Newsletter for games through 5-25-2014

BIG NEWS!!!  Tim Stauffer of SDP threw a no-hitter against CHC on 5/23/2014…Jason Hammel only gave up 3 hits but lost…one of those hits was a homer to Brooks Conrad, his first of the fantasy season…3 walks prevented a perfect game…it was a very efficient 104-pitch effort with 9 strikeouts.

LEO TELLS ME I can’t give performance bonuses to anyone who attends the Cal. State Fullerton baseball super-regional and cheers for the Titans…but it would be worth doing anyway…

COMMENTS: Big weeks were from the Nationals, Padres, and Orioles…all three teams pushed toward the middle of the pack in WOR…the Chisox also inched closer to the Tigers, who had a losing week but still own the best record in the ASFBL…Ben Leckie, and ASFBL newcomer, took advantage of the Cubs’ stumble to move into first place in WOR…he’s also first in the NL East and has the best record in the NL…yes, that’s right, a Leckie owns the best record in the NL, and a different Leckie owns the best record in the AL…and Leo is in first in the NL west…Boy, do the Dodger pitchers have a bunch of zeros they are due to post next week…the Orioles scored 38 runs in their 6 games this week, for an average of 6.3…Houston had another winning week and is now +5 WOR….the Tiger team batting average is .304…the Brewers are in the top-4 in real HR and real ERA…I like their long-term chances…starting outfield of the week: Brandon Workman, LJ Hoes, Thomas Field….Workman Hoes Field…Although Workman should really have a better longevity rating than 41 pitches, no?…the fantasy Met team ERA is in the bottom 8 in the league, which is still better than the actual club…Colorado hitters are 8 points about their actual batting average as a team…and the real average is .299…Todd Frazier and Brandon Phillips have each robbed 11 hits for the Reds…

FEATS AND FAILURES:

Chris Sale of CWS had 13 strikeouts against KCR on 5/19/2014
Josh Beckett of LAD had 11 strikeouts against NYM on 5/20/2014
Brandon Crawford of TOR struck out 4 times against BOS on 5/20/2014
Cole Hamels of PHI had 11 strikeouts against MIA on 5/20/2014
Lance Lynn of STL had 11 strikeouts against ARI on 5/21/2014
Brian Dozier of MIN hit 3 home runs against SDP on 5/21/2014
Zack Greinke of LAD had 14 strikeouts against NYM on 5/22/2014
Drew Stubbs of COL struck out 4 times against ATL on 5/23/2014
Madison Bumgarner of CLE had 11 strikeouts against BAL on 5/23/2014
Danny Valencia of KCR robbed 3 hits against LAA on 5/23/2014
David Price of TBR had 13 strikeouts against BOS on 5/24/2014
Starling Marte of PIT had 5 hits against WAS on 5/24/2014
Nick Tepesch of TEX had 11 strikeouts against DET on 5/25/2014
Luis Valbuena of CHC struck out 5 times against SDP on 5/25/2014
Yasiel Puig of LAD had 5 hits against PHI on 5/25/2014

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Newsletter for games through 5-18-2014

COMMENTARY: Many big weeks, led by Adam Symonds’ Seattle crew in the AL west, posting the only perfect record …Miami, the Yankees, and Toronto all went 6-1…Atlanta managed to hang on the first in the NL East by going 4-2…The Cubs, yes, the Cubs, are in FIRST PLACE in the NL central….Congalton may win MLB manager of the year for her fantasy performance…The Angels stayed hot and stayed in first…Pittsburgh is the only last-place team who doesn’t have a negative WOR, which counts as bad luck in my book…Rob Perkins’ Padres had the best record in the NL west…Oakland is the only team in first or second place with a negative WOR, but it’s hard to fault the 27-17 record; it’s clearly a case of the real team being real good….Houston has the best WOR of any team in the bottom 2 spots…Steve Skrovan and I almost had a deal to swap Dillon Gee for Carlos Santana, when the deal was nixed by Santana’s 2-run jack deep into the right-field bleachers…Santana is now hitting .152 and Gee is injured…hard to say which of us benefitted more by calling off the deal….Michael Brantley has stolen 7 hits while allowing no errors or difficult plays not made…Wiley Peralta of the Brewers leads the ASFBL with a .87 WHIP in over 60 innings….Broxton and LeCure of the Reds have collectively inherited 32 runners…none have scored…Ben Leckie is only 1 game back in NL East, which is notable since Leo Leckie is in first in the NL west while Gordon Leckie leads the AL central….bragging rights go to Gordon, who has the best record in the league…

FEATS AND FAILURES:

Brandon Moss of OAK had 6 RBI against CWS on 5/12/2014
Stephen Strasburg of WAS had 11 strikeouts against ARI on 5/12/2014
Shane Peterson of TOR struck out 4 times against LAA on 5/12/2014
Steve Pearce of BAL struck out 5 times against DET on 5/12/2014
Miguel Cabrera of DET had 5 hits against BAL on 5/12/2014
Yasiel Puig of LAD struck out 4 times against MIA on 5/13/2014
Chris Colabello of MIN struck out 4 times against BOS on 5/14/2014
Josh Beckett of LAD had 12 strikeouts against MIA on 5/14/2014
Michael Wacha of STL had 11 strikeouts against CHC on 5/14/2014
Lance Lynn of STL had 12 strikeouts against CHC on 5/15/2014
Junior Lake of CHC struck out 4 times against STL on 5/15/2014
Corey Dickerson of COL struck out 4 times against SDP on 5/16/2014
Mike Zunino of SEA struck out 4 times against MIN on 5/16/2014
Adrian Gonzalez of LAD had 7 RBI against ARI on 5/16/2014
Hisashi Iwakuma of SEA had 12 strikeouts against MIN on 5/17/2014
B.J. Upton of ATL struck out 7 times against STL on 5/17/2014
Philip Gosselin of ATL had 5 hits against STL on 5/17/2014
Matt Adams of STL struck out 4 times against ATL on 5/17/2014
Adam Dunn of CWS struck out 4 times against HOU on 5/17/2014
Matt Kemp of LAD hit 3 home runs against ARI on 5/18/2014
Matt Kemp of LAD had 7 RBI against ARI on 5/18/2014
Ryan Ludwick of CIN struck out 4 times against PHI on 5/18/2014
Starlin Castro of CHC had 5 hits against MIL on 5/18/2014
Adrian Beltre of TEX robbed 3 hits against TOR on 5/18/2014
David Price of TBR had 11 strikeouts against LAA on 5/18/2014

Newsletter for games through 5-11-2014

COMMENTS:  Congrats to the Pirates and Rays, who each posted the best record in their respective divisions…Congrats to Ben Leckie, not only the most successful NL east owner this week, but the most successful Leckie this week…in most weeks, that’s really hard to do…The Reds crept to within a half game in the NL central…Seattle broke from a funk and made a move in the AL west…the Angels still hold a  lead on the field….Detroit and the Chisox locked up atop the AL central….The Astros and Rockies are impressive entries in the WOR standings….Congalton’s Cubs hold on to first…the Astros fantasy ERA (for all active pitchers, weighted for innings) is 35 ahead of their actual team ERA (again, weighted for innings), best in the league….that’s some good karma…worst fantasy luck goes to Seatlle, who is .55 over… of course, that also means they are most due to adjust down…the league-wide real ERA is 3.79, which might give you a guide to how your pitchers’ actual ERAs rank…Andrew McCutcheon hit .522 on the week…Josmil Pinto of Minnesota had 5 HR…he’s got 5 in real life.,..Max Scherzer struck out 23 in 18 innings…Dee Gordon, who leads the MLB in steals, also leads the ASFBL with 24…Dave Murphy of Cleveland has 5 fantasy triples…fantasy Chisox have the most real-life HR with 50…

FEATS AND FAILURES

Brandon Phillips of CIN struck out 4 times against MIL on 5/1/2014
Billy Hamilton of CIN struck out 4 times against MIL on 5/1/2014
Trevor Plouffe of MIN had 5 hits against BAL on 5/3/2014
Emilio Bonifacio of CHC had 5 hits against STL on 5/3/2014
Sonny Gray of OAK had 12 strikeouts against BOS on 5/3/2014
Juan Francisco of TOR struck out 4 times against PIT on 5/4/2014
Alex Rios of TEX struck out 4 times against LAA on 5/4/2014
Dee Gordon of LAD struck out 4 times against MIA on 5/4/2014
Anthony Rizzo of CHC had 5 hits against STL on 5/4/2014
Desmond Jennings of TBR struck out 4 times against NYY on 5/4/2014
Ian Kennedy of SDP had 12 strikeouts against KCR on 5/5/2014
Jeff Samardzija of CHC had 14 strikeouts against CWS on 5/5/2014
Dayan Viciedo of CWS struck out 4 times against CHC on 5/5/2014
Ian Kennedy of SDP had 12 strikeouts against KCR on 5/5/2014
Jose Quintana of CWS had 10 strikeouts against CHC on 5/5/2014
Jeff Samardzija of CHC had 14 strikeouts against CWS on 5/5/2014
Dayan Viciedo of CWS struck out 4 times against CHC on 5/5/2014
Max Scherzer of DET had 12 strikeouts against HOU on 5/5/2014
Brett Gardner of TOR struck out 4 times against PHI on 5/6/2014
Dexter Fowler of HOU struck out 4 times against DET on 5/6/2014
Welington Castillo of CHC struck out 4 times against CWS on 5/6/2014
Angel Pagan of SFG robbed 3 hits against PIT on 5/7/2014
Hisashi Iwakuma of SEA had 13 strikeouts against OAK on 5/7/2014
Brandon Barnes of COL had 5 hits against TEX on 5/8/2014
Andrew McCutchen of PIT had 5 hits against STL on 5/9/2014
Colby Rasmus of TOR struck out 4 times against LAA on 5/10/2014
Kevin Gausman of BAL had 16 strikeouts against HOU on 5/10/2014
Marc Krauss of HOU struck out 5 times against BAL on 5/10/2014
Matt Dominguez of HOU struck out 5 times against BAL on 5/10/2014
Jose Abreu of CWS had 6 RBI against ARI on 5/11/2014
Mike Jacobs of ARI had 6 RBI against CWS on 5/11/2014
Prince Fielder of TEX robbed 3 hits against BOS on 5/11/2014
Zack Greinke of LAD had 15 strikeouts against SFG on 5/11/2014

Newsletter for games through 5-4-2014

30 lineups submitted this week!  Thanks to (literally) everyone who made my life so easy!

Another guest celebrity sighting: Just after Leo Leckie went viral on the internet, Chuck Ballingall (ASFBL Dodgers) got to work as the PA announcer for some Clipper games.  He has not yet Wally Pipp-ed the regular guy, but he did a great job and it sounded like a blast.

FEAT OF THE WEEK!

Jose Fernandez of MIA threw a no-hitter against ATL on 4/29/2014
Jose Fernandez of MIA had 20 strikeouts against ATL on 4/29/2014

CLOSE SECOND:

Juan Francisco of TOR hit 3 home runs against KCR on 5/1/2014
Juan Francisco of TOR had 8 RBI against KCR on 5/1/2014

COMMENTS:

Congrats to Miami, the only undefeated team in the NL…The Angels and Tigers pulled off the feat in the AL…the Tigers moved into first as a result…In every AL division, the second-place team has the highest WOR in the division…congrats to the Jays and Chisox…after the Marlins, no other NL team did better than 4-2….the Cubs still lead the league with 6.5 WOR; the cross-town rivalry is fueled by the Chisox spot in second place…the NL central has the best divisional WOR; they are collectively +8….Seattle made a significant 5-1 push….Dee Gordon has 22 stolen bases, and Rajai Davis is a distant second with 14….Junior Lake of the Cubs has 6 triples…Pujols and Trout rank in the top 3 in ASFBL slugging percentage…Yu Darvish has 6 saves; yes, saves….Mark Buehrle leads the ASFBL in innings…the Brewers have a real team ERA, weighted for innings, of 2.65…the Reds have the best ASFBL fielding….Justin Morneau of Colorado had 13 RBI this week…Jed Lowrie of Oakland scored 10 runs…Junior Lake of the Cubs hit .370 but had 10 strikeouts…Jose Fernandez struck out 32 batters in 15 innings.

FEATS AND FAILURES:

Jeff Francis of CIN had 12 strikeouts against CHC on 4/28/2014
Corey Kluber of CLE had 11 strikeouts against LAA on 4/28/2014
Eric Sogard of OAK robbed 3 hits against TEX on 4/29/2014
Jason Heyward of ATL struck out 4 times against MIA on 4/29/2014
Max Scherzer of DET had 13 strikeouts against CWS on 4/30/2014
Dee Gordon of LAD had 5 hits against MIN on 4/30/2014
Justin Morneau of COL had 6 RBI against ARI on 4/30/2014
Colby Rasmus of TOR struck out 4 times against KCR on 4/30/2014
Juan Francisco of TOR struck out 4 times against KCR on 4/30/2014
Zack Greinke of LAD had 15 strikeouts against MIN on 5/1/2014
Drew Smyly of DET had 12 strikeouts against KCR on 5/2/2014
Gerardo Parra of ARI had 5 hits against SDP on 5/2/2014
Yoenis Cespedes of OAK struck out 4 times against BOS on 5/2/2014
Ian Stewart of LAA struck out 4 times against TEX on 5/3/2014
Jose Abreu of CWS struck out 4 times against CLE on 5/3/2014
Dan Uggla of ATL struck out 4 times against SFG on 5/3/2014
Lucas Duda of SFG struck out 4 times against ATL on 5/3/2014
Arismendy Alcantara of CHC hit for the cycle against STL on 5/3/2014
Ian Desmond of WAS had 7 RBI against PHI on 5/4/2014
Brett Gardner of TOR struck out 4 times against PIT on 5/4/2014
Jose Fernandez of MIA had 12 strikeouts against LAD on 5/4/2014