I have to say, this league is pretty competitive. 16 of the 20 teams within one game of .500 or better and one of the teams that is not, is right there with points, and even has more points than the fourth seeded team right now. Let me say that again, the 17th seeded team has more points than two teams who are above .500, one that is the fourth seeded team. That’s not too bad. We do have three teams that have fallen behind, that happen in all leagues. At least they all have reasons. One is rebuilding in a non-keeper league and waiting on some minor leaguer who is on someone else’s roster. One lost the ball in the ivy, one is scared and one, well I have nothing for the last one. But having 17 competitive teams still after seven weeks is pretty good.
The Calicubs (5-2) 299 over Bullpen MacGyvers (4-3) 287
In the closest matchup of the week Calicubs improved to 5-2 with his 299-287 win over Bullpen Macgyvers (4-3). Calicubs was led by Brett Gardner who hit 2 HRs and drove in 7 runs this week on his way to a 36 point week. Dallas Keuchel was his best pitcher with a shutout against their rival Rangers. 7 H 7 K 0 BB led him to 33 points.
MacGyvers was led by Rick Porcello who went 2-0 with a 1.29 ERA on the week to put up 44 points. Jake Peavy not only didn’t help out on Sunday night, but his -8 points in his first start put the team in a hole to start the week. Things don’t get any easier for Bullpen as 1st place Runnin Bredstiks comes to town.
Aguas de Marco Billy (5-2) 311 over Kentucky Ripsnorters (5-2) 302
This matchup came down to bullpens on Sunday as Cody Allen of the Ripsnorters couldn’t get an out but gave up 3 runs on 2 hits and 2 walks to lose 10 points very quickly, while David Robertson came in and struck out 3 of the 4 hitters he faced to get 12 points on his way to the save. Anibal Sanchez took the mound for Rip to try and get the W, but even with Sanchez getting the pitchers W, he only put up 14 points to fall 10 points short of the victory.
Aguas after averaging 252 points the first 6 weeks on his way to a 4-2 record, pitched and slugged his way to a victory this week. Edwin Jacksons excellent outing (7 IP, 11 K’s, W) put up 33 points and Cole Hamels (7 IP, 10 K’s, W) scored 30 points. His top hitter was Yangervis Solarte (who?) with his 3 HR’s on the week and 31 points.
Ripsnorters had 2 huge weeks with Yasiel Puig hitting 3 HR’s and driving in 10 runs (39 pts) while fellow IFA signing Masahiro Tanaka threw his first US shutout and struck out 8 batters (37 points). But even with these 2 big weeks, it wasn’t enough as the Ripsnorters hot start has turned cold with back to back losses.
Team Gramps (3-4) 259 over Waiting on Bryant (2-5) 230
Team Gramps caught a break again as he defeated Waiting on Bryant, which is fine strategy but doesn’t lead to many wins in the games that count, 259-230. This matchup was close all week as Team Gramps balanced attack, led by David Murphy (29 pts) and Brandon McCarthy (28 pts). Bryant was led by Edwin Encarnacion (27 pts) and James Shields (28 pts) but was really hurt by 4 negative outings totaling 24 points.
Whats Optimism? Vivid Reality (5-2) 297 over Clark n Addison Tony_H (4-3) 255
I’ve been playing fantasy baseball for many years now and I would say not many weeks have surprised me. The weeks I lose, I usually have an idea early in the week or just a feeling that this isn’t my week. But I have to say, this one shocked me. Clayton Kershaw took the mound and had 6 points at point, yet in the 2nd inning he started giving up hits and runs, boy did he give up runs. And they just kept coming, until finally Mattingly had mercy and pulled him after only 2 outs in the second inning. Now studs like Kershaw have bad outing, but they usually stay in the game and make the outing respectable. There was nothing respectable about the best pitcher in the game losing 13 points after giving up 7 runs. OUCH!!!
Whats Optimism took charge from that point forward and a couple of hitters led the way. Brandon Moss hit 3 HR’s, drove in 11 runs and put up 50 points on the week. Josh Donaldson also hit 3 HR’s and drove in 10 runs to put up 42 runs. Those A’s just keep winning even with lower payrolls.
Northside Bleacher Bums (4-3) 276 over The Wrong Team (3-4) 209
Northside Bleacher Bums were led by Joe Nathan and his 4 saves and Jorge De La Rosa gave up only 1 hit and 1 walk over 7 innings to get the W and 30 points. The Wrong Team best week was Seth Smith with 2 HR’s on the week.
FL JimBoC (4-3) 313 over Balls Deep in the Ivy (1-6) 219
Tyler Clippard (32 pts) picked up 2 W’s out of the bullpen for FL JimBoC while Bud Norris started 2 games, picked up no wins and yet put up 33 points. Drew Hutchinson threw a shutout while giving up only 3 hits and 1 walk on his way to 35 points and Starlin Castro put up 30 points for Balls Deep in the Ivy.
Runnin’ Bredstiks (6-1) 304 over Slammin Steve Petty (0-7) 245
Cliff Lee picked up a W in 2 starts to get 37 points, while Johnny Cueto only needed 1 start to put up 36 points in his 3 hit, 2 BB, shutout. There was no pitching for Petty this week, but plenty of Slammin going on. 10 Home Runs on the week, led by David Ortiz (37 pts) with 4.
07Greydigger’s Crushers (4-3) 312 over Team Scared Hitless (0-7) 206
Greydigger was led by Christian Yelich (31 pts) with 2 HR’s and Paul Goldschmidt (36 pts) and his 2 HR’s and 9 RBI’s. Freddie Freeman slugged 2 HR’s and drove in 7 for Scared Hitless but the rest of his team failed to show up.
Baywatch Buttspanx (4-3) 335 over CubfaninSeattle John (4-3) 276
Baywatch overcame two different pitchers losing 9 points each with CJ Wilson striking out 15 in his 2 starts on his way to 41 points. Ryan Vogelsong also had 2 starts and struck out 14 to get 38 points. Josh Reddick came back to like and hit 3 HR’s and 11 RBi’s to get 39 points. Juan Francisco also added 30 points with his 3 HR’s. Seattle was led by King Felix and his 2 W’s on the week, but the offense wasn’t up to the challenge this week.
Team JasonOfTheBurbs (3-4) 282 over BigJonLilJon’s LehairOfTheDog (4-3) 237
Tim Lincecum picked up a W in his 2 starts and added 17 strikeouts on his way to leading JOTB with 41 points. RA Dickey added 31 points in his 2 starts. BigJon was led by Miguel Cabrera. Miggy is back slugging 2 more HR’s and driving in 10 runs to put up 35 points.
Top Player Performances - Week 7
| Player | Points | Team |
|---|---|---|
| Brandon Moss | 50 | Whats Optimism? Vivid Reality |
| David Price | 44 | Clark n Addison Tony_H |
| Rick Porcello | 44 | Bullpen MacGyvers |
| Josh Donaldson | 42 | Whats Optimism? Vivid Reality |
| Tim Lincecum | 41 | Team JasonOfTheBurbs |
| C.J. Wilson | 41 | Baywatch Buttspanx |
Sheffield Division - Week 7 Standings
| Record | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 6-1 | Runnin Bredstiks | 2194 |
| 5-2 | The Calicubs | 2248 |
| 4-3 | Baywatch Buttspanx | 2108 |
| 4-3 | CubfaninSeattle John | 2081 |
| 4-3 | FLJimBoC | 2061 |
| 4-3 | BigJohnLilJon's LehairOfTheDog | 1910 |
| 4-3 | Bullpen Macgyvers | 1901 |
| 3-4 | Team JasonOfTheBurbs | 1918 |
| 1-6 | Balls Deep in The Ivy | 1683 |
| 0-7 | Slammin Steven Petty | 1619 |
| Record | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 5-2 | Kentucky Ripsnorters | 2200 |
| 5-2 | Aguas de Marco Billy | 1827 |
| 5-2 | Whats Optimism? Vivid Reality | 2095 |
| 4-3 | 07Greydigger's Crushers | 2138 |
| 4-3 | Clark n Addison Tony_H | 2096 |
| 4-3 | Northside Bleacher Bums | 1834 |
| 3-4 | Team Gramps | 1979 |
| 3-4 | The Wrong Team | 1871 |
| 2-5 | Waiting on Bryant | 1858 |
| 0-7 | Team Scared Hitless | 1475 |
Transactions
The transaction wire picked up this week with 39 free agent pick-ups this week. World Series MVP David Freese was picked up and former Cub Tyler Colvin found a home in Florida along with Jake Arrieta who wasn’t on the market long after being cut earlier in the week.
One trade was accepted this week. BigJon finally found a taker for Pablo Sandoval and received Kurt Suzuki, Gavin Floyd and Darren O’Day in return from Calicubs. BigJon had to drop Wilson Ramos and Jacob Turner in the deal. This seems like a trade that can only happen in a big league as getting 3 lesser players for 1 guy wouldn’t make sense in a 10-12 team league. But here BigJon upgraded 3 spots for a good player he couldn’t get in the lineup.
Hard Luck Good Luck
Hard luck teams (Teams that should be in the Top 8 based on points). CubfaninSeattle John slipped out of the playoffs this week with the 8th most points.
Good luck teams (Currently in the playoffs, but not in the Top 8 in points). Aguas de Marco Billy had a good points week but the Top 8 is averaging just shy of 300 points to crack, but Aguas keeps getting W’s while averaging 261 points. Smoke and mirrors might be the explanation, or it could just be the schedule, only time will tell.
Notes
Weeks 10 and 20 are the same match-up.
Weeks 11 and 21 are the same match-up.
So in weeks 10 and 21 we will be doing a position round. 1 vs 2, 3 vs 4, etc down to 19 vs 20.
I will not set the schedule until Monday morning of those weeks once the standings are official.
One other note, the league is for public viewing. Here are two shortcuts to take you to the league site on ESPN.