Newsletter for games through 8-25-19

PLAYERS’ WEEKEND

I have taken the liberty of personalizing team names, many of which are unoriginal (the Seattle Symonds), obscure (the Minnesota ElizaPatquis, a syllable-hybrid of the names of Tim’s 3 children), or sensical only to me (the Arizona Benders, a mash-up of Ben Leckie’s name and the character from Futurama)…but I am unduly proud of calling the Padres under the charge of Al Benedek the Benedektines…Rick’s teams will always be the Wynners on this weekend…John Weerts’ Oakland Ws also makes me smile….speaking of the MLB players weekend, I’m no fashion designer but I’ll say that previously the unattempted white lettering on white jerseys was probably best left untried…although I’ll thank you all to imagine this newsletter has riveting commentary at the bottom of this post with white lettering on a white background….

TOTALLY UNREALISTIC

See if you can figure out which of the following totally unrealistic things happened in MLB or the ASFBL (answers below):

1. Yu Darvsih walked only 3 batters in his last 62 innings
2. Lowest ERA for anyone with 30 innings is Matt Shoemaker
3. Domingo German has 8 wins
4. Brock Burke had an ERA of 7.88 in 8 AAA innings and allowed 1 run in his first 2 MLB starts for an ERA of .75
5. Marcus Stroman pitches 210 innings before the end of August
6. After averaging 20 HR in 3 minor league seasons an NL rookie set a franchise record for single-season homers and tied Mike Trout for the league-wide lead.
7. Jason Castro, with a .232 lifetime batting average, is traded 3 times
8. Guy has an impressive 1.184 OPS in 213 AB in the hitter-friendly PCL, gets called up to MLB, and his OPS goes up in his first 219 AB in the majors, better than Christian Yelich

COMMENTARY

Washington is heating up; 6-1 last week and won 9 of their last 10…I’ve managed to tie Robert Perkins’ Marlins for last place in the NL East, but he’s 19 WOR games ahead of me…San Diego was 4-2 and is in line for the second NL wild card spot…Brewers had a great week…Tampa Bay had the best week in the AL East…Cleveland inched closer in the central…nobody had a losing record in the AL West, with Texas adding the most wins, Oakland gaining the most ground, and Houston holding on to first…

FEATS AND FAILURES

C.J. Cron of MIN hit 3 home runs against CWS on 8/19/2019
Cal Quantrill of SDP had 10 strikeouts against CIN on 8/19/2019
SDP and CIN played 15.5 innings on 8/19/2019
Albert Pujols of LAA had 5 hits against TEX on 8/20/2019
Daniel Vogelbach of SEA struck out 4 times against TBR on 8/20/2019
Max Scherzer of WAS had 10 strikeouts against PIT on 8/20/2019
Colin Moran of PIT struck out 4 times against WAS on 8/20/2019
Kyle Seager of TEX had 6 RBI against LAA on 8/21/2019
MIA and ATL played 13.5 innings on 8/21/2019
Jacob deGrom of OAK had 11 strikeouts against NYY on 8/21/2019
Aaron Judge of NYY struck out 4 times against OAK on 8/21/2019
J.T. Realmuto of PHI struck out 4 times against BOS on 8/21/2019
Mike Clevinger of CLE had 13 strikeouts against NYM on 8/22/2019
Todd Frazier of NYM struck out 4 times against CLE on 8/22/2019
Drew Pomeranz of SFG had 11 strikeouts against CHC on 8/22/2019
Brian Goodwin of LAA hit 3 home runs against HOU on 8/23/2019
Matt Thaiss of LAA struck out 4 times against HOU on 8/23/2019
Noah Syndergaard of NYM had 11 strikeouts against ATL on 8/23/2019
Gerrit Cole of CLE had 13 strikeouts against KCR on 8/23/2019
Christian Walker of ARI struck out 4 times against MIL on 8/24/2019
Michael Conforto of NYM struck out 4 times against ATL on 8/24/2019
Lucas Giolito of BOS had 12 strikeouts against SDP on 8/24/2019
Aaron Judge of NYY struck out 4 times against LAD on 8/24/2019
Scott Kingery of PHI struck out 4 times against MIA on 8/24/2019
Brock Burke of TEX had 11 strikeouts against CWS on 8/24/2019
Justin Verlander of BOS had 12 strikeouts against SDP on 8/25/2019
Austin Hedges of SDP robbed 3 hits against BOS on 8/25/2019
Ryan McMahon of COL struck out 4 times against STL on 8/25/2019
Andrew Kittredge of TBR had 11 strikeouts against BAL on 8/25/2019
Anthony Bemboom of TBR struck out 4 times against BAL on 8/25/2019

UNREALISTIC ANSWERS: 1 – MLB, and that’s after walking 7 on opening day, 2 – ASFBL, 3 – ASFBL; he has 17 in MLB, although he gets the most run support of any starting pitcher; 4 – MLB; 5 – ASFBL because innings stretching doesn’t increase injury risk, 6 – Pete Alonso of MLB, 7 – ASFBL; he’s a former 10th-overall pick who’s been cut but never traded; 8 – Yordan Alvarez of the MLB Astros, as if they needed more talent.

 

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Newsletter for games through 8-18-19

COMMENTS

This states the obvious, but the Brewers and Reds would be making the NL Central an interesting race were the Cubs not 16 games over reality…just guessing, but I think Angels’ Anthony Bedmoom’s favorite Korean food is bibimbop…the top 3 NL wildcard teams are the Nationals, Padres, and Dbacks….they were a collective 16-3 last week…the Brewers lurk as a dark horse…Cleveland and Oakland each picked up two games on their division leaders last week…the Rays were back to 4-2 after a rough patch, and the Angels put up a 5-2 record after a tough August start…Boston has the best AL record over the last 30…Braves are cruising with a 12.5 game lead in the NL East and had a winning week…they are also tied with the Cubs for the best NL mark over the last 30 at 21-9…last place is no fun, but the Marlins and Orioles are seriously ahead of their actual clubs…special congrats to Mark and Rob for attention to detail when dealt a bad hand…Sara has pulled the Tiger train to within 2 games of the actual club…tightest race in the league might be for 3rd place in the NL East, where the Phillies, Mets, and Marlins are all within a half game of each other…only team with 2 sluggers in the top 10 in HR are the Yankees, with native Gary Sanchez and trade import Joc Pederson…second best batting average for players with more than 100 ASFBL at bats is Wilmer Flores…with no trades possible, I’ve noticed that the number of free waivers I have is becoming important to me…Sonny Gray had 18 strikeouts last week, edging Mike Clevinger with 15…but Gray pitched 15 innings and Clevinger only had 7.33…

FEATS AND FAILURES

Zack Wheeler of TEX had 10 strikeouts against TOR on 8/12/2019
Gerrit Cole of CLE had 10 strikeouts against BOS on 8/13/2019
Josh Bell of BOS struck out 4 times against CLE on 8/13/2019
Austin Listi of PHI struck out 4 times against CHC on 8/13/2019
Noah Syndergaard of NYM had 10 strikeouts against ATL on 8/13/2019
Matt Thaiss of LAA struck out 4 times against PIT on 8/13/2019
Dylan Bundy of SEA had 10 strikeouts against DET on 8/13/2019
TEX and TOR played 13.5 innings on 8/13/2019
Patrick Corbin of WAS had 10 strikeouts against CIN on 8/14/2019
Charlie Morton of TBR had 10 strikeouts against SDP on 8/14/2019
Charlie Morton of TBR struck out 4 times against SDP on 8/14/2019
Shane Bieber of CLE had 11 strikeouts against NYY on 8/15/2019
Noe Ramirez of LAA had 14 strikeouts against CWS on 8/16/2019
Mike Clevinger of CLE had 15 strikeouts against NYY on 8/16/2019
Joc Pederson of NYY struck out 4 times against CLE on 8/16/2019
Eric Thames of OAK struck out 4 times against HOU on 8/16/2019
Trevor Story of COL robbed 3 hits against MIA on 8/16/2019
Austin Hedges of SDP struck out 5 times against PHI on 8/16/2019
Josh VanMeter of CIN struck out 4 times against STL on 8/16/2019
Caleb Smith of MIA had 11 strikeouts against COL on 8/17/2019
Pete Alonso of NYM hit 3 home runs against KCR on 8/17/2019
Dillon Peters of LAA had 10 strikeouts against CWS on 8/18/2019
Gerrit Cole of CLE had 10 strikeouts against NYY on 8/18/2019
Walker Buehler of LAD had 11 strikeouts against ATL on 8/18/2019
Mike Moustakas of MIL struck out 4 times against WAS on 8/18/2019
Keston Hiura of MIL hit 3 home runs against WAS on 8/18/2019
Aaron Nola of PHI had 10 strikeouts against SDP on 8/18/2019
Dinelson Lamet of SDP had 15 strikeouts against PHI on 8/18/2019
Wil Myers of SDP struck out 4 times against PHI on 8/18/2019
Eduardo Escobar of ARI had 7 RBI against SFG on 8/18/2019

Newsletter for games through 8-11-2019

COMMENTS

Two teams with the best record over the last 30 games are the Cubs and the Astros, both at 21-9…and the Astros have won 12 straight, dating back to an 11-0 loss to the Cardinals…gotta be the hottest team in the league…and Oakland didn’t exactly watch the Astro show, winning 19 of their last 30, which would have gained ground in most divisions…they are still just 5.5 back…two teams warming up to the actual club performances are the Yankees (7-0) and Indians (5-2)…both are starting a little farther back, but both still have time to turn it around….the Yankee sweep means they were perfect against the Orioles, who in MLB have lost 16 straight to the pinstripe crew…Alan is +2 with the DRays despite making no trades all year, but as the real club fades he’ll face a challenge keeping the pace in the AL East…with the divisional races all set with fairly clear front-runners (in a way that’s kind of ASFBL unprecedented) the big drama is for the wildcard spots…Nats, Padres, Brewers, and DBacks are dueling it out in the NL, with Philly, Cincinnati, and the Rockies as longshots…AL has the DRays at the front of the pack with Oakland, the Yankees, and Texas on their heels…Everyone in the NL East is above-.500 WOR except the Giants, and they’ve got a winning record over the last 30 games…Detroit had a tough week but Sarah has the Tigers within a game of the actual club, which is a big improvement from when she took the team over…so I’m not saying it’s a bad season for the Orioles, but Joc Pederson had more home runs AGAINST the Orioles on August 6th than the Orioles scored runs, as a team, in any game this week…Pederson had 4 HR and 8 RBI, and the most the Orioles managed to score in any game all week was 4…and that was in a 12-4 loss…

FEATS AND FAILURES

Mike Soroka of ATL had 10 strikeouts against MIN on 8/6/2019
Miguel Sano of MIN struck out 4 times against ATL on 8/6/2019
Zac Gallen of MIA had 10 strikeouts against NYM on 8/6/2019
Pete Alonso of NYM struck out 4 times against MIA on 8/6/2019
Joc Pederson of NYY hit 4 home runs against BAL on 8/6/2019
Joc Pederson of NYY had 8 RBI against BAL on 8/6/2019
Javier Baez of CHC struck out 4 times against OAK on 8/6/2019
Zach Plesac of LAD had 10 strikeouts against STL on 8/6/2019
Mike Clevinger of CLE had 11 strikeouts against TEX on 8/6/2019
Jason Kipnis of CLE had 6 RBI against TEX on 8/6/2019
Cameron Maybin of CLE had 5 hits against TEX on 8/6/2019
Delino DeShields of TEX struck out 4 times against CLE on 8/6/2019
Greg Allen of ATL had 5 hits against MIN on 8/7/2019
ATL and MIN played 13.5 innings on 8/7/2019
KCR and BOS played 13.5 innings on 8/7/2019
Noah Syndergaard of NYM had 10 strikeouts against MIA on 8/7/2019
Chase Anderson of MIL had 10 strikeouts against PIT on 8/7/2019
Chris Bassitt of OAK had 10 strikeouts against CHC on 8/7/2019
Sonny Gray of CHC had 11 strikeouts against OAK on 8/7/2019
Joey Lucchesi of SDP had 10 strikeouts against SEA on 8/7/2019
Walker Buehler of LAD had 10 strikeouts against STL on 8/7/2019
Gerrit Cole of CLE had 12 strikeouts against TEX on 8/7/2019
Wilin Rosario of TEX struck out 4 times against CLE on 8/7/2019
Gerrit Cole of CLE had 14 strikeouts against MIN on 8/8/2019
Trevor Bauer of COL had 11 strikeouts against SDP on 8/8/2019
Gio Urshela of NYY had 5 hits against TOR on 8/8/2019
CHC and CIN played 14.5 innings on 8/9/2019
PIT and STL played 13.5 innings on 8/9/2019
Reynaldo Lopez of TEX had 10 strikeouts against MIL on 8/9/2019
Aristides Aquino of CIN hit 3 home runs against CHC on 8/10/2019
Jose Quintana of CHC had 10 strikeouts against CIN on 8/11/2019
Luis Castillo of CIN had 10 strikeouts against CHC on 8/11/2019
Wynston Sawyer of MIN struck out 4 times against CLE on 8/11/2019
Brian Dozier of WAS struck out 4 times against NYM on 8/11/2019

 

Newsletter for games through 8-4-19

LIGHTING STRIKING TWICE!

Had a cycle and a no-hitter in the same week…check out the feats and failures below…both feats are impressive but I’m giving Garrett Cole the Player of the Week honors on the strength of 22 strikeouts…

TRADE FRENZY:

16 trades made between last Monday and Wednesday…including 12 on the 31st…14 teams were involved in at least one trade, and although my notes on this are literally some checkmarks on the back of an envelope, I think the Cubs and Nationals were tied with 5 trades each….Washington and Pittsburgh pulled off a 5-for-5…lots of fun at the trade deadline, and we’ll know next week how they paid off!

COMMENTS:

San Diego pulled off a 6-0 week against a very rare 1-5 by the Dodgers to…pull within 15.5 games…but they are in a dogfight for the wildcard spot, clutching the second slot a half game behind Washington and 1.5 ahead of Arizona…five more teams are within 8 games, which counts as a longshot, but SD just moved up 4.5 games in one week, so anything is possible…Atlanta continues to roll in NL East…Toronto put up a strong week in the AL east while the Bosox gained some ground on the DRays…who are still +3 on the actual DRays…Minnesota solidified the hold on the AL central, and the Royals continue to impress with the WOR totals…the actual Astros are now the team to beat in MLB and the fantasy equivalent went 6-0 to reclaim a clear division lead…the scrappy John Weerts’ Oakland team lurk only 2 games back…fun to see the Marlins and Orioles doing so well in the WOR categories…the surge of the actual Mets has left me treading water in the WOR category, but I am happy to announce that the Met/Marlin saga is the most hotly contested 4th-place spot in the ASFBL…

FEATS AND FAILURES

Monte Harrison of MIA struck out 4 times against ARI on 7/28/2019
Sonny Gray of CHC had 10 strikeouts against MIL on 7/28/2019
Gerrit Cole of CLE had 13 strikeouts against KCR on 7/28/2019
Alex Wood of CIN had 10 strikeouts against COL on 7/28/2019
Yordan Alvarez of HOU struck out 4 times against STL on 7/28/2019
Jacob Stallings of PIT struck out 4 times against NYM on 7/28/2019
Alex Dickerson of SDP had 5 hits against SFG on 7/28/2019
Marcus Stroman of TOR had 10 strikeouts against TBR on 7/28/2019
TEX and OAK played 13.5 innings on 7/28/2019
Javier Baez of CHC hit for the cycle against STL on 7/30/2019
Yordan Alvarez of HOU had 6 RBI against CLE on 7/30/2019
Eduardo Rodriguez of PIT had 10 strikeouts against CIN on 7/30/2019
Shane Bieber of CLE had 11 strikeouts against HOU on 7/31/2019
Stephen Vogt of SFG had 6 RBI against PHI on 7/31/2019
Stephen Vogt of SFG hit for the cycle against PHI on 7/31/2019
Stephen Vogt of SFG had 5 hits against PHI on 7/31/2019
Matt Adams of STL struck out 4 times against CHC on 8/1/2019
Mike Clevinger of CLE had 10 strikeouts against HOU on 8/1/2019
Zac Gallen of MIA had 11 strikeouts against MIN on 8/1/2019
Gerrit Cole of CLE threw a no-hitter against LAA on 8/2/2019
Gerrit Cole of CLE had 22 strikeouts against LAA on 8/2/2019
Aaron Nola of PHI had 11 strikeouts against CWS on 8/2/2019
Alex Wood of CIN had 14 strikeouts against ATL on 8/2/2019
Ronald Acuna Jr. of ATL struck out 4 times against CIN on 8/2/2019
Matthew Boyd of HOU had 10 strikeouts against SEA on 8/2/2019
Austin Nola of SEA struck out 4 times against HOU on 8/2/2019
Hunter Dozier of KCR struck out 4 times against MIN on 8/3/2019
Brandon Bielak of HOU had 14 strikeouts against SEA on 8/3/2019
Jonathan Villar of BAL struck out 4 times against TOR on 8/3/2019
Caleb Smith of MIA had 10 strikeouts against TBR on 8/4/2019