What an action packed week this week! Finals, a fifteen-inning wiffleball game, some name changes, a last to fifth jump, a prediction gone wrong, and our first owner that has dropped off the map. Bet you can guess who that last one is...onto the Recap.
Just 2(5) Guyz 11, Manny Being Manny (less) 1
Who knew one guy would make such a difference? J25G'z finally broke out of their close-but-so-far ways thanks to Prince Fielder's big week, Jake Peavy, and last week's transaction of the week Juan Pierre crossing the plate seven times this week. As a testament to the parity in our league, the win propelled J25G'z all the way to fifth! After being last since the beginning of the season it's good to see Luke out of the cellar, and a different team (who I predicted from week 1) as the cellar dweller. JJmmH's apparently gone flaccid since Manny's suspension, hence the name change, but I still don't think he has too much to worry about. Your desperate cry for help because of injuries is pretty exaggerated though Danny, seeing as Tmac and Mike have had at least four or five guys hurt every week. Your real problem this week was poor starts by Danks, Volstad, and Saunders, and also not getting Yovani a start doesn't help either. Nevertheless, expect this team to slide a little with new starters Rod Barajas and Paul Konerko.
Consistency 8, Yung Joseph 5
After Joe's romp last week, he had that feeling of euphoria going on and decided to claim the top spot as his by the end of the week. Instead, his Ray Edwards-like prediction completey blew up in his face, thanks to a collaboration of pitchers (Mr.'s Johnson, Hochevar, Zito, Uehara, Perkins, Baker, Harang, Putz, and Morrow). In an out-of-character move, Joey J expressed his frustration with young Luke Hochevar through the smack talk, though without cussing, so my new no-swearing policy may actually be working (probably not though). This public lashing set the tone for the rest of the week apparently, because almost all of Joe's pitchers went the Hochevar route this week. When I talked to the manager of YJ, he said he was going to take a couple days off of fantasy baseball (gasp!), but apparently he was pulling my leg because as I right this, he was the first one to make a move today. Joe, when most people say "break," it lasts longer than seven hours. That's not a break, that's sleep. Schneider wins another close one, and so continues to hold on to his lead of the league. Despite the snapping of the hit streak, Ryan Zimmerman had another solid week, and so no idea why he's still on the trading block. Co-Consistency Captains Cabrera and Bay had their regular weeks too, and Derek Lowe had a little retribution to his former team, and we'll continue to see how the Kemp for 3 trades turns out further (or farther?) down the road.
Da Commish 8, Tony McDonald 6
This spot was going to be about Tmac no longer being with us and dropping off the map, but as I look now he changed his lineup today for the first time this week. Had he not had Carlos Delgado and his ailing hip starting the entire week, it's possible the hitting categories may or may not have been a little closer. My hitters finally woke up this week (Thank God!), leading the league in HR's and RBI's. Looks like it was an all-around effort, led by Adam Jones (until he got hurt), Geovany Soto (who has finally realized he plays baseball for a living) and Brandon Phillips. Had it not been for Roy Halladay's two stellar starts this week, I might have been able to steal ERA and WHIP too, but it was for not. With Tmac's attention starting to wander and summertime strolls up, I see his team probably taking a little drop in the standings in the near future.
The Poblano Effect 7, The Natural 6
This one was real close the entire week, with SEVEN swing categories going to different sides. Carl Crawford decided to give AL catchers a chance this week, and so he only swiped two bags for Roy Hobbs. Pitching was brutual on both sides, and to be honest, it's a good thing these two were playing each other this week because they scored lower than the rest of the league in a lot of categories this week. With that being said, The Natural is still only a half-game out of third and Senor Salsa still is in the middle to bottom half of the pack, as predicted by yours truly. I don't think this will change either, as PE's manager will be taking a little siesta in Espana until mid-July, and so for obvious reasons, won't spend half as much time on the Armchair website (although that will probably be more time than most of us).
Religious Sects 7, Superhydrophobocity 6
These two split almost right down the middle, with Pastoral Intercourse (don't know if it works) taking the hitting categories, and SHP taking the pitching ones. Mike finally got his long-awaited starters off the DL, and how does Lackey repay him? By getting ejected after two pitches...at least he'll be well-rested when he tries again. Strong starts by Johan, Cliff Lee, and Dan Meyer helped JP this week, but it couldn't keep him out of the toilet of our league, last place. JP sorry to say, but as long as Cantu and Scutaro are supposed to be contributing members on your team, your not going anywhere fast.
Transaction of the Week
Manny Being Manny drops Ryan Doumit, C PIT
With a lot of guys hurt or suspended on his roster and only two DL spots available, Grimm decided to cut ties with his starting catcher this week. Although I wasn't a huge fan of Doumit in the first place, I feel it was a poor decision to drop him. Without Doumit on the roster, it leaves MbM with Rod Barajas as their lone catcher, and that's not a good enough option for someone who wants to contend. Even though he won't be back until July, Doumit is worth a pickup for someone else's DL spot.
Oly's Rankings
1. Competency
2. Yung Joseph
3. Just 2(5) Guyz
4. The Natural
5. Manny Being Manny
6. Religious Sects
7. Da Commish
8. The Poblano Effect
9. Tony McDonald
10. Superhydrophobocity
Da Commish's Hot Clicks of the Week
I've always wondered where the man who had an NBA championship fall into his lap lived....
Who wouldn't want a boss like this?
It's been covered a lot....but here's Happy's story.
Thought I'd introduce a Song of the Day with my posts, but I'll try and include songs or artists that aren't that popular, so they might be hit or miss...the first one is "Sugarfoot" by Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears...Let me know what you think.
No matter how biased he is. you can't say Bert Blyleven doesn't have some guts...
Get your "JuanPierreWOOD" shirts now!
Even with how wild Loren Egan was on the mound, he could still do better than this guy...
One can only hope that Tubby can work his magic on this kid...Funny Mike, I don't see Wisconsin on his list of candidates on Rivals, do you?
Well that's all I think for now...should be enough for you guys to chew on this week. I'm working on another post to add on to Jack's hitting versus pitching debate, but I don't know when it'll be up with my Lynx internship and Tri-City Shark season starting up today...I'll try to get it up ASAP