Eight weeks into the season and we have only five teams under 500. That makes 15 teams in the playoffs or within one game of the playoffs. Only three teams stand on top at 7-1 and 6-2. Runnin Bredstiks is the No. 1 seed right now at 7-1 with Kentucky Ripsnorters the No. 2 seed by leading the Waveland division at 6-2. Third seed is The Calicubs also at 6-2. The playoffs currently need a 5-3 record and 2205 points to break the tiebreaker.
FL JimBoC (5-3) 402 over CubfaninSeattle John (4-4) 243
What happens when 2 players get you 123 points and your opponent scores 243 with his whole team? Yep a blow-out. Adam Wainwright picked up 2 wins with 21 k’s in 17 innings while not giving up a run while Nelson Cruz drove the offense with 4 Home Runs and 7 RBI’s. Jered Weaver threw a 2 hitter on his way to 33 points. It was a week to forget for Seattle as Justin Verlander lost 11 points in 2 starts and his offense took most of the week off.
RunninBredstiks (7-1) 342 over Bullpen MacGyvers (4-4) 321
Tied going into Sunday at 271 this one came down to Sunday’s pitchers. Bredstiks picked up 46 points in 3 Sunday starts and the margin of victory came from Sunday free agent pick up Jimmy Nelson and his 21 points in his victory over the Marlins 7-1. For the week, Bredstiks brought their bats with Chris Davis (43 pts., 4 HR’s, 10 RBI’s), Michael Brantley (37 pts., 1 HR, 1 3B, 2 2B’s, 6 RBI’s) Jonathan Lucroy (35 pts., 8 2B’s, 5 RBI’s) and Jose Altuve (33 pts., 10 singles, 3 2B’s) having big weeks. MacGyvers was led by Doug Fister and his 39 pts. in his 2 start week and Justin Upton and his 3 HR and 10 RBI’s on his way to 39 points.
07Greydigger’s Crushers (5-3) 307 over Waiting on Bryant (2-6) 295
Another close finish after Waiting on Bryant made a comeback attempt on Sunday but came up short. Greydigger was led by Corey Kluber in his 2 start week, striking out 17 in 14 innings to put up 43 points. On offense Marcell Ozuna (34 pts.) hit 3 HR’s and drove in 9 runs. Bryant had some big offensive weeks from Edwin Encarnacion (38 pts., 5 HR’s, 9 RBI’s) and George Springer (35 pts., 4 HR’s, 9 RBI’s).
Clark n Addison Tony_H (5-3) 261 over Team Scared Hitless (0-8) 208
Scared Hitless! That was me this week as I watched a winless team keep pace most of the week as a slowly gained on him over the weekend. Absolutely nothing to write home about on my team this week as not one player scored over 28 pts. and not one hitter was over 21. Good timing is all I can say!
Team Gramps (4-4) 308 over Aguas de Marco Billy (5-3) 287
Another good game this week came down to Sunday with Gramps with a 5 point lead. Julio Teheran who had an awful week last week was the hero throwing 6 innings, striking out 7 giving up no runs on his way to a W and 26 pts. For the week Teheran put up 59 points, picking up 2 wins while giving up 0 runs, over 15 innings with 15 k’s. Aguas de Marco Billy had one week over 30 with Lonnie Chisenhall hitting 4 2B’s, 2 HR’s and 6 RBI’s to put up 34 pts. Edwin Jackson got cut after his -11 pts. in just 4 innings.
The Calicubs (6-2) 336 over Team JasonOfTheBurbs (3-5) 179
Dallas Keuchel put up a big 2 start week with 17.2 innings, 14 K’s, and only 2 runs on his way to 65 points and lead the way for Calicubs. Calicubs had a pretty balanced offense to easily win over JasonOfTheBurbs who had a week to forget.
Kentucky Ripsnorters (6-2) 362 over Northside Bleacher Bums (4-4) 274
362 points and his best individual performance was 34 points from Tanaka. If someone told me that a team would have 3 W’s, 0 Saves, and only 6 HR’s, I wouldn’t have thought they would put up 362 points. Balanced team effort out of Kentucky that is for sure. The Bleacher Bums only highlight of the week was Josh Beckett’s no-hitter on Sunday to get 45 points.
The Wrong Team (4-4) 281 over Whats Optimism? Vivid Reality (5-3) 214
The Wrong Team was led by Stephen Strasburg and his 29 pts. and Garrett Jones led the offense with 2 HR’s and 23 pts. Even the most optimistic person can’t find much good about Vivid Reality’s week and not one player over 20 pts.
BigJonLilJon’s LehairOfTheDog (5-3) 295 over Baywatch Buttspanx (4-4) 199
Jason Hammel led the way for Big Jon in his 34 point 2 start week and Ian Kinsler led the offense with 30 pts. Baywatch didn’t have one player over 20 points.
Slammin Steve Petty (1-7) 261 over Balls Deep in the Ivy (1-7) 250
Slammin Steve picked up his first victory. Slammin picked up JA Happ on Sunday and he led the way to victory with 7 shut-out innings.
Top Player Performances - Week 8
| Player | Points | Team |
|---|---|---|
| Adam Wainwright | 77 | FL JimBoC |
| Dallas Keuchel | 65 | The Calicubs |
| Julio Teheran | 59 | Team Gramps |
| Nelson Cruz | 45 | FL JimBoC |
| Josh Beckett | 45 | Northside Bleacher Bums |
Sheffield Division - Week 8 Standings
| Record | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 7-1 | Runnin Bredstiks | 2536 |
| 6-2 | The Calicubs | 2584 |
| 5-3 | FL JimBoC | 2463 |
| 5-3 | BigJonLilJon's LehairOfTheDog | 2205 |
| 4-4 | CubfaninSeattle John | 2324 |
| 4-4 | Baywatch Buttspanx | 2307 |
| 4-4 | Bullpen Macgyvers | 2222 |
| 3-5 | Team JasonOfTheBurbs | 2097 |
| 1-7 | Slammin Steven Petty | 1880 |
| 1-7 | Balls Deep In The Ivy | 1993 |
Waveland Division - Week 8 Standings
| Record | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 6-2 | Kentucky Ripsnorters | 2536 |
| 5-3 | 07GreyDigger's Crushers | 2445 |
| 5-3 | Clark n Addison Tony_H | 2537 |
| 5-3 | Whats Optimism? Vivid Reality | 2309 |
| 5-3 | Aguas de Marco Billy | 2114 |
| 4-4 | Team Gramps | 2287 |
| 4-4 | Northside Bleacher Bums | 2108 |
| 4-4 | The Wrong Team | 2152 |
| 2-6 | Waiting on Bryant | 2153 |
| 0-8 | Team Scared Hitless | 1683 |
Transactions
The transaction wire was busy again this week with 40 free agent pick-ups this week. Many players that were dropped creating a chain reaction of transactions as they get picked right back up by another team. Daisuke Matsuzaka, Billy Butler, Clay Buchholtz, and Jeremy Hellickson all were cut and found new teams this past week. Cub players Ryan Kalish and Edwin Jackson both were cut this week along with former Cubs Kyle Farnsworth and Paul Maholm.
Hard Luck Good Luck
Hard luck teams (Teams that should be in the Top 8 based on points). CubfaninSeattle John stayed out of the playoffs this week with the 7th most points but is currently 1 game behind in the standings.
Good luck teams (Currently in the playoffs, but not in the Top 8 in points). BigJonLIlJon’s Leahir of the Dog is holding onto the 8th spot with a 5-3 record, even as he sits 12th in points. Of course he is holding off fellow good luck team Aguas de Marco Billy also at 5-3 who is in 9th place but currently 15th in points.
Notes
Next Monday, June 2 is Week 10 and a position round
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.