CP Legion (9-5-2) vs.  LK Armadillos (10-4-2)

The Legion and Armadillos met in yet another close battle for first place.  The Armadillos took the first match but the Legion struck back and won the second.  The third encounter was even closer, with each team leading at multiple points throughout the week.  However, the final result was an even 5-5 tie.  Both teams posted prolific offensive numbers.  Paul Goldschmidt had three home runs and 11 RBI.  Chris Taylor added three homers and a 0.800 SLG for the week.  Even Justin Smoak was hot, with two home runs and six RBI.  The Armadillos countered with three home runs from Giancarlo Stanton and nine RBI from Eduardo Nunez.  Ten Armadillos’ players had at least one home run, compared to seven for the Legion.  Larry led the league in home runs and SLG.  He tied for the lead in steals and RBI. However, his OBP was only fourth overall.  This gave Chris a critical category win.

Both teams had strong pitching for the week.  Chris easily led the league in strikeouts with 83.  The Lannisters were second with 64.  Larry had a similar lead in saves – his total of nine was well above the Possums’ second-best six.  This left ERA, WHIP, and wins as the only categories in play.  Going into the last day, the Armadillos had a small edge, but Chris had better pitchers ready.  Chris got what he needed from Luis Severino and Jimmy Nelson.  However, Roberto Osuna almost caused disaster for the Legion.  He allowed four runs in 0.2 IP and brought the ERA gap to just 0.122.  This was as close as the Armadillos could, though, and Chris secured four pitching categories.  This left the teams with a 5-5 tie for the week and an overall tie for the season.  The teams will meet one more time in Week 24.

HP PhoeGnomes (9-7) vs.  JK Lannisters (10-5-1)

The Legion and Armadillos’ result opened a window of opportunity for the Lannisters and PhoeGnomes.  Both teams are in the mix for the title and, like the Legion and Armadillos, had two close battles earlier in the season.  The Lannisters won the first match but Heather took a close victory in the second.  After a few weeks of improved pithing, the Lannisters were forced to rely on their offense again.  Justin Upton and Mike Trout provided most of the power, with three home runs each.  Heather had a monster week from Wilson Contreras.  He had five home runs and 13 RBI for a 1.182 SLG.  However, it wasn’t enough to combat the depth of the Lannister lineup.  Heather took steals, but Jeff won the other four categories after some Sunday heroics from Marcell Ozuna and Trout.

On pitching, Heather fared better.  She had the second best ERA and WHIP in the league.  Chris Sale struggled but Danny Duffy excelled in two starts.  The Lannisters had little to counter Heather’s rate stats.  However, they made several good Sunday pickups and were able to take strikeouts.  Heather had a chance to win the category and secure the victory for the week, but Hyun-Jim Ryu was removed from his start after seven innings despite allowing a single hit and no walks.  Heather’s pickup looked brilliant, but he came up just short.  Kenley Jansen removed any doubt when he struck out the side in a meaningless appearance.  The result propelled the Lannisters back into first place.  Heather probably deserved a better result for the week and can take comfort in losing only a half game on the other leaders.

RK Possums (6-6-4) vs.  KK Thunderwolves (2-12-2)

The Possums looked to keep pace with the leaders against the Thunderwolves.  Rick’s offense and pitching answered the call and delivered a resounding 9-1 win over Kyle’s squad.  Cody Bellinger had four home runs and Joey Gallo continued to pay dividends in both OBP and power.  Kyle didn’t have a lot of power to offer, but Adrian Beltre did have six RBI.  However, four Possums had at least two home runs compared to just two such players on the Thunderwolves.

Kyle was more competitive on pitching.  He got a great start from Yu Darvish (who was traded to the Dodgers).  He also got a nice week from Aaron Nola.  However, their good was undone by a bad Zack Greinke outing, and a terrible effort from Bud Norris.  Rick got serviceable performance from Jeff Samardzija and a nice Justin Verlander start.  The Possums’ bullpen was also strong, recording the second more saves in the league.  Overall, Rick cruised to a dominant win and remains just 2.5 games out of first place.

SM Lasershow (2-11-3) vs.  KG Capital City Goofballs (8-6-2)

After surprising the Legion, Sean tried to bring down the Goofballs.  However, Kevin unleashed a rare strong pitching performance.  They led the league in ERA by a wide margin.  Though they made only five starts, the staff performed well and allowed just a 1.73 ERA.  The bullpen avoided any serious meltdowns.  Jacob Faria was particularly strong, striking out nine in just six innings pitched.  The Lasershow threw almost twice as many innings as the Goofballs.  The easily won strikeouts and wins, but the Goofball’s bullpen took saves and secured WHIP.

On offense, the Lasershow used 20 different batters.  The Goofballs responded with 21.  Both teams made the most of their lineups and the Goofballs were near the top of each offensive category.  Brian Dozier was strong, with three home runs in just 11 at-bats.   The Lasershow had multi-home run weeks from Yasiel Puig, Jay Bruce, and Justin Turner.  However, other players struggled and the team was left with the worst SLG in the league.  Kevin won with relative comfort and is just a game and a half behind the Lannisters.

Next Week

Things don’t get easier for the Lasershow.  Their next match is against the Lannisters.  The Legion also get a breather against the Thunderwolves.  The two matches to watch feature the Armadillos versus the Goofballs and the Possums against the PhoeGnomes.  All four teams will need wins with the other two leaders facing weaker competition.

After a few weeks of problems, I’ve fixed the ELO ratings!  The pitching rules violation was a real problem, but it has been corrected!

The Lannisters are back on top of the all-time Elo ratings.  The Legion lost a few points for their draw.  The Armadillos gained a handful of points for beating the Thunderwolves.  Kevin made a nice jump into the top four.

The Goofballs and Possums are the biggest favorites against the league’s tow lowest-rated teams.  The Lannisters have an edge against the PhoeGnomes.  The Legion and Armadillos are, fittingly, even at 50/50!

New Owner Makes Waves; Defending Champs Rely on Pitching; Goofballs Cool Off PhoeGnomes; Leaders Edge Thunderwolves

SM Lasershow (2-11-2) vs.  CP Legion (9-5-1)

Sean began his first week with a franchise with a difficult challenge.  He faced the Legion, one of the league’s top teams.  Sean made several roster moves to clear the glut of Cardinals on his team.  The former Happy Hollidays then made a trade to build team depth.  The loss of Carlos Martinez will hurt the team’s pitching.  However, the Lasershow’s roster was thin in too many areas.  Trading from strength to build depth is probably a good strategy.

Ryan Zimmerman paid immediate dividends.  He had two home runs for the week in just seven at-bats.  Jay Bruce had an excellent week as well, with two more home runs and seven RBI.  This was enough for the Lasershow to tie for the league lead in homers.  The Legion were less successful on offense.  Sean won four categories with relative ease.  Chris managed to take OBP, and his narrow margin of victory would ultimately salvage a tie.

Both teams struggled on pitching.  The Lasershow struggled to find saves and the Legion took advantage.  Chris dominated strikeouts and had a comfortable margin in ERA and WHIP.  Despite a disastrous start from Lance McCullers, Chris posted a good mix of quality starts and good strikeout totals.  The Lasershow countered with a good Lance Lynn week.  The team stacked up wins, too.  This gave Chris four categories to Sean’s one.  This gave the two teams a tie for the week.  The battle was hard-earned for the Lasershow, who rallied behind their more active new owner.

The result is a new highlight for a franchise that has failed to thrive for too long.  Sean still has a lot of work to do to upgrade the roster, but his victory over the Legion should put the league on notice.  There will be no more easy victories, DL players in the lineup, or pitching oddities.  As far as the standings go, the Legion will take a hit, but the tie is much better than a loss.   Still, this gives a little bit of breathing room for the Goofballs, Armadillos, PhoeGnomes, and Lannisters.  With so many teams clumped near the top, every result is critical.

KG Capital City Goofballs (7-6-2) vs.  HP PhoeGnomes (9-6)

After a slow start, the PhoeGnomes have risen to become one of the favorites for the title.  The Goofballs are in the conversation, and have proven they’re no longer a year away from competing.  The Goofballs stayed just two games out after a close victory over the PhoeGnomes.  Kevin relied on strong offensive stats to carry the week.  He tied for the lead in home runs and was second in both OBP and SLG.  The Goofballs had ten players with a home run.  The team posted a balanced offensive attack.  Two players had five RBI and only five players out of the 18 started for the week did not have an RBI.  Heather lost all of the offensive categories except steals.  Like the Lannisters, the PhoeGnomes suffered an unusual power-outage.  Marwin Gonzalez had a nice week, but Heather lacked and real offensive bright spots.

Despite the problems on offense, Heather fared much better on pitching.  Madison Bumgarner was phenomenal, allowing just one earned run over two starts.  Chris Sale had a great start, too, and the team had the best WHIP and second best ERA in the league.  Heather also tied for the lead in wins with seven.  Kevin wasn’t able to counter Heather’s rate stats, but he did take strikeouts.  Jon Gray and Chris Archer had nice weeks, but the Goofballs struggled to get victories.

The turning point for the week was saves.  Neither team had many saves, but Kevin’s “closer by committee” strategy worked well enough to tie the category and take the week.  Heather tried to take the lead on Sunday but only Greg Holland ended up pitching.  Aroldis Chapman and Brandon Kintzler both sat out losing games.  The Goofballs didn’t have a Sunday save, but they did have two relievers each record two strikeouts.  This was a critical difference-maker because it gave Kevin the category.  Without strikeouts from at least one reliever, the Goofballs would have tied the category and the week.

JK Lannisters (9-5-1) vs.  RK Possums (6-5-4)

The Possums’ combination of power and pitching sometimes gives the Lannisters problems.  Rick has fared well against Jeff in the past, and this week was no different.  However, the Lannisters relied on an unusual savior to earn the win – their pitching staff.  Jacob deGrom and Gerrit Cole were outstanding, totaling 27 innings pitched, three wins, and 30 strikeouts.  Five different Lannister relievers piled up nine saves, easily the best in the league.  Kelvin Herrera scored four by himself, more than the team total for every other bullpen save the Armadillos.  None of these relievers allowed a run, and Jeff led the league in ERA.  Rick had a solid week on the mound as well.  He had the most strikeouts in the league and put up a solid win total.  However, the Lannisters carried a 3-1-1 lead before accounting for hitting.

Both teams struggled on offense.  Rick had the lowest SLG in the league while the Lannisters tied for the fewest home runs and had the worst RBI total by a wide margin.  Bryce Harper and Jose Abreu each had two home runs, and no other player on either team had more than one.  Rick managed a few more RBI and home runs, but neither team has much to be proud of.  Jeff won the rate stats, Rick took homers and RBI, and steals were a draw.  This was enough for the Lannisters to escape with a 5-3-2 win. The loss hurts the Possums, who are now three games out of first place.  The Lannisters vaulted into second, and have a huge match with the PhoeGnomes looming.

LK Armadillos (9-4-2) vs.  KK Thunderwolves (2-11-2)

The week’s final close game saw the Armadillos slip past the Thunderwolves.  Larry had the best offensive week of any team and led the league in every statistical category (with home runs being a tie with the Lasershow).  Giancarlo Stanton had three home runs and eight RBI to pair with eight walks.  JD Martinez and Eduardo Nunez each had two homers.  Kyle had a nice week from Rougned Odor (three home runs) but little else.  His numbers were not the worst in the league (those belong to the Possums and Lannisters) but it wasn’t enough to pressure the Armadillos.  Larry had a 5-0 lead before looking at pitching.

Kyle was much more competitive on pitching, but neither team was especially effective.  The Thunderwolves threw a few more innings and had a nice strikeout total.  They also led the league in wins (tied with the PhoeGnomes).  Zack Godly had a great start for the Armadillos, but Steven Matz and Jameson Taillon imploded.  Kyle saw Yu Darvish suffer though the worst start of his career.  Darvish’s time in Texas came to an end with a nightmare ten earned run loss against the Orioles.  Bud Norris was miserable as well, allowing eight earned runs in 1.1 innings pitched.  Despite these abhorrent starts, Kyle somehow won ERA and WHIP!  Unfortunately for Kyle, the Armadillos won saves and took the week by a narrow margin.  The Thunderwolves had a decent week, though, and Kyle has to hope that the offensive improvement is permanent.

Next Week

This week features two hugely important battles.  The Legion and Armadillos meet again and continue the league’s most bitter rivalry.  The Legion are just a game back, and the Armadillos look more vulnerable than ever.  The PhoeGnomes face the Lannisters, too, and both teams need a win to keep pace with the Legion and Armadillos.  Depending on the results, the Armadillos, Legion, and Lannisters could all take first place.  The Goofballs have to face the Lasershow, who are showing signs of being competitive.  The Possums will hope to keep pace and gain ground on a couple of teams with a match against the Thunderwolves.

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.

The Legion moved back into first place in the all time Elo ratings after an Armadillos’ loss.  Jeff and Rick gained points, and Heather moved further above 0.500 with a solid win versus the league leaders.

The Armadillos and PhoeGnomes are heavy favorites against the league’s bottom feeders.  Chris and Jeff, along with Rick and Kevin, are essentially coin-flips.

LK Armadillos (8-3-1) vs.  HP PhoeGnomes (7-5)

The week’s most important match of the week featured the Armadillos and PhoeGnomes.  Heather had a chance to pull within a half game out of the league leaders.  A PhoeGnomes victory would also help the Possums and Lannisters against heavy underdogs, and keep the loser of the Legion/Goofballs match close.  Heather delivered with the best overall performance of the week.  The PhoeGnomes had the best steals, OBP, and SLG totals in the league.  Only four PhoeGnomes players had home runs, but Jose Ramirez and Wilson Contreras had three each and 13 total RBI.  Trea Turner had an incredible seven steals, more than any of the team.  However, he was lost for the year with a serious injury.  The Armadillos were not competitive on offense.  Keon Broxton was among the worst players in the league and had a SLG of 0.071.  The Armadillos had the lowest RBI, OBP, and SLG numbers in the league.  Heather earned an easy sweep.

Heather posted good pitching numbers to complement her offense, she had the better ERA, WHIP, and strikeout numbers.  The Armadillos had more wins and saves, but it was far from enough…  Clayton Kershaw’s strong outing was washed out by a Carlos Carrasco disaster.  Heather relied on four good starts from Gio Gonzalez and Chris Sale.  They pitched 26.1 innings, struck out 37, and allowed just three runs.  This was more than enough for Heather to earn the victory for the week.  Heather moved closer to the top of the league with the win.  However, the loss of Turner will test her depth.  The Armadillos will look for answers, especially on offense.

KG Capital City Goofballs (6-4-2) vs.  CP Legion (7-4-1)

With the PhoeGnomes win, Chris had a chance to move into a tie for first place with a victory over the Goofballs.  Kevin needed a win to gain ground, and further legitimize his place at the top of the league.  Chris posted a strong combined attack, much like the PhoeGnomes.  Kevin suffered a power outage and found no help on pitching.  Chris’s best player was Carlos Correa, who had three home runs and 10 RBI.  Aaron Judge was strong as well, with 11 walks and a 0.552 OBP.  Kevin tried to counter, but outside of a four home run week for Elvis Andrus, no other player produced much power.  Only three Goofballs’ regular players had SLG over 0.300.  Chris swept four of five categories and was well on his way to a win.

On pitching, Chris posted good numbers while Kevin struggled.  The Legion’s Jimmy Nelson had a great 11 strikeout start.  Robbie Ray and Luis Severino had bad weeks, but these results were offset by a nice Brad Peacock start and good bullpen work.  The Goofballs got two bad starts from Jose Berrios, one dud from German Marquez, and middling results for Johnny Cueto.  The bullpen was good and led the league in saves.  However, it was far from enough and Chris cruised to a win.  He is now tied with the Armadillos for first place.

JK Lannisters (6-5-1) vs.  KK Thunderwolves (1-9-2)

After a few weeks of better pitching, the Lannisters hoped to gain ground on the leaders against the Thunderwolves.  Kyle has the worst record in the league, but put up excellent numbers in what proved to be a losing effort.  The Thunderwolves had the best pitching stats in the league but a wide margin.  The led the league in ERA and WHIP and were second in wins.  Zack Greinke and James Paxton were dominant.  They pitched 25.1 innings and struck out 25.  Alex Wood and Jordan Montgomery had good single starts.  The Lannisters countered with better strikeout efficiency.  Jacob deGrom and Stephen Strasburg struck out 12 and 13 respectively in 7 innings each.  Rich Hill had two outstanding starts and struck out 18.  Gerrit Cole had another meltdown to spoil the rate stats.  Overall, Kyle held a 3-1-1 lead.

Unfortunately for the underdogs, the Lannisters retaliated with a good offensive showing.  After lacking power last week, Jeff led the league in RBI and was near the top in SLG and OBP.  Mookie Betts broke out of a long slump with three home runs and three steals along with 11 RBI.  Robinson Cano continued to provide steady production at an advanced age.  He had four home runs and nine RBI.  Kyle had good weeks from Adrian Beltre and Rougned Odor, but it wasn’t enough.  The Lannisters even left four home runs on the bench Sunday after the results of the week were already finalized.  Kyle put up a good fight, though, and this was the only match of the week that wasn’t decided well ahead of the weekend.

RK Possums (5-4-3) vs.  CM Happy Hollidays (2-8-2)

The final match of the week saw the Possums meet the Happy Hollidays.  Rick’s team is another that could benefit from the Armadillos’ loss.  Rick responded with the second best offensive week in the league.  He tied for the lead in home runs and was second in OBP and SLG.  Khris Davis had four home runs and Joey Votto added three.  Other starts like Xander Bogaerts and Cody Bellinger struggled, but role player like Jedd Gyorko and Evan Gattis had home runs and good RBI totals.  Chris M.  didn’t have an answer, and posted just three home runs for the week.

The Possums offered enough good pitching to win four categories with ease.  Corey Kluber dominated with 12 strikeouts over 8.0 innings pitched.  Max Scherzer was also superb, winning two games and striking out 18 over 13.0 innings with one earned run allowed.  The Hollidays didn’t have an answer.  Carlos Martinez struggled in two starts, and Ervin Santana collapsed.  Chris’s team had the worst strikeouts, ERA, and WHIP numbers in the league.  Rick earned an easy win, and never hard to worry entering the weekend.

At the half-way point in the season, the standings are as tight as they’ve ever been.  Six teams are within 1.5 games of first place.  Every team owns at least one tiebreaker against a team near them.

Next Week

The long All-Star weekend features two critical battles.  The Legion and Lannisters meet after a draw in their first match.  Both teams need a win and expect a competitive week.  The Possums and Goofballs also collide.  Kevin needs to rebound whereas Rick wants to keep winning.  The Armadillos get a respite and face the Hollidays.  Finally, Heather will try to hold down the Thunderwolves.

The Armadillos took over the all-time Elo lead after the Legion suffered an upset by the Possums.  Rick had the biggest gain of the week and is just a point behind the Goofballs for fourth place.  Heather also moved above 1,500 while the Hollidays and Thunderwolves fell further into the abyss.

Rick is the heavy favorite over Chris P., and the Lannisters are not far behind versus the Thunderwolves.  Both the Armadillos and Legion are slight favorites in their matches.

CP Legion (7-3-1) vs.  RK Possums (4-4-3)

The week’s most important match featured the Possums and Legion.  Rick needed a victory to stay over 0.500.  Chris P. hoped to gain ground on the Armadillos.  The match was close, but a strong pitching performance earned the Possums a victory.  Rick’s team posted some of the best pitching numbers in the league, including the highest strikeout total.  The team also had strong rate stats and excellent bullpen work.  The key was Corey Kluber.  He threw 16.0 innings pitched, struck out 24, didn’t allow an earned run, and had a WHIP of 0.50.  The return of Kluber as an ace could stabilize the top of the Possums’ rotation along with Max Scherzer.  Chris wasn’t competitive in ERA, WHIP, or strikeouts.  He managed a tie in wins, but difficult weeks from Marco Estrada and Brandon McCarthy left the Legion with a 0-4-1 hole.

On offense, Rick posted excellent power numbers.  He led the league in home runs and was second in RBI.  He also tied for the lead in steals.  Ian Kinsler added two home runs and two steals.  Cody Bellinger had a monster week with five home runs and 12 RBI.  However, Chris was more competitive on offense.  Aaron Judge continued to surge with three home runs.  Chris had better consistency up and down his lineup and won OBP with ease.  He also managed to take SLG by a few points.  Unfortunately for the Legion, the team had too big a hole on pitching and Rick took three categories and secured a solid 7-2-1 win.  The Possums are still in 6^th place after the win, but remain just two games behind the Armadillos.  The Legion fell to one game back.  Both teams benefitted from the Lannisters’ result against the league leaders.

JK Lannisters (6-5) vs.  LK Armadillos (8-3)

After a series of difficult weeks, the Lannisters needed a positive result against the league leaders.  A loss would have spelled disaster.  The Armadillos hoped to have enough offense to overcome a troubled pitching week and stay on top.  The Lannisters showed a second week of great starting pitching.  Jeff led the league in WHIP and was second in ERA.  The team also led the league in saves.   Jacob deGrom continued to show improvement and had a solid start.  Gerrit Cole also performed well, as did Mike Fiers.  Three Lannisters’ relievers had two saves.  The Armadillos had more strikeouts over a higher innings count, but they were not competitive in the rate stats.  Wins were tied, despite the Lannisters making a solid pickup for an emergency Sunday start.  Derek Holland left the game with a lead, but the White Sox bullpen blew the game.  The lack of a win cost Jeff the victory for the week.

Both teams were evenly matched on offense.  The Armadillos won steals, but the Lannsiters led the league in RBI.  The two teams tied in home runs.  Corey Seager had a monster three home run game for the Lannisters, but the Armadillos countered with three from Mike Zunino.  The two teams eventually tied the category.  After a strong Sunday, the Armadillos pulled ahead by narrow margins for the rate stats.  Giancarlo Stanton and Keon Broxton had Sunday home runs, which tied the category and put the team over the top on SLG.  Larry was able to salvage an unlikely draw.  The Lannisters likely believe they deserved better for the week, but can take comfort in not losing ground and tightening the race overall.  The lack of a win helps the Legion not fall as far, and gives a boost to the Possums, PhoeGnomes, and Goofballs.

HP PhoeGnomes (6-5) vs.  CM Happy Hollidays (2-7-2)

Like the Possums, the PhoeGnomes needed a win to gain ground on the Legion and Armadillos.  The Hollidays showed some fighting spirit on offense, but were doomed by abominable pitching.  On offense, both teams showed solid power.  Heather had great weeks from Andrew McCutchen and George Springer, who combined for five home runs.  Seven Hollidays’ regulars had home runs, and they led the league in SLG.  Justin Turner had ten hits in just 22 at bats.  However, Chris didn’t record a steal and Heather took the category with ease.  This led to a 2-2-1 tie before pitching.

The PhoeGnomes led the league in wins, but did not have good rate stats.  Dylan Bundy struggled in two starts.  He was offset somewhat by Chris Sale and Jake Arrieta.  The bullpen was good, too.  Strong counting stats gave Heather a huge advantage.  The Hollidays didn’t pitch enough innings to amass counting stats.  They fell apart in the rate categories.  Francisco Rodriguez had a 32.40 ERA and Lance Lynn allowed seven earned runs in 5.2 innings pitched.  Heather won these categories essentially by default.  This gave her a solid win for the week and an outcome that was never in doubt.  The win boosts the PhoeGnomes a full game on the Legion and a half game on the Armadillos.

KK Thunderwolves (1-8-2) vs.  KG Capital City Goofballs (5-4-2)

The final match of the week saw the Goofballs defeat the last place Thunderwolves.  Kevin relied on a balanced attack.  On offense, Anthony Rendon was the Goofballs’ top performer with two home runs and a 0.923 SLG.  Kevin used 22 players for the week and only three of them did not have at least one hit.  The Thunderwolves had a good week from Adrian Beltre, but struggled elsewhere.  He had the fewest home runs in the league as well as the lowest OBP and SLG.  The two teams tied in steals and RBI.  Both teams tied for the lowest RBI total in the league.  Overall, Kevin built a solid 3-0-2 lead based on good OBP and SLG numbers.

Kevin pulled away with good pitching.  The Goofballs and Lannisters had the best weeks for pitching, and Kevin led the league in ERA and was second in wins and WHIP.  Johnny Cueto had a strong start, as did Mike Montgomery.  The bullpen was even better.  No Goofballs’ relief pitcher allowed a run.  Kyle suffered a disastrous start from Julio Teheran who allowed seven earned runs in 3.0 innings pitched.  Yu Darvish rebounded with a good start, but it wasn’t enough.  Kyle had many more strikeouts than Kevin, but it wasn’t enough.  The Goofballs took four categories and notched an easy victory for the week.  Like the PhoeGnomes, the Goofballs gained ground on the league leaders.

Next Week

After a series of brutal matches, the Lannisters hope to take advantage of the Thunderwolves.  The Possums hope to keep rolling against the Hollidays.  The most interesting match of the week pairs the Goofballs and Legion.  Both teams need a win, and have a chance to gain ground since the Armadillos face the PhoeGnomes.  Heather needs a victory, especially with the Possums and Lannisters having heavy advantages.  The Armadillos and Legion have challenging opponents, and will watch each other’s scoreboards.

The top three teams all gained ground for the week.  The Armadillos had the biggest increase.  Heather picked up the most points for the week and moved within one win of 1,500.  The Possums took a fall, but are still above average.

Next week features several close matches.  Kevin is a 66% favorite over the Hollidays, but all other matches are closer to 50%.  The Lannisters are underdogs for the first time in almost 1.5 seasons.

Week 11 proved to be a strange one in the Dirt Mountain League.  The league’s worst offensive team posted the best offensive stats.  The worst pitching team had the best pitching performance.  The PhoeGnomes had a monster offensive week, while the Possums struggled.  The end result was little change in the standings.

KG Capital City Goofballs (5-3-2) vs.  LK Armadillos (7-3)

The most important match of the week for the standings paired the Armadillos and Goofballs.  Kevin had a chance to tie for first with a victory.  However, the Armadillos had other plans.  Larry offered the second best offensive performance of the week.  The team had the most RBI by a wide margin.  They tied for the lead in home runs.  They were near the top of the rate stats with the PhoeGnomes and Hollidays.  Anthony Rizzo, Mike Zunino, and Edwin Encarnacion combined for ten home runs and 26 RBI.  Eric Thames and Keon Broxton added two home runs each.  The Goofballs didn’t have an answer outside of steals.  Despite starting 23 offensive players, Kevin had the lowest number of home runs in the league and was near the bottom in most categories.

Neither team had spectacular pitching stats, but Kevin had too much ground to make up to be competitive.  The Armadillos had better rate stats thanks to good starts from Carlos Carrasco and Clayton Kershaw.  Kevin hoped that a good week from David Price might stabilize his position, but he allowed six runs in 11 innings.  Both teams had mediocre saves and win totals.  This resulted in a comfortable win for the Armadillos.  Larry remains in first place, and the Goofballs have to hope that this loss does not haunt them later in the year.

CM Happy Hollidays (2-6-2) vs.  JK Lannisters (5-5)

The two most surprising results of the week came from the Hollidays and Armadillos.  Chris M.’s team has the worst offense in the league but posted their best results ever.  They led the league in OBP, tied for the lead in home runs, and were second in SLG.  Dexter Fowler and Yasiel Puig had seven total home runs.  Five Hollidays had more than one home run.  On Saturday, the team recorded seven home runs and even left more on the bench!  The Lannisters had good offensive numbers, and led several categories before the historic weekend outburst.  They won a single category – steals – and had to hope that their miserable pitching would come through.

Thankfully for the defending champs, the pitching staff rose to the occasion.  The Lannisters had the best ERA and saves numbers in the league.  They were second in WHIP and wins.  Jacob deGrom finally had a breakthrough complete game.  Jon Lester, Gerrit Cole and others posted solid numbers.  The bullpen was excellent, too.  This gave Jeff a five category sweep after the Hollidays failed to mount much of a challenge.  The end result was a victory for the favored team, but the offensive explosion serves as a reminder that any team can win at any time.

RK Possums (4-3-3) vs.  HP PhoeGnomes (5-5)

The PhoeGnomes were the third team to post monster offensive numbers.  Heather led the league in SLG and was near the top in all other categories.  Andrew McCutchen and Logan Morrison had three home runs each.  Jose Ramirez and George Springer added two more each.  The Possums put up a good fight and had fine totals as well.  Cody Bellinger exploded for four home runs in the losing effort.  Rick couldn’t compete in rate stats, but was pretty close in the counting categories.  However, Heather still managed a huge 5-0 lead.

On pitching, Heather followed the Armadillos’ strategy of posting mid-level numbers against an opposing meltdown.  Rick struggled to the worst ERA in the league, but had a decent WHIP.  He also had a good strikeout total.  However, the bad ERA limited the pitchers’ wins.  Heather took advantage and made up for the lack of strikeouts with a better WHIP, wins, and saves total.  As usual, Chris Sale was the standout for Heather, but Gio Gonzalez was solid as well.  With a better offensive showing, Rick could have been competitive.  Heather was able to win with relative ease.  Both teams remain firmly in the middle of the league.

CP Legion (6-3-1) vs.  KK Thunderwolves (1-7-2)

The closest match of the week featured the Legion and Thunderwolves.  The battle was tied going into the last game on Sunday.  The teams were evenly matched on pitching.  Chris and Kyle had equal wins, strikeouts, saves, and split ERA and WHIP.  Both teams had rate stats toward the bottom of the league.  Jimmy Nelson was great in two starts for the Legion, but he was offset by a disastrous Marco Estrada start.  Kyle had good starts from Alex Wood and Zack Greinke, but suffered a bad Yu Darvish start on Sunday.  The Darvish start failed to capture wins and strikeouts and contributed to Chris taking ERA.  This put immense pressure on both team’s offenses.

The offensive battle was as close at the pitching.  Kyle benefitted from a good showing from Rougned Odor.  Chris had contributions from a handful of players like Aaron Judge and Paul Goldschmidt.  Ultimately, the teams split most categories.  Kyle took RBI and SLG, but Chris captured OBP and steals.  Going into the last game Sunday, the teams were tied in home runs, and tied overall.  However, Carlos Correa had a late home run to give the Legion the category and the win.  This, paired with the disastrous Sunday Yu Darvish start (which Kyle attended in person), has to be demoralizing for the Thunderwolves.  Chris found a way to win, and Kyle is still stuck in the league basement.

Next Week

Week 12 features two key battles.  The most important features the Armadillos and Lannisters.  Jeff needs to win to maintain his tie-breaker and gain ground on first place.  The Possums and Legion meet in a match Rick needs to keep pace.  The PhoeGnomes hope that the Hollidays’ offense returns to earth.  Finally, the Goofballs hope to get back on track against the Thunderwolves.