Lannisters Gain Separation; Possums Thunder; Legion and Thunderwolves Win

RK Possums (7-6-1) vs.  LK Armadillos (10-4-1)

The Possums continued their hot streak against the Armadillos.  Rick brought a dominant attack on both sides of the ball this week.  The Possums’ staff had the most strikeouts in the league by a wide margin.  They also had the most saves, a WHIP under 1.00 and the second best ERA.  Masahiro Tanaka was the star of the week.  He allowed a single earned run in two starts and struck out 11.  Justin Verlander added 19 strikeouts of his own.  Five Possums’ pitchers reached double-digits.  Larry countered with several good starters of his own.  The players had two wins for the week, but a difficult week for Kenta Maeda gave Rick four categories to Larry’s one.

On offense, the Possums dominated as well.  They led the league in home runs and were second in RBI, OBP, and SLG.  Ian Kinsler and Mike Napoli hit four home runs each.  Joey Votto had eight RBI and 11 walks.  The Possums had 100 total hits for the week.  In contrast, Larry had 76 and good weeks from Edwin Encarnacion and Daniel Murphy.  The Armadillos deployed 21 players for the week, but failed to gain any real traction.  Rick took a dominant victory over one of the league’s better teams.  He now sits in fourth place, and faces the league-leading Lannisters next week.

HP PhoeGnomes (8-6) vs.  CP Legion (8-4-2)

The closest and most important match of the week featured the Legion and PhoeGnomes.  Heather needed a win to stay with the leaders while Chris was similarly motivated.  With the Armadillos losing, both teams had a chance to make up ground.  Chris had the best SLG in the league but Heather piled on steals thanks to Eduardo Nunez and three other players with two steals each.  Chris had a nice power week from Michael Saunders and Christian Yelich.  Tyler Naquin tried to keep Heather afloat with three home runs in limited playing time.  However, it wasn’t enough to stop Chris from taking four categories. 

Heather was more successful on pitching.   She led the league in ERA and WHIP.  She had good quantity numbers too, and took saves.  Chris had more strikeouts and wins, though.  This gave him a narrow 6-4 win for the week.  Heather had three starters not allow an earned run in their starts for the week but none received a victory.  Just one category would have swung the week to a tie, and the gap in wins and OBP were low enough that the score was tied for most of the long week.  The PhoeGnomes suffered a tough loss, but the Legion are not back closer to first place after the Armadillos’ loss.

KK Thunderwolves (3-10-1) vs.  CM Happy Hollidays (2-12)

The Thunderwolves relied on a huge week from Hanley Ramirez to top the Happy Hollidays.  Kyle got five home runs and 12 RBI from his oft-injured star.  Albert Pujols, Jonathan Lucroy and Adrian Beltre also added two home runs each.  Kyle took RBI, steals, OBP, and SLG.  However, Chris M. was able to earn a surprise win in home runs.  Matt Kemp outdid Hanley with six home runs.  Stephen Piscotty and Jay Bruce had 10 RBI each.  Chris was just short in RBI and lagged enough in the rate stats to have two narrow misses.  However, the improved power should be a welcome sign for the team.

On pitching, Kyle relied on quantity.  He threw 22.1 more innings pitched than Chris.  He was less effective and lost both rate stats, but picked up enough wins and saves to get the overall victory.  Jose Fernandez and Chris Tillman were great for the Thunderwolves, but their work was undone by a nightmare week from Martin Perez.  Yu Darvish had 20 strikeouts in 10.1 innings pitched.  This is an excellent sign for one of Kyle’s long term investments.  Chris had great weeks from Francisco Liriano and Adam Wainwright, but it wasn’t enough.  The Hollidays had to settle for a tough loss, and the Thunderwolves can celebrate a victory for the week.

JK Lannisters (10-3-1) vs.  KG Capital City Goofballs (5-9)

Neither the Lannisters nor the Goofballs were impressive in Week 15, but Jeff earned a victory by virtue of slightly better pitching stats.  Both teams started almost the maximum number of games possible.  Jeff finished second in the league in strikeouts and near the top in wins.  His ERA and WHIP were undone by horrific starts from Jon Lester and the previously-unbeaten Stephen Strasburg.  However, six of the seven Lannister starters had double-digit strikeouts and earned a clear give category sweep for the league leaders.

On offense, Trevor Story reemerged to torment the Lannisters further.  He had six home runs, 12 RBI, and two steals.  He was the best offensive player of the week by a wide margin.  Kevin was able to take the category, but neither squad had good OBP or SLG.  Jayson Werth was particularly bad, with just one hit in 13 at bats.  Ryan Raburn was worse, going hitless in 12.  However, the worst of the worst was Brandon Belt, who managed just one hit in 28 at-bats.  His 0.036 SLG is one of the worst I’ve ever seen for a week.  The Lannisters weren’t much better. Derek Norris slugged 0.083 and Bryce Harper was powerless.  One bright spot was Kris Bryant, who had three steals.  The split decision for most offensive stats gave Jeff a comfortable win for the week, and he is now in first place by himself.

Next Week

Next week’s key battle is between the Possums and Lannisters.  Rick has given Jeff trouble over the years, and his hot streak is now enough to be considered a trend and not a random improvement.  His good in-season moves have rebuilt the team.  However, the Lannisters are coming off two wins by a combined 18-2 and seem to be on a mission to establish themselves as the title favorites.  If Rick can win this week he will help everyone below the Lannisters and move himself closer to contention.  Jeff will try everything he can to pull out the victory, especially since the other leaders are playing weaker teams.  The Legion and PhoeGnomes face the Happy Hollidays and Goofballs respectively.  Both expansion teams face a tough test.  The Armadillos need to rebound against the Thunderwolves, who are coming off a victory.

Week 14 saw several shifts in the Elo rating board.  With a win over the Legoin, Jeff moved into first place, and is close to the 1,600 mark.  Larry also moved up by 5.5 points and slides ahead of Chris in second place.  However, the Legion remain the only other team above 1,500.  Kevin and Kyle saw significant gains, while Rick lost a lot of points and is further below 1,500.

Next week brings a mixed bag of games.  The Lannisters are heavy favorites versus the Goofballs.  The Armadillos and Legion are also above 60% in their matches with Rick and Heather.

The league’s bottom two teams have a great chance to gain some points in an even match-up.   Kyle is the favorite, but it’s just 55%/45%.  This is the closest match of the week.

Leaders Gain Separation; Possums Finally Cool; Thunderwolves Rebound

CP Legion (8-3-2) vs.  JK Lannisters (9-3-1)

The Legion and Lannisters have battled for several years.  Chris has been at or near the top of the league for years, but the Lannisters have foiled his championship ambitions in two of the last three seasons.  The two teams dominate the Elo ratings, and usually fight closely-contested matches.  Unfortunately for the Legion, nothing seemed to go right while the Lannisters delivered an all-around performance.

The Lannisters had an excellent offensive week.  Four players hit two home runs (Kris Bryant, Bryce Harper, Robinson Cano, and Buster Posey).  Mookie Betts slugged 0.640 with two steals.  Jason Kipnis added a home run in light duty (and had two more on the bench for the week).  Jeff led the league in OBP and tied for the lead in steals.  He was second in home runs and SLG.  Chris had okay numbers, but they were not enough to compete with the Lannsiters’ performances.  Christian Yelich and Michael Saunders had five RBI each, but not player had more than one home run.  Despite Jonathan Villar’s three steals, the Legion failed to add many more.  This led to a devastating 5-0 sweep for the Lannisters.

Hope for the Legion on the pitching side faded quickly.  Julio Urias, Jerad Eickhoff and Danny Salazar had dreadful weeks, and spoiled excellent starts from Drew Pomeranz and Kyle Hendricks.  New addition Roberto Osuna had a couple of saves.  However, Jeff countered with a strong return for Jonathan Papelbon (three saves) and Dallas Keuchel (13.0 innings pitched, 2.08 ERA).  John Lackey and Jon Lester were terrible for the Lannisters, but it wasn’t enough for any rate stats to slip below Chris’s numbers.  The Lannisters recorded another 5-0 sweep and scored a shocking 10-0 win for the week.

The victory avenges a first week tie for the Lannisters and puts the league on notice that they are capable of dominating even the best teams.  However, the Legion shouldn’t feel overly concerned about the loss.  Their offense was mediocre and the pitching staff had an unusual number of meltdowns that probably won’t repeat.  However, Chris has only one more meeting with the Lannisters this year, and can only achieve a tie for the season series.  This has implications for tie-breakers at the end of the year.

CM Happy Hollidays (2-11) vs.  LK Armadillos (9-3-1)

The Armadillos did their best to keep pace with the Legion.  In fact, they had the better statistical week.  However, the Happy Hollidays were able to swing a couple of categories and avoid a rout.  Larry led the league in home runs, RBI, and SLG.  He tied for first in steals and was second in OBP.  Leading the way was Giancarlo Stanton with five home runs and 10 RBI.  Mark Trumbo added three home runs, and Starling Marte had six steals.  This alone could have carried the week but six other Armadillos had home runs and only two regulars slugged below 0.400.  Aledmys Diaz had a good week for the Hollidays, but it was far too little to overcome the Armadillos’ intimidating totals.  The return of Stanton to superstar form should scare the rest of the league.  Larry has managed a tie for first with almost no production from his second-best player.  If Stanton adds more fuel to the Armadillos’ offense, teams will need even more help on pitching to beat him.

The Hollidays were better on pitching, but it wasn’t enough to force the tie.  Mike Leake, Aaron Sanchez, and Adam Wainwright had great starts, but they were undone by a terrible Cole Hamels outing.  Still, the good starts were enough to give Chris M. two rate categories and avoid a sweep.  Larry countered quality with quantity, and easily won strikeouts, wins, and saves.  The overall result of the week was never in doubt.

The Lannisters and Armadillos are still tied for first, but their victories opened some room between them and the rest of the league.  The Legion are the closest competitor at 1.5 games back.  Heather is 2.5 back, and Rick is 3.0 behind.

KG Capital City Goofballs (4-9) vs.  RK Possums (7-5-1)

Rick could have been tied with Heather for fourth place but his team final went cold against a desperate Goofballs squad.  Rick seemed to be in line for a win, thanks to excellent pitching.  Rick led the league in ERA, and was far below any other team.  Masahiro Tanaka and Max Scherzer were dominant in their four combined starts, striking out 27 in 25.1 IP.  However, other players like Scott Kazmir and Corey Kluber were more erratic, and Rick’s WHIP suffered.  Kevin took advantage.  He threw the same number of innings as Rick but had more control (winning WHIP) and higher strikeout totals.  David Price was especially good, and he likely turned the WHIP category on Sunday.  However, Rick had more wins and saves.  This gave the Possums a 3-2 before considering hitting.

Kevin countered with an excellent offensive week.  Maikel Franco led the way with four home runs.  Trevor Story added two, and Yasmani Grandal contributed seven RBI (as did Story and Franco).  The Goofball’s numbers were on par with the Lannisters.  Meanwhile, Rick’s sluggers went total cold.  Josh Donaldson had three home runs, but no other Possums regular had a SLG over 0.500 (unless you count Adam Jones’ part time play).  Wilson Ramos and Adam Duvall were especially bad, combining for seven hits over 40 at-bats.  Kevin took every category except for steals, and earned a narrow 6-4 win.  Kevin was due for better luck, and Rick was so hot that a comedown was to be expected at some point.  The question now becomes whether or not the Goofballs can build on the win.  Kevin is below 0.500, but his team has played better than the results would indicate.  Rick must also mount a comeback, and prove that his team has sustainable production.

HP PhoeGnomes (8-5) vs.  KK Thunderwolves (2-10-1)

The week’s biggest upset saw the Thunderwolves slip past the PhoeGnomes.  Each team dominated a couple of categories, but most were in play up until the end.  The categories with the biggest margins were on the pitching side.  Kyle easily won ERA after good weeks from Jake Peavy and Tyler Anderson.  However, disastrous outings from Martin Perez, Michael Wacha, and Colin Rea inflated the Thunderwolves’ WHIP.  Heather took advantage with a great week from Madison Bumgarner that included a clutch 14-strikeout win on Sunday.  However, Kyle was able to tie wins overall and took saves.  This left the teams tied 2-2-1 before looking at hitting.

Neither team had a great offensive week compared to the rest of the league.  However, neither team struggled, either.  Kyle won OBP by a healthy margin, but Heather took steals thanks to Eduardo Nunez.  Nunez also contributed a home run and six RBI.  Kyle countered with a great week from Addison Russell and a surprising power surge from Elvis Andrus.  A strong day of RBIs on Sunday gave Kyle the category and the win.  Heather left a home run (and thus a tie for the week) on her bench in the forms of Andrew McCutchen, Tyler Naquin, and Adrian Gonzalez.  If Heather had started both McCutchen and Naquin, she would have won the week by flipping RBI and tying HR.  However, it was Kyle who made the most of his late-week opportunities and earned a close victory.  The loss drops Heather farther behind both the Armadillos and Lannisters.  The win brings Kyle further from the bottom and offers some hope for continued improvement.

Next Week

The third cycle of the season begins with the long All-Star break week.  The Lannisters meet the Goofballs.  The Armadillos must contend with the Possums, who want to prove they are a legitimate title threat.  The road doesn’t get any easier for the PhoeGnomes, who face the Legion.  Chris P. is desperate for a win.  Finally, the Hollidays and Thunderwolves meet in a battle of teams near the bottom.  Kyle can further distance himself while Chris M. will try to claw out of last place.

Written by Larry Kramer

Possums Surging!

But now the Possums are the hottest team in the league!  Rick shrewdly added Adam Duvall (22 HR, 59 RBI) and Sam Dyson (17 saves) in late May and the team reeled off four straight victories.  After a tough 4-5-1 loss to the PhoeGnomes, the Possums crushed the Legion and the Hollidays to move their record to 7-5-1 just two games off the lead (and just a half game out of the first division).  They have dominated most of their recent matchups.

All of week 12’s favorites won, so there were no major shifts in the league’s Elo ratings for the week.  Jeff, Chris, Larry, and Rick all gained ground while their opponents slipped.

Rick and Larry had the largest gains of the week, while Jeff and Chris saw small improvements.

Next week, the Armadillos are the biggest favorite of the week against the Hollidays.  Jeff and Chris are a coin toss.  Heather returns to being a heavy favorite, and Rick enjoys a wide margin against the Goofballs.

Heavy Favorites Dominate; Possums Roll; Armadillos Survive

LK Armadillos (8-3-1) vs.  HP PhoeGnomes (8-4)

The week’s closest match-up paired the Armadillos and PhoeGnomes.  Larry was tied for first place and Heather was just a half-game behind.  The winner had a chance to take sole possession of first, or keep pace with the other top teams.  Both teams showed tremendous power for the week.  The Armadillos led the league in home runs and were second in RBI.  Heather tied for the lead in steals.  The Armadillos’ home run advantage did not translate to SLG or OBP.  Both teams were virtually tied.  Kendrys Morales had four home runs in just 14 at-bats for the PhoeGnomes.  Larry countered with five players with at least two homers, including three from Anthony Rizzo and Edwin Encarnacion.  This boost gave Larry a tiny edge in both rate categories.  Both were decided by less than five thousandths of a point.  The Armadillos left four Sunday home runs on the bench.  Had he not won SLG (and thus the week), there would have been a lot of second-guessing for the league leader.

The 4-1 win on offense left Heather in a difficult position.  Unfortunately for her, the PhoeGnomes’ pitchers were not sharp for the week.  Reliable starts like Jake Arrieta and Madison Bumgarner had ERA’s over 5.00.  However, they did product wins and strikeouts.  The Armadillos were unable to match these counting stats, but good weeks from Carlos Carrasco and Carlos Martinez nailed down ERA and WHIP.  This was more than enough to secure a 6-3-1 victory for the week.  Heather had a chance with a strong Sunday to flip this result, but the PhoeGnomes didn’t have enough offense.  The win preserves the Armadillos’ tie for first place.  The PhoeGnomes drop a game and a half back, but know they are likely to be competitive to the end.

RK Possums (6-5-1) vs.  CM Happy Hollidays (2-10)

The Possums are on the edge of contention and looked to solidify their position versus the Happy Hollidays.  Rick’s team remained red hot, cruising to a 9-1 victory that was never really in doubt.  Joey Votto and Josh Donaldson each had three home runs and a steal for the week.  Albert Pujols added six RBI, and even role players like Evan Gattis contributed.  Rick led the league in RBI and was near the top in home runs, OBP and SLG.  Ben Zobrist and Stephen Piscotty had two home runs each for the Happy Hollidays, but it wasn’t enough to prevent a five-category sweep.

On pitching, Chris M. tried to counter.  Aaron Sanchez was excellent in one start.  Seung Hwan Oh had a great week from the bullpen, and Marco Estrada was productive.  However, Rick pitched more innings and had better overall production.  Justin Verlander and Scott Kazmir had solid weeks, and the Possums overcame bullpen trouble to take saves.  Rick conceded ERA to Chris, but won all four other categories.  Rick is now two games above 0.500 and just two games out of first place.

Josh Donaldson has been a key for the Possums.  Acquired in a trade with the Lannisters, Donaldson has given the Possums 20 home runs and a few steals.  The pick Rick gave up for Donaldson was used to draft Corey Seager, who has 17 home runs at shortstop.  However, Rick has Xander Bogaerts, and Jeff was able to clear up a logjam at 3B.  The trade is a rare example of a deal that has benefitted both teams.

KG Capital City Goofballs (4-8) vs.  CP Legion (7-3-2)

The Legion needed to keep pace with the other favorites, and had a reasonably close match-up with the Goofballs.  However, Chris P. used a pitching-first strategy that paid dividends.  The Legion led the league in every pitching category besides WHIP, and most categories weren’t even close.  Chris combined a huge advantage in innings pitching with quality starts.  This resulted in nine wins, 91 strikeouts, and seven saves.  Chris often sees high strikeout and wins totals, but the saves have to be a welcome sight.  Vince Velazquez and Danny Duffy were the standouts for the week.  The pair combined for 27.2 innings pitched, 30 strikeouts, four wins, and a sub-2.00 ERA.  Cody Allen and Steve Cishek added three saves each.  Overall, it was a dominant performance that Kevin was unable to counter.

On offense, the Goofballs had much more positive results.  Kevin had the second best SLG and home run total in the league.  Brian Dozier had three homers, and Yoenis Cespedes and Freddie Freeman had ten hits each.  Chris had good home run, RBI, and SLG totals too, but they weren’t good enough to counter the Goofballs.  Jake Lamb stayed red-hot, but only Danny Espinosa had a steal for the Legion.  This gave Kevin a chance to salvage a 5-5 draw.  However, Kevin couldn’t find any steals on Sunday.  The Goofballs posted an excellent 0.594 OBP for the day, but it wasn’t enough to take the category from the Legion.  Chris earned a 6-3-1 victory and kept pace with the top of the league.  The loss continues Kevin’s trend of falling just-short against top competition.

JK Lannisters (8-3-1) vs.  KK Thunderwolves (2-9-1)

Like the Possums, the Lannisters enjoyed a relatively stress-free week against the Thunderwolves.  Despite injuries to nearly his entire starting rotation, Jeff managed to win four pitching categories thanks to solid efforts from journeymen like Matt Shoemaker and John Lackey.  However, the Lannisters were unable to record a win for the week, and Kyle managed to take at least one category.

On offense, the Lannisters had the best OBP and SLG in the league.  They tied for the highest steals total.  Kyle produced good power and RBI numbers, but it wasn’t enough.  Kris Bryant exploded for a five home run week.  Bryce Harper added two of his own.  Kyle had good weeks from Nelson Cruz, Ryan Braun, and Wil Myers.  However, no other Thunderwolf regular had a SLG over 0.500.  The Lannisters had six regulars with SLG over 0.500 and piled up steals from Mike Trout.  This resulted in a rare stress-free week for the Lannisters, who remained tied with the Armadillos for first place.

Next Week

The most important match of the week pairs the Lannisters and Legion.  These teams have a long-running history.  After a tie in the first week, both teams will look for a decisive result.  The Possums, Armadillos, and PhoeGnomes will all try to take advantage of a loss from one of the league’s best.  They face the Goofballs, Hollidays, and Thunderwolves respectively.