By: Da Commish and Smokin’ Joe Chasek
Week 20 . . . it’s almost
the end of the regular season, and this week was just as action-packed as
ever. The playoff picture is coming into
focus, with 8 teams’ fates sealed, so we’ll soon know who’s in line to take
home the coveted Golden Ball and who is just happy to be getting Mike Trout
next year. But before we get to the week
20 action, a quick recap of what happened in week 19:
|
TEAM
|
BATTERS
|
PITCHERS
|
TOTAL
|
|||||||||||||
|
NAME
|
R
|
HR
|
RBI
|
SB
|
OBP
|
SLG
|
IP
|
QS
|
SV
|
ERA
|
WHIP
|
K/9
|
SCORE
|
|||
|
44
|
8
|
33
|
12
|
.2905
|
.3567
|
54.1
|
5
|
5
|
2.650
|
0.865
|
9.110
|
9-3-0
|
||||
|
23
|
4
|
41
|
7
|
.2981
|
.3765
|
45.2
|
4
|
4
|
3.547
|
1.314
|
6.898
|
3-9-0
|
||||
 |
| Much like Expendables 3, this game turned out exactly as everybody expected, and nobody really cared. |
This matchup pretty much
went chalk, as Team Dos Equis continued their roll through the regular season,
losing only RBI, OBP and SLG (pretty much the team’s bugaboos all season). 12 SB, 8 HR, a 2.650 ERA, and a 9+ K/9
ratio are going to be tough to beat for any opponent. If The Most Interesting
Team™ can keep this kind of roll going, they’re going to steam-roll their way
to the title.
MVP: As if Joe’s
late-season acquisitions weren’t daunting enough, Justin Upton’s rebound in the
late season just adds fuel to the fire. 2 HR, 8/22, 8RBI
|
TEAM
|
BATTERS
|
PITCHERS
|
TOTAL
|
|||||||||||||
|
NAME
|
R
|
HR
|
RBI
|
SB
|
OBP
|
SLG
|
IP
|
QS
|
SV
|
ERA
|
WHIP
|
K/9
|
SCORE
|
|||
|
39
|
12
|
43
|
5
|
.3156
|
.4276
|
52.0
|
5
|
7
|
2.769
|
1.019
|
9.346
|
12-0-0
|
||||
|
33
|
5
|
30
|
3
|
.3148
|
.3673
|
40.2
|
1
|
4
|
5.533
|
1.598
|
8.189
|
0-12-0
|
||||
 |
| Official announcing team for the Empire, as of Week 19. |
So, in a feat that has rarely been performed prior to this
week, the Evil Empire actually found a way to lose so badly that it actually
knocked a DIFFERENT team out of the playoffs. The Wahoos became the first team other than Bowling Overhand to sweep
every category (in the 6x6 setup, anyway), by squeaking out wins in steals and
OBP As tends to be the case with 12-0 matches, there’s really not a
whole lot to say about it. The Wahoos were dominant on both sides of the ball,
and the Empire could frankly not get anything going. The men from Cleveland
have a hell of a lot of momentum built up at this point, and with the DLA now
supplanted from the fourth playoff spot, will look to keep it going to avoid
giving it back.
MVP: A big part of the win came from a surprising resurgence
by Adam LaRoche, who posted a .480 OBP with 2 homers and 6 RBIs
LVP: There’s a lot of possibilities, including the whole Empire
pitching staff, but Matt Holiday’s .273 SLG week with 1 RBI and no homers highlights his season of
futility.
|
TEAM
|
BATTERS
|
PITCHERS
|
TOTAL
|
|||||||||||||
|
NAME
|
R
|
HR
|
RBI
|
SB
|
OBP
|
SLG
|
IP
|
QS
|
SV
|
ERA
|
WHIP
|
K/9
|
SCORE
|
|||
|
44
|
9
|
36
|
8
|
.3455
|
.4299
|
91.2
|
12
|
0
|
3.535
|
1.211
|
6.873
|
6-5-1
|
||||
|
40
|
5
|
36
|
9
|
.3241
|
.3759
|
76.2
|
8
|
4
|
2.465
|
1.083
|
7.865
|
5-6-1
|
||||
 |
| Artist's representation of DLA's August. |
It’s been a rough couple of weeks for the DLA. Danger Zone tightened their grip on the 3-seed
with a victory over the All-Stars, a win which also gave them the satisfaction
of dealing the playoff hopes of the two-time defending champs a serious blow. With Troy Tulowitzki and Hanley Ramirez
hitting the DL (we should have known the team’s earlier health was an illusion)
things are trending in the wrong direction steadily for the past month. This
match-up of playoff hopefuls is just a continuation of that trend. Their
offense kept pace with a rebounding Danger Zone lineup that has seen good
progress recently, and fell victim to the high volume pitching attack that has
carried Kenny Loggins’ favorite team through to the third position in the
league. Next week’s match-up with the Wahoos will be critical if Pat’s going to
have a chance to defend his title. Unless things start to change, and change
soon, Ric Flair will be warming up for Pat’s swan-song shortly.
MVP: Joe Mauer and David Ortiz, despite the grim situations
on their real life teams, put together some fine performances with 4 HRs
between them. This did a good job of buoying the team’s offense despite Mike
Trout’s bizarrely awful week.
LVP: The formula for beating the Danger Zone is to win the
pitching ratios, saves, and enough offensive categories to get to 7. Pat’s team
had a chance, but Ian Kinsler’s 3/25 .125SLG week didn’t exactly help out.
|
TEAM
|
BATTERS
|
PITCHERS
|
TOTAL
|
|||||||||||||
|
NAME
|
R
|
HR
|
RBI
|
SB
|
OBP
|
SLG
|
IP
|
QS
|
SV
|
ERA
|
WHIP
|
K/9
|
SCORE
|
|||
|
46
|
12
|
40
|
6
|
.3068
|
.4104
|
47.1
|
4
|
5
|
3.423
|
1.225
|
8.366
|
5-6-1
|
||||
|
53
|
12
|
51
|
0
|
.3807
|
.4951
|
56.2
|
7
|
4
|
4.606
|
1.482
|
7.624
|
6-5-1
|
||||
 |
| If No Idea wins the consolation ladder, this guy's gonna have a lot to do with it. |
Yakety Sax, meanwhile, is still looking strong but is
starting to show some holes. A number of players are on or heading to the DL
for the season, and it’s beginning to show with the struggles of their pitching
stats. Yakety Sax cemented the 2 seed with the victory, preparing for their
first-ever postseason trip. Meanwhile, the Wahoos’ surge also damaged the
playoff chances of two other teams. The
first was No Idea, who suffered a close loss to the AL-leading Sackers. The Sackers were buoyed by strong
offensive performances (though No Idea’s potent lineup nearly kept up with
them,) but Rob’s crew is trending in the wrong direction right now. He’s going
to need to borrow the Danger Zone book of streamers or hope that his starters
get their act together soon, with the playoffs right around the corner.
MVP: Corey Dickerson .400 OBP .857 SLG, 3HR. Several hitters
had strong weeks for the Sackers, but Dickerson’s week was one of the best
around the league.
LVP: Normally I don’t pick one from the winning team, but
Marcus Stroman’s 67.5 ERA 5 ER .2 IP performance really deserves highlighting.
|
TEAM
|
BATTERS
|
PITCHERS
|
TOTAL
|
|||||||||||||
|
NAME
|
R
|
HR
|
RBI
|
SB
|
OBP
|
SLG
|
IP
|
QS
|
SV
|
ERA
|
WHIP
|
K/9
|
SCORE
|
|||
|
39
|
9
|
36
|
4
|
.3643
|
.4648
|
47.0
|
4
|
6
|
3.638
|
1.447
|
8.617
|
8-2-2
|
||||
|
37
|
5
|
22
|
7
|
.2965
|
.3670
|
42.0
|
4
|
6
|
3.643
|
1.333
|
7.714
|
2-8-2
|
||||
 |
| It's pronounced...ah, you know the joke by now. |
The Demons also found
themselves losing ground in the playoff race, even in victory, as the Wahoos’
sweep added 3 games to the dead men’s deficit.
A week 20 matchup with the Evil Empire looked to be the Demons’ last
desperate chance. On the other side of
the ledger, the Vizquels’ rough season mercifully drew nearer to its end.
MVP: Alex Gordon’s been on a real tear, leading the Royals
to take the number one slot in their division and putting together some great
numbers for DVD as well. 9/24 with 7 Rs will do a lot to improve your bottom
line.
LVP: Tim Hudson 11.25 ERA, 4 IP, 2.75 WHIP.
With that taken care of,
on to Week 20!
|
TEAM
|
BATTERS
|
PITCHERS
|
TOTAL
|
|||||||||||||
|
NAME
|
R
|
HR
|
RBI
|
SB
|
OBP
|
SLG
|
IP
|
QS
|
SV
|
ERA
|
WHIP
|
K/9
|
SCORE
|
|||
|
37
|
4
|
41
|
6
|
.3535
|
.3863
|
49.2
|
5
|
5
|
0.362
|
0.765
|
7.430
|
11-1-0
|
||||
|
29
|
9
|
25
|
3
|
.2742
|
.3407
|
40.1
|
2
|
3
|
3.793
|
1.636
|
5.355
|
1-11-0
|
||||
The Evil Empire finally gives in to its anger.
What a
difference a week can make. In week 19,
the Empire was on the wrong end of a Wahoo sweep, while the Demons came close
to a sweep of their own. Whether it was
overconfidence on the part of the men from Death Valley, Dark Side rage on the
side of the Empire, or a combination of the two, this was a complete turnaround
for both teams. In fact, a power outage
on the part of the Empire was the only thing that kept them from being the
first team in league history to rebound from being shut out with a sweep of
their own. The loss almost certainly
eliminates the Demons from playoff contention, as they find themselves 11 games
out of 4th place. In the
meantime, while the Empire will miss the playoffs for the first time in league
history, they at least get one moment of glory late in the season, setting a
mark for the ages with a 0.362 weekly ERA.
MVP: Brandon
McCarthy (1 GS, 9 IP, 4 H, .44 WHIP, 1 QS, 0.00 ERA, 8.00 K/9). The Brandon McCarthy Back From the Dead tour
continued, as the unlikeliest of Yankee aces spun a gem, making him the poster
boy for the Empire’s domination.
LVP: David Wright (.167 OBP, .130 SLG, 2 R, 0 HR,
0 RBI) and Josh Donaldson (.143 OBP, .077 SLG, 0 R, 0 HR, 0 RBI). Third base turned out to be a pit of despair
for the Demons this week, as their two all-star hot cornermen produced matching
stinkbombs.
|
TEAM
|
BATTERS
|
PITCHERS
|
TOTAL
|
|||||||||||||
|
NAME
|
R
|
HR
|
RBI
|
SB
|
OBP
|
SLG
|
IP
|
QS
|
SV
|
ERA
|
WHIP
|
K/9
|
SCORE
|
|||
|
46
|
8
|
41
|
5
|
.3599
|
.4645
|
46.2
|
4
|
2
|
2.507
|
1.114
|
8.100
|
7-4-1
|
||||
|
38
|
4
|
40
|
8
|
.3314
|
.3821
|
53.1
|
4
|
6
|
3.206
|
1.238
|
8.269
|
4-7-1
|
||||
.JPG)
Too
bad none of the guys he’s celebrating with are his teammates on the Vizquels
The other team fighting desperately to remain in the
playoff hunt had a similar result, as the Fightin’ Vizquels pulled out a
victory against Team No Idea. The
Vizquels, who have struggled mightily on offense for the majority of the
season, exploded, taking five of the six offensive categories. A split in the pitching categories sealed No
Idea’s fate for the week, and possibly for the season as well, as Nicole’s team
now sits 10 games out with 12 to play.
MVP: Trevor Plouffe (.387 OBP, .733 SLG, 6 R, 2 HR, 10
RBI) and Nolan Arenado (.600 OBP, 1.045 SLG, 6 R, 2 HR, 3 RBI). The perfect symbols of the Fightins’ offensive
surge, the third base duo of Plouffe and Arenado tied No Idea’s homer total for
the week, and seemingly smashed an extra base hit every hour or so.
LVP: Chris Davis (.130 OBP, .136 SLG, 1 R, 2 RBI). Another disappointing week for the first
round pick. Even a below average week
from Davis last season would almost certainly have netted No Idea a victory in
RBI, and many of Davis’ other weeks might have swung even HR or SLG. Proof positive that fantasy baseball is a
what have you done for me lately game.
|
TEAM
|
BATTERS
|
PITCHERS
|
TOTAL
|
|||||||||||||
|
NAME
|
R
|
HR
|
RBI
|
SB
|
OBP
|
SLG
|
IP
|
QS
|
SV
|
ERA
|
WHIP
|
K/9
|
SCORE
|
|||
|
38
|
6
|
39
|
7
|
.3367
|
.4154
|
40.1
|
3
|
4
|
5.132
|
1.364
|
8.033
|
2-10-0
|
||||
|
42
|
10
|
43
|
8
|
.3434
|
.4211
|
68.0
|
7
|
0
|
3.838
|
1.456
|
8.206
|
10-2-0
|
||||
Oswaldo
Arcia welcomes Danny Santana to the Danger Zone
The matchup this week that stayed closest to the script
took place between the Royal Rooters and Danger Zone. Just as expected, the sabermetric fighter
pilots dominated the final tally, actually ending the matchup with the league’s
second best record. Unfortunately, due
to the divisional setup, the best Danger Zone can do is to be the #3 seed in
the postseason. To their credit, the
Rooters managed to make a number of categories close, and with a fully active
roster, they might actually have taken enough categories to win as many as
eight categories. Danger Zone moves next
to a meaningless matchup with Yakety Sax, while the Rooters get a chance to
play spoiler to the Wahoos.
MVP: Danny Santana (.410 OBP, .622 SLG, 7 R, 1 HR, 6 RBI,
1 SB). The Twins’ rookie sensation
fueled Danger Zone’s offensive dominance, contributing across the board.
LVP: Koji Uehara (2 G, 1.2 IP, 32.40 ERA, 4.80 WHIP, 10.80
K/9, 0 SV, 2 L). While Uehara has been
one of the few bright spots in a dreary season for both the Red Sox and the
Rooters, this was about as poor a performance as we’ve had from a closer all
season.
|
TEAM
|
BATTERS
|
PITCHERS
|
TOTAL
|
|||||||||||||
|
NAME
|
R
|
HR
|
RBI
|
SB
|
OBP
|
SLG
|
IP
|
QS
|
SV
|
ERA
|
WHIP
|
K/9
|
SCORE
|
|||
|
46
|
15
|
53
|
2
|
.3611
|
.4789
|
71.0
|
6
|
3
|
3.676
|
1.127
|
8.366
|
5-7-0
|
||||
|
51
|
16
|
56
|
4
|
.3499
|
.5242
|
72.1
|
5
|
4
|
4.479
|
1.147
|
8.088
|
7-5-0
|
||||
It’s
like watching hamsters run in a wheel, only more exciting.
The other matchup that played out roughly like one might
expect was between Bowling Overhand and Yakety Sax. The Most Interesting Team in the Liquid
Courage League jumped out to a hot start offensively while struggling some in
the pitching stats, while the reverse was true for the Sackers. As the week progressed, most of the
categories got closer and closer, with the final tally coming out barely in the
favor of Bowling Overhand. Both teams
move on to meaningless tune-ups for the postseason in the final week of the
regular season.
MVP: Lucas Duda (.385 OBP, 1.000 SLG, 7 R, 5 HR, 11
RBI). A number of players could have won
the MVP in this one, but Duda produced one of the more impressive stat lines of
the season in terms of counting stats, even in a losing effort.
LVP: Jose Bautista (.158 OBP, .333 SLG, 1 R, 1 HR, 3
RBI). In a matchup where his contributions
were sorely needed, Bautista came up largely empty, possibly costing the
Sackers a confidence-boosting win against the top seed.
|
TEAM
|
BATTERS
|
PITCHERS
|
TOTAL
|
|||||||||||||
|
NAME
|
R
|
HR
|
RBI
|
SB
|
OBP
|
SLG
|
IP
|
QS
|
SV
|
ERA
|
WHIP
|
K/9
|
SCORE
|
|||
|
57
|
13
|
50
|
5
|
.3830
|
.5168
|
69.2
|
7
|
2
|
2.713
|
1.306
|
7.234
|
9-3-0
|
||||
|
49
|
8
|
39
|
10
|
.3323
|
.4181
|
66.0
|
4
|
8
|
3.818
|
1.364
|
9.000
|
3-9-0
|
||||
The week’s most important matchup was arguably also its
best, as the battle for the final playoff spot took center stage. A week after passing the All Stars for 4th
place, the Wahoos met up with the two-time defending champs, and the ensuing
fireworks lived up to expectations. The
Original Sixers traded categories and the lead all week long, with the All
Stars using a strong weekend and some rare streaming to pull away. Now that the week is in the books, the Wahoos
find themselves on the outside looking in, 2 games out of the final playoff spot. The DL All Stars meet up with the Deathvalley
Demons, while the Cleveland Wahoos meet the Royal Rooters.
MVP: Marcell Ozuna (.480 OBP, .957 SLG, 8 R, 3 HR, 8
RBI). A performance much on the same
level as Lucas Duda’s, Ozuna leads another pack of impressive showings.
LVP: Max Scherzer (2 GS, 12
IP, 0 QS, 5.25 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 9.75 K/9) and Johnny Cueto (1 GS, 5 IP, 0 QS,
7.20 ERA, 2.20 WHIP, 7.20 K/9). Two of
the more impressive pitchers in the bigs this season, these two all-stars let
the Wahoos down by failing to record a single quality start, logging fewer
innings than would be expected and hurting their ERA and WHIP.
Playoff Picture
Update:
As things stand now, here
are the playoff scenarios:
1 seed – Bowling Overhand
(NL champ)
2 seed – Yakety Sax (AL
champ)
3 seed – Danger Zone
4 seed – DL All Stars
# 5 – Cleveland Wahoos – 2
games back
# 6 – No Idea – 10 games
back
# 7 – Deathvalley Demons –
11 games back
Eliminated – Fightin’
Vizquels, Evil Empire, Royal Rooters
DL All Stars clinch the
final spot by winning at least 10 categories or by winning 2 more categories than Wahoos own tiebreakers over
Wahoos and No Idea, tiebreaker with Demons to be decided.
Cleveland Wahoos clinch the
final spot by winning 3 more categories than DL All Stars, lose tiebreakers
with DL and No Idea, own tiebreaker over Demons.
No Idea clinches the final
spot by winning 11 more categories than DL All Stars and winning 8 more categories than Wahoos, loses tiebreaker with
DL, owns tiebreakers over Wahoos and Demons.
Demons clinch the final spot
by winning at least 11 categories and
winning 10 more categories than Wahoos and
winning 2 more categories than No Idea, loses tiebreakers with Wahoos and No
Idea, tiebreaker with DL to be decided.
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