The front-running Walrus endured our worst week of the season by far, yet somehow managed to escape with a 6-6 draw and maintained a nine-game lead in the standings. It helped that none of the closest contenders had great weeks, either. Mebion Glyndwr held on to second by rallying from an 8-3 deficit on Sunday for a 5-5 tie with the rebuilt SABR Magicians. AGF was defeated 7-4 by the improving defending champion Austin Senators, missing a chance to gain some ground. Baird Brain closed the gap on Billie’s Bashers with an 8-4 decision; they're now tied for fifth. The big move of the week was made by the Eastern Shore Birds, who trounced cellar-dwelling Jick’s Rays 10-2 to vault from seventh all the way to third. The Moscow Rats beat the Horse Field Hammers 9-3, moving to the fringes of playoff contention. Thirteen teams are now bunched within a dozen games of second place, so anything can happen. I'm fortunate to have a little cushion, as my team is awful right now.
The standings, with almost a third of the regular season complete:
My pitching, which had been the strength of the team, was horrible. Billy Wagner’s on the DL, and the Terry Adams experiment was short-lived. (What was I thinking? That it cost me “only” Tom Gordon. D'oh!) I’m sure I took a big hit in the unofficial Roto standings, but in Head-to-Head play, an ERA of 6.33 and a WHIP of 1.75 are no worse than losing those categories by a whisker, so it’s probably a good thing that almost all my starters blew up in the same week. IP and W were my only chances to earn any pitching points, and thankfully, Freddy Garcia came through late Sunday afternoon to salvage the tie.
In other words, the Walrus really dodged a bullet to remain unbeaten in seven matchups this year. It may be that some of my early-season overachievers on the mound (Marquis, Alvarez, Silva, Madson, Arroyo) were simply flukes, and I’ll soon come back to the pack with a resounding thud. I fear that Bobby Abreu (.435/.581/.696 and a couple of SB) will soon grow tired of carrying this team, so my "best" hitters better wake up. I'm trying, without much confidence, to rally the troops for the impending battle with K-Town.
The standings, with almost a third of the regular season complete:
# Team W-L-T Pct GBI was very lucky not to be trounced by the Fish Candy. Carlos Delgado, as anyone who visits this site knows only too well, had another terrible week; a decent Sunday pulled him up to .190/.308/.238, while Jim Thome has a sore thumb and sat out several games, getting just 8 AB. My other "slugger" Raffy Palmeiro disappeared to .182/.217/.227 — I have no idea how I won four hitting categories. Now Matt Lawton and Kenny Lofton are hurt, both leaving in the middle of yesterday's games. In fantasy baseball, just like the real thing, no matter how good your roster is, you still need some luck — even if it’s only avoiding the bad variety.
1 Toronto Walrus 59-21-4 .726 --
2 Mebion Glyndwr 50-30-4 .619 9
3 Eastern Shore Birds 49-33-2 .595 11
4 AGF 47-32-5 .589 11.5
5 Baird Brain 46-34-4 .571 13
6 Billie's Bashers 47-35-2 .571 13
7 Moscow Rats 46-35-3 .565 13.5
8 Chatsworth Halos 46-36-2 .560 14
9 Red Mosquitos 43-38-3 .530 16.5
10 Horse Field Hammers 43-39-2 .524 17
11 hannibal's cannibals 40-38-6 .512 18
12 Springfield Isotopes 40-40-4 .500 19
13 SABR Magicians 39-41-4 .488 20
14 gashouse gorillas 38-41-5 .482 20.5
15 Austin Senators 32-44-8 .429 25
16 K-Town Mashers 32-46-6 .417 26
17 Reykjavik Fish Candy 33-48-3 .411 26.5
18 Thunderbirds 31-49-4 .393 28
19 Garces_not_on_roids 27-55-2 .333 33
20 Jick's Rays 15-68-1 .185 45.5
My pitching, which had been the strength of the team, was horrible. Billy Wagner’s on the DL, and the Terry Adams experiment was short-lived. (What was I thinking? That it cost me “only” Tom Gordon. D'oh!) I’m sure I took a big hit in the unofficial Roto standings, but in Head-to-Head play, an ERA of 6.33 and a WHIP of 1.75 are no worse than losing those categories by a whisker, so it’s probably a good thing that almost all my starters blew up in the same week. IP and W were my only chances to earn any pitching points, and thankfully, Freddy Garcia came through late Sunday afternoon to salvage the tie.
In other words, the Walrus really dodged a bullet to remain unbeaten in seven matchups this year. It may be that some of my early-season overachievers on the mound (Marquis, Alvarez, Silva, Madson, Arroyo) were simply flukes, and I’ll soon come back to the pack with a resounding thud. I fear that Bobby Abreu (.435/.581/.696 and a couple of SB) will soon grow tired of carrying this team, so my "best" hitters better wake up. I'm trying, without much confidence, to rally the troops for the impending battle with K-Town.
