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.