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)