Rules Violation

Week 14 is over, but there was a major rules violation that created problems with the results. The Happy Hollidays had at least 11 starts and the limit is 8. He was leading the Armadillos, but this included three pitching categories. It’s impossible to untangle what the pitching results would have been if the Hollidays had used the correct number of pitchers.

Since the Hollidays won the match, and the win consisted of tainted categories, I had to take extreme action. I swapped the Hollidays with the Possums since both teams were losing after Sunday’s last game ended. The Goofballs beat the Hollidays (instead of the Possums) and the Armadillos beat the Possums (instead of losing to the Hollidays). This means that everyone’s records are accurate.

However, this also creates some problems. The system’s internal tie-breakers are now off. It’s unlikely that the Hollidays will be tied with either the Armadillos or Goofballs. However, the Possums, Goofballs and Armadillos could see ties.

1. The Goofballs should have a victory over the Possums.
2. The Possums should NOT have a loss against the Armadillos.

This means that if the Armadillos and Possums tie, we will need to manually track the tie-breaker rather than rely on the game. The same applies to the Goofballs and Possums.

We’re going to add a co-owner to the Hollidays who will (hopefully) be active and try to keep this kind of thing from happening again.

Also, thanks to the Possums and Goofballs for being understanding of the situation. These changes will not impact either of your teams, only the results you’ll see on the page for the week. The Elo ratings will also reflect your wins and losses against the correct teams.

CP Legion (8-4-1) vs.  JK Lannisters (7-5-1)

The week’s most important match paired the Legion and Lannisters.  Chris P. hoped to remain in first place while the Lannisters looked for revenge after a narrow loss in Week 07.  Chris gained the advantage early with a serious of good pitching performances before the All-Star break.  Jimmy Nelson rewarded the Legion with two strong starts and 17 strikeouts.  Robbie Ray added another solid outing with 13 strikeouts in just 6.0 innings pitched.  The Lannisters had good starts from Jacob deGrom and Stephen Strasburg, but suffered from two Jon Lester meltdowns.  On offense, the teams were evenly matched before the break.  Chris held narrow leads in home runs, SLG, and OBP.  Jeff had the advantage in RBI.

After the break, the Lannisters’ offense came to life.  Bryce Harper had two home runs on Friday and Mookie Betts added a critical homer on Sunday.  The Lannisters also got strong starts from Jose Quintana and Rich Hill.  The switch to the NL seems to agree with Quintana, and Hill has been strong when healthy.  The Legion suffered some bad luck when Lance McCullers and Robbie Ray’s starts were pushed back until Week 15.  The Lannisters were able to capture ERA, WHIP wins, and saves.  This was enough to guarantee a win after the offensive categories broke for the Lannisters late in the week.  The match evens the season series at one win each.  Both teams needed luck to win in their given weeks, and the third match will be even more important with the teams tied near the top of the standings.

KG Capital City Goofballs (6-5-2) vs.  RK Possums (6-4-3)

Both the Goofballs and the Possums needed a win to keep pace with the league leaders.  Neither team posted league-leading numbers in many categories, but both put up solid stat lines.  Kevin managed the highest home run and RBI totals in the league.  Rick had strong numbers as well, but his OBP and SLG figures were below those of the Goofballs.  Kevin relied on huge weeks from Nelson Cruz, Freddie Freeman, and Anthony Rendon.  The trio combined for 11 home runs and 34 RBI.  Rick had a nice week from Joey Votto and Charlie Blackmon, but Kevin’s depth won out.

On pitching, Rick threw many more innings than Kevin.  This gave him and edge in strikeouts and WHIP.  However, Kevin had the better ERA, wins, and saves numbers.  David Price was strong for the Goofballs, but Corey Kluber and Max Scherzer countered for the Possums.  Ultimately, Kevin’s better bullpen lowed his ERA enough to lock down the win for the week.

CM Happy Hollidays (2-9-2) vs.  LK Armadillos (8-4-1)

The week’s most bizarre match belonged to the Armadillos and Happy Hollidays.  After violating the rules for starting pitching, Chris M. had to forfeit for the week.  However, the Hollidays posted good numbers and could have won the week without the extra pitchers.  Chris won home runs, OBP, and SLG versus the Armadillos and had a commanding lead.  Justin Turner was strong, with four home runs, and Yasiel Puig added three more.  The Armadillos had few counters, despite a 16 RBI week from Daniel Murphy.

On pitching, the Armadillos relied on two starts each from Clayton Kershaw and Carlos Carrasco.  The two recorded 45 strikeouts in 29.1 innings pitched.  However, Carrasco wasn’t effective in run prevention.  Drew Pomeranz struggled in his two starts.  Alex Colome recorded five saves, but the Armadillos were vulnerable in ERA and WHIP.  The Hollidays tried to take advantage but threw 90 innings, many of which were illegal.  A strong week from Lance Lynn evaporated.  It’s impossible to say where the Hollidays would have fallen, but without any starting pitching, the team won three categories with potential in ERA, WHIP, and wins.  Unfortunately, we will never know.  With a new co-owner arriving to shake up the team, the rest of the league will need to pay more attention to this club.

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

The week’s final match saw the Thunderwolves go for the upset against the PhoeGnomes.  Kyle was strong on pitching, and had the best ERA, WHIP, and wins numbers in the league.  He also won strikeouts.  Alex Wood, Yu Darvish, and Aaron Nola totaled 37 strikeouts.  Darvish allowed 9 runs in 11.2 innings, but the rest of Kyle’s staff was dominant enough to offset this poor play.  Heather took saves thanks to a big week from Brandon Kintzler, who had four saves.  Heather had good pitching stats that would have beaten most teams.  However, she was down 1-4 before offense.

The PhoeGnomes excelled with power, spread, and getting on base.  They led the league in all three categories by a substantial margin.  They were also near the top in home runs and RBI.  Seven PhoeGnomes players had at least two home runs.  Andrew McCutchen showed signs of life, and George Springer had a great all-around week.  The Thunderwolves tried to counter with solid production from Rougned Odor and Adrian Beltre.  It wasn’t enough, though, and Heather swept all five categories and escaped with a win.  Kyle could have managed a tie with one more steal and home run, or two more of either category.  Despite the loss, Kyle’s team is playing better and should be taken seriously by the contenders.  Meanwhile, Heather remains the hottest team in the league.

Next Week

The third cycle begins with a crucial match between the Legion and PhoeGnomes.  Both teams need a win, and the Legion hope to stop Heather’s dominance.  The Goofballs and Lannisters meet in a competitive match, as do the Possums and Armadillos.  Rick may need a win to stay in title contention. Finally, the Thunderwolves will test themselves against the Happy Hollidays.  Kyle has too much pride to finish in last place, and knows this is a good chance for a win.