but not much to show for it. Only 20 RBI's and 26 runs was unusual. Will have to ride C.C. and Hanson in the pitching dept. Although, Slowey was a nice surprise this week. Almost a no-no for C.C. against the Rays as well. Good start for Zonk and a welcome surprise.
REDS 7 to Utica 4: I disagree with Rick. This win was pretty as the numbers proved it. For the first week, this showdown had impressive hitting. Usually we don't start seeing these kinds of numbers until later in the summer. Tough offensive battle here. Utica leaves off right where he did last year by laying out 68 hits and a .317 average, only to be outdone by Rick's 70 hits and .321 average. Tough break there. Miguel Cabrera is just a stud, and if Magglio Ordonez can keep it going like the days of yesteryear, the REDS may be onto something. I do think David Wright will improve upon last year's performance. REDS had a good pitching performance too. 2.54 ERA with Wainwright doing his usual and Weaver and Buerhle having good outings. Not sold having 3 Detroit Tigers on offense and the pitching can't keep it up, but for the week, REDS looked good. Uticans deserved better this week on offense, but ran into the wrong club at the wrong time. Can Feldman be for real for the Rangers? Will Harden stay healthy? Some questions marks on the pitching staff, but if the pitching can prevail, the Uticans will be tough. Longoria may have an MVP type year as he started out good!
Squirrels 7 to Baseman 4: Having the 1st pick in the draft two years in a row doesn't hurt! Pujols only had 4 HR's this week and 10 RBI's and 7 Runs. This guy can carry a fantasy team, and outside of Jason Heyward, practically did. This was a close contest, but B-Man felt like running uphill all week and just couldn't make the final spurt. Is Jason Heyward for real? Sure looks like it. If he can continue to hit like he did this week with 3 HR's, then Squirrels will battle for the title. Vladimir Guerrero looked like his old self in the Texas lineup too. Pitching doesn't walk many people with only 10 BB's. Will be hard to beat this lineups power. B-Man had some bad luck in relief despite posting quality numbers. Not the best week and could have gotten blown out though, so will take the loss instead of being in a deeper hole. Injuries already creeping up on B-Man with Montero on the DL and Zimmerman with a hurt hammy. Pitching numbers were good, but Squirrels was a bit better. Squirrels got revenge in this one!
Stars 6 to Coyote Utley 5: This was the tightest matchup of the week both by score and numbers. Lincecum once again is the real deal. Man, I miss him already from my team last year. Now Stars gets to benefit. Did okay in the pitching stats despite poor performances by Nolasco and Kershaw. Garza picked up the slack though. The relief pitching is scary though to say the least. The Astros are atrocious and how many opportunities will Lindstrom get? Gonzalez is a joke on the mound for the O's. Dotal plays for the Buccos. Enough said there. I don't blame Stephen for picking relief late, but these are not quality relievers at all or play for bad teams. Love the offense and it will be more potent as the season heats up. Enough said there. I also like Utley's offense. 38 RBI's with only 55 hits is pretty nice! Coyote went big on the pitching, so will try to survive sometimes by number of starts it seems. timmy definitely won't repeat last year's debacle with this squad. Two quality teams that were locked in a heated battle. Look for these teams to rise in the standings in due time.
Hope you enjoyed the 2010 first edition of "Week in Review." Please feel free to give comments my way, even when you disagree. I think???
BASEMAN
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