Newsletter for games through 8-24-2014

Quick technical update: I’ve removed pitchers from the comparative batter stats…you can’t really use to the numbers to figure out who to play and they were messing up the display. Hope this makes things better for everyone.

COMMENTARY: Oh my God, the AL west. Anaheim went 5-2 to pick up half a game on Seattle…Oakland is all of 1 game back. EVERY FREAKING TEAM in the division is in positive WOR territory….every team in the division was .500 or better last week….thank God they have to play each other occasionally…The Cubs, DBacks, Indians, and Rangers all are at the bottom of their divisions and all had winning weeks last week…great to see the owners staying so involved and playing the spoiler role….the AL west is a dogfight between the Tigers and the Chisox…the cats moved a game into first last week…NL East is the only division as tight as the AL west, and Atlanta made the big move this week, now standing on 3.5 back…Miami is clinging one game in front of Washington….Colorado gained a half game on the Dodgers to lead the NL West by 1 a single win…other than the NL central, where the Reds are running away from the field, EVERY division lead is within 2.5 games…Look, I like Steve Skrovan, but my only remaining goal this year is to find a way to pick up 4 games on the Indians and not finish with the worst record in the league…Miami can thank the DBacks for their hold on first place; without the Arizona 4-game sweep of Washington, the Nationals would lead the NL East…Atlanta had to take 3 of 4 from Cinicinnati in order make it’s move…the now-correct power rankings show Detroit, Seattle, and Washington as the top 3 teams…

FEATS AND FAILURES:

Travis Ishikawa of PIT struck out 4 times against ATL on 8/19/2014
Roberto Perez of CLE robbed 3 hits against MIN on 8/19/2014
David Price of TBR had 10 strikeouts against DET on 8/19/2014
Jose Reyes of SFG had 5 hits against CHC on 8/20/2014
Zack Greinke of LAD had 13 strikeouts against SDP on 8/20/2014
Jacoby Ellsbury of TBR struck out 4 times against DET on 8/20/2014
Jon Lester of ARI had 11 strikeouts against WAS on 8/20/2014
Jon Jay of STL had 5 hits against PHI on 8/22/2014
Tyson Ross of SDP had 10 strikeouts against ARI on 8/22/2014
Derek Eitel of ARI had 10 strikeouts against SDP on 8/22/2014
Mark Reynolds of MIL struck out 4 times against PIT on 8/22/2014
Paul Smyth of OAK had 10 strikeouts against LAA on 8/22/2014
Victor Martinez of DET had 5 hits against MIN on 8/23/2014
Thomas Field of LAA had 5 hits against OAK on 8/23/2014
David Price of TBR had 10 strikeouts against TOR on 8/24/2014
Brandon Crawford of TOR struck out 4 times against TBR on 8/24/2014
Clayton Kershaw of LAD had 11 strikeouts against NYM on 8/24/2014
Corey Kluber of CLE had 16 strikeouts against HOU on 8/24/2014
Dylan Axelrod of CWS had 10 strikeouts against NYY on 8/24/2014
Felix Hernandez of SEA had 10 strikeouts against BOS on 8/24/2014

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Newsletter for games through 8-17-14

Final Seasonal Trade Totals, Leo Leckie, Rockies – 39 Jim Casey, Giants – 26 Gordon Leckie, Tigers – 25 Andy Somers, Nationals – 21 Scott Treffer, Rangers – 21  Rick Wynne, Braves – 19 Mark Yee, Yankees – 19 Danny Wildes, Pirates – 17 Adam Symonds, Mariners – 16 Jon Bruschke, Mets – 14 Steve Horak, White Sox – 13 Hugh Brown, Blue Jays – 11 Josh Clark, Royals – 11 Tony Bernacchi, Red Sox – 10 Mark Chen, Orioles – 10 Steve Skrovan, Indians – 10 Tim Walsh, Twins – 9 Greg Achten, Angels – 7 Jim Gerety, Diamondbacks – 6 Ben Leckie, Marlins – 6 John MacDonald, Phillies – 5 Chuck Ballingall, Dodgers – 4 Jeanine Congalton, Cubs – 4 Raphael Malveaux, Reds – 3 Jeremy Moore, Cardinals – 3 John Weerts, A’s – 3 Chris Zewiske, Brewers – 3 Al Benedek, Astros – 1 Chris Lindhardt, Rays – 1 Robert Perkins, Padres – 0.  Thanks to Leo for compiling the list!

Bug fix:  The power ratings had been messed up once a team got to 100 homers….that’s been fixed, so the power ratings should be accurate.  Thanks to those of you who brought that to my attention.

Commentary:  Will be very limited this week due to a bathroom renovation that spilled into the office…do note, however, that we have new leaders in both western divisions and the AL central and NL east are in a dead tie…I think that means we have new leaders in 4 of 6 divisions…in the War for the Northeast Corner of the 4th Floor of the College Park Building, where my office sits adjacent to Jeanine Congalton’s, the Cubs took 2 of 3 from the Mets….congrats, Jeanine…and thanks to all of you, since I didn’t have to fix a single lineup this week, and 26 were submitted..

FEATS AND FAILURES

J.J. Hardy of BAL struck out 4 times against NYY on 8/12/2014
Tommy Medica of SDP struck out 5 times against COL on 8/12/2014
Jake Arrieta of CHC had 12 strikeouts against MIL on 8/13/2014
David Price of TBR had 10 strikeouts against TEX on 8/13/2014
Francisco Cervelli of TEX struck out 4 times against TBR on 8/13/2014
Felix Hernandez of SEA had 13 strikeouts against TOR on 8/13/2014
Nolan Reimold of TOR struck out 4 times against SEA on 8/13/2014
Daniel Nava of TEX robbed 3 hits against LAA on 8/15/2014
Nick Hundley of SDP struck out 4 times against STL on 8/15/2014
Jon Lester of ARI had 10 strikeouts against MIA on 8/15/2014
Madison Bumgarner of BOS had 10 strikeouts against HOU on 8/15/2014
Zack Greinke of LAD had 11 strikeouts against MIL on 8/15/2014
Bryce Harper of LAA struck out 4 times against TEX on 8/16/2014
Trevor Bauer of CLE had 11 strikeouts against BAL on 8/16/2014
Adam Dunn of SEA struck out 4 times against DET on 8/16/2014
Corey Dickerson of SEA had 7 RBI against DET on 8/16/2014
Lance Lynn of STL had 10 strikeouts against SDP on 8/16/2014
Nate Freiman of OAK robbed 3 hits against ATL on 8/17/2014
Yordano Ventura of KCR had 10 strikeouts against MIN on 8/17/2014

Newsletter for games through 8-10-2014

NO HITTER! David Price, still of the fantasy Rays, struck out 12 and held the Cubbies hitless on August 8th…he allowed one walk and only needed 100 pitches…Jason Hammel of the Cubs threw a 4-hit shutout 2 days later to return the favor.

COMMENTARY: The top 4 teams in the NL east adjusted themselves by exactly one half game…Atlanta is now 4 back and very much in striking distance…The Reds solidified their hold on the central with 5 wins…the DBacks were the best team in the west and had the best NL record at 5-1….Giants picked up half a game, and the Dodgers are half a nose in front of the Rockies…The Yankees made the big move in the AL, shooting 2.5 games ahead of Toronto…Detroit gained a game over the Chisox in the central….Anaheim and Seattle both snuck closer to Oakland in the West…8 teams chasing division leaders are within 4 games of first….the Rockies, Chisox, and Reds are leading the way in the central…Adam Rosales of the Yankees hit an astouding .526 on the week…and Aramis Ramirez topped it at .538…Jon Lester struck out 21 in 17 innings of work….Clayton Kershaw struck out the same number, but needed 1 less inning to do it…Serious kudos to the DBacks, Rays, and Rangers, who are all looking up at the standings but showing plenty of fight…all of them had winning weeks.

FEATS AND FAILURES

Jon Lester of ARI had 10 strikeouts against KCR on 8/5/2014
Jon Singleton of HOU struck out 4 times against PHI on 8/6/2014
Mike Leake of PIT had 11 strikeouts against MIA on 8/6/2014
Ian Kennedy of SDP had 11 strikeouts against MIN on 8/6/2014
Gerardo Parra of ARI robbed 3 hits against KCR on 8/6/2014
Chris Sale of CWS had 10 strikeouts against SEA on 8/8/2014
Felix Hernandez of SEA had 10 strikeouts against CWS on 8/8/2014
Ian Desmond of WAS struck out 4 times against ATL on 8/8/2014
Justin Morneau of ATL hit for the cycle against WAS on 8/9/2014
Clayton Kershaw of LAD had 14 strikeouts against MIL on 8/9/2014
Jesse Hahn of SDP had 12 strikeouts against PIT on 8/9/2014
A.J. Burnett of PHI had 11 strikeouts against NYM on 8/9/2014
Brett Gardner of TOR robbed 3 hits against DET on 8/10/2014
Jon Lester of ARI had 11 strikeouts against COL on 8/10/2014

Newsletter for games through 8-3-2014

Big performance of the week: Clayton Kershaw of LAD had 18 strikeouts against ATL on 7/30/2014

The trade deadline has now passed.  There were 27 trades on August 4th and 5th, and 29 lineups were submitted this week!

COMMENTARY: The Rangers really impressed this week; Treffer’s club went 5-1, tied for the best in the AL, and although the actual club is really scuffling he’s only -1 WOR, and one more 5-1 week will take care of that….the Chisox were also 5-1 and picked up 2 games on Detroit; the AL central race has 1st and 2nd place separated by only 1 single game…Hugh Brown’s Jays picked up 2.5 games on the Yankees this week and now lead the AL east by 1….Oakland and Seattle each went 4-2 in the AL west, and the A’s now lead the division by 2.5…Rob Perkins’ Padres went 6-1 and are now +1 WOR….great showing in a brutal division….the Nationals had the best week of the active traders; the tied the Padres for the best NL record at 6-1, picked up 3 games over Miami, and moved into first…the Rockies snuck a half game closer to the Dodgers in the NL west, and are threatening to run away with the WOR race at +15.5…the Giants picked up a game and are within 5….at +9, the Mariners are 2nd in the AL in WOR….Starlin Castro hit .393 for the Cubbies last week….Washington scored 8 runs or more 4 times last week…Yan Gomes hit 4 HR for Cleveland….Mookie Betts of Colorado hit .462 last week, tops in the league…he’s hitting .357 in his last real 14 AB…ASFBL batting average leaders match identically the MLB batting average through the top 3….Tulo, Altuve, Cano….Trout leads the ASFBL in runs scored and is second in MLB…Trout is 3rd in OPS in both leagues…Kluber of the Indians had 23 strikeouts in 2 starts this week…the Toronto/Detroit series coming up this week is a big one, with two division leaders facing off…as in real life, the Angel/Dodger series could determine who leads which division when they’re done….Washington/Atlanta will pit some NL east division heavyweights against each other…

FEATS AND FAILURES

Wade Miley of BOS had 10 strikeouts against TOR on 7/28/2014
Derek Eitel of ARI had 10 strikeouts against CIN on 7/28/2014
Corey Kluber of CLE had 11 strikeouts against SEA on 7/29/2014
Denard Span of STL had 5 hits against SDP on 7/29/2014
Eduardo Escobar of MIN struck out 4 times against KCR on 7/30/2014
Jon Lester of ARI had 10 strikeouts against CIN on 7/30/2014
Jason Hammel of CHC had 11 strikeouts against COL on 7/30/2014
Josh Rutledge of COL struck out 4 times against CHC on 7/30/2014
Yu Darvish of CWS had 10 strikeouts against DET on 7/30/2014
Torii Hunter of DET struck out 4 times against CWS on 7/30/2014
Nick Evans of PIT struck out 4 times against ARI on 7/31/2014
Freddie Freeman of COL robbed 3 hits against DET on 8/1/2014
David Price of TBR had 11 strikeouts against LAA on 8/2/2014
Anthony Rendon of WAS struck out 4 times against PHI on 8/2/2014
Nick Evans of PIT struck out 4 times against ARI on 8/2/2014
Welington Castillo of CHC struck out 4 times against LAD on 8/2/2014
Max Scherzer of DET had 10 strikeouts against COL on 8/3/2014
Corey Kluber of CLE had 12 strikeouts against TEX on 8/3/2014
Felix Hernandez of SEA had 10 strikeouts against BAL on 8/3/2014
Carlos Santana of WAS hit 3 home runs against PHI on 8/3/2014