After a tumultuous start to the season, teams looked to settle in during Week 02.  Two Week 01 losers rebounded and the Legion and Armadillos moved to 2-0.

KG Capital City Goofballs (1-0) vs.  HP PhoeGnomes (0-1)

The week’s biggest rebound came from the PhoeGnomes.  Heather struggled in Week 1 but put together the best combined pitching and hitting attack in the league in Week 02.  Heather had the best ERA and saves total in the league.  Greg Holland and Aroldis Chapman were outstanding.  Both men recorded three saves and did not allow a run.  Chris Sale was also excellent.  He allowed just three earned runs and recorded 22 strikeouts in 14.2 innings pitched.  The Goofballs pitched 15 more innings than the PhoeGnomes and took saves and tied in strikeouts.  However, Heather took the other three categories with relative ease.

Kevin fared better on offense.  He led the league in home runs with 12, five of which came from Yoenis Cespedes.  However, Heather built a large lead in steals and OBP.  Despite the home runs, Kevin barely won RBI.  He lost SLG by a small margin.  Thanks to the tie in strikeouts, Kevin needed to flip three offensive categories and tie another.  He came close, the PhoeGnomes built a better overall week.  Both teams move to 1-1, and look forward to further good performances.

LK Armadillos (1-0) vs.  KK Thunderwolves (0-1)

The second best match of the week featured the Armadillos and Thunderwolves.  In Week 01, Kyle relied on strong pitching to stay close.  He had another strong performance this week, but in counting categories instead of rate stats.  Kyle led the league in strikeouts and also won wins and saves.  However, the Armadillos threw almost 19 fewer, better-pitched innings.  They led the league in both ERA and WHIP by a large margin.  Carlos Carrasco rebounded and Dallas Keuchel continued to pitch well.  The Thunderwolves had a good week from Neftali Feliz. Both teams executed their strategies well, and Kyle had a slim 3-2 lead.

On offense, Kyle was more competitive this week.  Both teams hadten home runs, but the Armadillos dominated with ten steals.  Eric Thames became and unlikely hero with four home runs and six RBIs.  Kyle countered with good weeks from Nomar Mazara and Ryan Braun.  Seven Thunderwolves had home runs compared to five Armadillos’ players.  This gave Kyle and edge in SLG, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the gap in RBI.  The Armadillos won three categories and took the week by the narrowest margin – 4-5-1. 

JK Lannisters (0-1) vs. RK Possums (0-1)

After a rough start to the season, the Lannisters needed to rebound against the Possums.  The pitching staff responded to the challenge with a better overall performance.  Jacob deGrom was excellent over 13 innings and Felix Hernandez had a good showing against the Rangers.  The Possums were not as fortunate.  Several good starters had meltdowns.  Justin Verlander allowed 9 runs in 11 innings.  Corey Kluber was equally bad, giving up six earned runs in just 6.1 innings pitched.  These efforts gave the Possums an insurmountable gap in ERA and WHIP.  The Lannisters also took strikeout sand saves, and built a 4-0-1 lead.

Offensively, the Possums were close, but couldn’t quite keep pace with the Lannisters.  Khris Davis and three hme runs for the Possums, and Charlie Blackmon added two more.  However, these two players totaled only seven RBI.  In contrast, the Lannisters’ Marcell Ozuna had four home runs, 12 RBI, and 10 hits in 23 at-bats.  Ozuna’s monster week provided 40% of the team’s home runs and 32% of its RBIs.  Mike Trout’s two steals gave the Lannisters all they needed to wrap up four categories and coast to n 8-1-1 win as the week ended.  The Lannisters are back on track, while last season’s surprise, the Possums, are struggling to open the year.  Rick needs his pitchers to step up and avoid costly meltdowns to remain competitive.

CM Happy Hollidays (0-1) vs.  CP Legion (1-0)

The week’s final match pitted the Legion versus the Hollidays.  Neither team has much to be proud of, thought the Legion earned the 8-1-1 victory.  On offense, the two teams had the lowest home run and SLG totals in the league.  The Legion had the better RBI, steals, and OBP totals thanks to nice weeks from Jake Lamb and Miguel Cabrera.

The teams also struggled on pitching.  Both had the worst ERA and WHIP totals not including the Possums.  Chris M. took saves with ease, but Chris P. dominated wins, strikeouts, and the rate stats.  Adam Wainwright and Rick Porcello struggled for the Hollidays.  Danny Duffy’s good outing for the Legion was cancelled out by Lance McCullers’ struggles.  However, Gio Gonzalez, Robbie Ray, Dylan Bundy, and Danny Salazar were all good.  This was enough to secure the win for the week.

Next Week

The final two  undefeated teams, the Legion and Armadillos, will match up for the first time this week.  This is the league’s most bitter rivalry after years of spoilers, trades, contentious drafts, and back-and-forth banter.  Neither team likes the other, though there is a mutual respect for a similar approach to team-building.  Two other winners form last week, the Lannisters and PhoeGnomes, will meet as well.  The two expansion teams will battle to stay close to the top, and the Thunderwolves and Possums also meet.  All four of these teams have issues to sort out, and they will look to beat each other and build momentum.