Month: April 2025

2025 Week #03 League Update

The third week of the 2025 season brought even more surprises in an already chaotic season. The PhoeGnomes remain the only undefeated team in the league. The last two great champions – the Armadillos and Wolf Spiders – have only one win between them in six matches and are in the basement for now. The Goofballs, Hares, and Possums also have positive records and are right behind the PhoeGnomes. It’s still too early to count any team out, but the early results promise an exciting season.

KG Capital City Goofballs (1-1) vs. LK Armadillos (1-1)

The most shocking result of the week saw the Goofballs upset the Armadillos with stunning pitching performances on both sides. If you asked anyone in the league if the Armadillos could lose while posting a 1.99 ERA, 59 strikeouts, and 54.1 IP, most would say it would be an easy win as the team’s offense is incredible. This wasn’t the case this week, as Kevin produced an ERA that was even better, with a strong WHIP.

Kevin went with the less-is-more strategy with his pitchers and it paid off. Logan Webb and Jack Flaherty held their opponents scoreless, and Webb added 10 strikeouts in 7.0 IP with just 4 hits and no walks. The Goofballs’ bullpen was stellar, recording 3 saves and not allowing any runs.

The Armadillos performance was in many ways more impressive.  The team managed an ERA under 2.00 while starting the maximum 8 pitchers.  Seven of the eight threw at least 6 IP and 6 allowed 2 or fewer earned runs.  The bullpen equaled Kevin’s output, and the extra starts gave Larry easy wins in IP and strikeouts.  This gave the two teams a 2-2-1 stalemate before considering offense.

The Goofballs excelled further on this side of the ledger.  Kevin led the league in steals with 10, and was second on OPS and RBI. Bryce Harper, Brenton Doyle, and Kyle Schwarber each had 2 home runs.  Harper added 4 steals thanks to a healthy 7 walks.  CJ Abrams did well in limited playing time with 2 steals.  The Armadillos couldn’t seen to get anything going on offense.  The team managed a league-low 4 home runs. Jose Ramirez, last week’s hero, was abysmal with just a 0.348 OPS across 19 at-bats.  This simply wasn’t enough to keep pace, and the Goofballs won the battle this week.

The loss drops the Armadillos below 0.500.  I’m not sure when the last time this team was below 0.500, but it was a while back to be sure!  Some of this is early-season jitters, but anytime you have pitching as strong as either of these teams did, you would expect to win.  The Armadillos’ offense is still near the top in cumulative season stats, so this is probably just a blip that Kevin took advantage of.  For the Goofballs’ part, they have looked like a contender early.  If Kevin can somehow, someway field pitching like this with any consistency, he will be a sure frontrunner for the title.

KK Wolf Spiders (0-2) vs. RK Possums (1-1)

The week’s second shocking result saw the Possums take down the Wolf Spiders for their third straight loss.  The continued shocking start to the year came courtesy of the Possums.  Rick’s team overcame a strong Wolf Spider offensive showing by having just enough pitching to win.

Rick swept all five pitching categories.  Although the team’s stats were not close to the league lead in any category, they were consistently a step better than those of the Wolf Spiders.  Max Fried was excellent in 7.0 IP, allowing 0 earned runs and striking out 11.  Yoshinobu Yamamoto was also string in 6.0 IP, allowing just 2 hits and 1 walk along with 9 strikeouts.  Robert Suarez had 3 saves.  Kyle had serviceable outings from his staff, but it wasn’t enough to take any category, giving the Possums a solid 5-0 lead.

On offense, Kyle was stronger.  He led the league in OPS and was tied for first in runs with the Hares.  He was also second in home runs… to the Possums.  Jung Hoo lee led the way with 3 home runs and a 1.683 OPS.  Josh Jung also had a 1.200 OPS, and Spencer Torkelson had 3 home runs. Unfortunately for Kyle, this was equaled by Rick’s trio of James Wood, Mike Trout, and Fernando Tatis Jr.  The team had a handful of players record a steal, and this was enough to seal away the week.  Kyle won runs and OPS, but it wasn’t enough.  The Possums moved above 0.500 and Kyle suffered a crushing third consecutive loss.  The Wolf Spiders remain back-to-back champions but Kyle will need to find answers if the team wants to challenge for a title this season.

CP Kraken (1-1) vs. HP PhoeGnomes (2-0)

The Kraken-PhoeGnomes rivalry explored a new chapter that ended peacefully in a 5-5 draw.  Heather remains undefeated, but probably hoped for more.  The Kraken remain in the middle of the pack for now, but there are good signs of progress for Chris’s team.  To start, both squads had excellent pitching.  Heather led the league in WHIP and Chris was second. Heather was third in ERA behind the Armadillos and Goofballs.  She was also first in IP and strikeouts, and tied for first in saves. Cole Ragans stayed red hot, allowing just 2 earned runs in 13.2 IP and registering 21 strikeouts.  Logan Gilbert made his presence felt in 10.2 IP, striking out 14, and allowing just 2 earned runs. The Kraken countered with a strong showing of their own, with several pitchers allowing just 1 or 2 earned runs.  Unfortunately, these totals came in low-innings starts which put strikeouts out of reach.  This gave the PhoeGnomes a 4-1 edge.

On offense, the Kraken were able to turn things around somewhat.  Tyler Soderstrom had 2 home runs and Salvador Perez contributed 5 RBIs.  The team didn’t record many steals, though, and posted fairly pedestrian numbers.  It looked like things were primed for a PhoeGnomes victory, but the team couldn’t get anything going on offense.  Only the Sluggers had a worse OPS, and Heather was fortunate that Jose Altuve and Randy Arozarena each stole 2 bases and captured the category.  This gave Heather a tie, but with a slumping Kraken offense, she surely hoped for more.  For his part, Chris can breathe a sigh of relief that things were not worse than a tie.

CM Skyline Sluggers (1-1) vs. JK Hares (1-1)

The week’s final match saw the Hares bring down the Skyline Sluggers in a strange but close battle until the end.  Neither team posted outstanding numbers in any single category, but the Hares were near the middle of the pack in everything and managed some good pitching performances to seal the week.  Hunter Greene was an absolute monster with 15.2 IP and 15 strikeouts with 0 earned runs, 6 hits, a

nd 2 walks.  Michael King recorded two good starts and 10 strikeouts with just 3 earned runs.

Neither team was great on offense, but Charlie enjoyed a nice 3 home run, 10 RBI week from William Contreras.  The Hares posted a strong home run total thanks to Isaac Paredes’ 3 homer effort, along with 2 each from Carson Kelly and Jackson Chourio.  Chourio added 8 RBI and a steal in what Jeff hopes is the start of great things for the prized young outfielder.  On the other hand, Filey Greene and Jackson Holiday combined to go 0/28 in a humiliating display of ineptitude.  Still, this was not enough to drag down the rest of the team, and the Hares earned a 9-1 win that was much closer than the final score indicates.

Next Week

Week #04 promises more fireworks as the PhoeGnomes, who lead the league, face last year’s champs the Armadillos.  This will be a true test for whether or not Heather will be a competitor for the title this year.  The Possums and Goofballs meet in a battle of hot teams.  The Kraken and Hares offer contrasting styles that could go either way.  Finally, both the Wolf Spiders and Skyline Sluggers are desperate for a win, but it will have to come at the expense of one of those teams as they face off.

2025 Week #02 League Update

The second week of the 2025 season saw teams begin to settle into more consistent play.  Teams like the Possums, Goofballs, and Hares rose to the challenge, while early winners struggled to keep up their hot starts.  At the end of the week, only the PhoeGnomes managed to keep a perfect record intact.  Time will tell whether or not Heather’s team can contend, but the mixed results from the early leaders shows that any team can still win this year.

LK Armadillos (1-0) vs. RK Possums (0-1)

The defending champions looked to keep their hot start going.  However, the Possums proved they were more than up to the task and captured the week thanks to a dominant pitching performance.

Spencer Schwellenbach was the best of the week for Rick with a beautiful 8.0 IP, 2 hit, 10 strikeout showing.  Tyler Mahle, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Matthew Boyd combined to throw 17.0 IP and not allow a single earned run.  Robert Suarez contributed 2 critical saves.  The Armadillos struggled with ERA for the entire week, with many starters throwing middling efforts.  This also limited the innings pitched, and thus strikeouts.  A poor showing from Larry’s bullpen gave the Possums a five-category sweep.

The Armadillos were much better on offense.  They were second in the league in home runs and OPS.  Veterans Pete Alonso and Jose Ramirez each had 3 home runs, and Alonso added a whopping 11 RBI.  The team collected 9 steals for the week, and seemed poised to dominate in all offensive categories.  The Possums struggled to get much going for a second straight week, but they did have one bright spot – a strong showing on the base paths. Manny Machado and Jazz Chisholm Jr. each had 3 steals.  Machado’s final steal on Sunday clinched a tie for the category and thus a win for the week.  The loss will sting for the Armadillos, who left three steals on the bench.  This now puts both teams at 1-1 records, and the Possums showed they are a threat to bring down the league leaders.  The Armadillos’ one vulnerability remains pitching, and the team will have to sort this out if they want to cruise to another title.

JK Hares (0-1) vs. KK Wolf Spiders (0-1)

After an atrocious start to the season, the Hares looked to rebound against the Wolf Spiders.  Like the Possums, the Hares responded to the challenge with arguably the league’s top overall performance.  The Hares enjoyed a rare sweep of all five offensive categories.  The surge came from two players – Riley Greene and Elly De La Cruz.  Cruz destroyed the Rangers with 2 home runs, 9 RBI, and 2 steals for the week.  Greene added 3 home runs, which paired nicely with 3 steals from Trea Turner and 2 shocking steals from J.T. Realmuto.

Both teams had quality pitching showings.  They tied for the league lead in strikeouts.  The Wolf Spiders tied for the lead in saves and IP.  The Hares were second in ERA, and both teams had great WHIPs.  There was a slight chance for a tie for the week thanks to the Hares suffering a bad Corbin Burnes start and a bullpen blow-up.   Fortunately for Jeff, Tyler Glasnow was equally bad, and Kyle settled for one too few strikeouts and a microscopically higher ERA.  This gave the Hares their first win of the season and continues the frustrating start for the Wolf Spiders.

KG Capital City Goofballs (0-1) vs. CP Kraken (1-0)

The Goofballs/Kraken match promised some offensive fireworks, but no one was prepared for the Goofballs’ explosion.  Kevin’s squad led the league in runs, home runs, RBI, and OPS.  They tied for second in steals.  The Kraken did their best to keep up.  Chris tied for second in runs and steals and was third in RBI.  It wasn’t enough to overcome the monstrous production the Goofballs mustered, though.  Four Goofballs had 3 home runs – Jackson Merrill, Seiya Suzuki, Corbin Carroll, and CJ Abrams. Nico Hoerner added an incredible 6 steals for the squad.  The Kraken got a nice week from Kyle Tucker with 3 home runs and 8 RBI.  Chris managed a good balance of steals up and down the lineup, but it was only good enough to tie the category.  This put Chris in a difficult position  before considering pitching stats.

The Kraken did their best to close the gap, but it wasn’t quite enough.  The team had a few decent starts, including a good effort from Nick Lodolo.  However, others let the team down with the type of 5.0 IP / 4ER starts that kill a team’s rate stats, but also torpedo their ability to get high strikeout and innings totals.   The Goofballs’ bullpen was able to record 3 total saves and tie the category, and secure the win.  The team’s “less is more” approach to starts gave them the nod in WHIP as well, and Kevin earned a solid win for the week.  This leaves both teams at even 1-1 records.  The battle also raises questions about each team’s ability to produce consistent results week-in and week-out.  Both squads can (and often do) put up massive stats in all categories.  If either team could do it consistently, they could challenge the Armadillos for the title.

HP PhoeGnomes (1-0) vs. CM Skyline Sluggers (1-0)

The week’s final match saw the PhoeGnomes rise to be the only team with a 2-0 record to start the season.  Heather’s team didn’t put up the best numbers for the week, but they were able to do just enough to secure the victory.  The PhoeGnomes’ pitching was strong.  They were near the top of the league in strikeouts despite a modest IP total.  Logan Gilbert and Cole Ragans did the hard work here – each recorded 10 strikeouts in just 5.0 IP each! No other pitcher had a meltdown, and Heather won both ERA and WHIP.  Charlie took saves in a 4-0 no-contest.  He also win IP, but was not close in the rate stats.  This gave Heather a 3-2 lead.

Neither team thrived on offense, but Heather did enough to earn four categories and thus a win for the week.  They were led by Teoscar Hernandez, who had 3 home runs, 7 RBI, and 2 steals.  The Skyline Sluggers didn’t have any players with more than one home run, and the team generally failed to get into a groove for the week.  This led to Heather earning a victory for the week, and moving into first place on the season!

Next Week

Things start to get serious in Week #03.  The Goofballs hope to bring down the defending champion Armadillos.  Kevin’s squad showed up to play last week, and the Armadillos look slightly vulnerable.  Can Kevin bring down his nemesis?  The Kraken also face a strong test against the PhoeGnomes.  Despite better season totals, Chris finds himself down in the standings.  Can Heather keep up the pace?  The Possums also face off against the struggling Wolf Spiders.  Rick has to take advantage of the opportunity to challenge a stronger team that is struggling.  Finally, the Skyline Sluggers have to face off against the bizarre and unpredictable Hares.  No one knows what the Hares will do from one week to another, so Charlie will need to bring a strong attack to win.