Newsletter for games through 5-12-2019

WEEKLY WINNERS and WHATNOTS

Nobody ran the table in the NL but the Phils were 5-1…the Bosox had the best AL mark with a perfect 6-0, and are now a half game up on the Rays…and the Rays were 5-1…Rockies and Reds each had hot weeks, and kept themselves in contention…and the Chisox had a strong 6-1 week in an anyone-could-win-it AL central…11 trades this week, with Oakland leading the charge…Dbacks have the most actual HR, by a fair bit…Brewers lead the ASFBL…even though the Brewers lead the ASFBL in homers there are 7 teams that have scored more runs…Boston leads in actual OPS….The actual collective ERA of the guys in the Tampa Bay bullpen is 1.75…next closest is 2.63 (NYY)…8 teams have actual bullpen ERAs under 3.00…strangest collection is the Brewers, who have the 3rd-best actual bullpen ERA, and a starting rotation with an ERA of 5.32…best actual batter walk percentage belongs to the Cubs…Baltimore hitters lead the ASFBL in….at-bats…Cleveland pitchers lead the ASFBL in WHIP…Chris Davis has yet to bat for the ASFBL Orioles this year…or pitch…Cody Bellinger is only hitting .398 in the ASFBL…so he’s due to adjust up…Chisox are under .500 overall but 13-6 in their division…

FEATS AND FAILURES

Mike Soroka of ATL had 15 strikeouts against LAD on 5/6/2019
Jason Castro of KCR hit 3 home runs against HOU on 5/6/2019
Jake Odorizzi of MIN had 15 strikeouts against TOR on 5/6/2019
Chris Paddack of SDP had 13 strikeouts against NYM on 5/6/2019
Michael Conforto of NYM robbed 3 hits against SDP on 5/6/2019
Brandon Woodruff of MIL had 13 strikeouts against WAS on 5/6/2019
Hyun-Jin Ryu of LAD had 11 strikeouts against ATL on 5/7/2019
Carlos Carrasco of BOS had 13 strikeouts against BAL on 5/7/2019
Jacob deGrom of OAK had 11 strikeouts against CIN on 5/7/2019
Jordan Lyles of PIT had 11 strikeouts against TEX on 5/7/2019
Zack Greinke of ARI had 11 strikeouts against TBR on 5/8/2019
Shane Bieber of CLE had 10 strikeouts against CWS on 5/8/2019
Luis Castillo of CIN had 10 strikeouts against OAK on 5/8/2019
Jerad Eickhoff of PHI had 12 strikeouts against STL on 5/8/2019
Mike Tauchman of NYY struck out 4 times against SEA on 5/8/2019
Jon Lester of LAA had 17 strikeouts against DET on 5/9/2019
Jefry Rodriguez of CLE had 10 strikeouts against CWS on 5/9/2019
Adam Jones of ARI had 5 hits against ATL on 5/10/2019
Lucas Giolito of CWS had 15 strikeouts against TOR on 5/10/2019
Gerrit Cole of CLE had 11 strikeouts against OAK on 5/10/2019
Caleb Smith of MIA had 12 strikeouts against NYM on 5/10/2019
Masahiro Tanaka of NYY had 11 strikeouts against TBR on 5/10/2019
Eric Hosmer of SDP had 5 hits against COL on 5/10/2019
Justin Verlander of BOS had 13 strikeouts against SEA on 5/10/2019
Yusei Kikuchi of SEA had 10 strikeouts against BOS on 5/10/2019
Mike Soroka of ATL had 14 strikeouts against ARI on 5/11/2019
Luke Weaver of ARI had 10 strikeouts against ATL on 5/11/2019
Spencer Turnbull of DET had 12 strikeouts against MIN on 5/11/2019
Jake Odorizzi of MIN had 11 strikeouts against DET on 5/11/2019
Brandon Dixon of DET struck out 4 times against MIN on 5/11/2019
DET and MIN played 13.5 innings on 5/11/2019
Charlie Morton of TBR had 10 strikeouts against NYY on 5/11/2019
Marcell Ozuna of STL struck out 4 times against PIT on 5/11/2019
Alcides Escobar of CWS had 5 hits against TOR on 5/12/2019
Jacob deGrom of OAK had 11 strikeouts against CLE on 5/12/2019
Matthew Boyd of DET had 10 strikeouts against MIN on 5/12/2019
Bryce Harper of PHI struck out 4 times against KCR on 5/12/2019
Chris Paddack of SDP had 13 strikeouts against COL on 5/12/2019
Carlos Carrasco of BOS had 11 strikeouts against SEA on 5/12/2019
Zack Wheeler of SEA had 11 strikeouts against BOS on 5/12/2019
Hyun-Jin Ryu of LAD had 12 strikeouts against WAS on 5/12/2019

 

 

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Results for games through 5-5-19

COMINGS AND GOINGS:

Leo has already made the email introduction; let me welcome via newsletter Sara Sanchez, new owner of the Tigers.  Sara and I are fellow Utah escapees and she is the author of the “Bleed Cub Blue” podcast, which is an impressive professional credential  in my eyes…Leo has recently relocated, and he and I have plans to see the Mets play the Dodgers later this month…which is notable only because, although he and I have both been in the league since 1994, and he’s been helping run it since at leas 1995, it will be the first time we’ve seen a major league game together…

IMITATING FIERS:

Mike Soroka of ATL threw a no-hitter against SDP on 5/1/2019!  And even with that, his ASFBL ERA is still higher than his real ERA…

COMMENTS:

Philly went a perfect 5-0 and is now just 2 back of Atlanta, who themselves collected 5 wins…as did the Brewers…The NL East is collectively 12.5 games better than their real teams…the Mets are the only team dragging that number downward…only the Reds and Dodgers have positive wins-over-reality numbers in the other NL divisions…ESPN ran a “why the Cubs/Cardinals rivalry matters again” story this week…the teams are tied in the ASFBL NL central…the Padres are matched dead even with the actual club, which is pretty good, and they’d be closer to first if the Dodgers weren’t 4 games better than the real club…defending ASFBL champ Tony Bernacchi had a 6-1 week, is +2.5 WOR, and pulled with a half-game of Alan Minsky’s Rays…KC was also 6-1, is within 3 games of first, and +4 WOR…Minnesota and Cleveland top the division…top 4 teams in the AL west combined to go 17-5…Texas has won 9 of it’s last 10…Seattle still tops the AL with the best record, even as Adam is re-vamping his lineup…after the Phillies, the Brewers have the best NL record over the last 10 games…three players had 3 home runs in a game last week…Chisox are the only team other than the Mariners with 20 stolen bases so far…Boston has a .277 team average, inches ahead of the Royals at .274…

FEATS AND FAILURES:

Austin Barnes of LAD hit 3 home runs against SFG on 4/29/2019
Austin Barnes of LAD had 6 RBI against SFG on 4/29/2019
Paul Goldschmidt of STL hit 3 home runs against WAS on 4/29/2019
Paul Goldschmidt of STL had 7 RBI against WAS on 4/29/2019
Charlie Morton of TBR had 11 strikeouts against KCR on 4/29/2019
Carlos Santana of CLE robbed 3 hits against MIA on 4/30/2019
Mike Minor of TEX had 13 strikeouts against PIT on 4/30/2019
Tyler Skaggs of LAA had 10 strikeouts against TOR on 4/30/2019
TOR and LAA played 13.5 innings on 4/30/2019
Pablo Lopez of MIA had 10 strikeouts against CLE on 5/1/2019
Brandon Woodruff of MIL had 10 strikeouts against COL on 5/1/2019
Matthew Boyd of DET had 10 strikeouts against PHI on 5/1/2019
Zach Eflin of PHI had 11 strikeouts against DET on 5/1/2019
Jake Odorizzi of MIN had 10 strikeouts against HOU on 5/1/2019
Hyun-Jin Ryu of LAD had 11 strikeouts against SFG on 5/1/2019
Frankie Montas of OAK had 10 strikeouts against BOS on 5/1/2019
Mike Soroka of ATL had 16 strikeouts against SDP on 5/1/2019
Kyle Schwarber of LAA struck out 4 times against TOR on 5/1/2019
David Fletcher of LAA robbed 3 hits against TOR on 5/1/2019
Carlos Carrasco of BOS had 10 strikeouts against CWS on 5/2/2019
Anthony DeSclafani of CIN had 10 strikeouts against NYM on 5/2/2019
Noah Syndergaard of NYM had 11 strikeouts against CIN on 5/2/2019
Jon Lester of LAA had 14 strikeouts against TOR on 5/2/2019
TOR and LAA played 14.5 innings on 5/2/2019
Yoan Moncada of CWS struck out 4 times against BOS on 5/3/2019
Pete Alonso of NYM hit 3 home runs against MIL on 5/3/2019
Pete Alonso of NYM had 7 RBI against MIL on 5/3/2019
Chris Bassitt of OAK had 11 strikeouts against PIT on 5/3/2019
Tyler Glasnow of TBR had 12 strikeouts against BAL on 5/3/2019
Stephen Strasburg of WAS had 11 strikeouts against PHI on 5/3/2019
Jerad Eickhoff of PHI had 10 strikeouts against WAS on 5/3/2019
David Peralta of ARI struck out 4 times against COL on 5/4/2019
ARI and COL played 13.5 innings on 5/4/2019
Ryan O’Hearn of KCR struck out 4 times against DET on 5/4/2019
CC Sabathia of NYY had 10 strikeouts against MIN on 5/4/2019
Jonathan Schoop of MIN struck out 4 times against NYY on 5/4/2019
Zach Davies of MIL had 10 strikeouts against NYM on 5/4/2019
Jack Flaherty of STL had 10 strikeouts against CHC on 5/4/2019
Ariel Jurado of TEX had 17 strikeouts against TOR on 5/4/2019
Raimel Tapia of COL hit for the cycle against ARI on 5/5/2019
Guillermo Heredia of TBR struck out 4 times against BAL on 5/5/2019
Mike Minor of TEX had 11 strikeouts against TOR on 5/5/2019

Results for games through 4-28-2019

LIFE AND LEAGUE RE-ARRANGEMENTS: Welcome Leo as the newest Angelino, and he now lives a stone’s throw from Dodger Stadium in Pasadena…we’ll shortly have a new manager for the Tigers, due to an early owner departure…new owner announced soon (before the weekend, I hope).

COMMENTS: The Dodgers and the Braves are setting themselves into a class apart; both lead their divisions, they are the only two teams with winning percentages above .700, they are both in positive-WOR territory.  Yet, the Phillies trail the Bravos by only 3 and the Padres are only 4 back, and its reasonable to assume that the front-runners will probably cool off at some point…in the NL Central the Cards and Cubs are in a dead tie and four teams are within 4.5 games…Seattle is the class of the AL, and is the only DH-using club with a win percentage north of .600…The Rays have cooled a bit but still lead the AL East, where four clubs are within 2.5 of first…Cleveland and Minnesota are having an early-season dogfight and are separated by only a half game…everyone in the AL West is within 1 game of the actual club, except for Oakland who is +2.5…Atlanta and Washington are 1-2 in the NL East and 1-2 in the league-wide WOR standings…Houston and Texas were each 6-1 last week, tied for best in the league…Tampa Bay has the best actual ERA, and it’s a full run better than second-place…but Houston has a real-bullpen ERA of 1.89…but they’re only 2-3 in 1-run games…Atlanta is 10-1…the Dodgers are 13-3…the most impressive thing about that is the number of 1-run games they’ve been in…TWELVE trades this week…almost more than the rest of the year combined…Oakland and the Dodgers led the way…Chris Bassitt of Oakland struck out 33 in 17 innings last week…Angles got 2 quality starts out of Felix Pena…Moncada of the Chisox hit .524…

FEATS AND FAILURES:

Lucas Duda of KCR struck out 4 times against NYY on 4/21/2019
Spencer Turnbull of DET had 11 strikeouts against CWS on 4/21/2019
Kyle Schwarber of LAA struck out 4 times against SEA on 4/21/2019
Eric Lauer of SDP struck out 4 times against CIN on 4/21/2019
Matt Adams of WAS struck out 4 times against MIA on 4/21/2019
Carlos Carrasco of BOS had 10 strikeouts against DET on 4/22/2019
Brandon Dixon of DET struck out 4 times against BOS on 4/22/2019
Jerad Eickhoff of PHI had 12 strikeouts against NYM on 4/22/2019
Chris Bassitt of OAK had 13 strikeouts against TEX on 4/22/2019
Jeff Mathis of TEX struck out 4 times against OAK on 4/22/2019
Zack Greinke of ARI had 11 strikeouts against PIT on 4/23/2019
Jakob Junis of KCR had 10 strikeouts against TBR on 4/23/2019
Brandon Lowe of TBR struck out 4 times against KCR on 4/23/2019
Jose Quintana of CHC had 10 strikeouts against LAD on 4/23/2019
Trevor Bauer of CLE had 12 strikeouts against MIA on 4/24/2019
Caleb Smith of MIA had 10 strikeouts against CLE on 4/24/2019
Jack Flaherty of STL had 10 strikeouts against MIL on 4/24/2019
Daniel Mengde of OAK had 11 strikeouts against TEX on 4/24/2019
Matt Adams of WAS struck out 5 times against COL on 4/24/2019
Joey Votto of CIN struck out 4 times against ATL on 4/25/2019
David Bote of CHC struck out 4 times against LAD on 4/25/2019
Pablo Lopez of MIA had 10 strikeouts against PHI on 4/25/2019
Elvis Andrus of TEX had 5 hits against SEA on 4/25/2019
Danny Santana of TEX had 7 hits against SEA on 4/25/2019
Corey Kluber of HOU had 13 strikeouts against CLE on 4/26/2019
Mike Soroka of ATL had 16 strikeouts against COL on 4/26/2019
Ryan McMahon of COL struck out 4 times against ATL on 4/26/2019
Garrett Hampson of COL struck out 4 times against ATL on 4/26/2019
Spencer Turnbull of DET had 15 strikeouts against CWS on 4/26/2019
Brandon Woodruff of MIL had 12 strikeouts against NYM on 4/26/2019
James Paxton of NYY had 11 strikeouts against SFG on 4/26/2019
Brandon Crawford of SFG struck out 4 times against NYY on 4/26/2019
Brandon Belt of SFG struck out 4 times against NYY on 4/26/2019
Hyun-Jin Ryu of LAD had 10 strikeouts against PIT on 4/26/2019
Jason Martin of PIT struck out 4 times against LAD on 4/26/2019
Freddie Freeman of ATL hit 3 home runs against COL on 4/27/2019
Nicholas Castellanos of DET had 6 RBI against CWS on 4/27/2019
Orlando Arcia of MIL struck out 4 times against NYM on 4/27/2019
Luke Voit of NYY hit 3 home runs against SFG on 4/27/2019
Max Scherzer of WAS had 10 strikeouts against SDP on 4/27/2019
Christian Walker of ARI struck out 4 times against CHC on 4/28/2019
Luis Castillo of CIN had 10 strikeouts against STL on 4/28/2019
David Price of CLE had 11 strikeouts against HOU on 4/28/2019
Carlos Rodon of CWS had 12 strikeouts against DET on 4/28/2019
Casey Coleman of NYM had 11 strikeouts against MIL on 4/28/2019
Chris Bassitt of OAK had 20 strikeouts against TOR on 4/28/2019
Cody Bellinger of LAD hit for the cycle against PIT on 4/28/2019
Stephen Strasburg of WAS had 11 strikeouts against SDP on 4/28/2019
Wil Myers of SDP struck out 4 times against WAS on 4/28/2019
Marco Gonzales of SEA had 10 strikeouts against TEX on 4/28/2019
Danny Santana of TEX struck out 4 times against SEA on 4/28/2019

 

Results for games through 4-21-19

NOTES: We are back to the old sim , so the “watch” function is not going to work for a while.  Players of the week are also wonky.  I’ll keep you posted on debugging.  Our Tigers owner has withdrawn, so that team will be lite-managed to keep the lineups solid until we can find a replacement.  We hope to have one by next week, but if you know of someone who’d like to take over the team, let us know!

COMMENTARY: Washington raced out to a 6-0 week, but still finds itself 3 back of the Braves…the Mets had a perfect week, unmarred by a single win…Philly also posted a winning week…Cardinals were the class of the NL central at 5-1, half a game over the Pirates at 4-1…Dodgers were 6-1 last week and are 9-1 over their last 10…Padres are hanging tough at 2d place and the Rockies have the best WOR in the division…the Rays still hold the top spot in the AL East but the banged-up Yankees had the best record in the division…Mark Chen gave me permission to poke fun at the horrible season the Orioles are having and then promptly went 4-3…the Twins are +1 WOR and atop the AL Central…Indians, Chisox, and Royals are all in position WOR territory…Seattle is in first and is an astounding 10-1 in the division…Oakland is +3 WOR…Dodgers have the top WOR mark but the Cubs are only a game back…Heyward and Contreras each have 12 HR, and are tied for 2d in the ASFBL…Cody Bellinger is hitting .438 to lead the league…Socrates Brito has an unexamined swing that is not worth taking, and is scraping the bottom at .063…Chris Davis hasn’t seen ASFBL action yet…the Seattle team average is .288, but Minnesota is right behind at .285…Seattle has scored a stunning 43 more runs than anyone else…Cleveland pitchers have allowed the fewest hits…Toronto has a better team ERA…Twin pitching has allowed the fewest HR…Dodgers are 11-1 in 1-run games…Atlanta is 7-1…no AL team has more than 5 1-run game wins…three trades since Sunday, and Cleveland and Boston show no signs of slowing down…

FEATS AND FAILURES:

Kolten Wong of STL had 5 hits against MIL on 4/15/2019
Billy McKinney of TOR struck out 4 times against MIN on 4/15/2019
Tyler Naquin of CLE struck out 4 times against SEA on 4/15/2019
Jose Quintana of CHC had 13 strikeouts against MIA on 4/16/2019
Anthony Rizzo of CHC had 6 hits against MIA on 4/16/2019
Spencer Turnbull of DET had 10 strikeouts against PIT on 4/16/2019
Jordan Lyles of PIT had 13 strikeouts against DET on 4/16/2019
Niko Goodrum of DET struck out 4 times against PIT on 4/16/2019
Christian Walker of ARI hit 3 home runs against ATL on 4/17/2019
Caleb Smith of MIA had 12 strikeouts against CHC on 4/17/2019
Guillermo Heredia of TBR struck out 4 times against BAL on 4/18/2019
BAL and TBR played 14.5 innings on 4/18/2019
Daniel Norris of DET had 11 strikeouts against CWS on 4/18/2019
Brandon Drury of TOR struck out 4 times against MIN on 4/18/2019
Max Muncy of LAD struck out 4 times against MIL on 4/18/2019
Julio Urias of LAD had 10 strikeouts against MIL on 4/19/2019
Daniel Mengde of OAK had 11 strikeouts against TOR on 4/19/2019
Lou Trivino of OAK had 10 strikeouts against TOR on 4/19/2019
Socrates Brito of TOR struck out 4 times against OAK on 4/19/2019
Rowdy Tellez of TOR struck out 4 times against OAK on 4/19/2019
TOR and OAK played 13.5 innings on 4/19/2019
Trevor Bauer of CLE had 15 strikeouts against ATL on 4/19/2019
Paul Goldschmidt of STL hit 3 home runs against NYM on 4/19/2019
Paul Goldschmidt of STL had 6 RBI against NYM on 4/19/2019
Joe Musgrove of PIT had 13 strikeouts against SFG on 4/19/2019
SFG and PIT played 15.5 innings on 4/19/2019
Pablo Lopez of MIA had 10 strikeouts against WAS on 4/19/2019
Ji-Man Choi of TBR struck out 4 times against BOS on 4/19/2019
Jeremy Hellickson of WAS had 10 strikeouts against MIA on 4/20/2019
Matt Adams of WAS struck out 4 times against MIA on 4/20/2019
Jameson Taillon of PIT had 10 strikeouts against SFG on 4/20/2019
Jon Gray of COL had 10 strikeouts against PHI on 4/20/2019
Zack Godley of ARI had 10 strikeouts against CHC on 4/20/2019
Lucas Duda of KCR struck out 4 times against NYY on 4/21/2019
Spencer Turnbull of DET had 11 strikeouts against CWS on 4/21/2019
Kyle Schwarber of LAA struck out 4 times against SEA on 4/21/2019
Eric Lauer of SDP struck out 4 times against CIN on 4/21/2019
Matt Adams of WAS struck out 4 times against MIA on 4/21/2019

WORLD SERIES RESULTS 2018

After playing dueling 7-game LCS series, the teams did not disappoint and played a full set of 7 for the championship.  After having been held to 3 runs in 18 innings of the first two games, the Dodger bats broke out for 12 runs in game three.  Boston took game 4 with a walk-off run in the 9th after coming back from a 6-2 deficit…undeterred, Rick Wynne’s team scored 19 runs in the next two games to event the series before the Bosox took the decisive game by an 8-3 counts, with Steven Wright pitching 8 scoreless innings and JD Martinez capping off a great season by knocking out 2 homers and knocking in 4 runs…Benintendi and Martinez each hit .379 on identical 11-for-29 performances…Turner led the way for the Dodgers by hitting .357.

You gotta feel great for Tony Bernacchi, who’s been through some stuff lately.  Now in his 18th ASFBL season, Tony has twice made it to the ASFBL World Series but this is his first year to win the whole bag of marbles…he led the Bosox to 106 wins and the series back in 2011, eerily prescient of this season, and as fate would have it he skippered the Dodgers for his first 2 years in the league.  You can’t do better than first, and it couldn’t have happened to a better and more deserving guy.

And it means more when you can do it against a guy like Rick Wynne, who leads ASFBL in everything…best lifetime win percentage for anyone with more than one season…17 straight seasons of playoffs or WOR awards…the year that broke the streak was one where he still had 91 wins…*never* had a negative WOR season…four championships…and one of the truly great guys you can know inside or outside a fantasy league.

That’s a season wrap, guys.  Thanks for all the fun and we’ll see you next spring!

October 10: LCS results

BOSTON IN SEVEN: In a word, epic.  Boston had to score at least 8 runs in each of their 4 wins to outdistance the Astros…Houston was up 1-0 and almost went up 2 when Boston squeaked out a 9-8, extra-inning win in game 2…Houston won the only pitcher’s duel in game 5 to go up 3-2 with Josh James beating Chris Sale…Boston evened the series at 3 each in Houston on the strength of dueling 3-RBI games from Martinez and Moreland…they clinched the series by getting 8 runs off of Verlander and sealing the deal 8-5…Jim Casey has had an incredible ASFBL career, going back to 1995…he’s had Houston in the playoffs 2 of the last 4 years and also got them to the LCS in 2017…He made it to the World Series in 2010 and won the whole shebang in 2011, in the middle of three consecutive 100-win seasons….he was the 2000 WOR champ with the Cubs…and is always a league stalwart, one of the first guys to get it going in spring training, and always a pleasure to chat with.  Great year, Jim!

DODGERS IN SEVEN: After taking a 13-3 drubbing in game 1, the Brewers proved they were not going down easily by holding the Dodgers to 2 runs over the next 18 innings and winning 6-1 and 4-1… the momentum turn came in game 4, when the Dodgers squeaked out a must-win, 2-1, extra-inning victory…they went up 3-2 by winning game 5 before Milwaukee evened the deal at 3-3…in the decisive game 7, Ryu beat Chacin on the back of Max Muncy’s 3-run homer, while Ryu himself added all the insurance with a 2-run double on route to a 5-2 victory…Chris Zewiske just got into the playoffs in back-to-back years and 2018 is his best finish ever!…2018 was his sixth positive-WOR finish in the past seven years…he’s had 10 winning seasons since his entry into the league in 2001…you keep getting better and better, Chris, and you’re making the NL central one tough place to play!  See you next fall!

By virtue of his strong finish, Rick hosts Tony in the ASFBL World Series!  Hope to finish it up this weekend!

 

 

DCS results!

DODGERS OUTLAST NATIONALS:  Andy’s club got down two on the road but put up a stern 7-3 showing in game 3…but the Dodger bats were just too much in game 4 and Ryu closed out the series with 8 strong innings…Mercado, Hernandez, Muncy, Taylor, and Grandal all hit 2 homers a piece and all hit better than .300.  Can’t say enough good things about Andy, who is always the first to put sportsmanship ahead of winning, is a pleasure to trade with, and has shown some grace through some difficult personal times.  He’s made the playoffs every year he’s been in the league, and he’s won the championship 3 of the past 4 season.  He’s never had a losing season, and it took some pretty big WOR years to be able to say that.  Thanks for a great season, Andy, and here’s hoping you have a blissful winter!

BOSTON OVER THE RAYS: The Minsky Magic was almost in full effect; having dropped the first 2 games Tampa won the next 2 at home to even the series…but Sale out-dueled Snell in game 5 and, much as they are doing tonight in MLB against the Yankees, the Bosox bats just unleashed and put up double-digit totals in the 6th and final game.  Like Andy, Alan has been in the playoffs every year he’s been in the league, although in his cast it’s just one.  But Somers won 85 games his first year and Alan won 91 with his upstart, small-market club.  Alan is a great Dad, a great guy to catch a ballgame with, and guy with some national media chops.  It’s been great having him in this year, and I’m hoping he ends up with enough free time to come back.

HOUSTON OVER CLEVELAND: The actual Indians got swept; Skrovan’s ASFBL group stole a game from the Astros for a better showing.  The final game was epic….after pushing the game into 11 innings, the Indian bullpen collapsed and gave up 4 runs in the top of the inning.  Undaunted, the offense pushed a tiring Tony Sipp to the wire and hammered a homer off of Matt Strahm to come within a run of keeping it alive before finally succumbing.  Steve has had the Indians since 2012 and has made the playoffs three years running…he kissed the ALCS in 2016 and finished up-2 WOR in his first season.  He’s a guy committed to making the world a better place, he made it in stand-up and TV, and he’s the kind of guy I’d love hanging out with even if he didn’t invite me to share the owner’s box seats at Anaheim once a year.  See you in the spring, Steve!

MILWAUKEE OVER ATLANTA: After a brief stupidity delay (I mucked up the games so badly I had to re-run them from scratch), the Braves made a real series of it.  The high-leverage games was game 4, where the teams dueled scoreless through 11 and 1/2 innings…Christian Yelich won it with a a walk-off homer off of starter Anibel Sanchez, who was still in the game having thrown only 101 pitches before the final one.  Danny has been in the league since 2006 and managed four different teams; he’s taken Atlanta to the playoffs for the first time but finished in positive WOR territory for the third time in four years…and did so in the really competitive NL East where 3 teams had really strong WOR finishes…this is his 5th playoff appearance overall.  He just changed jobs this week, and was very stand-up about my stammering into the playoffs.  Look forward to having you back next year!

LCS: I’ll have the playoffs set up tomorrow and we’ll try to run the games by Wednesday.  Dodgers host the Brewers, Bosox host the Astros.

Congrats to Tony, Rick, Chris, and Jim!