An interesting Week 1, where pitchers were OK and batters, for the most part were subpar. Relievers were downright awful. The 12 fantasy teams combined to post 17 blown saves. Yes, I said 17. Here’s the week that was:
Backward Ks (11-10-3) vs. JimmyJam Slammers (10-11-3)
Winner: Ks 11-10-3
Top bat: The Ks’ Ryan Howard went 10-for-28 with three doubles, a triple, three homers, 10 RBIs and six runs scored. Only four strikeouts, too, three coming in one game. I’d be mad at Schiavo if I weren’t such a Phillies fan.
Top arm: The Ks’ Scott Feldman made two quality starts and his 0.93 WHIP helped the Ks win that category.
Recap: A fairly even start for two of the league (projected) top teams. Both teams suffered from Batters-itis, also known as Shitty-bat-syndrome, which is a rare form of fantasy baseball disease that can plague two teams at the same time. Heading into the weekend, both were tied with a .222 batting average. The Slammers “rebounded,” if you can call it that, to bat .235 and the Ks improved to just .225 to lose the category. But the extra base hits and RBIs were the key.
Noisy Basterds (13-8-3) vs. Team Suck (8-13-3)
Winner: Basterds 13-8-3
Top bat: Matt Holliday helped make the difference in the batting categories, going 11-for-26 with six singles, two doubles, three homers and six RBIs.
Top arm: It’s hard to pick a top pitcher when the best pitching team in this matchup didn’t win a game and had the top ERA at 4.98. Whoa! So, congrats Kevin Gregg of the Basterds. Your two saves and a hold in 3 1/3 innings of scoreless ball earns you the top arm in this matchup.
Recap: Don’t be fooled. Seven categories here were decided by two or fewer, which means this could have gone either way. Not included in that tally was the fact that the Basterds won batting average .306-.305, ERA 4.98-5.07, and WHIP 1.37-1.47. It was that close.
Graybill’s Generals (12-8-4) vs. Vandelay Industries (8-12-4)
Winner: Generals 12-8-4
Top bat: Dustin Pedroia was the batting General here, going 9-for-25 with a double and three homers. He had seven RBIs and six runs scored.
Top arm: Um. Guess who? Roy Halladay, that’s who. Two quality starts, 2-0, a complete-game win, 17 strikeouts. Need I say more?
Recap: Another matchup plagued by poor hitting and had several categories that could have gone either way. The complete-game win for Halladay on Sunday added a win for the Industries, but failed starts for Yovani Gallardo, Johan Santana and Bud Norris kicked up the ERA, WHIP and Losses.
Dolph’s Destroyers (10-10-4) vs. Sex Panthers (10-10-4)
Winner: Tie 10-10-4
Top bat: The Panthers’ Albert Pujols, who else? Four homers, a .375 average, seven runs scored and 10 driven in. Two game-winning RBIs were nice to have, too.
Top arm: Panthers’ CJ Wilson. Moving from a failed closer to starter, he’s off to a much better start. Wilson went 7 innings, allowing just five hits and two walks while striking out nine.
Recap: A potential Ron Burgundy Championship Series matchup ends in a tie. It was a fairly even split because the Destroyers’ pitching failed him. King Felix and Verlander were mediocre or less. Maybe they need to stop doing MLB 2K10 commercials.
NJ Bombers (11-8-5) vs. Bad News Bears (8-11-5)
Winner: Bombers 11-8-5
Top bat: Casey McGehee was part of the Bears’ home run parade (league-best 12 so far) hitting two, including one of his two game-winners on Sunday night. He had four RBIs and batted .348 for the week.
Top arm: Jered Weaver led the Bombers pitching staff to take several categories, pitching two quality starts and striking out 13 batters. He was 1-0 with just four runs allowed on nine hits and three walks.
Recap: Well, the Bears slugged it out. Twelve homers, seven GWRBIs and 35 RBIs. It just came down to pitching, which the Bears could only take two categories — walks and saves. Short on pitchers, the Bears should look to fix this problem ASAP. But hey, they’re 8-11-5. Still in the playoff hunt.
Gameday Gamblers (11-8-5) vs. Stankinator (8-11-5)
Winner: Gamblers 11-8-5
Top bat: Jorge Cantu had 10 RBIs for the Gamblers, which helped knot the category score at 37-37. Cantu had four doubles and two homers, other categories that the Gamblers easily took.
Top arm: Mark Buehrle. Plain and simple, he was the best of the week for this matchup. The Stanks’ starter pitched 15 innings, ha a quality start and a 2-0 record. He allowed just four runs on 11 hits and three walks.
Recap: The Stank had a great pitching week, but couldn’t match the strikeouts and win total that made the difference. The Gamblers managed a 9-4 record in using only 11 starts, which means the bullpen came up with some help. It’s obviously still early, but the Gamblers picked up some key wins in what could be a close race.
Backward Ks (11-10-3) vs. JimmyJam Slammers (10-11-3)
Winner: Ks 11-10-3
Top bat: The Ks’ Ryan Howard went 10-for-28 with three doubles, a triple, three homers, 10 RBIs and six runs scored. Only four strikeouts, too, three coming in one game. I’d be mad at Schiavo if I weren’t such a Phillies fan.
Top arm: The Ks’ Scott Feldman made two quality starts and his 0.93 WHIP helped the Ks win that category.
Recap: A fairly even start for two of the league (projected) top teams. Both teams suffered from Batters-itis, also known as Shitty-bat-syndrome, which is a rare form of fantasy baseball disease that can plague two teams at the same time. Heading into the weekend, both were tied with a .222 batting average. The Slammers “rebounded,” if you can call it that, to bat .235 and the Ks improved to just .225 to lose the category. But the extra base hits and RBIs were the key.
Noisy Basterds (13-8-3) vs. Team Suck (8-13-3)
Winner: Basterds 13-8-3
Top bat: Matt Holliday helped make the difference in the batting categories, going 11-for-26 with six singles, two doubles, three homers and six RBIs.
Top arm: It’s hard to pick a top pitcher when the best pitching team in this matchup didn’t win a game and had the top ERA at 4.98. Whoa! So, congrats Kevin Gregg of the Basterds. Your two saves and a hold in 3 1/3 innings of scoreless ball earns you the top arm in this matchup.
Recap: Don’t be fooled. Seven categories here were decided by two or fewer, which means this could have gone either way. Not included in that tally was the fact that the Basterds won batting average .306-.305, ERA 4.98-5.07, and WHIP 1.37-1.47. It was that close.
Graybill’s Generals (12-8-4) vs. Vandelay Industries (8-12-4)
Winner: Generals 12-8-4
Top bat: Dustin Pedroia was the batting General here, going 9-for-25 with a double and three homers. He had seven RBIs and six runs scored.
Top arm: Um. Guess who? Roy Halladay, that’s who. Two quality starts, 2-0, a complete-game win, 17 strikeouts. Need I say more?
Recap: Another matchup plagued by poor hitting and had several categories that could have gone either way. The complete-game win for Halladay on Sunday added a win for the Industries, but failed starts for Yovani Gallardo, Johan Santana and Bud Norris kicked up the ERA, WHIP and Losses.
Dolph’s Destroyers (10-10-4) vs. Sex Panthers (10-10-4)
Winner: Tie 10-10-4
Top bat: The Panthers’ Albert Pujols, who else? Four homers, a .375 average, seven runs scored and 10 driven in. Two game-winning RBIs were nice to have, too.
Top arm: Panthers’ CJ Wilson. Moving from a failed closer to starter, he’s off to a much better start. Wilson went 7 innings, allowing just five hits and two walks while striking out nine.
Recap: A potential Ron Burgundy Championship Series matchup ends in a tie. It was a fairly even split because the Destroyers’ pitching failed him. King Felix and Verlander were mediocre or less. Maybe they need to stop doing MLB 2K10 commercials.
NJ Bombers (11-8-5) vs. Bad News Bears (8-11-5)
Winner: Bombers 11-8-5
Top bat: Casey McGehee was part of the Bears’ home run parade (league-best 12 so far) hitting two, including one of his two game-winners on Sunday night. He had four RBIs and batted .348 for the week.
Top arm: Jered Weaver led the Bombers pitching staff to take several categories, pitching two quality starts and striking out 13 batters. He was 1-0 with just four runs allowed on nine hits and three walks.
Recap: Well, the Bears slugged it out. Twelve homers, seven GWRBIs and 35 RBIs. It just came down to pitching, which the Bears could only take two categories — walks and saves. Short on pitchers, the Bears should look to fix this problem ASAP. But hey, they’re 8-11-5. Still in the playoff hunt.
Gameday Gamblers (11-8-5) vs. Stankinator (8-11-5)
Winner: Gamblers 11-8-5
Top bat: Jorge Cantu had 10 RBIs for the Gamblers, which helped knot the category score at 37-37. Cantu had four doubles and two homers, other categories that the Gamblers easily took.
Top arm: Mark Buehrle. Plain and simple, he was the best of the week for this matchup. The Stanks’ starter pitched 15 innings, ha a quality start and a 2-0 record. He allowed just four runs on 11 hits and three walks.
Recap: The Stank had a great pitching week, but couldn’t match the strikeouts and win total that made the difference. The Gamblers managed a 9-4 record in using only 11 starts, which means the bullpen came up with some help. It’s obviously still early, but the Gamblers picked up some key wins in what could be a close race.
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