Lannisters, Legion Dominate; PhoeGnomes and Goofballs Take Care of Business

With only seven matches left in the season, the league leaders knew this week was critical.  After an upset at the hands of the Thunderwolves, the Legion rallied to defeat the surging Possums.  The Lannisters dominated the Armadillos after a massive offensive performance.  Jeff’s team is a combined 17-3 over the last two weeks.  The PhoeGnomes and Goofballs also scored impressive victories.

RK Possums (10-6-2) vs.  CP Legion (10-5-3)

The week’s most important match featured the Possums and Legion.  With one of the Lannisters and Armadillos sure to lose or tie, Rick and Chris were both looking to gain ground.  The week was critical for both teams.  The Possums would fall to 2.5 games back with a loss if the Lannisters won.  The Legion would drop to two back, with no way to win the tie-breaker.  With these high stakes as the backdrop, it was the Legion who put together the better week.

Chris had a strong overall offensive showing.  He was among the league leaders in home runs, OBP, and SLG.  He led the league in steals.  Christian Yelich was the best player for the Legion.  He had three home runs and two steals.  Seven Legion players contributed home runs and Trea Turner had three steals.  The Possums struggled to get much production from their offensive core.  Only three Possums’ players with at least ten at-bats had a SLG over 0.415.  Ian Kinsler struggled with a one-for-seventeen week.  This contributed to a team SLG below 0.400.  Rick’s offense was due to cool at some point.  The team is likely disappointed that the decline had to come in such a critical week.

Neither team posted impressive pitching stats.  However, Chris showed good counting numbers, leading the league in strikeouts and wins, and tying for the lead in saves.  The team ERA was over 4.32 and the WHIP was not good.  Leading the effort was Robbie Ray, who struck out 18 over 12 innings and allowed just two earned runs.  Other players like Vince Velazquez were effective in quantity (17 strikeouts) but allowed 10 earned runs in 11.2 innings pitched.  Rick tried to gain ground in the rate categories but was only able to take ERA.  This gave Chris a relatively easy victory for the week.

The Legion’s win cements Chris’s place as the most likely team to challenge the Lannisters for the league title.  The Legion are just a game back, and face an almost must-win versus the Lannisters in two weeks.  The Possums fall to 2.5 games back and will need substantial help to get back into the race.  However, the disappointing result should not discourage the team.  The Possums have made tremendous strides this year and are in a much better position than this time last year.

LK Armadillos (10-6-2) vs.  JK Lannisters (12-5-1)

The league’s current leader, the Lannisters, met the Armadillos in the second most important match of the week.  The Armadillos needed the win to pull closer to first place.  Since Larry owned the tie-breaker for the season, he would have been in a good position with the win.  Unfortunately, the Lannisters’ offense sprang to life and showed why the defending champs are so tough to beat.

The Lannisters led the league in every offensive category except for steals.  Eleven Lannisters hit home runs for the week, including four from Russell Martin.  Kris Bryant hit three with 11 RBIs.  Bryce Harper showed signs of life while role players like Jean Segura tallied three steals in a game.  The Lannisters built up such a lead in every category except for steals that they tried to run-up this category as well.  Then, designated base stealers like Keon Broxton and Travis Jankowski hit home runs in addition to padding the steals total.  The total effort was probably the best offensive output of the year for a seven-day stretch, and rivaled the Possums’ and Goofballs’ explosions from earlier in the year.

Despite the results on offense, the Armadillos had a chance thanks to terrible Lannister pitching.  The Lannisters somehow lead the league in aggregate team ERA for the year.  However, they struggled this week and had the second-worst ERA for the week.  They completely gave up on saves, and used long-relievers to rack up strikeouts.  This, combined with a high wins total, was enough to deliver the victory.  The Armadillos have suffered numerous injuries on the pitching side (as have the Lannisters).  The lack of Clayton Kershaw and Matt Harvey has been devastating for the Armadillos.

The loss does not mean the Armadillos are completely without hope.  They are 2.5 games back but still own the season tie-breaker.  If they can win out, they could still challenge for the title with help.  The win keeps the Lannisters ahead of the Legion and the rest of the competition.  They will need to find pitching help, with ace Stephen Strasburg on the DL.

KG Capital City Goofballs (8-9) vs.  KK Thunderwolves (5-10-3)

The week’s most competitive match paired the Goofballs and Thunderwolves.  Both teams have played well recently and this match was another close contest.  Kevin had the best pitching in the league by far.  He easily took ERA and WHIP with league-leading totals.  He also picked up wins, thanks to a solid week from his Rays-heavy rotation.  Kyle countered with better strikeout totals and more saves for the week in the same number of innings pitched.  Despite having great rate stats, Kyle didn’t get a lot of wins for the week.  Kevin took a 3-2 category lead before factoring in offense.

Kevin was able to take the week thanks to an excellent offensive showing.  He had the most consistent week outside of the Lannisters, and posted the second-best SLG and home runs totals in the league.  Ten different Goofballs had homers, and DJ LeMahieu was on fire with a 0.630 OBP and 0.958 SLG for the week.  The Thunderwolves countered with big weeks from Addison Russell and Adrian Beltre (three home runs each).  Kyle took RBI with the league’s second highest total.  Overall, offense was a good battle, but the Goofballs’ consistency was enough to earn them the win and bring them closer to 0.500.  Yet again the Thunderwolves played well but were beaten by a narrow margin.  Both teams are trending in the right direction.

CM Happy Hollidays (2-15-1) vs.  HP PhoeGnomes (9-9)

The PhoeGnomes were able to get back to 0.500 after following the Lannisters’ template.  Heather dominated the offensive side against the Happy Hollidays and relied on her bullpen and high wins totals to sneak by on the pitching side.  Yasmani Tomas had four home runs and nine RBI for the PhoeGnomes, and Nolan Arenado emerged from a long slump with two homers and 11 RBI.  The rest of Heather’s lineup was consistent and solid, with only one player posting a SLG below 0.400 and only Tomas slugging above 0.565.  The lineup was consistent throughout the week and gave Heather a solid lead.

On pitching, neither team excelled.  The PhoeGnomes and Lannisters challenged for the worst ERA in the league, but Heather eventually “won” the honor.  Zach Davies and Collin McHugh were deplorable, allowing 13 earned runs in seven innings pitched.  The Happy Hollidays fared much better, with Mike Leake, Cole Hamels, and Francisco Liriano combining to allow just one earned run over 20.1 innings pitched.  However, Chris M. failed to have five starts, so the team’s stellar ERA and WHIP were not counted in the stats!  Ultimately, this didn’t matter, because Heather secured more saves for the week and swept on offense.  The win moves the PhoeGnomes back to 0.500, and closer to the top of the league.

Next Week

The race for the title takes a detour next week, as the Lannisters and Legion meet the Thunderwolves and Goofballs respectively.  The Lannisters typically match up well against the Thunderwolves, but Kyle’s pitching could be a problem this time.  Kevin has been hot on offense and can definitely give the Legion problems.  The Possums hope to have a breather against the Happy Hollidays.  Rick must win this match to stay in the hunt.  Finally, the Armadillos have to beat the PhoeGnomes to keep their hopes alive, too.  Even if both the Lannisters and Legion fall, Larry needs the win to gain ground since time is running out.

Week 18 saw yet another shift at the top of the league’s Elo ratings.  The Lannisters moved back into first place after the Legion’s shocking loss to the Thunderwolves.  The Armadillos also lost ground, but remain above the Possums in fourth place.

The Goofballs gained more ground on the PhoeGnomes and are not a threat to move into fifth place.  The Thunderwolves also advanced while the Happy Hollidays lost minimal points to the Lannisters.

Next week’s top two matches are extremely close.  The Lannisters have a 56% chance to defeat the Armadillos, and the Legion are 59% favorites over the Possums.  The PhoeGnomes are the most favored team at 63%.  The Thunderwolves and Goofballs are essentially a toss-up at 51%/49%.

Possums, Lannisters Dominate; Thunderwolves and Goofballs Upset Favorites

With the season nearing the home stretch, every match-up is important.  Two of the league leaders, the Possums and Lannisters, took care of business in dominant fashion.  However, the Armadillos and Legion fell to unlikely upsets by the Goofball and Thunderwolves.

HP PhoeGnomes (9-8) vs.  RK Possums (9-6-2)

The most important match of the week was between the Possums and PhoeGnomes.  After a hot start, Heather has fallen to around 0.500.  The Possums have done the opposite, surging forward and dominating almost every team in the league over the last two cycles.  This match was critical for both teams’ chances to win the title.

The Possums answered the challenge with one of the best overall weeks for any team this season.  Rick easily had the best pitching in the league.  He led the league in ERA and WHIP, was tied for first in wins and saves, and was second in strikeouts.  Leading the way was Michael Fulmer.  He strike out 15 over 16.0 innings pitched, and allowed just two earned runs.  Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer were also strong, while Zach Britton recorded three saves.  Heather had difficult weeks from Luis Severino and Zach Davies.  She was unable to gain any real traction for the week on pitching, so Rick had a substantial advantage before factoring in offense.

Unfortunately for Heather, Rick dominated here as well.  The Possums led the league in home runs and OBP and were second in RBI and SLG.  Ten Possums’ players had home runs, including six from Charlie Blackmon.  His OBP and SLG were 0.615 and 1.417 respectively.  Even little-used players like Evan Gattis and Hernan Perez contributed power.  The PhoeGnomes didn’t have a chance to compete despite the most steals in the league and good OBP and SLG totals.  Once again, the Possums steam-rolled their opponent and I’m running out of superlatives to describe their hot streak.  Rick remains just 1.5 games behind the Lannisters.  Heather slides to 0.500 for the year and at 3.5 game behind, is like out of the main title hunt.  However, there is still time for her to rally and try to finish in the top three.

KK Thunderwolves (4-10-3) vs.  CP Legion (10-4-3)

The first upset of the week came from the Thunderwolves.  After a difficult series of games, Kyle was able to score a close win versus the Legion.  Kyle put on a dominant offensive performance that set him up for the victory.  Leading the way was Ryan Braun, who had four home runs and nine RBI.  The former Legion outfielder was joined by Jonathan Lucroy , Adrian Beltre, Nelson Cruz, Addison Russell and Wil Myers who all hit at least two home runs.  The display of power was a welcome surprise for the Thunderwolves, who led the league in RBI, were second in SLG, tied for second in home runs, and third in OBP.  The Legion could do little to counter other than take steals and challenge in OBP.  However, Kyle had a solid 4-1 lead before pitching.

Chris fared better here, but was unable to manage the win or draw.  Kyle suffered through nightmarish weeks from Zack Greinke and Jon Gray.  Chris easily won ERA and WHIP after these two implosions.  He also took strikeouts and threw 13 more innings pitched than Kyle.  However, the Thunderwolves tied for the league lead in saves thanks to Brandon Kintzler, Mark Melancon, and Tony Watson.  This left wins as the decisive category for the week.  Chris totaled four and needed to beat Kyle to earn the tie.  Unfortunately for Chris, neither Gerritt Cole or Kevin Gausman earned a victory on Saturday and Kyle escaped with a close win.  The loss is problematic for the Legion, who are now a game behind the league leaders.  The Thunderwolves are not at the top of the league, but the victory is a reminder that every team remains dangerous and competitive.

LK Armadillos (10-5-2) vs.  KG Capital City Goofballs (7-10)

The week’s second major upset came from the Goofballs.  After enduring multiple tough losses, Kevin was able to put it all together against the favored Armadillos.  Kevin dominated offensively, leading the league in OBP and SLG.  He tied for second in home runs and tired for third in RBI.  Eight Goofballs’ players had home runs, including four from Freddie Freeman.  Brian Dozier added three, and new acquisition Joc Pederson contributed two.  Larry had no offensive counters and lest his best player, Giancarlo Stanton, for the year.  The Armadillos put up a good steals total, but it was little help.

On pitching, Larry fared slightly better.  Steven Matz was dominant, striking out 17 in 13.1 innings pitched.  He allowed on two earned runs but did not record a win.  Needing to secure only a couple of categories, Kevin relied on slightly more innings pitched than Larry.  He led the league in strikeouts.  The two teams split wins and saves, and Kevin picked up WHIP.  Overall, it was a dominant win for the Goofballs, who continue to improve and show why they are a threat every week.  The Armadillos are now 1.5 game behind the leaders, and have several injured players.  They will need a more energetic performance in their next match-up.

JK Lannisters (11-5-1) vs.  CM Happy Hollidays (2-14-1)

The week’s final match paired the Lannisters with the Happy Hollidays.  The Lannisters are the only team to have never lost to the Hollidays, and this week was no exception.  Jeff enjoyed a solid week on both sides of the ball.  Corey Seager continued to show why he was a priority on draft day with another pair of home runs.  JD Martinez returned with a home run as well.  Jason Kipnis stayed red-hot with two steals and a home run.  Neil Walker had a good week for the Hollidays, but it wasn’t enough to earn a category win.

On pitching, the Hollidays suffered several melt-downs.  Adam Wainwright was a disaster, and Mike Leake struggled.  Jacob deGrom, Jose Quintana, and Felix Hernandez were excellent for the Lannisters, and helped secure the full five-category sweep.  The Lannisters are now back in first place by a game, and own the tie-breaker over the second-place Legion.  The Armadillos and Possums are just 1.5 game back, though.  The hunt for the title is likely a four-team race at this point, after the PhoeGnomes loss.

Next Week

The most important match of the week features the Lannisters and Armadillos.  Both teams are dealing with injuries and Larry needs a win to secure first place.  The Lannisters can’t win the tie-breaker over the Armadillos, so this match is critical.  The Possums and Legion also meet in an epic battle.  Both teams are in almost must-win situations, but there is still some hope for the loser.  Still, the team that wins will keep pace with the Lannisters and Armadillos.  The Thunderwolves and Goofballs meet in a battle that will not impact the standings.  However, both teams are hot and are looking for a victory.  Finally, the PhoeGnomes will try to get back over 0.500 and claw back into the race against the fading Hollidays.

Week 17 saw several lower-ranked teams gain ground.  The Legion took over first place after the Lannisters suffered a lost to he PhoeGnomes.The Goofballs and Thunderwolves also gained ground, while the Happy Hollidays sank further.

Week 18 sees the Lannisters, Legion, and Armadillos as heavy favorites.  The most important match of the week, between the PhoeGnomes and Possums, is essentially a toss-up.

Possums Lose Steam; Legion and PhoeGnomes Edge Closer; Goofballs Win

Several close match-ups brought the standings at the top of the league to a near-tie.  The Possums, Lannisters, and Armadillos couldn’t win, so the PhoeGnomes, Legion, and Goofballs gained ground.

HP PhoeGnomes (8-8) vs.  JK Lannisters (11-4-1)

The most important match of the week featured the PhoeGnomes and Lannisters.  Heather was essentially in a must-win situation.  A loss would have dropped the PhoeGnomes below 0.500 after entering the season as a favorite.  Fortunately for her, the offense responded with just enough firepower to secure the victory.  Leading the way was Miguel Sano with three home runs.  Heather had high expectations for Sano entering the year, but a decline in power has been worrisome.  Sano addressed these concerns with a big week.  Ten different PhoeGnomes had home runs for the week, including two from Yosmani Tomas and Nolan Arenado.  The Lannisters had a good offensive week two, especially from Jason Kipnis.  However, they were only able to win steals and tie in RBI.

Jeff started the week with good pitching, but experienced major meltdowns from Josh Tomlin and Carlos Estevez.  Heather struggled as well, but had slightly better production from her staff in the rate categories.  The injury to Wade Davis continues to plague the Lannisters, who lost saves by one.  Jeff won strikeouts and wins easily, but it wasn’t enough.  Heather managed a close victory that could have gone either way through Sunday.  The win keeps Heather’s hopes alive and also bolsters the contention of the Legion, Possums, and Armadillos.

CP Legion (9-4-3) vs.  LK Armadillos (10-4-2)

The second biggest benefactor of the PhoeGnomes win is the Legion.  After a close victory over the Armadillos, Chris P. is tied for first place.  Incredibly, Chris won the week despite not winning a single pitching category.  Neither the Armadillos nor the Legion had good pitching stats.  Both teams were near the bottom of the league in ERA and WHIP.  The Armadillos were marginally better in the rate stats, but Chris got two clutch wins for Jerad Eickhoff and Kyle Hendricks to tie the category.  The Armadillos picked up a win from Tanner Roark, but lost a close decision from Carlos Carrasco against the Yankees.  This gave Chris the single category tie he needed to win the week outright.

On offense, the Legion were solid.  They had the best OBP, second best SLG, and second best steals totals in the league.  Jake Lamb was the star for the week with three home runs.  Jonathan Villar contributed five steals, had an OBP of 0.613 and a SLG of 0.783.  Devon Travis and Miguel Cabrera were active as well.  The Armadillos couldn’t counter.  Ian Desmond was ice cold for the week.  Even players like Giancarlo Stantion, who hit two home runs, did little else.  He had just a 0.375 SLG.  Overall, Chris won all five categories and earned the close win.  The Armadillos had their chances, and could have won for the week if Billy Hamilton had been in the lineup Sunday.  His four steals would have turned the entire category and thus the final score.  Much like the Lannisters, who left Manny Machado on the bench with three home runs, the Armadillos are left to wonder what might have been.

RK Possums (9-6-1) vs.  KK Thunderwolves (4-10-2)

After a massive hot streak, Rick needed a victory to move closer to the league lead.  Unfortunately for the Possums, the Thunderwolves produced a hot week of their own.  Both teams were left with a disappointing draw.  The Thunderwolves had the league’s best pitching for the week.  They led the league in ERA and were second in strikeouts and WHIP.  Yu Darvish was excellent in his two starts, and Tyler Anderson and Gio Gonzalez were solid as well.  The Possums were okay on the mound, but starters like Masahiro Tanaka were inconsistent.  Ultimately, Rick was able to take both wins and saves, but Kyle seized the rate stats and strikeouts.

On offense, Rick continued his torrid pace.  He led the league in home runs and SLG and was second in steals and OBP.  Mike Napoli hit three home runs and Wilson Ramos added three of his own.  Ramos had a 1.053 SLG for the week, and even Rajai Davis added a homer of his own.  The Thunderwolves, however, were not going to be outdone by the Possums.  Ryan Braun and Jonathan Lucroy had three home runs each.  Brandon Phillips and Wil Myers each had two steals, giving Kyle the league lead.  Kyle was able to take both RBI and steals, but narrowly missed OBP and SLG.

The tied result is frustrating to the Possums, who gained only a half-game on the league leaders.  For the Thunderwolves, who had the second best offensive week and best pitching week, the loss is even more infuriating.  Kyle would have beaten every other team in the league.

CM Happy Hollidays (2-13-1) vs.  KG Capital City Goofballs (6-10)

The final match of the week paired the league’s two expansion teams.  Although both teams are largely playing for pride, the game represented a chance for the Goofballs to move closer to 0.500 and for the Hollidays to stay out of last place.  Kevin’s pitching was the standout effort from either team.  Chris Archer was strong, and Jake Odorizzi was spectacular in his one start.  The Goofball bullpen was especially effective.  Kevin’s relievers didn’t allow a run and recorded five saves.  The Holidays struggled.   Mike League was dreadful and Adam Wainwright suffered a bad two-start week.  However, Seung Hwan Oh recorded two saves.  This wasn’t enough, as Kevin swept all five categories.

On offense, both teams struggled.  However, the Hollidays took home runs with good weeks from Neil Walker and Jay Bruce.  Each had two home runs.  Four other Hollidays players had homers, and Chris M. easily took SLG.  The Goofballs were able to win both RBI and OBP.  They also took steals uncontested.  Ultimately, this was more than enough for the victory.  Kevin his now just a few games under 0.500 and firmly in the middle of the pack.  The Hollidays have more work to do, but this week was a valuable stepping stone.

Next Week

After weeks of brutal match-ups, the Lannisters hope they can catch a break against the Hollidays.  The Legion face the Thunderwolves.  Chris must be careful to avoid a loss, because although he is tied with the Lannisters, he can’t win the season tie-breaker.  He will need to win outright to take the title.  This means every win, loss, and tie is critical.  The Most interesting match of the week pairs the Possums and PhoeGnomes. The loser of this match will have a much tougher road to the title with only seven weeks left to play after this one.  Finally, the Goofballs play the Armadillos.  Kevin has given Larry trouble over the past two years and hopes to continue to be a spoiler.

After crossing over 1,600 for the first time this year, the Lannisters took a large step back after losing to the Possums.  However, Jeff’s loss was Rick’s gain as he is now above 1,500 and in fourth place

Even though they tied, Larry and Chris P. lost ground to their weaker opponents.  Finally, Kevin moved back ahead of Kyle after his defeat of the PhoeGnomes.

Next week, The Lannisters are the biggest favorites, but most other matches are close.  The Legion/Armadillos match is almost a 50/50 split.

The second week after the All-Star Break saw many strange results.  The league led fell to the hot Possums, but none of the other contenders were able to gain any ground.  Some teams had offensive problems and others failed with pitching.  The standings barely changed, and many teams are left confused about where they stand.

JK Lannisters (11-3-1) vs.  RK Possums (8-6-1)

The week’s big winner was the Possums.  Rick used a combination of power and effective pitching to earn a narrow 5-4-1 victory.  Rick easily led the league in home runs and SLG.  Khris Davis and Xander Bogaerts each has three homers.  The unknown Hernan Perez was signed as a free agent and hit two home runs and stole four bases.  However, other Possums were cold, like Ian Kinsler, who had a 0.192 OBP.  Jeff was able to take RBI and OBP thanks to big weeks from role players like Russell Martin and Brett Gardner.  This led to a 2-2-1 spilt for the teams.

On pitching, the Lannisters started the week well but had several implosions at the end.  Matt Shoemaker embarrassed himself over six innings.  Wade Davis suffered a meltdown and went on the DL.  Jonathan Papalbon allowed six base runners and three earned runs in 0.1 innings pitched for an 81.00 ERA.  Rick had better luck despite trouble from Masahiro Tanaka, A.J. Ramos, and Doug Fister.  The Possums were able to take three categories after the Lannisters’ ERA and WHIP ballooned over the weekend.  This was enough for a 5-4-1 win.  The Possums remained red-hot with the win.  They are now in fourth place and just two games behind the Lannisters with the tiebreaker.

LK Armadilos (10-4-1) vs.  KK Thunderwolves (4-10-1)

The Armadillos had a chance to move into first place with a win.  However, the Thunderwolves had other plans and eventually forced a tie that likely frustrated both teams.  Neither team performed well on offense.  The Armadillos had a sub-0.300 OBP.  The Thunderwolves barely broke 0.400 in SLG.  Rougned Odor was the only bright spot for the Armadillos.  He had three home runs and two steals.  Adrian Beltre and Mitch Moreland had two home runs each for Kyle, but Hanley Ramirez cooled off and had a 0.174 SLG.  The Armadillos took three categories.

On pitching, each team was a little better.  Both had ERAs near the league average, and their WHIPs were also good.  Kyle had more saves thanks to a huge week from Alex Colome.  Jeurys Familia had two saves for the Armadillos, but he also allowed four earned runs.  Carlos Martinez was a disaster, allowed six earned runs and eight walks in 12 innings pitched.  However, he picked up one win, and gave Larry the category.  Both teams had roughly the same number of innings, and Kyle was slightly more effective at striking out batters.  This gave the Thunderwolves the third category and a tie.  Both teams had chances to get the outright win, and the tie must be frustrating.

KG Capital City Goofballs (5-10) vs.  HP PhoeGnomes (8-7)

The Goofballs earned a massive 9-1 victory over the PhoeGnomes.  Heather’s squad had abysmal offensive numbers that doomed the team for the week.  The squad had the lowest home run, RBI, OBP, and SLG in the league.  Only one PhoeGnome with more than 10 at-bats had a SLG above  0.390.  or an OBP over 0.280.  The Goofballs deployed a much better offensive core and led the league in steals.  They also had great weeks from Brian Dozier, whose SLG topped 1.075.  Kevin earned a five-category sweep before pitching.

Heather fared better here.  She had 11.1 more innings pitched than Kevin, and this translated to her only category win in strikeouts.  However, several PhoeGnome starters struggled, including Steven Wright and Jimmy Nelson.  Kevin took advange and had the lowest WHIP and ERA in the league.  He also took the other counting stats and cruised to a massive 9-1 win.  Heather lost a good opportunity to move up with a Lannister loss.

CM Happy Hollidays (2-13-0) vs.  CP Legion (9-4-2)

The Legion were also frustrated in their attempts to gain ground.  The Happy Hollidays posted the second best home run and SLG totals in the league.  Jay Bruce had four homers and seven RBI.  The Legion used a small base of players and had their own set of four homers from Miguel Cabrera.  Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to win any category.  Chris P. did win steals, but it was his only offensive category and gave him a challenge on the pitching side.

The Legion’s bullpen put together a good saves total, led by Roberto Osuna. The Legin’s starers were okay, but no one on the team picked up any wins.  The Hollidays had fewer innings thrown than the Legion, so Chris P. also took strikeouts.  Meanwhile, the Hollidays’ starters imploded.  Francisco Liriano allowed 11 earned runs in 8.1 innings pitched.  Mike Leake was alsmost as bad, giving up six with a 10.80 ERA.  The Hollidays had the worst ERA and WHIP in th e league by a wide margin.  This gave Chris the four categories he neede to earn the tie.  Instead the two teams suffered through a draw and neither gained ground on the leaders.

Next Week

Next week, more important battles take place.  The PhoeGnomes have another shot at the Lannisters, and need a win to get back in the hunt.  The Possums will try to continue to roll against the Thunderwolves.  The Happy Hollidays and Goofballs meet in a battle of expansion clubs.  Finally, the Legion and Armadillos renew their bitter feud.  Both teams really need a win here to keep pace.

Lannisters Gain Separation; Possums Thunder; Legion and Thunderwolves Win

RK Possums (7-6-1) vs.  LK Armadillos (10-4-1)

The Possums continued their hot streak against the Armadillos.  Rick brought a dominant attack on both sides of the ball this week.  The Possums’ staff had the most strikeouts in the league by a wide margin.  They also had the most saves, a WHIP under 1.00 and the second best ERA.  Masahiro Tanaka was the star of the week.  He allowed a single earned run in two starts and struck out 11.  Justin Verlander added 19 strikeouts of his own.  Five Possums’ pitchers reached double-digits.  Larry countered with several good starters of his own.  The players had two wins for the week, but a difficult week for Kenta Maeda gave Rick four categories to Larry’s one.

On offense, the Possums dominated as well.  They led the league in home runs and were second in RBI, OBP, and SLG.  Ian Kinsler and Mike Napoli hit four home runs each.  Joey Votto had eight RBI and 11 walks.  The Possums had 100 total hits for the week.  In contrast, Larry had 76 and good weeks from Edwin Encarnacion and Daniel Murphy.  The Armadillos deployed 21 players for the week, but failed to gain any real traction.  Rick took a dominant victory over one of the league’s better teams.  He now sits in fourth place, and faces the league-leading Lannisters next week.

HP PhoeGnomes (8-6) vs.  CP Legion (8-4-2)

The closest and most important match of the week featured the Legion and PhoeGnomes.  Heather needed a win to stay with the leaders while Chris was similarly motivated.  With the Armadillos losing, both teams had a chance to make up ground.  Chris had the best SLG in the league but Heather piled on steals thanks to Eduardo Nunez and three other players with two steals each.  Chris had a nice power week from Michael Saunders and Christian Yelich.  Tyler Naquin tried to keep Heather afloat with three home runs in limited playing time.  However, it wasn’t enough to stop Chris from taking four categories. 

Heather was more successful on pitching.   She led the league in ERA and WHIP.  She had good quantity numbers too, and took saves.  Chris had more strikeouts and wins, though.  This gave him a narrow 6-4 win for the week.  Heather had three starters not allow an earned run in their starts for the week but none received a victory.  Just one category would have swung the week to a tie, and the gap in wins and OBP were low enough that the score was tied for most of the long week.  The PhoeGnomes suffered a tough loss, but the Legion are not back closer to first place after the Armadillos’ loss.

KK Thunderwolves (3-10-1) vs.  CM Happy Hollidays (2-12)

The Thunderwolves relied on a huge week from Hanley Ramirez to top the Happy Hollidays.  Kyle got five home runs and 12 RBI from his oft-injured star.  Albert Pujols, Jonathan Lucroy and Adrian Beltre also added two home runs each.  Kyle took RBI, steals, OBP, and SLG.  However, Chris M. was able to earn a surprise win in home runs.  Matt Kemp outdid Hanley with six home runs.  Stephen Piscotty and Jay Bruce had 10 RBI each.  Chris was just short in RBI and lagged enough in the rate stats to have two narrow misses.  However, the improved power should be a welcome sign for the team.

On pitching, Kyle relied on quantity.  He threw 22.1 more innings pitched than Chris.  He was less effective and lost both rate stats, but picked up enough wins and saves to get the overall victory.  Jose Fernandez and Chris Tillman were great for the Thunderwolves, but their work was undone by a nightmare week from Martin Perez.  Yu Darvish had 20 strikeouts in 10.1 innings pitched.  This is an excellent sign for one of Kyle’s long term investments.  Chris had great weeks from Francisco Liriano and Adam Wainwright, but it wasn’t enough.  The Hollidays had to settle for a tough loss, and the Thunderwolves can celebrate a victory for the week.

JK Lannisters (10-3-1) vs.  KG Capital City Goofballs (5-9)

Neither the Lannisters nor the Goofballs were impressive in Week 15, but Jeff earned a victory by virtue of slightly better pitching stats.  Both teams started almost the maximum number of games possible.  Jeff finished second in the league in strikeouts and near the top in wins.  His ERA and WHIP were undone by horrific starts from Jon Lester and the previously-unbeaten Stephen Strasburg.  However, six of the seven Lannister starters had double-digit strikeouts and earned a clear give category sweep for the league leaders.

On offense, Trevor Story reemerged to torment the Lannisters further.  He had six home runs, 12 RBI, and two steals.  He was the best offensive player of the week by a wide margin.  Kevin was able to take the category, but neither squad had good OBP or SLG.  Jayson Werth was particularly bad, with just one hit in 13 at bats.  Ryan Raburn was worse, going hitless in 12.  However, the worst of the worst was Brandon Belt, who managed just one hit in 28 at-bats.  His 0.036 SLG is one of the worst I’ve ever seen for a week.  The Lannisters weren’t much better. Derek Norris slugged 0.083 and Bryce Harper was powerless.  One bright spot was Kris Bryant, who had three steals.  The split decision for most offensive stats gave Jeff a comfortable win for the week, and he is now in first place by himself.

Next Week

Next week’s key battle is between the Possums and Lannisters.  Rick has given Jeff trouble over the years, and his hot streak is now enough to be considered a trend and not a random improvement.  His good in-season moves have rebuilt the team.  However, the Lannisters are coming off two wins by a combined 18-2 and seem to be on a mission to establish themselves as the title favorites.  If Rick can win this week he will help everyone below the Lannisters and move himself closer to contention.  Jeff will try everything he can to pull out the victory, especially since the other leaders are playing weaker teams.  The Legion and PhoeGnomes face the Happy Hollidays and Goofballs respectively.  Both expansion teams face a tough test.  The Armadillos need to rebound against the Thunderwolves, who are coming off a victory.

Week 14 saw several shifts in the Elo rating board.  With a win over the Legoin, Jeff moved into first place, and is close to the 1,600 mark.  Larry also moved up by 5.5 points and slides ahead of Chris in second place.  However, the Legion remain the only other team above 1,500.  Kevin and Kyle saw significant gains, while Rick lost a lot of points and is further below 1,500.

Next week brings a mixed bag of games.  The Lannisters are heavy favorites versus the Goofballs.  The Armadillos and Legion are also above 60% in their matches with Rick and Heather.

The league’s bottom two teams have a great chance to gain some points in an even match-up.   Kyle is the favorite, but it’s just 55%/45%.  This is the closest match of the week.

Leaders Gain Separation; Possums Finally Cool; Thunderwolves Rebound

CP Legion (8-3-2) vs.  JK Lannisters (9-3-1)

The Legion and Lannisters have battled for several years.  Chris has been at or near the top of the league for years, but the Lannisters have foiled his championship ambitions in two of the last three seasons.  The two teams dominate the Elo ratings, and usually fight closely-contested matches.  Unfortunately for the Legion, nothing seemed to go right while the Lannisters delivered an all-around performance.

The Lannisters had an excellent offensive week.  Four players hit two home runs (Kris Bryant, Bryce Harper, Robinson Cano, and Buster Posey).  Mookie Betts slugged 0.640 with two steals.  Jason Kipnis added a home run in light duty (and had two more on the bench for the week).  Jeff led the league in OBP and tied for the lead in steals.  He was second in home runs and SLG.  Chris had okay numbers, but they were not enough to compete with the Lannsiters’ performances.  Christian Yelich and Michael Saunders had five RBI each, but not player had more than one home run.  Despite Jonathan Villar’s three steals, the Legion failed to add many more.  This led to a devastating 5-0 sweep for the Lannisters.

Hope for the Legion on the pitching side faded quickly.  Julio Urias, Jerad Eickhoff and Danny Salazar had dreadful weeks, and spoiled excellent starts from Drew Pomeranz and Kyle Hendricks.  New addition Roberto Osuna had a couple of saves.  However, Jeff countered with a strong return for Jonathan Papelbon (three saves) and Dallas Keuchel (13.0 innings pitched, 2.08 ERA).  John Lackey and Jon Lester were terrible for the Lannisters, but it wasn’t enough for any rate stats to slip below Chris’s numbers.  The Lannisters recorded another 5-0 sweep and scored a shocking 10-0 win for the week.

The victory avenges a first week tie for the Lannisters and puts the league on notice that they are capable of dominating even the best teams.  However, the Legion shouldn’t feel overly concerned about the loss.  Their offense was mediocre and the pitching staff had an unusual number of meltdowns that probably won’t repeat.  However, Chris has only one more meeting with the Lannisters this year, and can only achieve a tie for the season series.  This has implications for tie-breakers at the end of the year.

CM Happy Hollidays (2-11) vs.  LK Armadillos (9-3-1)

The Armadillos did their best to keep pace with the Legion.  In fact, they had the better statistical week.  However, the Happy Hollidays were able to swing a couple of categories and avoid a rout.  Larry led the league in home runs, RBI, and SLG.  He tied for first in steals and was second in OBP.  Leading the way was Giancarlo Stanton with five home runs and 10 RBI.  Mark Trumbo added three home runs, and Starling Marte had six steals.  This alone could have carried the week but six other Armadillos had home runs and only two regulars slugged below 0.400.  Aledmys Diaz had a good week for the Hollidays, but it was far too little to overcome the Armadillos’ intimidating totals.  The return of Stanton to superstar form should scare the rest of the league.  Larry has managed a tie for first with almost no production from his second-best player.  If Stanton adds more fuel to the Armadillos’ offense, teams will need even more help on pitching to beat him.

The Hollidays were better on pitching, but it wasn’t enough to force the tie.  Mike Leake, Aaron Sanchez, and Adam Wainwright had great starts, but they were undone by a terrible Cole Hamels outing.  Still, the good starts were enough to give Chris M. two rate categories and avoid a sweep.  Larry countered quality with quantity, and easily won strikeouts, wins, and saves.  The overall result of the week was never in doubt.

The Lannisters and Armadillos are still tied for first, but their victories opened some room between them and the rest of the league.  The Legion are the closest competitor at 1.5 games back.  Heather is 2.5 back, and Rick is 3.0 behind.

KG Capital City Goofballs (4-9) vs.  RK Possums (7-5-1)

Rick could have been tied with Heather for fourth place but his team final went cold against a desperate Goofballs squad.  Rick seemed to be in line for a win, thanks to excellent pitching.  Rick led the league in ERA, and was far below any other team.  Masahiro Tanaka and Max Scherzer were dominant in their four combined starts, striking out 27 in 25.1 IP.  However, other players like Scott Kazmir and Corey Kluber were more erratic, and Rick’s WHIP suffered.  Kevin took advantage.  He threw the same number of innings as Rick but had more control (winning WHIP) and higher strikeout totals.  David Price was especially good, and he likely turned the WHIP category on Sunday.  However, Rick had more wins and saves.  This gave the Possums a 3-2 before considering hitting.

Kevin countered with an excellent offensive week.  Maikel Franco led the way with four home runs.  Trevor Story added two, and Yasmani Grandal contributed seven RBI (as did Story and Franco).  The Goofball’s numbers were on par with the Lannisters.  Meanwhile, Rick’s sluggers went total cold.  Josh Donaldson had three home runs, but no other Possums regular had a SLG over 0.500 (unless you count Adam Jones’ part time play).  Wilson Ramos and Adam Duvall were especially bad, combining for seven hits over 40 at-bats.  Kevin took every category except for steals, and earned a narrow 6-4 win.  Kevin was due for better luck, and Rick was so hot that a comedown was to be expected at some point.  The question now becomes whether or not the Goofballs can build on the win.  Kevin is below 0.500, but his team has played better than the results would indicate.  Rick must also mount a comeback, and prove that his team has sustainable production.

HP PhoeGnomes (8-5) vs.  KK Thunderwolves (2-10-1)

The week’s biggest upset saw the Thunderwolves slip past the PhoeGnomes.  Each team dominated a couple of categories, but most were in play up until the end.  The categories with the biggest margins were on the pitching side.  Kyle easily won ERA after good weeks from Jake Peavy and Tyler Anderson.  However, disastrous outings from Martin Perez, Michael Wacha, and Colin Rea inflated the Thunderwolves’ WHIP.  Heather took advantage with a great week from Madison Bumgarner that included a clutch 14-strikeout win on Sunday.  However, Kyle was able to tie wins overall and took saves.  This left the teams tied 2-2-1 before looking at hitting.

Neither team had a great offensive week compared to the rest of the league.  However, neither team struggled, either.  Kyle won OBP by a healthy margin, but Heather took steals thanks to Eduardo Nunez.  Nunez also contributed a home run and six RBI.  Kyle countered with a great week from Addison Russell and a surprising power surge from Elvis Andrus.  A strong day of RBIs on Sunday gave Kyle the category and the win.  Heather left a home run (and thus a tie for the week) on her bench in the forms of Andrew McCutchen, Tyler Naquin, and Adrian Gonzalez.  If Heather had started both McCutchen and Naquin, she would have won the week by flipping RBI and tying HR.  However, it was Kyle who made the most of his late-week opportunities and earned a close victory.  The loss drops Heather farther behind both the Armadillos and Lannisters.  The win brings Kyle further from the bottom and offers some hope for continued improvement.

Next Week

The third cycle of the season begins with the long All-Star break week.  The Lannisters meet the Goofballs.  The Armadillos must contend with the Possums, who want to prove they are a legitimate title threat.  The road doesn’t get any easier for the PhoeGnomes, who face the Legion.  Chris P. is desperate for a win.  Finally, the Hollidays and Thunderwolves meet in a battle of teams near the bottom.  Kyle can further distance himself while Chris M. will try to claw out of last place.