Newsletter for games through 5-22-16

CHANGES AND TECH ANNOUNCEMENTS:

First, the owner list has been removed from the main page.  This is just a good idea; our emails and phone numbers were publicly exposed.  To get to them now just log in and the link to the owners list is on the top menu of any page you bump into.  That link shows owners, their lifetime records, their contact info, and it allows you to email everyone.  It’s the same page that used to be on the WordPress main page, it’s just now protected behind the password login.

Second, due to some ongoing email fights with the new GoDaddy server, I’ve set up a google group.  It should be a more reliable way to send league email.  There’s a link to it after you log in on the top right next to the owners link.  You can now send email directly through that thing, and it may be more reliable than using the site’s email blaster.

THE GOOGLE GROUP DOES NOT AUTOMATICALLY UPDATE EMAILS, so if you change your email please let me know so that I can update it in the google group.

Third, if you’d prefer, you can send email to everyone by simply sending an email to: asfbl@googlegroups.com

Finally, saves now appear on the team pitching page.

RESULTS AND COMMENTARY

Since we can count them now, the Cubs lead the league with 17 saves as a team….Seattle is second with 15….Boston leads the league with 376 strikeouts, which is a huge pile of them…Five teams have a team ERA under 3.00…two are from Chicago….The Toronto bullpen has allowed only 6% of inherited runners to score, best in the league…Nationals are second at 7%….Rays have issued only 80 walks, best in the league, and there are 5 teams that have issued at least twice that many…Baltimore leads the league with 82 homers….Boston leads the league in runs…Houston is second, and the Cardinals are 4th…Cubs are 3rd and I didn’t put them in that prior sentence only because it’s not all that surprising…Cards and Brewers were each 4-2, and St. Louis is hanging tough with the Cubbies…picked up 2 games this week…Giants inched forward again to extend their lead in the NL West, but there are still 4 teams that are within 3 games of first….Philly and Atlanta each put up 4 wins…Boston slowed down with a .500 week and both Toronto and the Orioles turned up the heat with 5 wins each….three current division leaders couldn’t crack .500 this week…The AL central is what makes baseball fun; Cleveland is holding to first, 4 teams are within 2.5 games, and nobody is more than 5.5 out…that team 5.5 back is the Twins who lead the ASFBL in WOR…the 3 teams atop the AL West all had 4-win weeks…they combine for a +12 WOR…Four division leaders are a half-game over WOR or lower, which I guess proves that it helps to start with a strong roster…Four trades last week, but Mike Trout got moved, which counts as the biggest blockbuster of the season, I think…Jason Heyward also moved….27 lineups submitted this week; thanks to all of you for staying so current!

FEATS AND FAILURES:

Jackie Bradley of BOS struck out 4 times against KCR on 5/16/2016
Lorenzo Cain of LAA struck out 4 times against LAD on 5/16/2016
J.D. Martinez of DET had 6 RBI against MIN on 5/17/2016
Madison Bumgarner of SFG had 11 strikeouts against SDP on 5/17/2016
David Price of BOS had 11 strikeouts against KCR on 5/17/2016
Todd Frazier of CWS had 6 RBI against HOU on 5/17/2016
C.J. Cron of LAA had 5 hits against LAD on 5/18/2016
Stephen Piscotty of STL had 5 hits against COL on 5/18/2016
Jon Lester of CHC had 10 strikeouts against MIL on 5/19/2016
Noah Syndergaard of NYM had 10 strikeouts against WAS on 5/19/2016
Jonathan Villar of MIL struck out 4 times against NYM on 5/20/2016
Julio Urias of LAD had 13 strikeouts against SDP on 5/20/2016
Danny Valencia of OAK struck out 4 times against NYY on 5/21/2016
Vance Worley of BAL had 11 strikeouts against LAA on 5/21/2016
Matt Holliday of STL had 7 RBI against ARI on 5/21/2016
Jedd Gyorko of STL had 6 RBI against ARI on 5/21/2016
Drew Pomeranz of SDP had 12 strikeouts against LAD on 5/21/2016
Adrian Gonzalez of LAD struck out 4 times against SDP on 5/21/2016
David Wright of NYM struck out 4 times against MIL on 5/22/2016

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Newsletter for games through 5-15-16

CYCLE: Charlie Blackmon of the Astros hit for the cycle against the Indians on May 9…took 5 at-bats to get the 4 hits, but got one of each!

COMMENTARY: 3 trades this week, led by Leo and the Rockies, to follow Josh Clark’s 3 trades last week made by the Royals….lots of chatter, and it seems like the trade floodgates are likely to open soon…NL news was San Franciso, who went 5-2, picked up 3 games in the standings, and launched into first…Rockies put up a 4-2 mark and are one of 4 teams within 2 games of first…Cubs ran the table, but the Cards won’t go away and also posted a winning record…NL East went nuts with 4 teams winning more than they lost, but Andy Somers still managed to gain ground in the division…Boston is roaring…best record in the AL and extended their lead…Baltimore continues to hang tight…Yankees refuse to give up, and won 4 of 7 this week….4 games separate first from last in the AL central, and the Royals had the best week of the bunch and only winning record in the division….Twins continue to hold their WOR lead….The Mariners might trade Felix just because they don’t need him; they had another big week and threaten to run away with the division….in May….monster game of the week goes to Mark Trumbo, who had 3 homers and 8 RBI against the Twins on May 9…May 9 was apparently a good day for hitters…Freddie Freeman had 3 HR and 6 RBI on the 11th…No word on whether Danny Wildes will fire the virtual Freddy Gonzalez yet…the only crime the virtual Rougned Odor committed on May 15 was robbing 3 hits; no electronic assaults…Scherzer had 14 strikeouts against Detroit on the 10th, 6 short of the record…

FEATS AND FAILURES:

Jonathan Schoop of BAL had 5 hits against MIN on 5/9/2016
Steven Souza of TBR struck out 4 times against SEA on 5/9/2016
Julio Urias of LAD had 11 strikeouts against NYM on 5/10/2016
Jake Arrieta of CHC had 12 strikeouts against SDP on 5/10/2016
Delino DeShields of TEX struck out 4 times against CWS on 5/10/2016
Jose Fernandez of MIA had 13 strikeouts against MIL on 5/10/2016
Xander Bogaerts of BOS had 5 hits against OAK on 5/11/2016
Gerrit Cole of PIT had 12 strikeouts against CIN on 5/11/2016
Jon Lester of CHC had 11 strikeouts against SDP on 5/11/2016
Adam Rosales of SDP struck out 4 times against CHC on 5/11/2016
Tyler Duffey of MIN had 14 strikeouts against BAL on 5/11/2016
Byung-ho Park of MIN hit 3 home runs against BAL on 5/11/2016
Aaron Hicks of NYY robbed 3 hits against KCR on 5/12/2016
Madison Bumgarner of SFG had 11 strikeouts against ARI on 5/12/2016
Matt Holliday of STL robbed 3 hits against LAD on 5/13/2016
Stephen Piscotty of STL struck out 4 times against LAD on 5/13/2016
Jung Ho Kang of PIT hit 3 home runs against CHC on 5/13/2016
Brian McCann of HOU struck out 4 times against BOS on 5/13/2016
Justin Verlander of DET had 11 strikeouts against BAL on 5/13/2016
J.T. Realmuto of MIA had 5 hits against WAS on 5/13/2016
Darwin Barney of TOR had 6 hits against TEX on 5/14/2016
Michael Saunders of TOR had 6 RBI against TEX on 5/14/2016
Ryan Flaherty of BAL robbed 3 hits against DET on 5/14/2016
Martin Prado of MIA robbed 3 hits against WAS on 5/14/2016
Julio Urias of LAD had 13 strikeouts against STL on 5/15/2016
Kirk Nieuwenhuis of MIL struck out 4 times against SDP on 5/15/2016
Jose Fernandez of MIA had 12 strikeouts against WAS on 5/15/2016
Danny Espinosa of WAS robbed 3 hits against MIA on 5/15/2016
Jacoby Ellsbury of NYY robbed 3 hits against CWS on 5/15/2016
Rougned Odor of TEX robbed 3 hits against TOR on 5/15/2016

Newsletter for games through 5-10-16

COMMENTARY: 27 lineups submitted last week!  Thanks to all for making my life easy….Arizona made the big run, posting at 6-0 record and moving into first in the NL west….the DBacks are also second in WOR…congrats to Mike Milos….San Francisco also went 5-2 to get a little upward lift in the NL west…the Nationals went 5-2 in the East and held on to first place…the Cardinals kept the pressure on the Cubs by going 5-2 and picking up a game in the central…the Cubs and Reds also had winning weeks…Boston went 5-1 to move into first and post the best record in the AL East…Toronto was also 5-2…the Twins had a tough week but are still in first in WOR…Cleveland had the best week in the AL Central and moved into a half game of first….which they would have managed had not the Chisox had a strong 4-2 week…Seattle went 6-1 to vault themselves in the AL west…the Astros were also 4-3, and the top 4 teams in the division are +11 WOR…Oakland is in 3rd with +5 WOR…exactly .001 separate Aledymas Diaz (Cards) and Martin Prado (Miami) atop the ASFBL batting average leader board…Rajai Davis of Cleveland has 11 stolen bases to lead all speedsters…Kevin Siegrist of the Cardinals has stranded all 13 inherited runners, tops in the league…Tyler Clippard and Hector Rondon are tied with 10 saves each….

FEATS AND FAILURES:

Madison Bumgarner of SFG had 10 strikeouts against CIN on 5/2/2016
Adam Duvall of CIN struck out 4 times against SFG on 5/2/2016
Nathan Eovaldi of HOU had 10 strikeouts against MIN on 5/2/2016
David Wright of NYM struck out 4 times against ATL on 5/3/2016
Yunel Escobar of LAA had 7 RBI against MIL on 5/3/2016
Steven Wright of BOS had 11 strikeouts against CWS on 5/4/2016
David Peralta of ARI robbed 3 hits against MIA on 5/4/2016
Byung-ho Park of MIN hit 3 home runs against HOU on 5/4/2016
Jeremy Hazelbaker of STL struck out 4 times against PHI on 5/5/2016
Carlos Santana of CLE had 6 RBI against DET on 5/5/2016
Jake Arrieta of CHC had 10 strikeouts against WAS on 5/5/2016
Jon Lester of CHC had 10 strikeouts against WAS on 5/6/2016
Kris Bryant of CHC struck out 4 times against WAS on 5/6/2016
Kevin Gausman of BAL had 11 strikeouts against OAK on 5/6/2016
Josh Reddick of OAK robbed 3 hits against BAL on 5/6/2016
Tim Adleman of CIN had 10 strikeouts against MIL on 5/6/2016
Max Muncy of OAK had 6 RBI against BAL on 5/7/2016
James Paxton of SEA had 10 strikeouts against HOU on 5/7/2016
Corey Kluber of CLE had 11 strikeouts against KCR on 5/8/2016
Mark Reynolds of COL had 5 hits against SFG on 5/8/2016

 

Newsletter for games through 5-1-2016

ANNOUNCEMENTS:  I haven’t seen the “file busy” error for a while and nobody has told me that they are seeing it, so I’m crossing my fingers that it’s been fixed.  Let me know if you see it again.  And a special thanks to Ben and Hugh, who both took it upon themselves to proactively remove their suspended players from their rosters.

COMMENTARY:  Tony Bernacchi’s Bosox, who got of to a really slow start in our 2-week opening run, have really turned it on.  They had a league-best 6-1 mark and moved to within 2 games of first…not that Baltimore was slacking off with it’s 5-2 mark…I notice that my bad karma seems to be dragging down my compatriots in the NL East, where not one team has a positive WOR figure….and nobody in the NL West has a negative one…The Cards put together the best record in the NL central, are now +3 WOR, and lurk as a challenge to the Cubs, who otherwise threaten to run away with the division….they now hold the best mark in the ASFBL…The Giants made noise with the best NL West record at 5-1…Four of the 5 teams in that division had winning records….The Twins held only a .500 record but Tim’s version of the Minnesotans is still +8 WOR, twice as high as second place (Dodgers at +4)….Forslund’s Chisox went 5-2 to creep within 1 game, and the crazy situation is that all 5 teams in the division are within 2.5 games of first place….the entire division could literally be inverted in a single weeks’ worth of games…John Weerts’ A’s are holding first place, largely by virtue of the +3 WOR…In case you missed the email, Rick Wynne’s observation from last week is worth reading: “Jake Arrieta had a perfect game going with 2 outs in the 10th inning !! Then Jay Bruce hit a walk-off HR for Cincy ! It was the 2nd loss on the week in extra innings for the Cubbies, both coming on a walk-off HR, the other being a 17 inning loss to the Cards when Greg Garcia left the yard. It was Garcia who sent the game into extra innings with a 7th inning RBI hit.”

FEATS AND FAILURES:

Nick Castellanos of DET had 5 hits against OAK on 4/25/2016
Jose Iglesias of DET robbed 3 hits against OAK on 4/25/2016
Kenta Maeda of LAD had 11 strikeouts against MIA on 4/25/2016
Andrew McCutchen of HOU struck out 4 times against SEA on 4/25/2016
Chris Sale of CWS had 13 strikeouts against TOR on 4/25/2016
Rick Porcello of BOS had 11 strikeouts against ATL on 4/25/2016
Rich Hill of OAK had 11 strikeouts against DET on 4/26/2016
Khris Davis of OAK struck out 4 times against DET on 4/26/2016
Felix Hernandez of SEA had 11 strikeouts against HOU on 4/26/2016
Dexter Fowler of CHC had 6 RBI against MIL on 4/27/2016
Aaron Nola of PHI had 11 strikeouts against WAS on 4/27/2016
Cesar Vargas of SDP had 11 strikeouts against SFG on 4/27/2016
Madison Bumgarner of SFG had 12 strikeouts against SDP on 4/27/2016
Nathan Eovaldi of HOU had 11 strikeouts against SEA on 4/27/2016
Jacob deGrom of NYM had 11 strikeouts against CIN on 4/27/2016
Justin Nicolino of MIA robbed 3 hits against LAD on 4/27/2016
Steven Wright of BOS had 11 strikeouts against ATL on 4/28/2016
Cesar Hernandez of PHI struck out 4 times against WAS on 4/28/2016
Rick Porcello of BOS had 14 strikeouts against NYY on 4/30/2016
George Springer of HOU struck out 4 times against OAK on 4/30/2016
Chris Archer of TBR had 14 strikeouts against TOR on 5/1/2016
Yoenis Cespedes of NYM had 6 RBI against SFG on 5/1/2016
Giancarlo Stanton of MIA hit 3 home runs against MIL on 5/1/2016
Giancarlo Stanton of MIA had 8 RBI against MIL on 5/1/2016
Martin Prado of MIA had 5 hits against MIL on 5/1/2016
Carlos Correa of HOU struck out 4 times against OAK on 5/1/2016