League Summary

Week #05 provided some standout performances in unexpected areas.  Each match-up was close and could have turned with only slight changes in dynamics.  Overall, it was a down week for offense and a strong one for pitching.  Only two teams had ERAs over 4.00, and only two teams had OPS values above 0.800.  This led to counting stats like runs and RBI to decide outcomes.

HP PhoeGnomes (0-3) vs. RK Possums (0-3)

Heather earned her first win of the season and the Possums were left with more heartbreak when the week ended.  The PhoeGnomes had one of the top overall pitching performances for the week, and was also one of two teams with a high OPS.  The squad was second in the league in OPS, tied for first in RBI, and near the top in steals and home runs.  Aaron Judge contributed 3 home runs and 7 RBI, but Alec Bohm was the real star of the week.  He had 8 RBI, 6 runs, 1 home run, and an OPS of 1.514!  Bobby Witt Jr. added 4 steals.  The Possums fought hard to stay close, and managed to win two offensive categories.  Francisco Lindo was on fire with 3 home runs and 3 steals.  Josh Naylor and Jose Babellero each added 2 steals.  However, only one Possums regular had an OPS over 1.000, and the team lacked the more well-rounded stats that someone like Bhom provided.  Heather took a narrow lead.

Both teams had great pitching, and were second only to the Wolf Spiders in overall terms.  Heather had the best WHIP in the league, but the Possums were tied for the league lead in saves.  Heather’s ERA was even more impressive when paired with her IP totals.  Rick had the much higher K/9 rate, but Heather was able to throw more innings at a higher quality to win three categories and take the week in a narrow 6-4 win.  Tanner Houck redeemed himself with two great starts.  Aaron Nola also did some heavy lifting to achieve 10 strikeouts in his start. The Possums had a poor start from Jose Butto that ultimately cost them a chance at the rate categories. 

The PhoeGnomes earned their first win, and have to be happy with their effort.  The Possums also showed that their play is trending upward.  This hasn’t translated to a victory yet, but they would have beaten several other teams this week.  Rick has to hope that he can eventually put it all together and begin to move up the standings.

CM Skyline Sluggers (1-2) vs. CP Kraken (2-1)

After a tough week against the Hares, Chris hoped to return to winning form against the Skyline Sluggers.  However, Charlie was determined to get back to winning and enjoyed a strong overall week.  The end result was another close win for Charlie’s team.  The match was decided on the pitching side.  Charlie dominated with a 5-0 sweep.  He led the league in strikeouts by a wide margin, and was tied for first in saves.  The team had a good IP total, and managed strong enough rate stats to not worry over the weekend.  Leading the way was Brandon Pfaadt who had two starts for 11.1 IP and recorded 15 strikeouts.  He allowed only 4 earned runs.  Marcus Stroman had a strange week with two starts over 9.1 IP.  He had 13 strikeouts but also gave up 7 earned runs.  This depressed the team’s ERA and WHIP, but the overall production was solid enough to win the week.  The Kraken had down weeks from multiple pitchers, including Edward Cabrera, Michael King, and Reid Detmers.  It was enough for Chis to cede all five categories before accounting for offense.

The Kraken fared better on offense.  Juan Soto, Kyle Tucker, and Yordan Alvarez each had 2 home runs.  Dalton Varsho contributed a home run and a steal.  In all, 7 players had at least 1 home run and 3 regular players had an OPS over 1.000.  However, Matt Olson had a tough week, as did Oswaldo Cabrera.  Evan Carter rebounded for the Skyline Sluggers with 2 home runs.  Rhys Hoskins and Isaac Paredes also had nice weeks, and contributed to Charlie winning the OPS category.  He tied in steals and this was all more than enough for a victory.  This pulls the Skyline Sluggers back to 0.500, and represents another tough loss for the Kraken, who also fall to even on the year.  Charlie’s overall strong start remains a signal that he intends to compete this year.  The Kraken have also been up and down, and Chris will have to find consistency to challenge the Wolf Spiders and Armadillos.

KK Wolf Spiders (3-0) vs. KG Capital City Goofballs (1-1-1)

The week’s strangest match-up paired the Wolf Spiders and Goofballs.  The week was, again, largely decided by pitching.  Kyle took a dominating position in ERA and led the league in the category.  No pitcher allowed more than 3 earned runs for the week.  Seth Lugo had an outstanding 7.0 IP, 9 strikeout effort.  Kirby Yates added two saves.  The goofballs couldn’t compete on rate stats, though they did have good numbers.  However, Kevin was able to tie for the league lead in saves and also post the higher IP total.  Logan Webb was a standout with 8.0 IP and 0 earned runs.  However, he had only 4 strikeouts, and this was a theme for the Goofballs.  This allowed Kevin to win IP, but falter in strikeouts.  Kyle took a 3-2 lead.

The defending champs kept up the pressure with a strong 7 steal performance.  However, neither team could muster any power and both were at the rock bottom of the league in OPS, HR, and RBI.  Willson Contreras was the best of the bunch for the Goofballs, with 2 home runs.  However, these were mitigated by a small 3 run and 2 RBI split.  Kyle struggled mightily, though, with only 5 home runs and no players with more than 1.  Overall, Kyle didn’t have a home run on his roster on Sunday, and the this lack of power cost him a tie in the category and thus the week.  Kevin and Kyle shared an ugly 5-5 draw.  Neither team can be happy with their performance on the offensive side.  The lack of power left both teams rolling the dice, but Kevin did just enough to survive.  For his part, Kyle remains unbeaten, but the team will have to find some offensive firepower going forward.

LK Armadillos (2-0-1) vs. JK Hares (2-1)

The Hares and Armadillos each entered the week on a high note.  However, Armadillos showed why they were in a higher tier and able to win under adversity.  The Hares weren’t embarrassing, but they fell back down to 0.500 with multiple teams.  Larry’s major advantage came on offense, where they tied for the league lead in home runs, RBI, runs, and steals.  They led in OPS outright.  Gunnar Henderson was the best of the squad with 3 home runs, 8 runs, 7 RBI, 2 steals, and a 1.266 OPS.  Pete Alonso had a good week as well with 3 home runs.  The Hares enjoyed a 2 home run week from Mike Trout and an incredible 8 steals from Elly De La Cruz.  Unfortunately the rest of the team went cold.  Vinne Pasquantino had a nightmarish 1 for 20 showing.  The Hares did tie the Armadillos in runs and steals, and would have won at least three categories against many other teams.

On pitching, the Armadillos posted the third best numbers in the league.  Tarik Skubal was on fire with 13.0 IP, 15 strikeouts, and just 1 earned run.  Ranger Suarez was also unhittable with 15.0 IP, 13 strikeouts, and 1 earned run.  He had a 0.40 WHIP for the week.  When half of a team’s starts are this good, it will be almost impossible for the competition to keep up.  The Hares tried to counter with more innings, but this ultimately didn’t work out as the team suffered a few sub-par outings.

This was enough for the Armadillos to win convincingly over the weekend, but it should be noted that the Hares did hold a 6-4 lead on Friday with all qualifying starts.  The end result was closer than the score might indicate.  However, if the Armadillos can continue to find this kind of pitching, they will be difficult to beat. They appear to the current class of the league.

Next Week

The week’s most interesting match is probably the Kraken versus the Wolf Spiders. Both teams believe they are contenders, but each have struggled a bit in the last two weeks.  They will need to rise to the occasion against a fellow first-division squad.  The Armadillos and Skyline Sluggers meet for the first time this year.  Both teams are pretty hot, and this could be more compelling than initially expected.  The PhoeGnomes and Goofballs also meet in yet another battle of hot teams.  Finally, the Possums will seek their first win versus the Hares.  The Hares have been hot-and-cold, and the Possums are due for a big week at some point.  Neither team wants go give way, but Rick has to hope for a better outcome eventually!