RK Possums (2-0) vs.  CP Legion (0-1-1)

The week’s most interesting match-up paired the unbeaten Possums with the Legion.  Rick started the season hot and Chris was searching for answers after two disappointing showings.  Both teams posted solid numbers, but the Legion left with the needed victory.

The Legion generated solid offensive numbers.  They led the league in home runs, OBP, and SLG.  Jose Ramirez led the way with four home runs and a 0.955 SLG.  Carlos Correa had a nice week as well with two home runs, a steal, and a 0.833 SLG.  Aaron Judge added three home runs and a 0.444 OBP.  In all, nine Legion players had homers.  The Possums were able to stay close, though, with a good week from a surprising source – Didi Gregorius.  The shortstop had three home runs and seven RBI.  The Possums weren’t close in home runs or OBP, but they had a good OBP and were second in the league in RBI.  They also tied the Legion in steals.  This gave Chris a narrow 3-1-1 advantage.

The Legion gained separation through excellent pitching.  Chris’s team led the league in ERA and were third in WHIP.  Blake Snell was strong in two starts, and Mike Clevinger through a shutout.  No Legion pitcher had an ERA above 3.90.  Lance McCullers had the highest WHIP of any of the Legion’s starters at just 1.50.  The team had fewer strikeouts than expected (Clevinger struck out just three in his shutout) but the rate stats were far too dominant for the Possums.  The Possums had okay rate numbers and managed to win strikeouts and wins.  Corey Kluber was solid with two wins.  However, Masahiro Tanaka’s poor start eliminated the Possums from ERA and WHIP.  A tie in the saves category meant that the Legion earned a hard-fought win.  The Legion were desperate for good shows on both the hitting and pitching side.  They finally got both in the same week.  Rick is likely disappointed in the week’s outcome but fought hard for a third week and could have won against other teams.  Both teams have momentum going into the fourth week.

HP PhoeGnomes (0-1-1) vs.  JK Lannisters (2-0)

Like the Legion, the PhoeGnomes needed a victory to get their 2018 campaign moving.  They faced a tough Lannisters team.  The PhoeGnomes had an excellent week from Mitch Haniger who hit three home runs and had seven RBI.  George Springer added another homer and eight RBIs.  Rafael Devers had a pair of home runs and seven RBIs in part-time duty.  Heather had excellent power and RBI production – she led the league in RBI and was near the top in SLG.  Her OBP was second in the league and she easily won steals.  However, the Lannisters responded with strong power numbers.  They finished second in home runs and SLG.  Manny Machado led the way with five home runs.  Mike Trout added three and Nelson Cruz contributed a pair.  The Lannisters didn’t get the RBI production they would have liked, but their home run power carried them to a win in SLG.  This gave Heather a 3-2 lead before pitching.

Normally, the Lannisters struggle when they win fewer than three offensive categories.  However, the team’s revamped pitching staff came together in Week 03 and turned in a dominant performance.  The Lannisters led the league in strikeouts and saves.  They were second in WHIP and wins, and third in ERA.  Jacob deGrom had two starts and 22 strikeouts.  Garret Richards added another 11 in just 6.0 innings pitched.  Gerrit Cole remained red-hot.  Luis Castillo was dominant until the late innings of his start.  Overall, the effort was the best the Lannisters have seen in weeks from their embattled staff.  The PhoeGnomes tried to counter with strong pitching, and finished with decent numbers.  However, Heather did not have any of her better pitchers (like Chris Sale) on a two-start week.  This forced her to deploy lesser names like Hyun-Jin Ryu and Junior Guerra.  Both responded with great starts, but others like Joey Lucchesi struggled.  The Lannisters swept pitching for the first time in forever and earned a third consecutive win.  The PhoeGnomes made progress, but the Lannisters are a terrible matchup for Heather’s team when Jeff’s pitching does well.  The PhoeGnomes will have to wait at least one more week for their first win.  Meanwhile, the Lannisters hope their new pitching staff can continue to offer this kind of production.

SM Lasershow (1-1) vs.  LK Armadillos (0-1-1)

The Armadillos were able to pick up a much-needed win against the Lasershow.  Larry relied on solid pitching while Sean’s team struggled to find a rhythm.  Patrick Corbin was almost unhittable for the Armadillos.  He made two starts, struck out 19, and allowed just five baserunners in 15.0 innings pitched.  Carlos Carrasco was equally strong in his single start.  Despite subpar outings from Clayton Kershaw and Noah Syndergaard, the Armadillos had the second best ERA and lowest WHIP in the league.  They also finished second in strikeouts and wins.  It’s rare for such solid rate stats to accompany high strikeout totals, but the Armadillos, Legion, and Lannisters al pulled it off this week.  Sean was unable to challenge in any of the pithing categories.  The team had the worst rate stats in the league and failed to capitalize on a lack of Armadillos’ saves.  This put Sean in the tough position of being down 0-5 before accounting for hitting.

Both teams struggled on offense.  The teams were last and next to last in home runs and RBI.  Only the Thunderwolves had a worse OBP and SLG than either of the teams.  The Armadillos had seven home runs from seven different players, and no player with more than six RBIs.  Nick Castellanos was the best of the group, and Starling Marte had three steals.  Josh Reddick and Travis Shaw had good weeks for the Lasershow.  The pair combined for five home runs, 11 RBIs, and 14 walks.  However, the Lasershow didn’t have good production from their part time players.  Larry was able to take three categories and cruise to a comfortable win.  After a great start in Week 01, the Lasershow have now lost one and tied one game.  They need to re-evaluate, after a week of struggles on both sides of the ball.  The Armadillos pitching was excellent, but the offense needs to improve against the league’s top teams.

KG Capital City Goofballs (0-1-1) vs.  KK Thunderwolves (1-1)

The week’s final match featured a bizarre tie from the Goofballs and Thunderwolves.  The match saw each team deploy dozens of players, but somehow leave a no-hitter on the bench.  The Goofball’s strength was their offense.  Javier Baez stayed red-hot with three home runs, nine RBIs, a 0.480 OBP and a 1.040 SLG.  Kyle Schwarber added seven RBI and a home run while AJ Pollock and Mike Moustakas had two each.  This yielded a good RBI, SLG, and OBP total for Kevin.  However, Kyle enjoyed some good power numbers and managed a tie in steals.  Whit Merrifield had three home runs while several other Thunderwolves contributed.  Their stats weren’t enough for Kyle to win any categories, but they secured a tie in home runs and steals.  Sunday was a bitter day for the Goofballs – Anthony Rendon didn’t play but was stuck in the lineup while Mike Moustakas hit a home run… on the bench.  This home run would have secured a win for the week by breaking the category tie.

On pitching, things were even stranger.  The Thunderwolves had middling stats, but they were good enough to earn plenty of category wins.  For example, Kyle’s team ERA was 4^th in the league, his WHIP was 5^th, and his strikeouts were 6^th.  He was able to win all three categories!  Aaron Nola was good for Kyle, but Yu Darvish had a disastrous game and Shohei Ohtani dealt with an injury.  The Goofballs were in a similar situation.  Jose Berrios and Julio Teheran were great and didn’t allow a run.  But Keone Kela struggled and Andrew Triggs was a 1.2 IP disaster.

Most painful for Kevin was Sean Manaea’s performance.  He threw a not hitter and struck out 10, but was on the bench.  Manaea was facing the Red Sox and Chris Sale, so the decisions makes sense.  However, his stats would have turned the tide in WHIP.  It’s tough to blame Kevin for sitting him, but the Goofballs will be haunted by the decisions as they look for their first win.  For his part, Kyle had a pretty good week and is in the middle of the standings with a 1-1-1 record.

Next Week

In Week 04, the Armadillos will try to figure things out against the Lannisters.  Larry is one of the few managers to have success against the Lannisters over the past few years, but he will need better offensive production.  The PhoeGnomes will try to get their first win against the Possums.  The Lasershow and Thunderwolves meet in a battle to stay close early.  Finally, the Goofballs face the Legion in an intriguing match-up.  Kevin can’t afford to fall three or four games behind so early in the season.  The Legion will to continue to improve and secure a winning record.

Elo Note

There is a problem with the program I wrote to create the Elo ratings.  I’m going to try to fix it this week or weekend.  Thank you for your patience.