Week #2: Newsletter for games through 4-23-23

COMMENTARY

Boy, did I blow it with Brian Sullivan last week, identifying Paul Block as our only new owner…in fact, Brian is in his first ASFBL campaign (“first year in the show”) and he’s got the hang of it…posted a winning week at 4-2 and is .5 ahead of the actual Tiger club….Brian has yet to pull of his first trade but he’s got some depth at AAA pitching and Kyle Gibson is due to adjust down…Paul, meanwhile, has his team at +3 WOR and just finished a winning week…the newcomers were a combined 7-4 and both are doing better than their actual clubs…Mike Mendoz’s Royals might be said to have come to earth with a 1-5 week, but he’s still in first and still leads the league at +6 WOR…Steve Skrovan has the Guardians in a dead tie…tied for first, tied with the actual club…at .500…taking mediocrity to new middles, but doing it with style…second over WOR belongs to Adam Symonds who has the Phillies in first place by 3.5 in the NL East…he’s 9-1 over the last 10 games…completed 3 trades last week and 5 since the season opened on April 17…Gordie’s Cubs are still in first in the NL central and he’s 6-0 in the division…Pirates also had a 4-2 week for Casey Cobb…the NL West is a real-life logjam with 3 teams that all have 12 wins, but the ASFBL has given a little separation as Rick Wynne has 2 games on the actual Dodgers and sits in first place (with Justin Verlander getting ready to come off the DL) and Pat Walsh’s Gaints are 2.5 games better than the actual club…I don’t think it’s mathematically possible to out-perform the acutal Rays but Ben is only 1 game back and leads the ASFBL with an ungodly 82% win rate…Hugh Brown’s Bosox are the only club in the AL East that isn’t lagging bechind their actual club….Tampa Bay and Toronto were collectively 11-1 this week…Leo’s Chisox aren’t that competitive in real life but he’s got the ASFBL version a nick ahead, even after a tough week…Greg Acthen continues to have the Angels atop the AL West which puts him in a better position to resign Ohtani than Arte Moreno…that is hardly the only way in which Greg is preferable to Arte…no felonious collusions with Anaheim city officials, for example…Ben Brockreide’s Rangers set the pace in the division at 5-1…four of five AL west teams are in positive-WOR range, even though three of them have losing records in their own division…Cardinals have the best NL interleague record…

NAME GAMES

How’s this for a pitching staff? Chad Green, Hunter Greene, Riley Greene, Jon Gray, Josiah Gray, Sonny Gray, Hunter Brown. Pitching coach is obviously Bud Black. First base is Evan White, and the outfield is Seth Brown, Riley Greene, and maybe Charlie Blackmon.

FEATS AND FAILURES

Stuart Fairchild (Cincinnati) struck out 4 times (on 4/17/2023 against Tampa Bay) 
Johan Oviedo (Pittsburgh) struck out 12 batters (on 4/17/2023 against Colorado) 
Spencer Strider (Tampa Bay) struck out 14 batters (on 4/18/2023 against Cincinnati) 
Ryan Feltner (Colorado) struck out 12 batters (on 4/18/2023 against Pittsburgh) 
Jonah Heim (Texas) hit 3 homers (on 4/19/2023 against Kansas City) 
Teoscar Hernandez (New York (NYM)) hit 6 RBI (on 4/19/2023 against Los Angeles) 
Clayton Kershaw (New York (NYM)) struck out 13 batters (on 4/19/2023 against Los Angeles) 
Shohei Ohtani (Anaheim) struck out 20 batters (on 4/19/2023 against New York (NYY)) 
Paul Goldschmidt (New York (NYY)) struck out 4 times (on 4/19/2023 against Anaheim) 
Edmundo Sosa (Philadelphia)  had 5 hits (on 4/21/2023 against Colorado) 
Kodai Senga (New York (NYM)) struck out 12 batters (on 4/21/2023 against San Francisco) 
Nathaniel Lowe (Texas) struck out 4 times (on 4/21/2023 against Oakland) 
Marcus Semien (Texas)  had 5 hits (on 4/21/2023 against Oakland) 
Kyle Lewis (Arizona) struck out 4 times (on 4/22/2023 against San Diego) 
Kevin Pillar (Atlanta) struck out 4 times (on 4/22/2023 against Houston) 
Zac Gallen (Houston) struck out 11 batters (on 4/22/2023 against Atlanta) 
Carlos Perez (Oakland) hit 6 RBI (on 4/22/2023 against Texas)

Advertisement