Saxmania
04-28-02, 09:56 AM
Some quite unexpected results this week, with some of the biggest scoring discrepancies yet. One theory is that the accumulated injuries affecting lineups mean that more and more teams find key players unavailable for several days. Another theory is that I have no idea what’s going on. You decide.
The Mantle Division is currently the most powerful (12-6), while the Ruth Division is second (10-8) and the DiMaggio Division trails (6-14). Come on, Joe, get your act together.
Results
West Haven Yankees defeated German Gold Gloves by 370 - 260 points
Lords of Flatbush defeated Junior’s Bashers by 338 – 284 points
YankeesRule2002 lost to Italian Ice by 184 – 197 points
Cunning Linguists lost to Michigan Wolverines by 143 – 341 points
YRMbombers2002 lost to Buckeye Bombers by 263 – 283 points
FP Balloon Knots lost to Saxmania’s Swingers by 277 - 279 points
Bambino’s Ghost defeated Babe’s Piano Playaz by 288 – 174 points
Standings
Ruth Division
West Haven Yankees (4-0; 1309 points)
Lords of Flatbush (2-1; 808 points)
YankeesRule2002 (2-1; 759 points)
Cunning Linguists (2-2; 874 points)
YRMbombers2002 (0-4; 853 points)
DiMaggio Division
Michigan Wolverines (3-1; 1232 points)
Junior's Bashers (1-3; 1060 points)
Buckeye Bombers (1-3; 898 points)
Italian Ice (1-3; 880 points)
German Gold Gloves (0-4; 1035 points)
Mantle Division
Bambino's Ghost (4-0; 1118 points)
Saxmania's Swingers (3-1; 1093 points)
Babe's Piano Playaz (2-1; 800 points)
Bad News Bears (2-1; 768 points)
FP Balloon Knots (1-3; 1060 points)
Weekly Awards
Team of the Week – West Haven Yankees
Luckiest Team of the Week – Italian Ice (won with 197 points)
Unluckiest Team of the Week – Junior’s Bashers (lost with 284 points)
Matchup of the Week – FP Balloon Knots vs. Saxmania’s Swingers (2 points’ difference in the result)
League Leaders
Runs scored – Michigan Wolverines (134)
Homeruns – Saxmania’s Swingers (41)
Stolen Bases – Italian Ice (26)
Walks – Babe’s Piano Playaz (122)
Wins – West Haven Yankees (17)
Saves – Bambino’s Ghost (22)
Strikeouts – Michigan Wolverines (177)
Earned Runs* – German Gold Gloves (42)
*lowest in league
Match Reports
Yankees power past unlucky Gloves
The West Haven Yankees continued their confident advance through their opposition, again posting the highest weekly score in the league. 370 points was too much for the Gold Gloves, who have posted consistently good scores but have failed to pick up a win so far, doubtless related to the fact that three of their four opponents have posted over 290 points in response. The Yankees benefited, strangely, from the Braves’ players, racking up 3 triples from Rafael Furcal and 14 base hits from Chipper Jones. Tom Glavine continued the trend by notching two wins and allowing only one earned run in fourteen innings, while his rotation partner Roger Clemens also recorded a brace of victories. A complete game from Livian Hernandez rounded off a powerful pitching display from the current league leaders in points.
The Gold Gloves picked up four saves from their bullpen and three wins in the rotation, but were let down somewhat by their hitting. The lacklustre stats from Mike Piazza, Vinny Castilla, and Cliff Floyd are hurting the Gloves, and David Justice appears to have cooled down after a red-hot start, leaving the Gloves’ line-up temporarily short on power. An inter-division game against the Buckeye Bombers next week will present the German team with the opportunity to get off the mark.
Lords’ improvement too much for Bashers
235 points one week, 338 the next. The Lords of Flatbush transformed themselves from one of the lowest scorers in the league to one of the highest in the space of seven days, elevating themselves over a good Bashers performance. The Lords found clutch hitting from Paul Konerko, who drove in 11 runners over the course of the week, and Junior Spivey has not only scored 10 times since last week, but has also walked a team-high 5 times. Odalis Perez was the star of the pitching staff, with 2 wins and a complete game to his name, while the bullpen remained solid, picking up 4 saves. The Lords now play host to the Swingers in week 5, having moved up to second in the Ruth Division.
The Bashers illustrate the poor luck of the DiMaggio Division, having a team average of 265 but only 1 win to their credit. Solid all-around hitting and pitching was not enough to top the Lords, and the presence of complete game winner Paul Byrd on the bench will have been frustrating for the Basher’s owner. Although most of the Bashers rotation produced good outings – no-one allowed more than two earned runs all week – only two wins were forthcoming, plus one save from Tim Wakefield. However, the Bashers remain second in the division, and will look to reverse their luck in a division showdown against the Michigan Wolverines next week.
Two firsts as Rulers’ slump allows Ice to slide past
The Italian Ice recorded their first win of the season against YankeesRule2002, who found themselves losing their unbeaten record and dropping to third in the Ruth Division. John Smoltz was the hero for the Ice, reaching three saves for the week with no earned runs and while striking out five, and despite James Baldwin allowing 9 runs in 18 innings, his willingness to eat innings added up to points for the Ice. 4 doubles for Alfonso Soriano was the fulcrum of a lineup that demonstrated good patience, with 6 walks for Derek Jeter and 5 for Kenny Lofton.
The bye week clearly hurt the Rulers, who saw their points total drop from over 300 in week 2 to under 200 in week 4. Poor outings from Rick Helling and Brad Radke (despite Helling picking up 2 wins) damaged a competent pitching display, but the Rulers’ hitting sunk the team, with Ben Petrick and Gary Sheffield only playing 3 games between them. Eight double plays were hit into by the Rulers, and the team will be hoping that central players such as Sheffield and Corey Koskie improve next week against the competitive Balloon Knots.
Linguists tongue-tied by all-conquering Wolverines
Michigan cruised through week 4, on the back of no less than 13 home runs from their power-packed line-up, and a complete-game shutout from A.J. Burnett. The Wolverines have improved for the last three weeks, and show no signs of slowing, with astute pickups such as Peter Bergeron and John Olerud. The Montreal outfielder stole a team-high 4 bases this week, while Seattle’s 1st baseman was walked 7 times. Poor outings for Cory Lidle and Felix Rodriguez were masked by the otherwise-excellent pitching staff.
The Linguists have been beset by injuries, with no fewer than three starting pitchers (Mark Mulder, Jason Johnson, and Chris Carpenter) on the DL. Perhaps the Linguists need to stop signing pitchers with matching initials? Certainly, disappointing outings from Mike Mussina and Doug Davis damaged the Linguists’ points totals, with Davis allowing 12 runs in 11 innings of work. More production is required of Rondell White, Moises Alou, and Bernie Williams if the Linguists are to compete in a tough division. Their first chance will be next week against the Piano Playaz.
Battle of the Bombers – both are good, Buckeyes are better
The Buckeye Bombers powered their way past their YRM rivals, as their infield found eight home runs during the week, including three each from Jose Valentin and Miguel Tejada. Jason Tyner added contact hitting, with 10 singles, while Jeremy Giambi picked up 7 free passes. The pitching was high on quality but low on support, with a complete game from Tim Hudson not netting him a win, but solid outings from Kile and Sele compensated. The Bombers pick up their first mark in the wins column, and will have added confidence next week against the Gold Gloves.
The YRMbombers turned in a noticeable improvement from the last few weeks, but couldn’t find the additional 20 points to beat their hosts. Damian Miller’s hitting wasn’t backed up by an under-achieving line-up, and although the pitching staff found 2 wins in relief (both from Scott Sullivan), the offense couldn’t back up their pitchers. Still, if the Bombers continue in this vein, they will be a dangerous team, for they have improved week-on-week all through this season. Next week, the Ghosts will find out if they can keep it up.
Swingers squeak past Knots, recount demanded
The league saw its closest match-up yet this week, as only 2 points separated the Swingers and the FP Balloon Knots. The Swingers rode the hitting of Manny Ramirez and Richard Hidalgo to complement a pitching performance that emphasised quantity over quality – three starters had two outings, but only Rick Reed impressed. If young closer Eric Gagne falters, the Swingers may find their staff to be a liability rather than an asset.
The Balloon Knots were hurt by Kevin Millwood and J.D. Drew, neither of whom lived up to their billing, but otherwise were solid throughout the team, with Armando Benitez once again efficient. Despite trailing the Mantle Division, the Knots’ 265 point average would place them at least third in any other division, and they will see if their luck improves next week when they visit the slumping Rulers.
Ghosts glide past cursed Piano Playaz
The Bambino’s Ghosts efficiently won through against their distant cousins, the Babe’s Piano Playaz, finding the previously fearsome Playaz unable to meet their 300-point summit of the previous two weeks. A speedy outfield racked up the steals for the Ghosts, Johnny Damon and Preston Wilson the chief thieves, while Derek Lowe’s no-hitter inspired puns around the nation. More importantly, it anchored a great rotation for the Bambino, backed up by 5 saves from the strong bullpen.
The Playaz will be cursing their luck after missing out on 2 superb outings from Brett Tomko this week (he enters their line-up for week 5), while injury worries to Chan Ho Park and Barry Bonds eat away at the points they amassed in the first three weeks. Russ Ortiz’s outing was less than impressive, and Estaban Yan’s meltdown will not have helped. The Playaz will surely overcome this one-week fluke, and next week’s opponents, the Linguists, will have to be extra cunning to avoid a strong comeback from this powerful team.
Fixtures
Week 5 April 28th:
Bad News Bears v West Haven Yankees
Saxmania’s Swingers v Lords of Flatbush
FP Balloon Knots v YankeesRule2002
Babe’s Piano Playaz v Cunning Linguists
Bambino’s Ghost v YRMbombers2002
Buckeye Bombers v German Gold Gloves
Michigan Wolverines v Junior’s Bashers
Notes
I’ve had a win by 3 points and a win by 2 points, so if anyone wants to double-check my arithmetic, please do so. I’ve run it through a couple of times, but I could use a second opinion. Some of the personal stats may be off this week, because Yahoo doesn’t update when it says it does on the team pages, so apologies for any mistakes. The overall team stats are definitely for the whole week, though. Thanks to Coney again for the fill-in – I may need more help in the weeks to come.
Remember, there's an attached file with the complete listings of results so far.
Be seeing you,
Saxmania
The Mantle Division is currently the most powerful (12-6), while the Ruth Division is second (10-8) and the DiMaggio Division trails (6-14). Come on, Joe, get your act together.
Results
West Haven Yankees defeated German Gold Gloves by 370 - 260 points
Lords of Flatbush defeated Junior’s Bashers by 338 – 284 points
YankeesRule2002 lost to Italian Ice by 184 – 197 points
Cunning Linguists lost to Michigan Wolverines by 143 – 341 points
YRMbombers2002 lost to Buckeye Bombers by 263 – 283 points
FP Balloon Knots lost to Saxmania’s Swingers by 277 - 279 points
Bambino’s Ghost defeated Babe’s Piano Playaz by 288 – 174 points
Standings
Ruth Division
West Haven Yankees (4-0; 1309 points)
Lords of Flatbush (2-1; 808 points)
YankeesRule2002 (2-1; 759 points)
Cunning Linguists (2-2; 874 points)
YRMbombers2002 (0-4; 853 points)
DiMaggio Division
Michigan Wolverines (3-1; 1232 points)
Junior's Bashers (1-3; 1060 points)
Buckeye Bombers (1-3; 898 points)
Italian Ice (1-3; 880 points)
German Gold Gloves (0-4; 1035 points)
Mantle Division
Bambino's Ghost (4-0; 1118 points)
Saxmania's Swingers (3-1; 1093 points)
Babe's Piano Playaz (2-1; 800 points)
Bad News Bears (2-1; 768 points)
FP Balloon Knots (1-3; 1060 points)
Weekly Awards
Team of the Week – West Haven Yankees
Luckiest Team of the Week – Italian Ice (won with 197 points)
Unluckiest Team of the Week – Junior’s Bashers (lost with 284 points)
Matchup of the Week – FP Balloon Knots vs. Saxmania’s Swingers (2 points’ difference in the result)
League Leaders
Runs scored – Michigan Wolverines (134)
Homeruns – Saxmania’s Swingers (41)
Stolen Bases – Italian Ice (26)
Walks – Babe’s Piano Playaz (122)
Wins – West Haven Yankees (17)
Saves – Bambino’s Ghost (22)
Strikeouts – Michigan Wolverines (177)
Earned Runs* – German Gold Gloves (42)
*lowest in league
Match Reports
Yankees power past unlucky Gloves
The West Haven Yankees continued their confident advance through their opposition, again posting the highest weekly score in the league. 370 points was too much for the Gold Gloves, who have posted consistently good scores but have failed to pick up a win so far, doubtless related to the fact that three of their four opponents have posted over 290 points in response. The Yankees benefited, strangely, from the Braves’ players, racking up 3 triples from Rafael Furcal and 14 base hits from Chipper Jones. Tom Glavine continued the trend by notching two wins and allowing only one earned run in fourteen innings, while his rotation partner Roger Clemens also recorded a brace of victories. A complete game from Livian Hernandez rounded off a powerful pitching display from the current league leaders in points.
The Gold Gloves picked up four saves from their bullpen and three wins in the rotation, but were let down somewhat by their hitting. The lacklustre stats from Mike Piazza, Vinny Castilla, and Cliff Floyd are hurting the Gloves, and David Justice appears to have cooled down after a red-hot start, leaving the Gloves’ line-up temporarily short on power. An inter-division game against the Buckeye Bombers next week will present the German team with the opportunity to get off the mark.
Lords’ improvement too much for Bashers
235 points one week, 338 the next. The Lords of Flatbush transformed themselves from one of the lowest scorers in the league to one of the highest in the space of seven days, elevating themselves over a good Bashers performance. The Lords found clutch hitting from Paul Konerko, who drove in 11 runners over the course of the week, and Junior Spivey has not only scored 10 times since last week, but has also walked a team-high 5 times. Odalis Perez was the star of the pitching staff, with 2 wins and a complete game to his name, while the bullpen remained solid, picking up 4 saves. The Lords now play host to the Swingers in week 5, having moved up to second in the Ruth Division.
The Bashers illustrate the poor luck of the DiMaggio Division, having a team average of 265 but only 1 win to their credit. Solid all-around hitting and pitching was not enough to top the Lords, and the presence of complete game winner Paul Byrd on the bench will have been frustrating for the Basher’s owner. Although most of the Bashers rotation produced good outings – no-one allowed more than two earned runs all week – only two wins were forthcoming, plus one save from Tim Wakefield. However, the Bashers remain second in the division, and will look to reverse their luck in a division showdown against the Michigan Wolverines next week.
Two firsts as Rulers’ slump allows Ice to slide past
The Italian Ice recorded their first win of the season against YankeesRule2002, who found themselves losing their unbeaten record and dropping to third in the Ruth Division. John Smoltz was the hero for the Ice, reaching three saves for the week with no earned runs and while striking out five, and despite James Baldwin allowing 9 runs in 18 innings, his willingness to eat innings added up to points for the Ice. 4 doubles for Alfonso Soriano was the fulcrum of a lineup that demonstrated good patience, with 6 walks for Derek Jeter and 5 for Kenny Lofton.
The bye week clearly hurt the Rulers, who saw their points total drop from over 300 in week 2 to under 200 in week 4. Poor outings from Rick Helling and Brad Radke (despite Helling picking up 2 wins) damaged a competent pitching display, but the Rulers’ hitting sunk the team, with Ben Petrick and Gary Sheffield only playing 3 games between them. Eight double plays were hit into by the Rulers, and the team will be hoping that central players such as Sheffield and Corey Koskie improve next week against the competitive Balloon Knots.
Linguists tongue-tied by all-conquering Wolverines
Michigan cruised through week 4, on the back of no less than 13 home runs from their power-packed line-up, and a complete-game shutout from A.J. Burnett. The Wolverines have improved for the last three weeks, and show no signs of slowing, with astute pickups such as Peter Bergeron and John Olerud. The Montreal outfielder stole a team-high 4 bases this week, while Seattle’s 1st baseman was walked 7 times. Poor outings for Cory Lidle and Felix Rodriguez were masked by the otherwise-excellent pitching staff.
The Linguists have been beset by injuries, with no fewer than three starting pitchers (Mark Mulder, Jason Johnson, and Chris Carpenter) on the DL. Perhaps the Linguists need to stop signing pitchers with matching initials? Certainly, disappointing outings from Mike Mussina and Doug Davis damaged the Linguists’ points totals, with Davis allowing 12 runs in 11 innings of work. More production is required of Rondell White, Moises Alou, and Bernie Williams if the Linguists are to compete in a tough division. Their first chance will be next week against the Piano Playaz.
Battle of the Bombers – both are good, Buckeyes are better
The Buckeye Bombers powered their way past their YRM rivals, as their infield found eight home runs during the week, including three each from Jose Valentin and Miguel Tejada. Jason Tyner added contact hitting, with 10 singles, while Jeremy Giambi picked up 7 free passes. The pitching was high on quality but low on support, with a complete game from Tim Hudson not netting him a win, but solid outings from Kile and Sele compensated. The Bombers pick up their first mark in the wins column, and will have added confidence next week against the Gold Gloves.
The YRMbombers turned in a noticeable improvement from the last few weeks, but couldn’t find the additional 20 points to beat their hosts. Damian Miller’s hitting wasn’t backed up by an under-achieving line-up, and although the pitching staff found 2 wins in relief (both from Scott Sullivan), the offense couldn’t back up their pitchers. Still, if the Bombers continue in this vein, they will be a dangerous team, for they have improved week-on-week all through this season. Next week, the Ghosts will find out if they can keep it up.
Swingers squeak past Knots, recount demanded
The league saw its closest match-up yet this week, as only 2 points separated the Swingers and the FP Balloon Knots. The Swingers rode the hitting of Manny Ramirez and Richard Hidalgo to complement a pitching performance that emphasised quantity over quality – three starters had two outings, but only Rick Reed impressed. If young closer Eric Gagne falters, the Swingers may find their staff to be a liability rather than an asset.
The Balloon Knots were hurt by Kevin Millwood and J.D. Drew, neither of whom lived up to their billing, but otherwise were solid throughout the team, with Armando Benitez once again efficient. Despite trailing the Mantle Division, the Knots’ 265 point average would place them at least third in any other division, and they will see if their luck improves next week when they visit the slumping Rulers.
Ghosts glide past cursed Piano Playaz
The Bambino’s Ghosts efficiently won through against their distant cousins, the Babe’s Piano Playaz, finding the previously fearsome Playaz unable to meet their 300-point summit of the previous two weeks. A speedy outfield racked up the steals for the Ghosts, Johnny Damon and Preston Wilson the chief thieves, while Derek Lowe’s no-hitter inspired puns around the nation. More importantly, it anchored a great rotation for the Bambino, backed up by 5 saves from the strong bullpen.
The Playaz will be cursing their luck after missing out on 2 superb outings from Brett Tomko this week (he enters their line-up for week 5), while injury worries to Chan Ho Park and Barry Bonds eat away at the points they amassed in the first three weeks. Russ Ortiz’s outing was less than impressive, and Estaban Yan’s meltdown will not have helped. The Playaz will surely overcome this one-week fluke, and next week’s opponents, the Linguists, will have to be extra cunning to avoid a strong comeback from this powerful team.
Fixtures
Week 5 April 28th:
Bad News Bears v West Haven Yankees
Saxmania’s Swingers v Lords of Flatbush
FP Balloon Knots v YankeesRule2002
Babe’s Piano Playaz v Cunning Linguists
Bambino’s Ghost v YRMbombers2002
Buckeye Bombers v German Gold Gloves
Michigan Wolverines v Junior’s Bashers
Notes
I’ve had a win by 3 points and a win by 2 points, so if anyone wants to double-check my arithmetic, please do so. I’ve run it through a couple of times, but I could use a second opinion. Some of the personal stats may be off this week, because Yahoo doesn’t update when it says it does on the team pages, so apologies for any mistakes. The overall team stats are definitely for the whole week, though. Thanks to Coney again for the fill-in – I may need more help in the weeks to come.
Remember, there's an attached file with the complete listings of results so far.
Be seeing you,
Saxmania