Newsletter for games through 7/28/2014

TRADE DEADLINE really is the lineup deadline next week, August 4.

CLEVER COMMENTARY

From Rick Wynne: “On 7/18/14 in the fantasy world, Ben Revere hit 2 HRs accounting for all 4 runs scored against the venerable Julio Teheran.  Why is this notable, you say ?  Because in the real world, Mr. Revere has 1 CAREER HR in 1650 ABs.  His only real career HR came on 5/27/14!”

TRADE LEADERS

1. Leo Leckie Rockies – 32 2. Jim Casey Giants – 24 3. Scott Treffer Rangers – 21 4. Gordon Leckie Tigers – 20 5. Mark Yee Yankees – 19 6. Adam Symonds Mariners – 15 6. Rick Wynne Braves – 15 8. Steve Horak White Sox – 13 8. Andy Somers Nationals – 13 8. Danny Wildes Pirates – 13 11. Jon Bruschke Mets – 10 11. Josh Clark Royals – 10 11. Steve Skrovan Indians – 10 14. Hugh Brown Blue Jays – 9 15. Tony Bernacchi Red Sox – 8

COMMON COMMENTARY:

Big moves this week…the Jays went 6-1 to move to within a game and a half of the Yanks…Oakland gained 2 and a half games to move in front of the Angels by a game and a half…and Seattle went 6-1 in the division as well…The Dodgers picked up 2 games in the NL west and now lead the Rocks by a game and a half…Washington gained a half game on the Braves and Marlins and the three teams are now separated by a measly 1.5 games…Detroit crept another 1.5 games in front of the Chisox, but the lead is still only 3 games…and the Brewers aren’t ready to concede yet, posted the best record in the division at 5-2, and are still in striking distance…congrats to the Indians, who moved 3 games up in the WOR standings this week…Jeanine (Cubs) and Jim (Arizona) both inherited actual clubs that are kind of a mess, but both are in positive WOR territory…Juan Francisco of Toronto had 5 HR last week to lead the ASFBL, which is really scary when you consider that he’s probably the 3rd-best power hitter on the club…Christian Yellch of Miami had 11 RBI to lead the NL…he also scored 9 runs…Wade Davis of KC struck out 15 in 6 innings…the Cincinnati bullpen has allowed only 8% of inherited runners to score….Detroit leads the league in runs scored and is second in stolen bases…best defense is KC, who on average is taking away about a hit a game…

FEATS AND FAILURES:

 Juan Francisco of TOR had 7 RBI against BOS on 7/21/2014
Chase Utley of PHI robbed 3 hits against SFG on 7/21/2014
Dan Johnson of SEA robbed 3 hits against NYM on 7/22/2014
Jesse Hahn of SDP had 12 strikeouts against CHC on 7/23/2014
David Price of TBR had 10 strikeouts against STL on 7/23/2014
Andy Oliver of PIT had 10 strikeouts against LAD on 7/23/2014
Danny Duffy of KCR had 10 strikeouts against CLE on 7/24/2014
Yan Gomes of CLE struck out 4 times against KCR on 7/24/2014
Yu Darvish of CWS had 11 strikeouts against MIN on 7/24/2014
Josh Willingham of MIN struck out 4 times against CWS on 7/24/2014
Clayton Kershaw of LAD had 11 strikeouts against SFG on 7/25/2014
Jorge De La Rosa of COL had 11 strikeouts against PIT on 7/25/2014
Anthony Ranaudo of BOS had 11 strikeouts against TBR on 7/25/2014
Juan Francisco of TOR had 6 RBI against NYY on 7/25/2014
Jon Lester of ARI had 10 strikeouts against PHI on 7/25/2014
Shane Peterson of TOR struck out 4 times against NYY on 7/26/2014
Didi Gregorius of ARI struck out 4 times against PHI on 7/26/2014
Aaron Hill of ARI had 5 hits against PHI on 7/26/2014
Asdrubal Cabrera of CLE had 5 hits against KCR on 7/27/2014
Curtis Granderson of NYM struck out 4 times against MIL on 7/27/2014

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Newsletter for games through 7-20

TRADE DEADLINE ALERT!  The trade deadline is Tuesday, August 5th.  Two more weeks to make some big moves!

TRADE TOTALS: Accurate through today and courtesy of Leo Leckie:

1. Leo Leckie Rockies – 25 2. Jim Casey Giants – 24 3. Gordon Leckie Tigers – 20 3. Scott Treffer Rangers – 20 5. Mark Yee Yankees – 18 6. Adam Symonds Mariners – 14 7. Steve Horak White Sox – 13 8. Rick Wynne Braves – 12 8. Andy Somers Nationals – 12 10. Hugh Brown Blue Jays 9 10. Josh Clark Royals 9 10. Steve Skrovan Indians 9 10. Danny Wildes Pirates 9

COMMENTS:  Hard to read much into the short week, but its interesting that nobody in the AL was able to go 3-0….the Rangers and Rays each went 2-1, and both could get past the break-even WOR line in the second half….Washington picked up 3 games in the NL east and lurks only 2 back of Miami…Dodgers and Giants each had perfect weeks, and the Rocky lead is only a half game….the Yankees stubbed their collective toe but other AL Easters found it difficult to capitalize, although both Baltimore and Toronto are now within 5 games….Malveaux’s Reds continue to impress; they have the largest divisional lead and are +7 WOR…and he’s largely done it by holding his original team….the Tiger team batting average is .294….Cub fielders have robbed 182 hits, tops in the league…nobody walks more than Oakland, and the team has drawn 369 free passes this year…Christian Betancourt has tied Jarrod Saltalamacchia for the longest name in the league…Joe Maurer leads the league in vowel percentage, going 5-for-8….The Rays have the largest vowel percentage in the league; the DBacks have the largest proportion of consonants….both teams were 2-1 this week…Raphael Soriano has 27 saves for the Nats to lead the ASFBL….Jean Machi has stranded all 20 runners he has inherited this season.

FEATS AND FAILURES:

Josh Willingham of MIN struck out 4 times against TBR on 7/18/2014
Starlin Castro of CHC robbed 3 hits against ARI on 7/18/2014
Michael Brantley of WAS had 6 RBI against MIL on 7/18/2014
Garrett Richards of LAA had 11 strikeouts against SEA on 7/18/2014
Clayton Kershaw of LAD had 10 strikeouts against STL on 7/19/2014
Hanley Ramirez of LAD had 6 RBI against STL on 7/19/2014
Paul Goldschmidt of ARI struck out 4 times against CHC on 7/19/2014
Ian Kennedy of SDP had 13 strikeouts against NYM on 7/20/2014
George Springer of HOU struck out 4 times against CWS on 7/20/2014
Chris Coghlan of CHC struck out 4 times against ARI on 7/20/2014

Newsletter for games through 7-13-2014

CLEVER COMMENTARY:

From Hugh Brown: “Talk about a bummer series.  First Envarnacion went down to an injury, then Sabathia is out for the rest of the season, and finally Oakland outscored my Blue Jays 33-3 in sweeping its four game series against Toronto.”  From Adam Symonds: “4th best win percentage in ASFBL…. but only 3rd best in my own division!”

 TRADE TOTALS (thanks to Leo for compiling these; leaders listed below):

1. Jim Casey Giants – 24

1. Leo Leckie Rockies – 24

2. Gordon Leckie Tigers – 19

2. Scott Treffer Rangers – 19

3. Mark Yee Yankees – 18

4. Adam Symonds Mariners – 13

5. Steve Horak White Sox – 12

5. Rick Wynne Braves – 12

 COMMON COMMENTARY:  The actual Angels are red-hot, and so are Greg Achten’s fantasy cherubim, who posted a perfect 7-0 record this week and are actually 3.5 ahead of the real club….which would put them just inches in front of the actual Oaklanders…The ASFBL A’s did just fine at 5-2, but still lost first place by 1 game…Chris Linhardt’s Rays put together a winning week and are only 6 back of the actual club, which is pretty good considering how much better the actual Rays are playing these days….the Tigers inched a game ahead in the AL central…Baltimore picked up a game on the Yanks…the Reds went 6-1 and put some distance on the NL central…the leads in the NL east and west total to 4.5 games, and the Reds are up by 7….4 of 5 teams in the NL east had winning records….the Bosox went 4-3 and are dead even with the actual club…Benedek has the Astros +6 WOR, and that could grow as the actual club fades…Gonzales, Pujols, and Bautisa are 4-5-6 in the ASFBL HR total, and all are no longer with their original ASFBL teams…Cueto, Tanaka, and Weaver have 14 ASFBL wins….Jason Vargas of the Royals has the best control in the ASFBL, with .1 walk per inning.

Short week this semi-fortnight; good time to reset the rotation and make your final trade maenuvers…

FEATS AND FAILURES:

Brock Holt of BOS struck out 4 times against CWS on 7/7/2014
Chris Heisey of CIN had 5 hits against CHC on 7/7/2014
Clayton Kershaw of LAD had 14 strikeouts against DET on 7/8/2014
Felix Hernandez of SEA had 11 strikeouts against MIN on 7/8/2014
Derek Eitel of ARI had 14 strikeouts against MIA on 7/9/2014
Giancarlo Stanton of MIA struck out 4 times against ARI on 7/9/2014
Carlos Quentin of SDP robbed 4 hits against COL on 7/9/2014
David Price of TBR had 11 strikeouts against KCR on 7/9/2014
Justin Ruggiano of CHC struck out 4 times against CIN on 7/9/2014
Corey Kluber of CLE had 14 strikeouts against NYY on 7/9/2014
Shin-Soo Choo of NYY struck out 4 times against CLE on 7/9/2014
Matt Andriese of PHI had 10 strikeouts against MIL on 7/10/2014
Mike Morse of CWS had 5 hits against BOS on 7/10/2014
Zack Greinke of LAD had 11 strikeouts against SDP on 7/11/2014
Justin Ruggiano of CHC struck out 4 times against ATL on 7/11/2014
Robinson Cano of SEA had 5 hits against OAK on 7/12/2014
Jimmy Rollins of PHI robbed 3 hits against WAS on 7/12/2014
Clay Buchholz of BOS had 12 strikeouts against HOU on 7/13/2014
Felix Hernandez of SEA had 11 strikeouts against OAK on 7/13/2014
Matt Carpenter of STL had 6 RBI against MIL on 7/13/2014
Matt Carpenter of STL had 5 hits against MIL on 7/13/2014
Clayton Kershaw of LAD had 19 strikeouts against SDP on 7/13/2014
Alexi Amarista of SDP struck out 4 times against LAD on 7/13/2014
Ian Kinsler of DET had 6 RBI against KCR on 7/13/2014
Charlie Blackmon of DET had 5 hits against KCR on 7/13/2014

Newsletter for games through 7-6-2014

CLEVER COMMENTARY:

From Rick Wynne: “Frustrating, this game is !  My Braves scored a TOTAL of 9 runs this week in ASFBL, losing 3 one-run games, 2 of which were extra innings.  After starting 20-5 in ASFBL, my Braves have been 24-33 since !  In my favorite Scoresheet league, a live-draft league in Atlanta, I started 11-21 and have been 39-12 since !  Wish I could combine my hot start in ASFBL and my hot finish in NL Hank Aaron !  59-17 would be so cool !!  “

Andy Somers, taking some lighthearted exception to my pro-Fullerton editorializing, notes that his alma mater, Vanderbilt, won the CWS this year.  Go Vols!

ACTIVE TRADERS:

Compiled by Leo, and accurate through 7/3/2014:

1. Jim Casey Giants – 20.  2. Leo Leckie Rockies – 17.  2. Mark Yee Yankees – 17.  3. Gordon Leckie Tigers – 15.  3. Scott Treffer Rangers – 15.  4. Adam Symonds Mariners – 11.  4. Rick Wynne Braves – 11.  5. Steve Horak White Sox – 10

COMMON COMMENTARY:

Mostly on hold this week, as I’m traveling.  However, big congrats to Josh Clark’s Royals, who had the only 6-0 week, and the Greg Acthten’s Angels, who are playing the way most folks feel the actual Angels should have been playing all year.  The Pirates, Cards, Nats, and Bosox also had big weeks, and the Tigers moved back into first place in the AL Central.  The Yanks made a big move in the AL East.  Back in full verbosity next Wednesday.  Enjoy the all-star weekend!

FEATS AND FAILURES:

Johnny Cueto of CIN had 11 strikeouts against SDP on 6/30/2014
Logan Kensing of SEA had 11 strikeouts against HOU on 6/30/2014
Jose Quintana of CWS had 10 strikeouts against LAA on 6/30/2014
Dioner Navarro of TOR struck out 4 times against MIL on 7/1/2014
George Springer of HOU struck out 4 times against SEA on 7/1/2014
Andrelton Simmons of ATL had 5 hits against NYM on 7/1/2014
Dallas Keuchel of HOU had 10 strikeouts against SEA on 7/2/2014
Lance Lynn of STL had 10 strikeouts against SFG on 7/2/2014
Marlon Byrd of SFG struck out 4 times against STL on 7/2/2014
Kris Bryant of SFG struck out 4 times against STL on 7/2/2014
Clayton Kershaw of LAD had 12 strikeouts against CLE on 7/2/2014
Nathan Eovaldi of MIA had 10 strikeouts against PHI on 7/3/2014
Ryan Howard of PHI struck out 4 times against MIA on 7/3/2014
Kole Calhoun of LAA had 9 RBI against HOU on 7/4/2014
Howie Kendrick of LAA had 6 hits against HOU on 7/4/2014
Albert Pujols of NYY had 5 hits against MIN on 7/4/2014
Lucas Duda of SFG struck out 4 times against SDP on 7/4/2014
David Price of TBR had 12 strikeouts against DET on 7/4/2014
Alcides Escobar of DET struck out 4 times against TBR on 7/4/2014
Jake Arrieta of CHC had 10 strikeouts against WAS on 7/4/2014
Tim Lincecum of ARI had 10 strikeouts against ATL on 7/6/2014
Trevor May of MIN had 10 strikeouts against NYY on 7/6/2014
Scott Kazmir of OAK had 10 strikeouts against TOR on 7/6/2014
Cole Hamels of PHI had 12 strikeouts against PIT on 7/6/2014

Newsletter for games through 6-29-2014

TRADE DEADLINE:  Will be Tuesday, August 5th, our first lineup due date after the actual MLB trading deadline of 7-31.

CLEVER COMMENTS:

From Rob Perkins: “So, in less than a month’s time, the Padres have thrown a no-hitter and have been no-hit.  Whoa.”

From Josh Clark: “For the first time this season, I was not able to set a line-up.This also happens to be the best results I’ve had in weeks. I don’t think this is a coincidence.”

COMMON COMMENTARY:

Tim Lincecum did not throw a no-hitter, but he did hold the Indians to 4 hits in 8 innings en route to a 4-1 victory…Malveaux’s Reds carried the week in the NL, posting a league-best 6-1 record and reclaiming first place….The Royals (Josh Clark) and Mariners (Adam Symonds), both former CSU Fullerton Titans, paced the AL with 5-1 marks….both are currently in 3rd, and both could move into contender status by the break if they stay hot…the Mariners are only 3.5 back as it is…the largest lead in the AL is only 4 games, and 7 clubs are within 4 games of first place…the NL central is the tighest race, with only 6 games separating 1st from 5th, and given the real numbers of the Cardinals I wouldn’t be surprised to see them make a second-half push…Nobody in the AL west had a losing record…John Weerts’ Oakland club inched a few notches forward…the Yankees picked up half a game in the AL east, but Hugh Brown’s Jays still look pretty tough….Jose Abreau has 29 ASFBL homers…Giancarlo Stanton leads the ASFBL with 64 runs scored…Tulowitzki, however, has the best OPS….Tanaka of the Yanks is 13-3…

NAME GAMES

Longest name in the ASFBL, not surprisingly, is Jarrod Saltalamaccia…Jon Jay is the shortest….the Cubs lead the ASFBL in average name length at 12.13…The Cardinals are last at 11.08…Most vowels in a name is a 7-way tie at 9….my tiebreaker goes to the name that is the most fun to say, so I’ll mention Caminero Arguimedes here…lowest percentage of vowels in a name is JR Murphy, with only 1, although Tony Gwynn is surprisingly close…Highest vowel to consonant percentage for any team are the Rays, where 39.7% of all the letters in player names are vowels…

FEATS AND FAILURES

Marlon Byrd of SFG had 6 RBI against SDP on 6/23/2014
Billy Hamilton of CIN had 5 hits against CHC on 6/23/2014
Dee Gordon of LAD robbed 4 hits against KCR on 6/23/2014
Robert Coello of NYY had 11 strikeouts against TOR on 6/24/2014
David Price of TBR had 14 strikeouts against PIT on 6/24/2014
Travis Snider of PIT struck out 4 times against TBR on 6/24/2014
Cole Hamels of PHI had 11 strikeouts against MIA on 6/25/2014
Rubby De La Rosa of BOS had 10 strikeouts against SEA on 6/25/2014
Brock Holt of BOS struck out 4 times against SEA on 6/25/2014
Jose Altuve of HOU had 5 hits against ATL on 6/25/2014
Andy Oliver of PIT had 12 strikeouts against NYM on 6/27/2014
Kirk Nieuwenhuis of NYM struck out 4 times against PIT on 6/27/2014
Clayton Kershaw of LAD had 15 strikeouts against STL on 6/27/2014
Jason Castro of HOU robbed 3 hits against DET on 6/27/2014
Josh Donaldson of OAK had 7 RBI against MIA on 6/27/2014
Derek Dietrich of MIA robbed 4 hits against OAK on 6/27/2014
Mark Teixeira of KCR had 7 RBI against LAA on 6/28/2014
Jake Odorizzi of TBR had 11 strikeouts against BAL on 6/28/2014
Nelson Cruz of BAL struck out 4 times against TBR on 6/28/2014
Corey Kluber of CLE had 10 strikeouts against SEA on 6/29/2014
Robert Coello of NYY had 11 strikeouts against BOS on 6/29/2014
Mike Napoli of BOS struck out 4 times against NYY on 6/29/2014