CHAMPIONSHIP WEEK

And down the stretch we come. Once again, it is proven that just because you are the #1 seed and roll absolutely everyone during the regular season, it doesn't mean the playoffs are a cakewalk. The Tallcorn Cobras finish in the top slot for the second season in a row, and the Tallcorn Cobras get knocked out in the semi's for the second season in a row. That's a tough one to swallow!

The Counselor gets his shot at the title (at the #5 seed to boot) as he'll take on Rocky Mike and The Rockpile. I'm looking forward to this one. Early word out of Vegas has Rocky Mike giving 2.5 categories. Let's see if the Sluggers of Salt Creek can rise to the occasion.

The plaque for the alternates may be down in the ladies room, but make no mistake, T-Dub and The Ger are more than willing to stake it's claim. T-Dub is trying desperetly to salvage his dignity (and get a few extra dollars) while The Ger wants to prove his SwinGERS are a force to be reckoned with. The handicappers have this one going handily to the Cobras, but then again, they were heavily favored against the Sluggers.

The fight for 7th place. Love this game, the best of the worst. The Napolean Complex Series. Both teams still contending they belonged in the upper bracket playoffs, yet they're breathing the same air as teams with .300 winning percentages. The Daddy's won the league last year, this year he's playing for 7th place. I mean, does it get any more Lindsay Lohan than this? He's like Mickey Abbot on Seinfeld...he was standing in for Punky Brewster when y'all were nothin! Nevertheless, Sin City is touting the Daddy's in this one. It'll be interesting to see if Mental Ed can pull this one out.

Finally, the 9th place game featuring yours truly. The Cornholers stock is rising, a classic late bloomer tale. Although I'm not sure how a team hitting 1 homer and driving in 9 RBI all week can win. Then you take a look at the Hot Dogs. Hanley Ramirez...hurt...Kevin Youklis...hurt...Carlos Santana...hurt...David Aardsma (my only closer)...hurt...Michael Bourn...hurt...chances of winning...hurt. Ace Rothstein has the Cornholers stealing this one in an utterly embarrassing matchup that demonstrates the calibar of teams playing for a 9th place finish.

Meanwhile Client #9 defeated Hoosier Heat to finish in 11th place (the Heat pulling up the rear in 12th). In an extremely satisfying outcome, Clark & Addison defeats #3 seed CO Yankees for a 5th place finish. #3 seed CO Yankees dip down to #6 and lose some much needed points. Such a shame (yes, I'm shaking my head in disappointment with a smile from ear to ear).

Playoff Action

Here are the matchups for the second week of the playoffs-

Salt Creek Sluggers at Tallcorn Cobras
The SwinGERS at The Rockpile
Clark & Addison at CO Yankees

Roscoe Village Hot Dogs at Jimmy's Daddy
Cornholers at Fenway Franks
Client #9 at Hoosier Heat

(NOTE-The Hot Dog-Hoosier Heat matchup ended in a 5-5 tie). As per last years playoff rules, in the event of a TIE, the following list will govern who wins the overall contest....Batting Average, Wins, Home Runs, Strikeouts, Runs Batted In, Earned Run Average. So if there is a tie, whatever team has the higher batting average will win the week. If that category is a tie, then you move onto Wins. If that is a tie, you move onto home runs, and so on. The Hot Dogs win the week, defeating Hoosier Heat in the Batting Average category by a score of .2738 to .2400.

Year of the Underdog?

In Chinese astrology, 2010 is the year of the tiger. Could it be the year of the underdog in PG Sportsworld? So far, 3 underdogs are leading in 4 total contests. The SwinGERS have left a painfully arrogant Yankee Mike stunned thus far, as they lead 5-3-2 going into Thursdays games. Fitting that Colorado's Troy Tulowitzki is leading the charge here. I don't believe the Cornholers have won a week this entire season. But this week is the one that counts. The more games 3K wins, the higher he'll climb on final power rankings chart. Keep the faith, 3K! In the battle of Gettysburg, The Counselor and Linc are showing brotherly love doesn't mean much. Right now, The Counselor is playing General Meade to Linc's Robert E. Lee. Will this trend continue, sending Linc into full retreat? And in the final match of the week, the Hot Dogs are leading Hoosier Heat. This is an important matchup for both. If the Cornholers climb the ladder, one of the two could find themselves in dead last when all is said and done. Stay tuned, we've got a full weekend of baseball going, and it should be fun. Money and pride are at stake, good luck to all.

Playoff Update

Ok guys, here are the brackets. Remember, this is a 6 year league and how many points you get at the end of the season matter on how well you do in the playoffs. Every category counts. Speaking of categories-

As per last years playoff rules, in the event of a TIE, the following list will govern who wins the overall contest....

Batting Average
Wins
Home Runs
Strikeouts
Runs Batted In
Earned Run Average

So if there is a tie, whatever team has the higher batting average will win the week. If that category is a tie, then you move onto Wins. If that is a tie, you move onto home runs, and so on.

Let's talk payouts. According to the league rules, "The team with the best record in each division at the end of the regular season will receive 10% of the total pot each. The team who wins the entire league will win 50% of the total pot, 2nd place will receive 20%, third place will receive 10%".

So Tallcorn Cobras and The Rockpile will receive 10% of the total pot each (which, with a $1,200 pot, that's $120 bucks a piece). The winner of the playoffs will get 50% (or $600.00), second place will receive 20% (or $240), and third place will get 10% (or $120.00).

Playoff Time

Here are the final regular season power rankings as we head into the playoffs-

1. Tallcorn Cobras
2. The Rockpile
3. CO Yankees
4. Clark & Addison
5. Salt Creek Sluggers
6. The SwinGERS

7. Jimmy's Daddy
8. Fenway Franks
9. Client #9
10. Roscoe Village Hot Dogs
11. Hoosier Heat
12. Cornholers

the #1, #2, #7, and #8 seeds will get first round byes.

Playoff Schedule-
CO Yankees vs. The SwinGERS
Clark & Addison vs. Salt Creek Sluggers

Client #9 vs. Cornholers
Roscoe Village Hot Dogs vs. Hoosier Heat.

If anyone has any questions, please leave them in the comment section. I will write more tomorrow, sorry guys, I'm slammed today and don't have the time.

Tie-Breaker

As Ed was saavy enough to point out yesterday, there is currently no language in the by-laws dealing with who gets into the playoffs (even though everyone but Ed knew what the criteria was). Nevertheless, we will add language to the by-laws and have everyone vote on it. As a result, there also isn't language in the by-laws that deal with tie breakers at the end of the regular season (i.e. if two teams are vying for the 6th spot and have the same record). I spoke with Co-Commissioner T-Dub on how to handle such a scenario should it come up.

We thought the best way would take the two teams in question, look at their head to head numbers, and whoever has the better record advances into the playoffs.

For instance, let's say the Roscoe Village Hot Dogs and the Cornholers are tied for 6th place at the end of the regular season. Looking at the regular season head to head numbers for both teams, it looks like the Hot Dogs defeated the Cornholers by a score of 6-4, so the Roscoe Village Hot Dogs would advance to the playoffs.

If the Cornholers and the Hot Dogs are tied in their head-to-head meetings, I suggest we compare both teams records against their division opponents.

We believe this is the fairest way to handle the situation. I don't believe we will see a tie-breaker at the end of this week, but in the event there is one, we'll have a contingency plant. Thoughts?

Approaching Playoffs

Ok, we’re rapidly approaching the end of the regular season for our baseball league. I thought I would give everyone a state of the union so everything is clear moving forward. Let’s recap-

If the playoffs started today, the rankings would be-
1. Tallcorn Cobras
2. The Rockpile
3. CO Yankees
4. Salt Creek Sluggers
5. The SwinGERS
6. Clark & Addison/Jimmy’s Daddy
7. Clark & Addison/Jimmy’s Daddy
8. Fenway Franks
9. Client #9
10. Hoosier Heat
11. Roscoe Village Hot Dogs
12. Cornholers

Make no mistake; the #6 seed is still WIDE OPEN (with 5 teams still having a shot). I cannot stress how important this week is for a number of teams. So stay tuned.

If you are not in the top 6, do not lie down and quit. This is a 6 year league, and points are accumulated every season. Remember, last year the CO Yankees went from 12th place to 7th place DURING THE PLAYOFFS, picking up much needed points for the overall 6 year payout. Client #9 went from the #5 seed to the championship game and an 2nd place finish.

Reminder, the winner of each respective division will get a bye in week 1 as a reward for their stellar regular season play. Since this is a 3 week playoff, #7 and #8 will enjoy the same bye.

From now until the end of the playoffs, I will be posting updated brackets as they develop (so everyone is fully informed of the situation).

Good luck to everyone! Play ball!!!!

Holding Court With Counselor Bloomie

HERE-YE, HERE-YE, ALL ORDER IN THE COURT!

I now present the honorable (or not so much) Counselor Bloomie.

Please be seated.

Before the court today stand 7 men, who by their own accord, willfully admit to being part of a conspiracy to change professional baseball franchises on or before the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline. The charges will be read for each man individually.

ROY OSWALT – SP – Houston Astros

Charged with: Pitching for a bad team while earning a high salary. Verdict: Guilty. Disposition: The defendant is remanded to the custody of the Los Angeles Dodgers or Atlanta Braves. While the New York Metropolitans and Texas Rangers remain interested in adding depth to their respective pitching staffs, extenuating circumstances will prevent Oswalt from going to New York (see Cliff Lee and Jake Westbrook) or Dallas (inability to add payroll).

CLIFF LEE – SP – Seattle Mariners
Charged with: Pitching for a team that failed to perform to management’ expectations. Verdict: Guilty. Disposition: The defendant is remanded to the custody of the New York Mets, Minnesota Twins, or Cincinnati Reds. The court denies the defense objection that Mr. Lee be released to the custody of the New York Yankees on the basis that the Mets and Reds offers will not be contingent on signing Lee to a contract extension allowing Lee to sign with the Yankees as a free agent in 2011.

KOSUKE FUKADOME – OF – Chicago Cubs
Charged with: Being benched to created playing time for Tyler Colvin. Verdict: Hung Jury. Disposition: The defendant will remain under house arrest with the Chicago Cubs for the remainder of the 2010 season. Due to his diminishing skills and an inflated contract that extends through the 2011 season the court finds no other professional baseball team willing to trade for Mr. Fukadome unless Chicago agrees to pay a majority of his remaining salary. The San Diego Padres (see Scott Podsednik) and Boston Red Sox (see David DeJesus) have expressed interest.

KEVIN MILWOOD – SP – Baltimore Orioles
TY WIGGINGTON – UTL – Baltimore Orioles
Charged as repeat offender co-defendants. Verdict: Guilty. Disposition: The court has grown tired of Mr. Wiggington’s and Mr. Milwood’s annual appearance. Nevertheless, the court remands Mr. Wiggington to the custody of the Texas Rangers as a possible platoon player at 1B with the struggling Justin Smoak, the Minnesota Twins to replace Michael Cuddyer at 3B, or to the custody of the Colorado Rockies to fill the void created due to Troy Tulowitski’s wrist injury. As for Mr. Milwood, the court finds him serving time with the New York Mets in the event the Cliff Lee or Jake Westbrook deals fall through.

KANSAS CITY ROYALS ANNUAL 4th OF JULY FIRE SALE
Charged with: Being a small market team attempting to trade marginal talent for prospects. Verdict: Guilty. Disposition: In an effort to clear playing time for prospects Alex Gordon and Kila Ka'aihue the Royals will attempt to trade Scott Podsednik (linked to a San Diego team in desperate need of top of the line up speed), David DeJesus (linked to the Boston Red Sox as an upgrade to the often injured Mike Cameron and J.D. Drew), Brian Bannister (rumored to have the Cardinals interest) and Jose Guillen (no one interested but can’t blame the Royals front office for trying). In short, Podsednik goes, DeJesus goes, Bannister gets claimed off waivers, and Guillen stays put.

JAKE WESTBROOK – SP – Cleveland Indians
Charged with: The more appealing of the two trade commodities possessed by the Indians. Verdict: Innocent. Disposition: Mr. Westbrook and Kerry Wood appear to be the only bargaining chips for a Cleveland team stuck somewhere in the rebuilding process. Although Wood can’t seem to get anyone out anymore some team seeking to bolster their bullpen will trade for him. Both the Angels and Phillies could use options in the 7th and 8th innings. Mr. Westbrook, while rumored to be in a New York state of mind, will remain with the Indians as the Mets will either go all in for Cliff Lee or go cheap and trade for Kevin Milwood.

Court is adjourned.

Top 30 Fantasy Players (Year To Date)

Sorry for the no post on Tuesday (Board day, was pretty swamped). Here's something to hold you over until tomorrow. Enjoy.

Top 10 Hitters-

1. Robinson Cano (Clark & Addison
2. Miguel Cabrera (The SwinGERS)
3. Alex Rios (CO Yankees)
4. Carl Crawford (Rockpile)
5. Evan Longoria (Clark & Addison)
6. Justin Mourneau (The SwinGERS)
7. Ryan Braun (Jimmy's Daddy)
8. Vladimir Guerrero (Tallcorn Cobras)
9. Albert Pujols (Tallcorn Cobras)
10. Joey Votto (Client #9)

Top 10 Starters-
1. Ubaldo Jiminez (Rockpile)
2. Roy Halladay (Fenway Franks)
3. Adam Wainwright (The SwinGERS)
4. Chris Carpenter (Salt Creek Sluggers)
5. Matt Cain (Tallcorn Cobras)
6. Josh Johnson (Tallcorn Cobras)
7. Shaun Marcum (Clark & Addison)
8. David Price (Salt Creek Sluggers)
9. Phil Hughes (Hoosier Heat)
10. Jon Lester (Cornholers)

Top 10 Relievers-
1. Jonathan Broxton (Salt Creek Sluggers)
2. Rafael Soriano (Clark & Addison)
3. Heath Bell (Cornholers)
4. Carlos Marmol (Fenway Franks)
5. Neftali Feliz (Client #9)
6. Leo Nunez (Clark & Addison)
7. Billy Wagner (Salt Creek Sluggers)
8. Ryan Franklin (Tallcorn Cobras)
9. Jose Valverde (Hoosier Heat)
10. Matt Capps (Fenway Franks)

Gut Check Friday

I want to wish a Happy Birthday to Mr. 3000 today! Hope the Sox win, the Cornholers dominate, and the travel squad is on a winning streak!!

Roscoe Village Hot Dogs-5
Tallcorn Cobras-4
Tied-1
The toilet bowl. Both teams play is so awful, there are no words to describe it. I take that back, pitching has been stellar on both sides and it will be a battle going into the weekend (with each team having 3 starts left). What an outing by Oswalt this week against the Brewers. Is it just me, or is he in "audition" mode?

Client #9-7
Clark & Addison-0
Tied-3
Don't let the score fool you, this one is going to tighten up this weekend. RBI, K, and Wins may be locked up for the Fighting Spitzers, but the rest is wide open. Although Linc is dealing with an ailing Brad Penny and John Maine, so the odds of him winning any pitching categories is pretty slim. I'm sure Baby Bisho is happy to see Jose Reyes playing to form. And just when it looked like Jason Bay had turned a corner, he seems to have returned to his boring, Canadian self.

The SwinGERS-7
Cornholers-3
Happy Birthday to you, happy birthday to you, I'm gonna mop the floor with your fantasy baseball teeeeee-am....happy birthday to you. The Ger doing his best Cobra Kai imitation this week (strike first, strike hard, no mercy). Old Ger was sitting at Wrigley Field the other night glued to his MLB app, singing the praises of Adrian Beltre, who's knocking the cover off the ball. This one isn't over though, 3K may have a birthday trick up his sport coat sleeve. There's no question that 3K will put up stellar pitching numbers (and he has 4 starts left). The question is, can he get the bats going? With 5 players on the interstate, 3K's team looks like the Eisenhower during rush hour. Come on, guys, give em a birthday thrill.

The Fenway Franks-6
Jimmy's Daddy-4
Fenway Ed is looking to put away The Daddy's this week, as Hef settles into his new gig in New Mexico. And while he may visit Truth or Consequences, the real truth is he needs to start driving in runs if he wants to win that RBI category (as he's currently 5 back and only has 8 in 4 days). Derrek Lee is hitting a grapefruit out there, it's a shame Starlin Castro has hit the "rookie that was finally figured out" blues. Fenway Ed has to be pleased with his pitching thus far, riding the testosterone laden arm of Johnny Cueto. He's gonna need more production from guys like Scotty Rolen and James Loney (who did almost hit for the cycle the other night, lets see if he can get that average over .300.

Hoosier Heat-5
The Rockpile-3
Tied-2
Another stinker. Man, one look at Hoosier Heat's stats and I want to jump out the window of the County Building (and not for the reasons you would normally think). .146? 1 homer? Are you kidding me? Good thing Ervin Santana put up Cy Young numbers this week. It is literally the ONLY good thing that has happened to his squad this week. And Rocky Mike isn't faring much better. Rough hitting numbers, but some respectable pitching stats heading into the weekend. Is there a better pitcher in the Majors than Ubaldo Jiminez? 9-1 with a 0.88 ERA. You must be joking. With only two starts left, Rocky Mike needs some great performances. Otherwise, Mr. Hackman very well may pull this one off.

CO Yankees-9
Salt Creek Sluggers-0
Tied-1
I can see this one turning into a skunk. There are some close categories, don't get me wrong...but my sixth sense says The Counselor is gonna get sprayed. Yankee Mike has his mojo working, Cano continues to put up MVP numbers, Pelfrey firing on all cylinders, even Dempster's getting into the act. If the Sluggers want to salvage this, he needs Chase Utley (.076), Kung Fu Panda (.181), BJ Upton (.142), and newly aquired Lance Berkman (0 HR's) to start firing away. Otherwise, 1st place will be nothing but a distant memory.

Monday Wrap-Up

I hate to sound crass, but does anyone doubt coke is what did him in? Anyway, here's this weeks superlatives....

Batting Average-
Hot Dogs .341
CO Yankees .341
Tallcorn Cobras- .324

Homers-
SwinGERS-13
Hot Dogs-10
Client #9-10

Runs-
Tallcorn Cobras-47
Client #9-43
Hoosier Heat 40
The Rockpile 40

ERA-
Cornholers 2.01
Tallcorn Cobras-3.18
CO Yankees- 3.21

WHIP-
Cornholers 1.03
CO Yankees 1.23
Client #9 1.24


Top 10 Ranked Players of the Week
1. Ben Zobrist (Rockpile)
2. Edwin Jackson (Clark & Addison)
3. Gio Gonzalez (FREE AGENT)
4. Josh Johnson (Tallcorn Cobras)
5. Clayton Richard (Hoosier Heat)
6. Nelson Cruz (Tallcorn Cobras)
7. Michael Young (CO Yankees)
8. Jason Bay (Clark & Addison)
9. Edwin Encarnacion (FREE AGENT)
10. Justin Mourneau (The SwinGERS)

Gut Check/Blockbuster Friday

Sorry guys for being out of pocket the last week. Have been kind of busy with work and haven't had time to devote to the blog.

Was at Hef's bon voyage party last night at Vaughn's Pub (probably another reason why GCF is late). A great time was had by all. Best of luck to the Daddy's GM as he heads to the deserts of New Mexico to run the Congressional campaign of Steve Pearce.

With almost two months in the books, we have our very first trade of the season. Even better, both teams are playing each other this week, so all four players will simply swap uniforms. What looks like a "change of scenery" strategy by both teams, the Cornholers and Salt Creek Sluggers have traded players that have disappointed all season long for players that have disappointed all season long. The Cornholers sent first baseman Lance Berkman and outfielder Chris Coghlan to the Salt Creek Sluggers for first baseman Carlos Pena and Carlos Quentin. "Truthfully, I simply felt that Lance gets hurt way too much for me to rely any further on him. He's kind of a pussy", uttered Cornholer GM Mr. 3000. After that comment, Big Puma's feelings might have to go on the DL. When pressed about the unloading of highly touted Chris Coghlan and whether or not he panicked, 3K got a little hot under the collar...

Client #9-5
Hot Dogs-4
Tied-1

Tallcorn Cobras-8
Rockpile-1
Tied-1

Salt Creek Sluggers-6
Cornholers-3
Tied-1

The SwinGERS-5
Fenway Franks-3
Tied-2

Clark & Addison-4
Hoosier Heat-3
Tied-3

CO Yankees-6
Jimmy's Daddy-4

Congrats To Rocky Mike

On the birth of his son, who was born yesterday, clocking in at 7 pounds, 1 ounce. Not sure what his name is, so for now we'll call him Pebble Mike (hat tip to Fenway Ed for the nickname). In honor of Rocky Mike and the newest addition to his squad, I'll post an anti-Cutler video (as I'm sure he has already clued his son in on his opinion of the former Bronco QB-hat tip to Mr. Hackman for the link). Congrats Mike!!

Monday Wrap-Up

Salt Creek Sluggers-7
Roscoe Village Hot Dogs-2
Tied-1
The Hot Dogs were looking for like cocktail weinies as the Sluggers boiled, steamed, and grilled them in one swoop. And he did it with pitching. Both teams put up dreadful hitting stats (how do you win a week with a .171 batting average?), but Matt Garza, David Price, and Chris Carpenter lead the way to victory for The Counselor. That decisive win puts the Salt Creek Sluggers atop PG East and the Hot Dogs in the cellar.

Client #9-5
Cornholers-3
Tied-2
Strong win for #9, as 3K and the Cornholers sink deeper into the cellar of PG West. Solid week for Joey Votto, who lead the way for #9, with Ian Kinsler and Jose Reyes cementing the win. Some of 3K's boppers are looking more like bloopers. Gordon Beckham (.105), Adam Lind .115), Kendry Morales (.222), sheesh!

Tallcorn Cobras-8
Fenway Franks-1
Tied-1
Going into Sunday, T-Dub were leading the Franks 10-0, and I thought for a moment this one would be skunkarific. Instead, Fenway Ed was able to eek out WHIP and tie in RBI. This was by no means a thumping, as the majority of categories were close. That goes to show you just how important every at-bat is. What I would have liked to see was the 10-0 Cobra lead turned on it's head (with Fenway Ed stealing it). Instead, Ed embarrasses himself, his team, and the Boston faithful and T-Dub sits atop PG West.

The Rockpile-5
The SwinGERS-5
Wow, a stalemate!! The SwinGERS dominating at the dish, and Rocky Mike toeing the rubber like a pro. While Tim Lincecum didn't record a win, he did rattle off 21 K's in two outings, that is filthy. Nice bounce back from Matt Holliday this week, and who can deny Miguel Cabrera's status as a fantasy God? Nice matchup, was a fun one to follow.

Jimmy's Daddy-5
Clark & Addison-5
Another slatemate, what is going on in Sportsworld? 3 losses and 2 no-decisions for Linc stood in his way from running the table on the mound this week. The Daddy's were one swipe short of tying stolen bases (a combined 13 stolen bags, quite impressive). I'm sure Hef is excited to throw Cub savior Starlin Castro into the old lineup this week. Grab some pine, Theriot...you've been replaced.

CO Yankees-8
Hoosier Heat-1
Tied-1
What a week for Yankee Mike! Despite Posada sitting and Cano lacking luster, the rest of the squad picked it up at the plate. Alex Rios, Austin Jackson (what a stud), and Michael Young all had banner weeks. Ladies and gentleman, Elvis has left the base he was standing on (5 swipes, nice!!). After a big win against top notch Tallcorn, the Heat were trounced, and lost any ground (and momentum) they gained. Don't get me wrong, Mr. Hackman didn't have that bad of a week. The CO Yankees just had a better one.

Gut Check Friday

Roscoe Village Hot Dogs-6
Salt Creek Sluggers-3
Tied-1
Fairly even matchup thus far, although it looks like the Dogs are going to take the lions share of the pitching categories (with 4 starts left). Chris Young is a microcosm of the Hot Dogs hitting production this week, decent batting average, no power or run production numbers. The Counselor doesn't have one hitter over .300, wow, that's tough to do. Great outings by Matt Garza and Scott Baker though.

Cornholers-5
Client #9-5
The Cornholers continue their theme of really bad hitting and really good pitching. A .187 batting average (when compared to a .240 team season average) is brutal on both counts. But look at the arms..Lester, Huddy, Danks, Garcia...all throwing extremely well. Not a good week of silence for his closers, though. That category could mean the difference between 5-5 and 6-4. Client #9 having an equally brutal week. Clayton Kershaw's disasterous outing against the Brew Crew has spiked #9's ERA to a whopping 12.31. The good news is he has 6 more outings to get that gaudy number down.

Tallcorn Cobras-6
The Fenway Franks-3
Tied-1
This one is WIDE OPEN (perhaps with the exception of saves). With two games separating both teams atop PG West, this will likely be a fight to the very last at-bat. T-Dub has got to be digging Vladimir Guerrero's 3 bombs, 10 RBI and .375 batting average. Two words...laser show. Great pitching by T-Dub too, with stellar outings from Matt Cain, Hamels, Oswalt (and even Cliff Lee with 10 K's). With only one start left this week, The Fenway Franks look like they're in trouble in the pitching category. They'll need to dominate the weekend at the plate. The Jason Heyward groin injury has to hurt (both Heyward and Fenway Ed), he'll need the big bopper if he wants to survive this contest.

The Rockpile-6
The SwinGERS-3
Tied-1
Fairly close match at here, and I am not ready to make a prediction either way. The Rockpile's pitching staff continues to shine, proving they are the finest in the league. Lincecum, Lackey, Jiminez...I keep writing their names every week. The SwinGERS are hitting the ball a bit bitter than the Rockpile this week (I'm loving that .342 batting average). Miguel Cabrera is on fire, and Yadier Molina, Andre Ethier, Adrian Beltre, and Justin Morneau are all hitting over .400. Looking forward to seeing this one through. Should be fun to watch.

Jimmy's Daddy-5
Clark & Addison-3
Tied-2
Here's your classic see-saw, The Daddy's hitting well, and Linc's squad is pitching well. Congrats to Thd Daddy's Dustin Pedroia, for achieving the PG Quote of the Week (and possibly the year). Along with the quote, he's hitting .352 with a bomb and 4 runs scored. Clark & Addison is enjoying good outings from Brady Penny, John Maine, with his big guns Shawn Marcum and Francisco Liriano coming up.

CO Yankees-7
Hoosier Heat-3
Razor thin margin here, a real nail biter. Yankee Mike might have batting average locked up, but that's about it. He's enjoying a great week from Josh Hamilton, Prince Fielder and Alex Rios (not so much from Robinson Cano, but what do you expect from a guy going full guns all season). How much is Mr. Hackman loving A.J. Burnett right now (probably as much as Yankee Mike and I am). Dominating outing this week goes well with solid production from David Wright, Brandon Phillips, and V-Mart. Keep this one on the radar, guys. This may go down to the wire.

Dick Of The Day Award

This is the best quote EVER. Enjoy.

Being Frank With Fenway Ed

We have been doing this league long enough that I think we can all sense certain trends. Yankee Mike overvalues Yankees players, 3K overvalues lead off hitters with speed but no batter's eye. This got me thinking - one month into the season what have been the least surprising moves made by team owners and what do I think will happen over the remaining five months? I have a few:

If I Could've Laid Money On...

- Yankee Mike dropped Javy Vazquez (I guess he forgot that Vazquez can't handle the pressure of a big passionate market)
- 3K picked up then dropped Juan Pierre
- I would put too much emphasis on young, unproven guys with TREMENDOUS upside

What I would like to lay money on...

- Tallcorn Cobras will trade one of their two catchers for a mint, and it won't be a former #2 overall selection
- PG will complain that not enough people comment on the blog posts

No Monday Morning Wrap-Up

Sorry guys, I'm home sick (very sick). Gonna forgo the wrap-up today. Check back this week for stat discussions and gut check Friday.

Gut Check Friday

Roscoe Village Hot Dogs-8
The SwinGERS-2
The Hot Dogs are firing away this week, putting together some decent numbers at the plate. Catcher Ryan Doumit has been on fire, showing Trevor Hoffman exactly why he should go into retirement. Colby Rasmus has been downright filthy, hitting .600 on the week with 7 runs scored. The SwinGERS are by no means out of this one. A little short on power this week, The Ger is looking to have a big weekend from top draft pick Matt Holliday, who has been silent this week. If Justin Mourneau doesn't get any at-bats this weekend (back injury), it could hurt the SwinGERS chances for a win.

Cornholers-4
CO Yankees-4
Tied-2
It looks like Yankee Mike has a few categories wrapped up (BA, HR, R) as does the Cornholers (ERA, SV), and the rest is up for grabs. 3K has to be concerned about a few of his big boppers not going yama this week (Morales, Lind), but I'm sure is pleaed to see Andrew McCutchen step it up. A big sigh of relief for the Cornholers as Jon Lester seems to be coming out of his pitching funk with a 2nd consecutive solid outing. Meanwhile, Yankee Mike owes a lot of his offensive success to early MVP candidate Robinson Cano. Two words describe the young man at this point in the season....white hot. And two words describe outfielder Grady Sizemore....white NOT.

Client #9-5
The Fenway Franks-3
Tied-2
Absolutely brutal numbers in this one as both squads hope to step it up going into the weekend. All eyes are on new #9 acquisition (and former Arizona State Sun Devil) Ike Davis, who is showing signs of future stardom. Rough week all around for the Franks, with Roy Halladay, Ben Sheets and Justin Duchscherer laying eggs and Matt Wieters and James Loney doing the same at the plate. Fenway Ed has to be happy about Kelly Johnson's continued production though. Sit back and relax, this baby is wide open.

Salt Creek Sluggers-6
Jimmy's Daddy-3
Tied-1
Counselor Bloomie has something to say to the citizens of Bloomington...there's a new fantasy team in town!!! And boy is he putting on a stellar housewarming party. .372 batting average, 2.04 ERA, he's doing it all. The Counselor is proudly saying to his neighbors, "Meet Carlos Gonzalez, he's hitting .636 on the week...oh, and that Kung Fu Panda you see in the front yard...all he does is rakes". Indeed, it's gonna be a tall order for the Daddy's. The key to Hef's comeback here is power. If he can produce a home run onslaught, the runs and RBI will come, and perhaps he can stave off defeat.

Clark & Addison-5
The Rockpile-4
Tied-1
The classic see-saw match of the week, with C&A winning at the plate and The Rockpile leading on the mound. With 5 starts remaining this weekened, Linc has a shot at picking off some of those categories. And don't make a call on the offensive stats either, all (save runs) are very attainable for Rocky Mike. Mark Texiera is finally off the interstate, and now that it's May, look for some big numbers out of him. The catching position continues to plague Linc, with Napoli sitting yesterday for a minor league call up. If Ryan Howard, Evan Longoria, and Shane Victorino can't start breaking some off, it may be curtains for Clark & Addison.

Hoosier Heat-7
Tallcorn Cobras-2
Tied-1
It's a offensive famine for T-Dub, who hasn't hit a home run yet this week (it's Friday, btw). He looks to have K's and ERA locked up (with only two more starts for Hackman), but he's gonna need a major turnaround at the plate if he wants to even make this thing close. The good news is, a few of his studs are hitting the ball well, with Pujols at .545 and Cruz at .500. It's only a matter of time before they start leaving the park. This would be a huge week for Mr. Hackman, who would love to get about .500 and start competing in PG West. David Wright and "PK" are hitting well, but where is the mighty A-Rod? And how is Hackman feeling about Trevor Hoffman? What a week!!

Monday Wrap-Up

Roscoe Village Hot Dogs-4
Jimmy's Daddy-4
Tied-2
You know your matchup is neck and neck when you're following every at bat and incessantly texting your opponent on a Sunday afternoon. Unbelievable! The Daddy's got off to a roaring start Sunday, taking the overall lead by claiming the runs category out of the gates and tying the wins category with a superb Randy Wells outing. The Hot Dogs responded with an onslaught of their own, hitting .428 on the day and scoring 7 runs. Chris Young scored a run late Sunday afternoon which allowed the Hot Dogs to tie the runs category with the Daddy's (thus, taking away a Daddy victory). Exciting matchup, looking forward to the redux.

The Rockpile-6
Salt Creek Sluggers-3
Tied-1
Solid victory for Rocky Mike, who stands solely atop PG East. Kudos to Kurt Suzuki, who played the role of Kung Fu Panda for The Rockpile, belting 3 homers and driving in 7RBI on the week. Counselor Bloomie picked up some much needed pitching categories (which, against The Rockpile, is no small feat), but wasn't able to run teh table, as Rocky Mike's big three (Lincecum, Jiminez, Felix) were able to shore up wins and the pen walked away with the category without a fight. Since I like saying Kung Fu Panda, I'm gonna mention he went off this week, belting 10 hits (including a homer). Nice job, Kung Fu Panda.

Tallcorn Cobras-8
Cornholers-2
A nice week for T-Dub, who didn't put up overly impressive numbers, but was the benefactor of 3K putting up brutal ones. 3K was able to pick off a few pitching categories (in large part, due to the 256 starts his staff had this week). Funniest part of the week was seeing Cobra's pitcher Scott Kazmir intentionally hit Robinson Cano in the ass (after Cano went 4 for 5 the previous day), then Jorge Posada belt a 430 bomb the very next pitching. Galling that Kazmir picked up the win. I'll see you in hell, Scott Kazmir.

CO Yankees-6
Client #9-4
Very interesting scenario here. Can you picture Yankee Mike singing the praises of Mets pitcher Mike Pelfrey this morning? Should his nickname be changed to Flushing Mike? The Pelfrey win Sunday night finished Client #9 off, and boosting the morale of the CO Yankees with a big win. Looking forward to the trash talk on this one.

The Fenway Franks-6
Hoosier Heat-4
Fenway Ed putting a win on the big board. Had a nice finish at the plate, and was able to wrestle some hitting categories away. Welcome to the show, Kelly Johnson. The Franks 2nd baseman went off and was the differenc maker, hitting .375 with 4 bombs and 7 RBI. Tough loss for Mr. Hackman, who had a slight power outage which contributed to the loss (especially David Wright, with 0 homers and 10 punchouts). Brutal.

The SwinGERS-6
Clark & Addison-3
Tied-1
The Nientendo week never came for Linc, and he falls to a surging SwinGERS, who trails The Rockpile by 2 games in PG East. The Ger was able to steal away the strikeout and saves category to seal the deal. His rotation was pretty shaky, but his bullpen was able to bring some levity to his overall pitching performance and hand The Ger the win. Clark & Addison's struggles continue, as he steps into the abyss of PG East.

Gut Check Friday

How does everyone like the new live scoreboard on the CBS website? I like it, more user friendly and easier to follow at the top of the page.

Roscoe Village Hot Dogs-6
Jimmy's Daddy-3
Tied-1
Still very close matchup here, although I do believe that batting average is locked up for the Hot Dogs and stolen bases are locked up for the Daddy's. And if Andy Pettite and Rick Porcello don't have great outings this weekend, the Daddy's can claim ERA and WHIP (which he is now leading heavily). Big bounce back week from Colby Rasmus, who is hitting .500 with 2 bombs, 4 RBI, and a stolen base. It's a shame Chris Young has returned to his boring, mediocre self. I'll tell you who is the opposite of mediocre...Ryan Braun. What an animal, hitting .636 with 2 bombs and 8 RBI for the Daddy's. Great pitching too from Jered Weaver, Randy Wells, and C.C. Sabathia (great numbers, however no wins). Keep close tabs on this one down the stretch.

The Rockpile-7
Salt Creek Sluggers-3
With the first pick of the 2010 draft, The Rockpile selects....another rock. Sorry Rocky Mike, had to get the dig in. Big week for The Rockpile as they continue to pile up offensive stats. Carl Crawford showing just how valuable he is, with power, speed, and an ability to score runs. Even Kurt Suzuki is getting into the mix, lauching a three run jack off C.C. Sabathia. Counselor Bloomie has plenty of time to make this a match, as the majority of the categories are stil open (and both teams are putting up subpar pitching numbers). He certainly has the tools, with Utley, Kung Fu Panda, and BJ Upton putting in solid performances. If they continue their pace, and Carlos Quentin can get into the mix, we might see a totally different story come Monday.

Tallcorn Cobras-7
Cornholers-3
Mr. 3000 is left scratching his head, wondering when the power outage exactly occured. 1 homer, 5 RBI, an offensive meltdown. With Co-Jack on the DL, first round selection Adam Lind in a slump, and Gordon Beckham stalling, the Cornholers are staring down the barrell of a 3 week losing streak. T-Dub must be loving that Nelson Cruz pick. Cruz is tearing up PG Sportsworld, showing ridonkulous power and even speed (with 5 stolen bases this week!!). The Cobras are also enjoying some good numbers on the mound, with solid performances by Scott Kazmir (about time), Matt Cain, and his bullpen. Although 3K has 5 more starts this week, and could make take a few pitching categories to make it close.

Client #9-6
CO Yankees-4
Very close matchup, and I'm sure we'll see this thing change a few times before all is said and done. Great week at the plate for Client #9 (especially a healthy Jose Reyes) including Matt Kemp, who is using 2010 as his coming out party. Yankee Mike must be dumbfounded by the production of Grady Sizemore, who is on the interstate this season with virtually no positive contribution thus far. Josh Hamilton seems to be picking up some slack for the outfield corp. If the CO Yankees want to win this game, he's gonna need Alex Rios to pick up the pace as well.

Hoosier Heat-6
Fenway Franks-4
A classic two-sided contest, with Mr. Hackman leading at the plate, and Fenway Ed dominiating the mound. Take special note of Fenway Ed's pitching performance thus far, wow! 3 wins, a 0.66 ERA with a 0.84 WHIP...very impressive. Even Nattie's reliever Matt Capps is getting into the mix, with 2 saves on the week. Despite the unbelievable performance the Franks are putting up on the mound, they are not running the table like the Heat are at the plate. With Jose Valverde and Fernando Rodney's 4 saves, Mr. Hackman is playing the role of fireman. At the plate, the Heat are enjoying Alex Rodriguez's nice week, along with Bobby Abreu and V-Mart. The offense is by no means closed out. If Fenway Ed can hit like he pitches, watch out!

The SwinGERS-6
Clark & Addison-4
After a heartbreaking loss last week, Linc is looking to redeem himself and put his squad back in the right mindset. As of press time, The Ger has different plans. The SwinGERS have unleashed an offensive onslaught that is unrelenting. 8 bombs (4 by Andre Ethier and Ryan Ludwick alone), 21 RBI, and a .338 batting average. That is what you call firing on all cylinders. A silver lining in Linc cloud is his pitching, which is pretty solid this week. Brad Penny had a great outing, stabilizing not only staff numbers, but the overall score. But to come close, he's gonna need a Nientendo weekend at the plate.

Switch To Friday

I have made the decision to switch Gut Check Thursday to Gut Check Friday. There just weren't enough stats to analyze (and even make predictions). Using GCT, we have 3 game days to go off of (with 4 game days left). With GCF, we'll have 4 game days to go off of (with 3 game days left).

Monday Wrap-Up

Roscoe Village Hot Dogs-7
Clark & Addison-3
An instant classic (especially if you're PG). The Hot Dogs and C&A headed into Sunday night's Mets-Cards game with C&A all tied up. The entire week turned into Jason Bay vs. Colby Rasmus. With one swing of the bat (a three run homer) by Colby Rasmus, the Hot Dogs overtook home runs 6 to 5 and RBI's 28-26. Ironically, it was Rasmus' only hit of the week, going 1 for 18. That's right, one swing can mean the difference in a 5-5 stalemate and a 7-3 beating. Welcome to Sportsworld, Clark and Addison!

Jimmy's Daddy-6
The Rockpile-4
The Daddy's bounce back after a tough week to beat the highly touted Rockpile. The Daddy's put together a great combination of power and speed, and carried the day despite The Rockpile almost running the table on the mound (including a no-no from Ubaldo). I said it last week and i'll say it again, how awesome is Rocky Mike's pitching staff? Great stat matchup was the stolen base category, which Hef won by a score of 8-7 (including 4 from Ryan Theriot alone). Dan Uggla provided some great production for The Rockpile, while .800 hitter Benji Molina ended up at .529 for the Daddy's.

Salt Creek Sluggers-6
The SwinGERS-4
I liked this matchup because the seemingly outmatched, outplayed SwinGERS were able to cobble together a relatively close matchup, and averted absolute disaster. Consider, the sluggers absolutely mauled The Ger in homers 17-2, RBI 45-16, and Runs 34-27. Linc was also able to win 6 games, have an ERA of 2.18 and a WHIP of 1.02. Sounds like a skunk right? Wrong! The SwinGERS bested the SCS by putting up a 2.16 ERA and an amazing 1.00 WHIP. Add a 3-1 win in the saves category, and you've got yourself a game. A valiant effort by The SwinGERS, but the Salt Creek blitzkrieg was just too much. Chase Utley hit 5 homers last week for Linc, unbelievable!

The Fenway Franks-6
Cornholers-2
Tied-2
Take cover, 3K, I believe the trash talk is headed your way. A relatively close match at the plate, but a different story on the mound. The Cornholer rotation has to be giving 3K agita, with Jon Lester being an utter disappointment thus far. Homer Bailey has proven to be a bust, and Jorge de la Rosa wasn't able to replicate his first stellar outing against San Diego. All Fenway Ed needed was Doc Halladay, Johan, and Ricky Nolasco to put to stable numbers (which they did) to carry him across the finish line. A stat to note is the stolen base category, with The Cornholers garnering 8 this week. Quite impressive.

CO Yankees-6
Tallcorn Cobras-3
Tied-1
Nice win for Yankee Mike, who climbs back to .500 heading into week 3. Speed and pitching was the name of this game. Stealing bases, scoring runs, and solid pitching was the winning formula for the CO Yankees. Meanwhile, T-Dub followed up a monster week one with a flat out disappointing performance in week 2. The Rollins injury certainly hurts, as does the Scott Kazmir outing vs. the real New York Yankees. The CO Yankees received great production out of rookie Austin Jackson and youngster Elvis Andrus. What a shame they were riding pine.

Client #9-7
Hoosier Heat-3
An overall solid week by the Fighting Spitzers against an anemic Hoosier Heat. Shin Soo Choo and Matt Kemp lead Client #9 at the plate, with a combined 7 bombs, 19 RBI and 2 stolen bases. Client #9 remains 2.5 games behind the Fenway Franks, while Mr. Hackman is hovering around .500 at the bottom of PG West.

Gut Check Thursday

Roscoe Village Hot Dogs-6
Clark & Addison-3
Tied-1
As close as it can get on the hitting side, not so much on the pitching side. A power shortage on both sides, but overall, both teams are hitting the ball well. Hanley Ramirez continues to prove his worth, providing consistent production for the Hot Dogs. Same can be said for Ryan Howard for Clark & Addison, a monster. I wonder if the numbers would be different if The Railsplitter actually had a backstop that played? C&A has 5 more starts this week to turn things around. This one is far from over, so stay tuned.

The Rockpile-5
Jimmy's Daddy-5
Great matchup here, two premier teams going at it early. And it's a statistics bonanza. Hef is touting a .438 average (are you kidding me?), with Rocky Mike a lap behind at .321. I love Benji Molina's batting average this week, .857, too funny! The Daddy's have 1, count em, 1 player hitting under .300 this week. Plenty of fight left in these two dogs, looking forward to watching this one play out.

Salt Creek Sluggers-6
The SwinGERS-3
Tied-1
Somebody turn on the lights!! The SwinGERS can't see the baseball!! After getting off to a good start in week 1, the SwinGER guns have gone silent. Meanwhile, Linc is putting the GER is Slugger baby, yeah!! 9 bombs, 29 RBI, and a .321 average. Chase Utley, Carlos Pena, BJ Upton, CQ, Jeets, everyone's dropping bombs. It's like Dresden all over again. The Ger is going to need some good outings to stave off an absolute massacre. He's off to a good start, and has Danny Haren, Lohse, and Big Z going today, Beckett tomorrow, and Wainwright on Sunday. All he needs is for Matt Holliday to get a hit and he'll be in business.

Cornholers-7
The Fenway Franks-1
Tied-1
I'm keeping close tabs on this one, as both are notoriously big trash talkers. One (Cornholers) prefers the scorched earth route while the other (Fenway Franks) takes the passive-aggressive approach. I'm surprised there hasn't been any smack laid down thus far (wait, yes I can, nobody reads the blog). Despite the score, the only category I see locked up is stolen bases, so it's anyone's ballgame. Kendry Morales and "Accidental Second Baseman" Placido Polanco are provided most of the juice for the Cornholers and James Loney having a week for the Franks. Fenway Ed hasn't unleashed Doc Hallady or Johan yet, so numbers are going to move this weekend. Come on, fellas, sound off!!! The Cornholer-Frank rivalry is PG's equivalent to Red Sox-Yankees, Gatti-Ward, Jon and Kate, Larusso-Lawrence, let's see some fireworks.

Tallcorn Cobras-5
CO Yankees-5
Nice little matchup we have going here, with T-Dub showing more of the magic stick than Yankee Mike. But this one is far from over. Is there a bigger monster right now than Nelson Cruz? Dude is a faux-teed manchild!! As is Pujols and Joe Mauer (well played, Joe Mauer). Yankee Mike has to be concerend about the 5 RBI he has collected all week. His other numbers look relatively stable, but the lack of run production could be an issue come Sunday.

Client #9-9
Hoosier Heat-0
Tied-1
Could we have our first skunk of the season? It's a definite possibility. Baby Bisho is absolutely brow beating Mr. Hackman, pretty ugly stuff. Matt Kemp, Brian McCann, and Shin Soo Choo are leading this hit parade. Client #9 hits paydirt with Neftali Feliz, with 2 saves on the week (especially vexing for Hoosier Heat, who has Frank Francisco pulling splinters from his keister). Keep your eye on this one fellas, Peppy LePeau could be rearing his ugly head.

Monday Wrap-Up

The Rockpile-9
Roscoe Village Hot Dogs-1
In a word...wow. Rocky Mike comes flying out of the gates and declares to the rest of the league that The Rockpile is a force to be reckoned with. Let's face it, this wasn't a slugest by any means. The Rockpile won with speed and pitching. Tim Lincecum and Ubaldo Jiminez led the rotation with 4 combined wins and 30 strikeouts. And where did Jon Rauch come from? 4 saves, WOW! If Rocky Mike can figure out his hitting situation, he'll certainly be in the conversation during championship week.

Hoosier Heat-6
Cornholers-4
Mr. 3000 was huddled next to his 52 inch plasma last night, hoping Yunel Escobar would be his savior. Instead, he came up with goose eggs and Mr. Hackman emerged victorious. Decent contest, though, as both teams kept it close. Who said Hideki Matsui's career was finished? He's proving to be an asset to both the Anaheim Angels of Orange County-Los Angeles-Californa...and to the Hoosier Heat as well. Mr. Hackman's confidence level certainly has to be high right now (especially with Mark Buehrle and A.J. Burnett leading his rotation). Meanwhile, 3K will regroup and give it another go this week. It'll be interesting to see what substitutions he'll make (if any). He can't be too happy with Chris Coghlan and Nolan Reimold (and, of course, Yunel Escobar). But hey, it's only been a week.

The Fenway Franks-6
CO Yankees-3
Tied-1
Big win for Fenway Ed, whose new look Franks are relishing victory this morning. The Franks showed some power as well as pitching prowess. His 47 total strikeouts should not be overlooked. He'll definetly be keeping an eye on that batting average, who dropped to a dismal .217 by weeks end. Matt Weiters is a great foundation to build on, who threw up a very impressive .409 batting average with one bomb. Hey Yankee Mike, good thing our league doesn't keep stats for defense. If so, Jorge Posada would be a disaster. Instead, he comes out smelling like a rose, with a great week at the plate. Robbie Cano had a great week as well, showing the consistently that makes him a top tiered second baseman. How fitting that the only two players for the CO Yankees that hit over .300 this week were..well..Yankees. Hey, Yankee Mike, can I borrow some of your saves (7, wow!!).

The SwinGERS-7
Jimmy's Daddy-3
I received a few irate IM's from Daddy's GM Hef after Gut Check Thursday. Prognostication affirmed, Hef, The Ger was the better team this week. Great offensive production all around for The SwinGERS. First round Matt Holliday pick is already paying big dividends, as expected. And dough boy Miggy Cabrera feasted on opponents pitching (as well as the pre-game buffett). The Daddy's pitched very well this week, putting up a very impresive 1.0066 WHIP. When you have C.C. Sabathia taking a no-no into the 8th inning, that'll happen. PG East is looking pretty strong this season, and these two teams will be fighting for the top spot.

Salt Creek Sluggers-6
Clark & Addison-4
Very nice win by the Salt Creek Sluggers this week, solid overall performance. Kung Fu Panda answered the call by hitting a bomb and the pitching was solid. As I predicted, a Salt Creek win. Anytime a team can put together a .300 team batting average, you've gotta feel good. What doesn't feel good is the Carlos Gonzalez hamstring injury, what a blow! I wonder if Clark & Addison is in panic mode after catcher Mike Napoli only gets 9 AB's this week (with a backup that only got 12 AB's)? His pitching was sub-par at best (with the only silver lining being his bullpen). There's plenty of season left, and one week isn't a good enough sample to go on. Week 2 will be more telling, I'm sure.

Tallcorn Cobras-6
Client #9-4
The first prediction doesn't ring true, as T-Dub defies the pundits and comes out on top. The problem with my forecast was that I wasn't planning on the Cobras hitting another 8 home runs (for a total of 16). Albert Pujols and Nelson Cruz let the poison out this week, belting 4 a piece. The Cobras lineup is flat out potent, and it'll be fun to follow them this season. I'm gonna say it right now, Client #9's pitching staff is a problem. Outside of Zach Greinke, I don't see any stability. And where's the bullpen? I'm sure Baby Bisho is thanking his lucky stars that Neftali Feliz will be closing for Texas for the next few games.

Gut Check Thursday

The Rockpile-6
Roscoe Village Hot Dogs-2
Tied-2
The matchup is a heck of a lot closer than the score suggests, but The Rockpile is sending a clear message that he intends to pick up where he left off last season. Touting what is agruably the best pitching rotation in the league, Rocky Mike is looking to shut the door on the Hot Dogs on the mound (and with the help from a few of his friends at the plate). The Rockpile is getting some much needed production out of their second-tier players while their top tier decides to take the first week off. But you couldn't ask for better production out of John Lackey, Tim Lincecum, Ubaldo Jiminez, and Jon Rauch. Meanwhile the Hot Dogs need some big starts out of Rick Porcello and Jonathan Sanchez tomorrow, or else stick a fork in em.

Hoosier Heat-6
Cornholers-4
I can't tell if Mr. Hackman is leading this because of good pitching on the Heat's part, or because of the piss poor pitching on the Cornholers part. I think it's the latter (with Mark Buehrle being the only bright spot in Mr. Hackman's rotation thus far). Let's face it, both teams are hitting the ball well, and both GM's should be very encouraged with what they're seeing. 3K is looking like Einstein with that Placido Polanco pickup, and Andrew McCutchen and Adam Lind are sending the message that they know their way around a batters box. And Hackman's boys aren't slouches, either. Hideki Matsui showing that his knee isn't ready to be carved up and served in a California Roll. And whattdya know? David Wright can hit home runs in Citi Field! The good news for 3K is he still has Danks, de la Rosa, and Huddy going tomorrow night. I'm looking foward to seeing these two very promising teams going at it down the stretch.

The Fenway Franks-7
CO Yankees-3
Yankee Mike isn't coming close to mimicking the reality of the Yankees series win over the Red Sox at Fenway this week. But there's still time left. Meanwhile, Fenway Ed is unveiling his newly established power company. While most people are fawning over Jason Heyward, shouldn't they really be fawning over Harvey, Illinois' own Garrett Jones? I like this team, chock full of young talent, and while Fenway Ed is rebuilding for next year, I would argue he could be in the thick of it this year. Yankee Mike is pacing the Franks on the mound, but he has to start making some noise at the plate. I'm calling it right now, Yankee Mike is going to regret keeping Josh Hamilton. Yeah, I said it.

The SwinGERS-7
Jimmy's Daddy-3
Who's your daddy, Hef. Well, it appears to be The Ger, that's who! Take away Big Z, and The Ger is putting together a pretty nice week. Mourneau has launched two, and the size of the baseball Miguel Cabrera is hitting is...well...as big as Miguel Cabrera (WTF, buffet boy?). Hef has literally stalled out of the gates. The reigning champ is looking more like the reigning chump. Most of his hitters are on the interstate (some haven't even gotten to the on-ramp). And 1 homer? Pick it up, Hef...you're tarnishing your legacy.

Salt Creek Sluggers-5
Clark & Addison-4
Tied-1
Gotta love the Battle Of Lincoln in week one. Sunday dinner should be interesting. Both teams pretty much pacing each other, with the exception of the home run category. Linc is scratching his head, wondering when his squad is going to join the long ball parade. Come on, Linc, you have Kung Fu Panda!!!!! We could see a photo finish here. If Clark & Addison puts together a solid pitching performance the rest of the week, I believe he'll be victorious.

Tallcorn Cobras-8
Client #9-2
A very even matchup thus far, but T-Dub has the magic stick going. 8 bombs and counting!! Curtis Granderson already paying dividends for the Cobras, with Nelson Cruz and Albert Pujols doing what they do. Believe it or not, I like Client #9 in this one. And the difference, in my humble opinion, will be pitching. Anderson and Billingsley today, Greinke and Gallardo tomorrow. Game, set, match.

Welcome To Opening Day

Does last night count?

Roscoe Village Hot Dogs vs. The Rockpile
Hoosier Heat vs. Cornholers
CO Yankees vs. Year2000!
Jimmy's Daddy vs. The SwinGERS
Clark & Addison vs. Salt Creek Sluggers
Client #9 vs. Tallcorn Cobras

Hope everyone has a great opening day. Anyone taking off? Going to a game? I'm stuck driving to Elgin (and I know 3K and The Ger are stuck at work).

Let's be sure to make use of Twitter this season. I saw a few guys on last night, pretty fun to follow the games and talk trash at the same time.

Waivers Activated

Ok guys, waivers is activated. You can go ahead and put your claims in. Please note, the execution of each waiver claim will not happen until 2AM EST tomorrow (or in less than 18 hours), so you won't see it until tomorrow morning.

Keep in mind, lineups will lock tomorrow night 5 minutes before the Yankees-Red Sox opener. So be sure to have everything in order before that time.

I will send out the updated roster spreadsheet on Monday, so everyone has a clean copy. I would send it out right now, but I have a MacBook and the Excel spreadsheet it is on is not compatible.

Hope everyone has a great season

The Aftermath and Run-Up

Hope everyone is happy with their draft results and new team members. I apoligize for some of the confusion (as it certainly wasn't me intent). I manually input the draft order and for some reason, CBS Sportsline kept the non-drafting team icons up. I completely understand why everyone was so confused (I was literally panicking because I didn't know what was going on). Between that and the 2 minute clock not showing up made for a bumpy ride. But it turned out well in the end I thought. Now, the aftermath.

Make sure everyone gets me your contract years for your new draftees by tomorrow. We don't want a situation where someone gets hurt on Saturday and a GM hands in a late roster with said player signed to a one year contract.

Also, get your checks in...rosters will be frozen after week 1 for anyone who has failed to pay.

I'm going to go ahead and turn waivers on Saturday. Last year, we waited until after Opening Day, but I thought since we have players currently under contract, it'll give everyone some flexibility. But first, you MUST hand in your rosters with contract years assigned (I'm not going to make it that easy on you).

Feel free to gripe in the comments section.

Final Words

Ok, I hope everyone is ready for the draft this Sunday. 3 days till the big show. Reminder, the draft is Sunday, March 28th at 8PM (CENTRAL STANDARD TIME).

So far I have only received a check from Jimmy's Daddy and The SwinGERS, so get those checks in fellas.

We'll use this as a draft day open thread. The Ger has the first pick of the draft, followed by yours truly and Mr. 3000. Should be an interesting, strategic draft. Looking forward to it.

Markakisgate

Ok guys, I just realized something and have immediately moved to correct it. For some reason, I treated Nick Markakis as a waiver wire pickup, thus, keeping him as my 5th round waiver wire pick. Upon further investigation, I realized that Nick Markakis was in fact, a trade pickup from The SwinGERS (thus making him ineligible for 5th round keeper status).

He has been removed from the Roscoe Village Hot Dogs and returned to the eligible draftee player pool (and will be available come draft day).

Please know this was not intentional, and as soon as I learned of the mistake, I moved to correct it. As a result, I have added my team to the 5th round of the draft, and the spreadsheet has been updated. Since I sent the spreadsheet out AFTER I realized my mistake, I'll send an updated one sometime this weekend.

If anyone has any questions or concerns, please let me know. Thank you for your understanding.

9 Days Til Draft

We're rapidly approaching draft day, everyone. As a reminder, the draft will take place on Sunday, March 28th at 9PM, Eastern Standard Time.

Please send your entry checks to me at the address I gave you in the e-mail that was just sent out.

Draft Date

Ok, let's put this to bed once and for all. Currently, the draft is scheduled for Wednesday, March 24th at 7PM CST. A number of people have said they prefer Sunday evening so I want to throw out Sunday, March 28th at 8PM CST as a potential draft date/time. Let me know in the comments section.

Mr. Hackman, I received your email and the latest spreadsheet that was sent out on Friday should reflect the change (two 5th round Cobras picks).

This is a great commercial, btw. Love Verlander's comment at the end.

New Draft Issue

I was just looking at the draft, and I've gotta be honest with you, the lower ranked teams are at a total disadvantage. In my opinion, the snake draft is the obvious example. But we voted and it was the will of the league (or the rules, anyway) to keep it as is. The scenario after Round 5 is further proof of the inequity here. Take my draft spot for instance.

Having the 2nd worst finish in the league, I have the #2 overall pick. With that, here are my first 4 picks.

2
23
26
47

Now, based on "snake rules", I should have a pick shortly after my 4th round pick (pick 47). But since the 5th round is for teams that didn't keep a player, I am excluded from picking in that round (which is fine). However, in round 6, I have to wait till the end of the round before making another pick (thus, giving me pick 64). So let's recap here-

After my 3rd round pick (pick 26), because of the flawed snake draft, I have to wait 21 picks before my next pick (pick 47). Now, instead of getting a pick shortly thereafter, I have to wait an astounding 17 picks before making my next selection (pick 64).

Wouldn't it be fair to start round 6 with the lower seeded teams? One might argue that that wouldn't be fair for the higher ranked teams, who would have to wait just as long. My argument to that would be that the point of the draft order is to help the lower seeded teams gain parity (which is already questionable in the fact that the higher seeded teams get a lions share of the top rated players in an already thin draft pool.

I would like to hear everyone's thoughts on this, in my opinion, the draft (as it currently stands) is designed to keep the top rated teams on top and continues to put lower ranked teams as a disadvantage.

New Issue Monday

Check out this video, it's amazing. If this doesn't put tears in your eyes, you're crazy (or not a Yankee fan). My favorite part are two Mattingly homers (around 5:00 in). There are few players out there with a better swing than Donnie.

Yankee Mike brought up an issue that I promised I would open up for discussion. Whether it leads to a change of some kind, I don't know. But I thought it would be productive to hash it out and get everyone's input. From Yankee Mike-

My idea is that if you trade a multi year contract away and you receive less in return, you should assume that value just as you do if you receive a larger value in return. (applying towards next year)

My idea is when I traded a 2 year player for a 1 year player, I thought that extra year would come off my books for next year, freeing up the credit I lost when dropping a 2 year player in a separate transaction. I made a decision to make this trade based on next year, clearing knowing my team was not going to win it all. If we are dealing with a cap of 50 credits and trades can impact that for the following years, I think it should go both ways with assuming a contract.

I am relating this to a salary cap. I do agree there should be a penalty for dropping multi year contracts, but if you can wisely pull of a trade ridding yourself of a multi year contract, then that should balance into the credits as well.

If the team assumes a contract, then two teams should not be "paying" for the same player in the following year.

Make sense?

Please Vote

PG, General Manager of the Roscoe Village Hot Dogs, proposes an amendment to Section IV 1(a) of the League Rules. The amendment will read-

"Draft will utilize the snake method in Year 1 (where the last pick in the 1st round has the 1st pick in the second round, etc) and the standard method in Years 2-6 (where the draft order is 1-12 in every round)."

If you support this change, please vote in the comments section AYE, YES, etc. If you do not support this change, please vote NO.

Spring Training

Hey guys!! This is the open thread for the e-mail I sent out earlier. Feel free to leave any questions, comments, or observations (as I am sure I left some details out).

UPDATE 3:01 CST-Fellas, your team rosters have now been fully updated (i.e. your keepers have been processed and any non-keepers were purged back into the free agent/draftee pool). You can now go to your team page and view your team as it looks right now (and figure out what positions are a priority). Still working on draft order.

UPDATE 2/20 9:40 AM CST- Just noticed that I assigned 5th round/free agent keepers to the one year category when they should be placed in the two year contract category. I will adjust that (along with contract year/credits).

Keeping Score

Let's take today to discuss the stats categories. I just wanted to ensure that everyone was ok with them. In case you forgot, they are currently-

Scoring for Batting Categories
BA - Batting Average
HR - Home Runs
R - Runs
RBI - Runs Batted In
SB - Stolen Bases


Scoring for Pitching Categories
ERA - Earned Run Average
K - Strikeouts (Pitcher)
S - Saves
W - Wins
WHIP - Walks + Hits / Inning

Is everyone good with this? Does anyone have any ideas?

Let's talk about the tie-breaker. Right now, according to the rules, its says, "In the event of a 5 to 5 tie, the team with better statistics from their reserve players wins the week".

I know there was some discussion during the season last year (both pro and con). Let's get your input and see if we can either come up with a better solution or affirm the current rules that are in place. Fire away.

Day 2

A lot has been said about the league's finances, so 3K and I propose instituting a system for payments. The initial $100 will be due BEFORE draft day (which is at the end of March so I don't see it being a problem). Those who do not pay before draft day will not be able to draft (and their team will go to autodraft). Hopefully it won't come to that.

As far as transactions, the first installment for transcation payments will be the end of All-Star weekend in July. For those who do not meet this deadline will not be able to make any trades or free agent pickups until we receive payment.

The second installment for transaction payments will be at the end of the season.

I think this is a sensible idea and one that will keep the league's finances in order (and ensure prompt payment to the winners).


Also, if you notice in the league rules, the points system (points awarded to each team based on where they placed at the end of the season) is a tad askew (if was accidentally based on a 14 team league). So I would like to offer an amendment to adjust the points distribution to a 12 team league. It will be adjusted as follows-

1st place- 16 points
2nd place- 13 points
3rd place- 10 points
4th place- 8 points
5th place- 7 points
6th place- 6 points
7th place- 5 points
8th place- 4 points
9th place- 3 points
10th place- 2 points
11th place- 1 point
12th place-0 points

PG Convention 2010

I hereby declare PG Sportsworld's 2010 Fantasy Baseball convention open. As I have mentioned before, this week we will address some issues that fellow GM have talked about since last season as well as some new ideas. The object of the exercise is to have all of the stakeholders involved a seat at the table, and the power to mold the league something exciting as well as competitive.

With that in mind, let's get to our first issue. GM New Linc of the Salt Creek Sluggers, submitted this proposal. Let's discuss it, and please make your vote by 11:59PM this evening.

New Linc's proposal for the 2010 fantasy baseball season puts in place a "franchise tag" type of option for one player on each team. The specifics are as follows:
Each team owner MAY re-sign, if they choose to do so, one player on their existing roster who would otherwise hit the free agent market upon the condition that the player selected receives the maximum 3 year contract.

For example, of the players you have on your roster that are due to hit free agency this year you could select Hudson Street as your player to "tag" and give him a 3 year contract thus keeping him off the free agency market. Or, if you want a complete over-haul you could let all your free agents hit the market and roll the dice that you can re-draft him at a 1 or 2 year contract.

The rational for this option is to allow all team owners some flexibility come the start of each season and allow them to designate either a superstar or young talent to build their franchise around. It also mirrors the MLB with such teams/players as St. Louis/Pujols, Twins/Mauer, Marlins/Ramirez, etc.

A few notes here. Since we already have the Free Agent/5th Round pick system in place, if New Linc's proposal were to pass, it would not be effective until the 2011 season.

Open Thread

Please use this for questions/comments regarding the player database, waiver wire situation, or all things related to fantasy baseball.

PG GM Conference

Ok guys, I am planning on having our annual GM conference next week right here on the blog. This is how it will work. Each day I will post a pressing issue that needs to be addressed, and each and every GM has a vote. I will e-mail everyone a copy of the league rules to peruse before the conference (everyone should have one already).

Per the League rules, a 75% majority will automatically pass an amendment without the commissioner's approval. A 2/3 majority (but under 75%) approves an amendment where the commissioner will make the final ruling. Keep in mind, an appeal can be made to the assistant commissioner if an owner feels the commissioner did not act with the best interests of the league. If three people appeal to the assistant commissioner, the assisant commissioner can overturn the Commissioner's ruling.

So if anyone wants to amend the rules or add new ones, next week is the time to do it.

Let's use this forum to discuss the upcoming conference. Any suggestions or ideas are always welcomed.