The first week of the fantasy season is complete. Each match-up was competitive, and unpredictable weather and performances provided ample excitement. Injuries took their toll as well, and teams were forced to look deep into the waiver pool for reinforcements. This was the most competitive Week 1 in recent memory. Every team came prepared to compete.
Legion vs PhoeGnomes
One of the off-season’s most active clubs was the PhoeGnomes. Heather added several win-now players while the Legion launched a rebuilding program. Chris traded several veterans to the PhoeGnomes including Andrew McCutchen, Jose Bautista, and Aroldis Chapman. In return, Heather traded away the promising but unproven
duo of George Springer and Yasiel Puig. A second deal sent Paul Goldschmidt to the PhoeGnomes for a draft pick and player-to-be-named-later. (Note: For fairness reasons, the Commissioner knows and approved of the PTBNL options.)
These transactions gave Heather a huge boost in offense for the next few years. The Legion are trying to go younger after several years at the top. Did they give up too much, too soon? The answer depends on the development of Springer and Puig, Chris’s ability to draft with multiple picks, and the age-related declines of the veterans he traded away. For the PhoeGnomes, the new additions make Heather an instant title contender after a rebound last season.
The two teams met in the first week of the season. Heather’s new arrivals paid immediate dividends, hitting four total home runs with 12 RBI and a steal. Springer and Puig were also effective for the Legion, hitting one homer each with a pair of steals and seven RBI. However, Heather’s returning big bats (Chris Davis and Corey Dickerson) offered ample power to carry the PhoeGnomes to a victory in home runs and SLG. Heather also won OBP, though neither team had a standout number. The teams tied in RBI despite Heather’s home run lead, and Chris took a surprise win in steals. Overall, Heather held a 3-1-1 advantage on offense.
The Legion posted much better numbers on the mound. His team ERA of 2.72 was second in the league to the Lannisters. This easily topped Heather’s 4.80 total. Chris took WHIP as well, but the PhoeGnomes managed larger counting totals. Chris Sale and Jake Arrieta helped the PhoeGhones build a large advantage in innings pitched. This translated to more wins, strikeouts, and saves. Despite having five different relievers record appearances, the Legion were held to a single save. Heather was able to win three more categories and record a solid 6-3-1 record for the week.
The win serves notice to the league that the balance of power may be tipping toward the PhoeGnomes and away from the Legion. After so many years at the top of the league, is it possible that the Legion are no longer contenders? Are the PhoeGnomes really on the verge of true contention? How each team follows up next week will help answer these questions.
Lannisters vs Goofballs
Last year’s champions, the Lannisters, needed a victory to keep up with the PhoeGnomes. Standing in their way were the Goofballs. After a season which included some of the most astute pickups in the league, Kevin seemed poised to take another step forward after completing his first off-season with a full set of draft picks. Unfortunately, much of Kevin’s hard work was undone when Kyle Schwarber went down with a season-ending knee injury. The loss is a huge blow for the Goofballs who were counting on Schwarber to be their catcher and outfielder. Now, Schwarber will lose his catcher eligibility after this season to go along with the lost production.
Fortunately for the Goofballs, an unlikely hero emerged for the week: Trevor Story. The Rockies’ shortstop hit seven home runs (five while in the lineup) and tallied eight RBI for the week. Steven Souza Jr also had three home runs, and in total eleven Goofballs hit homers for the week. Kevin had the highest total in the league along with the highest SLG. However, the Lannisters would not go quietly and hit sixteen home runs of their own. They were also more efficient with the league’s second-highest OBP and tied the Goofballs in RBI. Robinson Cano led the way with four home runs, and seven other Lannisters also went deep. Jean Segura supplied an unexpected jolt of energy with two home runs and a steal. The Lannisters were happy to get something from a Diamondback, after AJ Pollock went down for the season with an elbow injury.
The Lannisters were able to take control on the pitching side. After spending much of last year streaming pitchers and trying dozens of names in the lineup, things came together for at least one week. Felix Hernandez allowed one run over 13 IP, and the Lannister bullpen put together the highest saves total in the league by far. The Lannisters led the league in ERA and saves and were near the top in WHIP. Kevin had more quantity, but were unable to pick up an additional win. Ultimately, this gave the Lannisters a hard-earned 5-3-2 win.
Both the Goofballs and the Lannisters would have beaten every other team in the league for the week. The loss is a disappointment for Kevin, especially when paired with the Schwarber injury. The discovery of Story will lessen the blow. Meanwhile, the Lannisters showed why they are still the most dangerous offense in the league. They were able to withstand the Goofball’s best effort and start the season with a win.
Thunderwolves vs Happy Hollidays
The week’s biggest upset came from the Happy Holidays, who were able to defeat the Thunderwolves. Chris M’s team entered the year as an unknown, but opened the season with a strong offensive output that overshadowed a less-inspiring performance on the pitching side. Matt Kemp was the Holliday’s’ unlikely hero with three home runs and ten RBI. Jay Bruce got into the act as well with a pair of home runs and David Wright contributed two steals. The Hollidays had the best OBP in the league and finished behind just the Goofballs and Lannisters in SLG. This was enough for a five-category sweep of the Thunderwolves, who couldn’t get anything going on offense.
On pitching, neither team was effective. Both squads had ERAs over 5.00, easily the worst in the league. Both WHIPs were abysmal as well, but Kyle was able to take both rate categories. He also took saves – the Hollidays were blanked. However, Chris M. was able to dominate wins. Oddly, three of the Hollidays’ five wins were from the bullpen. Instead of picking up saves, they were entering close games and accumulating wins. They were also able to win the strikeout battle and record a solid 7-3 opening victory for the new owner. The Thunderwolves won’t be happy with this result, but can take comfort that their pitching performances will eventually level out. The offense remains a concern. Chris M. will need to keep an eye on his bullpen and finding reliable offensive producers, but for now he has earned a great introductory win and sits at the top of the league.
Armadillos vs Possums
The final match of the week paired the Armadillos and Possums. Rick finished at the bottom of the league last year, but the aggregate stats told a different story. The Possums were not among the league’s worst in several categories and seemed to be hurt by bad luck on the pitching side. He hoped to start the season right against the consistent Armadillos, who executed an excellent draft plan to improve their team. In retrospect, the Possums had a good draft, too. Rick made several good moves that weren’t as flashy as some, but showed a solid plan was in place.
Unfortunately for the Possums, they did not find initial luck on the offensive side. The Armadillos put in a solid overall performance with the third best RBI total in the league. They also had good SLG and OBP, and led the league in steals. The Possums were not able to keep pace, and had the league’s worst OBP and just one steal. However, they showed some power and actually tied for third in RBI too.
On pitching, the teams were more evenly matched. In fact, they tied in wins and saves. Rick had a slight edge in WHIP, but the Armadillos took both ERA and strikeouts. The Armadillos threw almost 20 more innings than the Possums thanks to a series of rainouts and other problems. This gave Larry the lead in strikeouts, and the pitchers were effective enough to have a good ERA total. In total, this gave Larry a 6-1-3 win. However, Rick showed enough on pitching to win some other match-ups if the offense can come around. They did not play like a last place team, and the Armadillos were pressed to keep pace with the Lannisters and PhoeGnomes.
Overall, the first week offered considerable excitement and some outstanding performances. Next week, the PhoeGnomes try to add more evidence to the case that they are the league’s favorite against the Goofballs. The Possums road doesn’t get any easier against the Lannisters, though the Possums have historically been competitive against the defending champs. The Happy Hollidays want to keep their early momentum in an interesting match against the Legion. Finally, the Thunderwolves will have to figure things out against the Armadillos.
Tomorrow I will post the official Elo ratings for each team to reflect last week’s performance. It will also have the implied chance of winning for each team’s new match-up!
Dirt Mountain Baseball League 