Underdogs Rise; Legion’s Historic Pitching

Week 08 was unusual for a number of reasons.  Three underdog teams won, including the desperate Hollidays.  A week after showing signs of life, Heather lost 10-0.  Both of the league leaders lost.  The end result has seven teams within 3.5 games of the lead, and five within two games.

CM Happy Hollidays (1-5-1) vs.  KK Thunderwolves (1-5-1)

One of the week’s most surprising results saw the Hollidays defeat the Thunderwolves.  Chris M. relied on strong pitching to lead the way to his second victory for the year.  Ervin Santana was outstanding, allowing just two hits and walks in a complete game shutout.  Lance Lynn offered steady production for two starts.  These performances gave Chris the second lowest ERA in the league and the best WHIP.  Kyle had more strikeouts and saves, and the two teams tied for wins.  This left both teams even before accounting for hitting.

Unfortunately for Kyle, his offense went ice cold.  The Thunderwolves had the lowest SLG and OBP in the league by a wide margin.  Neither team had many RBI, and Kyle took steals.  However, Chris had excellent weeks from Jonathan Schoop and Francisco Lindor.  They combined for four home runs and seven RBI.  This was enough to give Chris the edge in home runs.  Chris took the week by a 5-3-2 margin.  The win moved the Hollidays out of last place.  While Chris has reason to celebrate, the rest of the league has to wonder if the Thunderwolves have hit rock bottom.

CP Legion (3-3-1) vs.  HP PhoeGnomes (3-4)

The Legion dominated the PhoeGnomes for a 10-0 win.  However, the most remarkable part of Chris’s week wasn’t the end result, but rather how he achieved it.  The Legion posted what has to be the best ERA in a full week in league history.  The Legion threw 47.2 innings and allowed just two runs.  This translated to a 0.38 ERA.  The list of contributors is a long one.  Luis Severino, Eduardo Rodriguez, Alex Wood, Robbie Ray, and Raisel Iglesias all pitched almost perfectly.  The Legion piled up eight saves.  Heather didn’t have a chance in any pitching category.  Incredibly, the Legion didn’t have the best WHIP in the league, despite the minuscule ERA.  The Hollidays had a slightly better number, and both staffs had excellent weeks.

Chris made sure there would be no tie with a good offensive showing.  Jake Lamb had a strong week with three home runs and seven RBI.   Jake Bour and Jose Bautista did well for the PhoeGnomes, but it wasn’t enough.  Chris cruised to a comfortable sweep.  The Legion are part of the five-team scrum at the top of the standings, and just 1.5 games behind the Armadillos.

RK Possums (2-3-2) vs.  LK Armadillos (6-1)

After surprising the league last year, Rick needed a win to stay near the top this year.  He put together a strong offensive and pitching week to bring his record back to 0.500.  Charlie Blackmon had a monster week with three home runs, 12 RBI, and a steal.  Khris Davis stayed hot with two home runs.  Joey Gallo added two more, and role players like Chris Owings (0.643 SLG) contributed as well.  The Armadillos won steals, but were not competitive in any other offensive category.  Rick led the league in RBI and SLG, and was second in home runs and OBP.

The Armadillos tried to counter on pitching, but too many starters had mediocre weeks.  Dallas Keuchel and Tyler Anderson were strong, but Clayton Kershaw had a rough Sunday start.  German Marquez was the best of the crew, but his strong two starts were offset by a Jose Quintana disaster.  The Possums had rough outings from Dan Straily and Justin Verlander, but the rest of his starters were strong.  The Possums had the better ERA and WHIP, and this was more than enough to secure the win for the week.  The Armadillos lost for just the second time this year.

KG Capital City Goofballs (4-2-1) vs.  JK Lannisters (5-2)

The week’s final match saw the Goofballs defeat the Lannisters.  Kevin relied on a strong offensive attack.  Anthony Rendon had four home runs, and a total of nine Goofballs had homers.  Carlos Santana had seven RBI.  The Lannisters countered with a good week from Jose Abreu, who had two homers and 14 hits.  The Lannisters also led the league in steals and OBP.  However, the strong power week was enough for the Goofballs to have a 3-2 lead.

On pitching, the Lannisters had phenomenal starts from Stephen Strasburg and Jacob deGrom.  The pair threw 15.1 innings and struck out 25 while allowing just one earned run.  However, these heroic efforts were undone by terrible weeks from Gerrit Cole and Jon Lester.  The Goofballs posted solid but unspectacular numbers across the board.  A strong Sunday start from Johnny Cueto sealed the week when Jon Lester faltered.  Kevin earned a five category sweep and moved into second place.

Next Week

Week 09 may be calmer than Week 08.  The Legion will be heavy favorites against the Hollidays.  The Armadillos will try to rebound against the Thunderwolves.  The Goofballs will have a more difficult match with the streaky PhoeGnomes.  Finally, the Lannisters and Possums meet in an important battle to stay near the top of the standings.

This week’s biggest winner was the Legion, who gained 11.5 points by defeating the Lannisters.  The Armadillos gained a few points after a win against the Hollidays.  Heather took another step toward 1,500 and Rick gained a point for his tie versus the favored Goofballs.

Next week offers several interesting matches.  The biggest favorites are the Legion and Armadillos, but they are only ~60%.  The Lannisters have a small edge over the goofballs.  The Thunderwolves have a rare, distinct winning probably against the Hollidays.

HP PhoeGnomes (2-4) vs.  KK Thunderwolves (1-4-1)

After failing to meet expectations last year, the PhoeGnomes needed a victory to stay in contention in 2017.  A 2-5 start would be difficult to overcome, and Heather rallied with a strong offensive performance.  Justin Bour emerged as an unlikely hero with four home runs.  New addition Trea Turner had three steals.  Jose Altuve continued to be a dual threat with two home runs.  Heather had the best OBP and SLG in the league, tied for first in steals, and was second in home runs and RBIs.  It was easily her best offensive performance of the season and it couldn’t have come at a better time.

Neither team had strong pitching, but Heather did amass a good saves total that tied for the league lead.  Kyle fell short in strikeouts and wins.  He had the better WHIP, but Heather recorded a lower ERA.  Kyle had a strong week from Yu Darvish (16 strikeouts in 12.0 innings pitched).  However, a nightmare outing from Julio Teheran undid all of Yu’s good work.  Teheran allowed nine earned runs in just three innings.  Chase Anderson struggled as well, allowing 10 earned runs in 9.1 IP.  Kyle’s pitching has been a strongpoint for his team.  However, his season ERA and WHIP numbers are in the bottom third of the league.  They are also near the middle of the pack in strikeouts and wins.  Kyle has to hope his staff can turn things around.  Heather, on the other hand, will look to build on her strong week and move back to 0.500.

JK Lannisters (5-1) vs.  CP Legion (2-3-1)

The Legion and Lannisters had a close battle that Chris P. won by a single hit or walk.  The Legion were able to take four pitching categories behind good weeks from Alex Wood, Robbie Ray, and Lance McCullers.  Chris had the lowest ERA in the league.  He also led the league in wins.  The Lannisters threw fewer innings but had the second most wins and second best ERA.  Every Lannister starter recorded a win.  Unfortunately for Jeff, saves as the only category he was able to win.

The Legion capitalized taking OBP on offense.  The Lannisters again led the league in home runs and RBIs.  They also won SLG handily and tied in steals.  Mike Trout had three home runs, two steals, and 10 walks for the week.  Chris countered with a huge week from Jake Lamb, who hit four home runs and had 10 RBIs.  The Lannisters held the lead until the last game of the week.  Alex Avila had two walks and one hit, and gave the Legion a 0.0003 win in SLG.  Chris earned a narrow victory and the Legion remain in contention.

RK Possums (2-3-1) vs.  KG Capital City Goofballs (4-2)

The Possums and Goofballs achieved a rare feat:  The two teams tied 5-5 and each teams swept five categories on each side.  Rick took all five offensive metrics.  The Possums had good consistency.  Six players had home runs and the team tied for second in RBI.  Charlie Blackmon had ten hits and a steal while Joey Votto added two home runs and seven walks.  The Goofballs were relatively close in home runs and RBIs, but struggled in the rate stats.  Nelson Cruz had three home runs, but the Goofballs lacked power elsewhere.  The lengthy injury to Freddie Freeman means that Kevin will have to dig even deeper to find power.

Things flipped on the pitching side.  Kevin won all five categories behind a great week from Ariel Miranda and Jose Berrios.  Berrios allowed only two hits over 7.2 IP and struck out 11.  Chris Archer added 19 strikeouts but allowed nine earned runs in 11.1 IP.  Rick’s starters universally underperformed.  Tanner Roark, Masahiro Tanaka, and Jason Vargas allowed 19 earned runs over just 12 IP.  The bullpen struggled as well, and didn’t record a save.  Kevin won all five categories with ease, and the teams settled into a strange 5-5 tie.  The outcome was never in doubt over the weekend, and both teams will hope for better luck next week.

LK Armadillos (5-1) vs.  CM Happy Hollidays (1-4-1)

The week’s final match featured the Armadillos and Hollidays.  After a series of injuries, Larry finally saw some offensive support this week.  They were near the top in all five offensive categories.  The best player was JD Martinez, who had four home runs, nine RBIs, and 10 walks.  Martinez was injured to start the year, and the Armadillos will need his offensive contributions if they want to maintain their lead.  The Hollidays tried to counter with a huge week from Corey Dickerson.  He had five home runs and nine RBI.  However, the Armadillos were a little bit better across all categories and earned the 5-0 sweep.

Chris did better on pitching, but it wasn’t enough to challenge the Armadillos.  The best pitching outing from anyone this week was Carlos Martinez’s complete game shutout.  He allowed just two hits and one walk.  The Armadillos weren’t able to match this singular performance directly, but they did have good showings from Clayton Kershaw and, incredibly, Matt Garza.  The appearance of Garza on a roster, much less an actual start, shows the depths to which the Armadillos must dig to find capable pitchers.  Ultimately, they won 10-0 and will spend another week in first place.

Next Week

The week’s most intriguing match pairs the Legion and PhoeGnomes.  Both are coming off good performances and need a victory to move closer to contention.  The Lannisters and Goofballs meet in another important battle.  The Thunderwolves will try to get on track against the Hollidays.  Finally, the Possums will be desperate for a win against the leading Armadillos.

The Goofballs were the big winners for the week, gaining nearly 11 points after defeating the Legion.  The Armadillos and Lannisters gained a few points, and the Hollidays made up some ground with their tie versus Rick.

The week’s biggest favorite are the Armadillos.  They have a 72% chance to defeat the Happy Hollidays.  The other three matches are all very close.  Teams range from just 54-58% favorites.  These even match-ups mean a lot of points are on the line for everyone.

A series of close battles were the story of Week 06.  The Armadillos and Goofballs won by narrow margins.  The Hollidays pulled off a rare 4-4-2 tie.  Only the Lannisters had a dominant performance thanks to their monstrous offensive output.

CP Legion (2-2-1) vs.  KG Capital City Goofballs (3-2)

The week’s most interesting match featured the Legion and Goofballs.  Both teams hovered near 0.500 as the week began, but Kevin was able to rise up and claim a victory.  Both teams had good offensive showings.  The Legion had the best OBP and home run totals besides the Lannisters.  Kevin had the second highest steals and OBP.  Paul Goldschmidt led the Legion with three home runs and six RBIs.  Carlos Correa had a pair of home runs and 10 RBI.  The Goofballs had a more balanced performance, with only one player having two home runs.  However, Kevin’s depth once again paid dividends.  He had 20 offensive starters and 16 of them had RBIs.  The highest total was six for Yasmani Grandal.  Anthony Rendon had a pair of steals.  Overall, the Legion won two categories and the Goofballs won three, thanks to having one more RBI.  The Legion made a valiant effort with nine RBIs on Sunday, but it wasn’t quite enough.

The pitching battle was similarly close.  The Goofballs threw a few more innings but were vastly more efficient in terms of strikeouts.  They easily won the category after excellent starts by Chris Archer and Matt Andriese.  The Legion countered with good weeks from Lance McCullers.  He also had two wins from relief pitchers in addition to five saves.  However, the team’s ERA and WHIP were not good.  This gave Kevin the three categories he needed to secure the win.  The Legion will be haunted by Winson Contreras’s Friday performance: He had two home runs on the bench.

HP PhoeGnomes (2-3) vs.  LK Armadillos (4-1)

The week’s other close match paired the PhoeGnomes and Armadillos.  After a loss to the hot Lannisters, Larry needed an offensive rebound.  Heather was searching for answers after a slow start.  Neither team posted huge numbers, but the Armadillos did enough to take four offensive categories.  Each team had good home runs numbers, but RBIs were hard to come by.  Heather won the category thanks to good weeks from Trea Turner, Austin Hedges, and Nolan Arenado.  The group combined for five home runs and 16 RBI.  Larry countered with quantity:  Eight different players had home runs.  This diversity also meant the team had a higher SLG and OBP.  The PhoeGnomes managed fewer steals than normal, and ended up losing four categories.

On pitching, neither side was particularly impressive.  However, the Armadillos led the league in wins and the PhoeGnomes had the most saves.  Strikeouts were competitive, and the Armadillos won with better efficiency.  Antonio Senzatela was a surprise, with nine strikeouts.  However, he also allowed six runs in 11 innings.  The real hero was Craig Kimbrel.  He recorded seven strikeouts, a win, and a save in just 2.2 innings pitched.  Heather hoped for good weeks from her multi-start pitchers.  However, only Ivan Nova was effective over two starts.  Julio Urias and Gio Gonzalez did not pitch well.  Since the Armadillos had bad ERA and WHIP totals, their runs allowed didn’t matter.  However, the two combined for just 13 strikeouts over 25 innings.  This gave the Armadillos the extra category they needed to secure six total, and win the week.

CM Happy Hollidays (1-4) vs.  RK Possums (2-3)

The week’s strangest match saw the Possums and Happy Hollidays tie.  On offense, both teams struggled.  Neither slugged over 0.400 and only the Thunderwolves had fewer home runs for the week.  The Possums won OBP by a sizable margin, but the Hollidays took SLG.  The two teams tied in home runs and steals.  Rick snagged RBI thanks to a good week from Joey Votto.  However, the Possums suffered a crushing bench performance when Jason Kipnis hit two home runs on Sunday while Jedd Gyorko went just 1-4.  Kipnis’s presence would have secured both home runs and SLG for the Possums, as well as a victory for the week.

Despite the poor offensive showing, the Hollidays were far better on pitching.  They had the best ERA and WHIP totals in the league by a wide margin.  Leading the way were Ervin Santana and Michael Fulmer, who allwed just one run in 14 innings pitched.  The Possums had better saves numbers thanks to Seung-Hwan Oh, but wasn’t enough.  A rough week from Justin Verlander locked in three categories for the Hollidays and created a 4-4-2 tie.

KK Thunderwolves (1-3-1) vs.  JK Lannisters (4-1)

The week’s final match saw the Lannisters unleash an offensive barrage against the Thunderwolves.  The Lannisters easily won HR, RBI, OPB, and SLG across the league.  The 20 home runs and 50 RBIs are near records for the league.  Leading the way were Mookie Betts, Buster Posey and Bryce Harper.  They posted 10 home runs 23 RBI combined.  Buster Posey added four more.  Mike Trout played in one game, and had a home run and two steals.  Kyle was able to lead the league in steals, but it wasn’t enough.  The Lannisters’ monstrous performance is a result of great depth, with players like Justin Upton and Marcell Ozuna hitting four home runs in part-time roles.

The pitching ledger was more balanced, but the Lannsiters were comfortable here too.  Kelvin Herrera’s four saves along with a good starts from Kenta Maeda and Gerrit Cole gave the Lannisters comfortable totals in the counting stats.  They also took both rate categories after a few bad starts from the Tunderwolves.  Kyle was able to make things closer on Sunday but it wasn’t enough.  The Lannisters cruised to a win, while Kyle has to hope for better luck next week.

Next Week

The most anticipated match again features the Legion.  They are desperate for a win, and face the Lannisters for the first time.  It’s a long season, but with a 2.5 game deficit, Chris P. can’t afford to fall much further behind.  The Possums and Goofballs should have a competitive match.  The Thunderwovles and PhoeGnomes are playing each other at the right time – both really need a victory.  Finally, the Armadillos hope to have a more relaxed match against the Hollidays.  Chris M. will try to exploit Larry’s injury troubles and keep making positive progress.

Two of the top three teams lost ground in the Elo race this week, allowing the Lannisters to open up a wider lead over the rest of the league.  Other big winners included the Possums and Goofballs, who edged further over 1,500.

The Lannisters and Possums are heavy favorites next week  Each team has over a 70% chance to win.  The Armadillos are also strong favorites, while the Legion are just a 54% favorite over the Goofballs.

LK Armadillos (4-0) vs.  JK Lannisters (3-1)

The week’s most important match paired the Lannisters and Armadillos.  Larry’s team entered the week undefeated and in first place.  Their performance against a difficult schedule was so strong that other teams were actively rooting for the Lannisters to win.  Unfortunately for the Armadillos, their hot start came to an abrupt end after a deluge of injuries and a strong Lannisters performance.

By most metrics, the Lannisters have produced some of the worst pitching stats in the league.  This week was different as Gerrit Cole and Jon Lester returned to form.  The pair struck out 19 over 15.0 innings pitched and allowed just six earned runs.  The Lannisters led the league in strikeouts and were second in ERA.  They posted a strong WHIP and tied for wins.  The Armadillos had the better bullpen, but a nightmare outing for Mike Foltynewicz (4.0 IP, 7 earned runs) ended any hope the Armadillos could challenge for the rate stats.

The Lannister offense is difficult to beat, and without a pitching edge, the Armadillos were in trouble.  Jeff’s team led the league in home runs, OBP, and SLG.  Jose Abreu and Manny Machado combined for seven home runs and 15 RBI.  Eight Lannister players had at least 15 at-bats, and the lowest SLG posted by a player was 0.476.  The Armadillos won steals and the Lannisters had a low number of RBIs relative to their home runs.  The rest of the teams earned between three and four RBIs per home run.  The Lannisters had only 30 on 15 homers, well below average.  Still, it wasn’t enough for the Armadillos to compete and the Lannisters earned a strong victory.  Both teams are dealing with injuries to superstar players, though, and the rest of the league is likely happy to have the last undefeated team fall.

RK Possums (1-3) vs.  CP Legion (2-1-1)

The closest match of the week saw the Possums edge the Legion in a tight contest.  The Possums relied on strong starting pitching while Chris placed his hopes in his offense.  Both strategies worked, but the Possums clawed their way to victory with a huge Sunday.

Both teams had good pitching.  Rick had the best ERA and WHIP in the league.  Chris was second in strikeouts and also took saves.  Lance McCullers was strong, striking out 14 over 13.1 innings pitched.  However, the Possums countered with players like Jason Vargas who allowed just one earned run in 12 innings and a strong effort from Max Scherzer.  The Possums took three categories to the Legion’s two.  All categories were closely contested and each team’s stats were at the higher end of the league.

Both teams also excelled on offense.  The Possums led the league in RBI and were second to the Lannisters in home runs and SLG.  The Legion were second in OBP, steals, and RBIs.  Joey Gallo continued to help the Possums with three home runs.  Joey Votto was an OBP machine and drew 11 walks.  Nine total Possums had home runs.  Chris countered with a three-home effort from Paul Goldschmidt.  Ryan Zimmerman stayed hot as well.

Going into Sunday, the Legion had the lead in RBI, SLG, and home runs.  However, the Legion faded with a 0.138 SLG on Sunday and just a single RBI.  The Possums posted a huge day, tallying three homers and seven RBI.  This was enough the flip three categories and take the victory of the week.  The Legion are likely devastated.  Their performance (and the Possums) would have defeated every other team in the league except for the Lannisters.  Unfortunately for Chris, he was matched with one of the only two teams that were better for the week.

CM Happy Hollidays (0-4) vs.  HP PhoeGnomes (2-2)

After four weeks for frustration, the Happy Hollidays earned their first win of the year against the PhoeGnomes.  Chris M. won thanks to a solid pitching performance.  The Hollidays tied for the league lead in wins and had the third best ERA and WHIP.  Michael Fulmer was excellent over eight innings.  The PhoeGnomes tried to counter with a good week from Chris Sale.  However, the rest of the team suffered several blow-ups including bad outings from Ivan Nova and Ian Kennedy.  The teams tied in wins and saves, but Chris had a 2-1-2 category lead.

On offense, neither team performed well, but Chris did enough to take three categories.  Matt Carpenter was the main reason the Holidays stayed competitive.  He had four home runs and a SLG of 1.133.  Heather had more players with home runs but only Aaron Judge had a SLG over 0.500 for the week.  Neither team had standout efforts, but the Hollidays did just enough to take three categories and escape with a win.

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

The week’s final match saw the Goofballs triumph over the Thunderwolves.  Much like the Hollidays and PhoeGnomes, neither team posted good stats relative to the rest of the league.  However, the match was competitive before the weekend.  Kevin was led by good performances from Freddie Freeman and Brian Dozier.  The Goofballs used a total of 20 players, and tried everything they could to stay competitive.  The Thunderwolves stayed close with a nice week from Eric Hosmer.  However, the Goofballs were a little bit stronger over the weekend and earned a five-category sweep.

Kyle needed a miracle on pitching, but it wasn’t to be.  Cody Allen and Neftali Feliz were great in the bullpen, but that was the only category Kyle could capture.  Rough weeks from Chase Anderson and Julio Teheran blew up the team’s ERA and WHIP.  The Goofballs took advantage and secured the win for the week.

The most important news from the Thunderwolves as the arrival of the team’s newest free agent:  William Jordan Kramer.  Liam is the heir to the Thunderwolves dynasty and is expected to be in uniform soon.

Next Week

After a huge win over the Armadillos, the Lannisters meet the Thunderwolves.  Larry will try to rebound against the PhoeGnomes.  The Hollidays will try their luck against the Possums.  Finally, the Legion and Goofballs meet in what might be the most interesting match of the week.  The Goofballs believe they are a team on the rise, and the Legion are desperate to win to stay near the top of the league.

Week 04 saw the Armadillos move into a tie for the all-time Elo lead.  The Lannisters also won, but received fewer points for defeating a weaker opponent.  The Legion lost a small number of points thanks to the tie with Kyle.  The week’s biggest gain came from the PhoeGnomes who took another step toward 1,500 with a win over the favored Possums.

Next week features a rare match of two teams tied at the top of the Elo leaderboard.  As expected, the Lannisters and Armadillos is a coin flip.  The Legion and Goofballs are heavily favored at 60% each, but Heather has the largest expected win percentage against Chris M..

LK Armadillos (3-0) vs.  KG Capital City Goofballs (2-1)

Week 04’s premier match featured the Armadillos and Goofballs.  After a hot 3-0 start, Larry faced a series of major injuries.  The Goofballs hoped to take advantage, but were ultimately denied.  The Armadillos leaned on their offense early.  Eric Thames continued to be the biggest story early in the season.  He added three more home runs.  Daniel Murphy accumulated 12 RBIs for the Nationals.  Kevin was unable to keep pace despite a big week from Freddie Freeman and an incredible seven steals from AJ Pollock.  Kevin took that category, but lost the other four.

The Armadillos finished the job on pitching.  Mike Foltynewicz was strong and earned an immediate re-hiring after what was supposed to be only an emergency start.  Dallas Keuchel was again dominant, throwing 16.2 innings pitched and allowing just three earned runs.  The Armadillos swept all five categories and cruised to a dominant 9-1 win.  However, the team’s overall strength took a huge hit when Noah Syndergaard was lost for several months with a lat injury.  Adam Eaton also fell, and will likely miss the rest of the year.  The Armadillos have nine players on the disabled list (including the suspended Starling Marte).  This puts even more pressure on Clayton Kershaw and the rest of the pitching staff.  Depth will be a problem for the foreseeable future.  This could spell trouble on lightly scheduled days against deep offensive teams like the Lannisters and Possums.

KK Thunderwolves (1-2) vs.  CP Legion (2-1)

The league’s closest match was between the Legion and Thunderwolves.  Chris P. finally got a strong offensive performance, but Kyle countered with excellent pitching.  Chris led the league in RBI and was second in OBP and SLG.  Ryan Zimmerman had five home runs and 13 RBI while Trea Turner added 11 RBI and three homers of his own.  Kyle had a big week from Wil Myers, but it was far from enough.  The Thunderwolves had the lowest OBP, SLG, and home run totals in the league.  Chris locked down five categories and was never in danger.

The opposite scenario played out on the pitching side.  Kyle put up league-leading numbers in strikeouts, saves, ERA, and WHIP.  Bud Norris and Cody Allen each had three saves for the Thunderwolves.  Norris is the kind of pick-up that Kyle needs to make in order to be competitive.  He used a series of pitching injuries to speculate on a closer, and the gamble paid off.  James Paxton was also strong, as was Zach Greinke.  The Legion never found the footing.  The used an incredible 13 pitchers for the week, but most of their experiments didn’t work out.  Danny Duffy struggled, as did Roberto Osuna.  The two teams deadlocked for the week after each dominating one side of the ledger.  The Legion hope that the reacquisition of Paul Goldschmidt will help their offense continue to perform going forward.

HP PhoeGnomes (1-2) vs.  RK Possums (1-2)

The Possums and PhoeGnomes engaged in an interesting, close battle for the week.  Rick led the league in home runs and was second in RBI and steals.  He also had a strong slugging thanks to Chris Owings and Khris Davis each having two home runs.  However, despite the power surge, the team struggled to get on base.  This gave Heather an opening to take the category and prevent a sweep.  Although Rick had the better overall numbers, the PhoeGnomes had a good offensive week, too.  Aaron Judge had four home runs and Heather got production from a number of other players up and down the lineup.

On pitching, Heather enjoyed a massive start from Ivan Nova.  He threw a complete game, allowed just three hits, and no walks.  Wade Miley was sharp over 12 innings, and Chris Sale was good in limited use.  The Possums struggled, as players like Miguel Gonzalez allowed far too many hits (14 over six innings) to be competitive in WHIP.  Heather’s overall quality was enough to earn a five category sweep and claim a victory for the week.  The bullpen has to be an area of concern for the Possums – they recorded only a single save.

JK Lannisters (2-1) vs.  CM Happy Hollidays (0-3)

The week’s final match featured the Lannisters and Happy Hollidays.  The Lannisters continued their offensive onslaught and led the league in OBP and SLG.  Five players hit two home runs and no Lannister with more than 20 at-bats and a SLG below 0.400.  Despite this success, Chris M. had an excellent offensive showing.  He was near the top in SLG and RBI.  Matt Kemp had three home runs and 10 RBI.  This is likely a welcome change for the Hollidays, who have needed some offensive support.

On pitching, the Lannisters were moderately effective.  They led the league in wins and had a strong saves number.  They took ERA and WHIP, but mostly by default as the Hollidays struggled immensely.  Jeff was able to cruise to victory after several close weeks.

Next Week

The premier match in Week 05 has the Armadillos meeting the Lannisters.  The Armadillos are struggling with injuries, but the Lannisters’ pitching situation is shaky at best.  It’s rare that the Lannisters have support from outside the organization, but even Chris P. has expressed his hope that they will end the Armadillos’ winning streak.  The Legion and Possums pair off in an intriguing match-up.  Rick will need better pitching if he wants to move closer to 0.500 after a disappointing start.  The Goofballs will try to rebound against the Thunderwolves.  Finally, the Hollidays hope they can catch a break and pick up their first win against the PhoeGnomes.

CP Legion (2-0) vs.  LK Armadillos (2-0)

After week three there is only one undefeated team left in the league.  The Armadillos edged the Legion in another close contest.  Leading the way for the Armadillos was Giancarlo Stanton who had four home runs and seven RBIs.  Anthony Rizzo contributed three home runs and two steals.  This translated into a five category offensive sweep for Larry’s team.  Chris P. had good weeks from Jake Lamb, Christian Yelich, and Ryan Zimmerman but the rest of the offense didn’t generate enough power to compete for home runs, RBIs or the rate stats.  Chris also lacked speed for the week, and had to hope his pitching could come through.

For the most part, the Legion enjoyed a solid week from both the starters and the bullpen.  Ken Giles picked up three saves and the Legion easily took the category and tied for the league lead.  They also won strikeouts by a wide margin.  Unfortunately for the Legion, their superior stats didn’t translate to wins.  Danny Duffy didn’t allow a run in 7.1 innings pitched but did not get the victory.  The Armadillos’ pitchers also had better control and had the second lowest WHIP in the league.  Dallas Keuchel continued to show improvement and Carlos Carrasco was phenomenal, allowing three hits and one walk over eight innings.  This was enough to secure victory in the first of many important match-ups between these two teams.  The Legion need to address their offense – they are second from the bottom in team home runs and have the lowest aggregate SLG through three weeks.

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

The PhoeGnomes have struggled against the Lannisters in the past, but Heather hoped a strong offensive showing might change her luck.  Seven PhoeGnomes had home runs, including three each from Aaron Judge and Austin Hedges.  Hedges also had seven RBI and Jose Altuve and Jose Ramirez stole two bases each.  Other players like Paul Goldschmidt contributed a home run, but there was a general lack of power outside of homers.  The Lannisters had two fewer home runs but posted a higher SLG that led the league.  The defending champs also enjoyed the highest RBI and OBP stats for the week.  Mookie Betts ended an early slump and Bryce Harper had three home runs.  However, Heather was able to take two categories and had a chance with good pitching.

Unfortunately for the PhoeGnomes, several starters struggled for the week.  Of the eight PhoeGnomes’ starters, only Jerad Eickhoff had an ERA below 4.50 for the week.  Heather easily won strikeouts but the Lannisters had significantly higher wins and saves totals.  They also posted a lower ERA thanks to a good week from the bullpen.  The Lannisters’ closers only allowed one run for the week.   However, there was potential trouble on Sunday.  John Lackey allowed five earned runs in six innings.  Had he been in the lineup, Heather would have won ERA and tied the week.  Also, Heather’s starters have recorded just three wins for the season despite the team having the second best ERA in the league and being near the top in strikeouts.

RK Possums (0-2) vs.  KK Thunderwolves (1-1)

The Possums picked up their first win of the season with a dominant rout of the Thunderwolves.  Rick put together a great all-around week on both sides of the ball.  The Possums led the league in ERA, WHIP, and wins.  They tied for the lead in saves.  Max Scherzer was excellent, striking out 16 in 15.0 innings pitched.  He also recorded two wins and allowed just three runs.  Corey Kluber also pitched a complete game shutout and had a 0.56 WHIP for the week.  This was easily enough to sweep all five pitching categories and build a huge lead.

Unfortunately for Kyle, there was little help coming on offense.  The Thunderwolves had the lowest OBP, SLG, and RBI numbers in the league.  The Possums enjoyed huge weeks from Joey Gallo and Joey Votto.  The two Joeys contributed seven home runs and 14 RBIs.  Ryan Braun stayed hot for the Thunderwolves but Kyle’s two young Rangers, Rougned Odor and Nomar Mazara, combined to go 8 for 54 with just four RBIs between them.  The Possums cruised to an easy victory after a couple of rough weeks to start the year.

CM Happy Hollidays (0-2) vs.  KG Capital City Goofballs (1-1)

The week’s final match paired the two expansion teams.  On the offensive side, the Goofballs were among the league leaders in all five categories.  Freddie Freeman had a monster week with four home runs and a steal.  He also entered the league’s leading jersey sales for the first time, landing at #17 on the season (seriously).  AJ Pollock was 14 for 27 with a 0.741 SLG.  Trevor Story is starting to get hot, too, and had three home runs.  Overall, the Goofballs had a great offensive week and the Hollidays were not able to offer a lot of resistance.

Pitching was a different story.  The Goofballs struggled and had the worst ERA and WHIP in the league by far.  They also had the second fewest strikeouts.  The Hollidays were better, taking strikeouts, wins, ERA, and WHIP.  This put them in position to possibly tie, but they didn’t get the bullpen help they needed.  Brad Brach came through for the Goofballs with two saves and ensured that Kevin would move to 2-1.   However, the teams’ pitching is starting to be a concern.  The staff is near the bottom in all five categories for the season.  Only the Lannisters have a worse ERA.

Next Week

After a set of close games, the Armadillos and Legion don’t get any breaks – they face each other.  The Legion will try to rebound against the Thunderwolves.  Heather and Rick will meet and try to get back to 0.500.  Finally, the Lannisters are heavy favorites against the Happy Hollidays.