Legion, Lannisters Dominate; PhoeGnomes, Goofballs Edge Competition

KG Capital City Goofballs (3-7) vs.  LK Armadillos (7-2-1)

After several weeks of tough losses, the Goofballs edged the Armadillos by a tiny 6-4 margin.  The Armadillos were close to forcing a tie, but Kevin had just enough pitching to secure the win.  On offense, it looked like the Armadillos would run away with the lead.  Anthony Rizzo and Edwin Encarnacion had three home runs each.  Larry was tied for second in the league in home runs.  Ian Desmond remained hot and was one of nine players with a home run.  The Goofballs had ten home runs, including three from Freddie Freeman.  He also contributed a steal, giving Kevin his only offensive category.  The Armadillos’ dominant 4-1 performance seemed to secure the week.

The Goofballs were able to rally on the pitching side.  David Price was excellent, pitching 16 innings and striking out 18.  Jake Odorizzi was also solid, striking out 17 over 11.2 IP.  The Goofballs staff threw 72 innings and had solid stats across the board.  The Armadillos had good performances too.  Kenta Maeda and Carlos Carrasco rebounded for good weeks and struck out 28 total over four starts.  However, a Trevor Rosenthal meltdown left him with two earned runs over zero innings pitched.  This gave Kevin an opening, and he took saves by one.

He also had two perfect bullpen appearances for 1.1 innings pitched on Sunday.  This gave Kevin a 3.00 ERA.  The Armadillos were 0.003 behind in ERA and had no relief pitchers make it into a game on Sunday.  If Kevin had one fewer inning pitched (or allowed one more run at any point), the Armadillos would have tied the week.  On Sunday, both Dellin Betances and Marcus Stroman suffered meltdowns.  Kevin skillfully avoided these traps, despite the temptation to start Stroman and lock up strikeouts.  The Armadillos had a strong Sunday effort from Fernando Rodney, but he was on the bench.  If he had been in the lineup, the Armadillos would have had a 2.98 ERA and a tie for the week.  In this case, Kevin had luck on his side and managed the upset.  The Armadillos’ loss also relieves some of the pressure on the Lannisters, who are now in first place and face the Armadillos next.

CP Legion (6-2-2) vs.  KK Thunderwolves (1-8-1)

In a week with two close matches, the Legion stood out for their dominant win over the Thunderwolves.  The Legion had the best offensive week of any team.  Chris P. had the highest home run and SLG totals.  He tied for first in RBI.  Leading the way were Miguel Cabrera, Evan Longoria, and Devon Travis.  All three had two home runs.  Travis was excellent in limited duty, and nine other players had home runs for the Legion.  Christian Yelich added six RBIs, and Jake Lamb contributed four more with a 0.909 SLG.  Addison Russell had a nice week for the Thunderwolves, but it wasn’t enough.  Chris won all five categories with ease. 

Chris continued his dominance on the pitching side.  The Legion had the most wins and strikeouts in the league.  Although the Legion had the second-worst ERA and WHIP in the league, their totals were respectable enough to beat the Thunderwolves.  Jerad Eickhoff had a good week, and was one of seven Legion pitchers who picked up a win.  Julio Urias was the only one of the Legion’s seven starters who did not get a win, and he didn’t allow a run in his start.  In contrast, the Thunderwolves had dreadful weeks from Drew Straily and Aaron Nola.  Zack Greinke and Michael Wacha were good, but it wasn’t enough.  Kyle managed a tie in saves, but it was the only category he didn’t lose.  The Legion enjoyed a massive 9-0-1 victory that was never in doubt.  The Thunderwolves are left looking for answers.  When Kyle’s pitching struggles, he is unlikely to win.  The Thunderwolves will need to address their offense to improve.  Meanwhile, the Legion look forward to critical matches against the league leaders.  If he can continue to be a dual offense and pitching threat, he will remain in the title hunt.

RK Possums (5-4-1) vs.  HP PhoeGnomes (6-4)

After a series of wins against some of the best teams in the league, the Possums’ hot streak finally ended.  The PhoeGnomes managed a close victory in a hotly-contested battle.  Early in the week, things looked great for the Possums.  He tied for second in the league in home runs, had the best RBI, finished second in steals, and posted solid rate stats.  Josh Donaldson and Adam Duvall each had three home runs.  Charlie Blackmon contributed two steals.  Xander Bogaerts and Wilson Ramos stayed hot and had three home runs and a steal between them.  However, Heather countered with good performances of her own.  Paul Goldschmidt had three home runs, and Kole Calhoun, Kyle Seager, and Jose Abreu had two each.  It wasn’t enough to top the Possums, but her lineup output was more consistent and had better OBP and SLG for the week.  She also won steals, thanks to Eduardo Nunez.  This gave her three categories to Rick’s two.

On pitching, each category was a battle.  Rick threw far more innings and easily won strikeouts.  He also led the league in saves by a wide margin.  Heather countered with great weeks from Steven Wright, Jake Arrieta, and Julio Teheran.  Teheran was especially strong – he threw 16 IP, struck out 15, had an ERA of 0.00, and a WHIP of 0.31.  Heather started seven pitchers and had six wins.  In contrast, Rick started 10 and also had 6 wins.  Both teams finished second to the Legion, but one more win would have earned him a tie for the week.  Michael Fulmer pitched well enough to win.  He threw 5.2 IP and allowed a single run.  Unfortunately, his team let him down, and the Possums suffered a close loss.  The win was a good one for the PhoeGnomes, and both teams remain in contention.

CM Happy Hollidays (2-7) vs.  JK Lannisters (7-2-1)

The final match of the week featured the Lannsiters and the slumping Happy Hollidays.  After weeks of brutal match-ups, Jeff was able to relax somewhat this week.  The Lannister offense remained consistent.  They led the league in OBP and was second in SLG.  David Ortiz contributed two home runs and even sealed the steals category with a steal.  Several other Lannisters had solid weeks, despite the team’s litany of injuries.  Ben Zobrist had a good effort for the Hollidays, but it wasn’t enough to prevent the sweep. 

On pitching, the Hollidays fared slightly better with a good week from Adam Wainwright.  However, the Lannisters countered with strong weeks from newcomer Matt Shoemaker.  Lance McCullers and Jose Quintana were strong as well.  The teams had the best two ERAs in the league, but the Lannisters had more strikeouts, saves, and a better WHIP.  This was more than enough to secure the 8-2 win.  The Hollidays are in free-fall, while the Lannisters enjoyed a less stressful week before facing the Armadillos.

Next Week

Week 12 features several great match-ups.  The Lannisters and Armadillos battle for first place in their second meeting of the season.  The Possums look to rebound against the Legion.  Both teams are coming off strong runs.  The PhoeGnomes hope to continue to win against the Hollidays.  Finally, the Thunderwolves look to turn things around against the Goofballs.