July 31, 2013

Rob LaColla and Will Rice are knotted in a tie for first this week with Dan McCloskey close behind. Rob gained a point over the weekend during the Braves’ sweep of the Cardinals, which featured three consecutive saves by new NL leader Craig Kimbrel. Will maintained his share of the lead by collecting 3 HBPs to equal Rob’s total of 24.

Dan trails Rob and Will by one category point but leads both by three in the HBP tiebreaker. The apparently imminent MLB suspensions in the Biogenesis case could allow Dan to back into the lead if current NL SB leader Everth Cabrera is among the penalized players. If Cabrera’s six-bag lead indeed evaporates under a lengthy suspension our own leaderboard will transform as well—Will and Rob are among six of this week’s top ten entrants depending on the PED-linked Padre for a point. Dan and Karen McCloskey are among the four in our top ten that chose a “clean” alternative to Everth Cabrera.

Enjoy the rest of the MLB Trade Deadline afternoon!

-Dan and Jud

July 24, 2013

Will Rice maintains the lead in our first post-All-Star break update, with Rob LaColla and Karen McCloskey still in second and third. It’s worth noting that the entrants ranked #3-7 this week (Karen, CC/Zinta, Amy Gill, Dan McCloskey, Joe Maissel) all own higher HBP totals than both Will and Rob.

Miguel Cabrera’s sore hip flexor doesn’t appear to be serious, although his short absence this week cost thirteen of our entrants an AL RBI point. The severity of Pirate closer Jason Grilli’s forearm injury is also unknown and may help clear a path for Atlanta’s Craig Kimbrel in the NL saves category. If the lead goes to Kimbrel (he now trails Grilli by two saves and Edward Mujica by one), then Rob picks up a point on Will and possibly regains the pool lead.

Click here for an MVP trivia question, and then post your score on our blog by clicking the “comments” link at the bottom of the July 24^th post.

Did you like how I never mentioned Ryan Braun? Oops, I just did. Be sure to wish Alex Rodriguez a happy 38^th birthday on Saturday!

-Dan and Jud

July 15, 2013 (All-Star break)

Will Rice assumes the lead in our All-Star break update, snapping Rob LaColla’s five-week streak. Karen McCloskey sits in third behind Rob with Dan McCloskey and Jim Kushner rounding out the top five.

Will can thank Felix Hernández once again for his pool fortunes, although this week CC Sabathia didn’t play the IP spoiler. Felix went eight shutout innings against the Angels last night to pad his ERA lead while Sabathia spent the afternoon struggling with the Twins in the Bronx(4IP, 8H, 8R). Joe Nathan was tied for the AL saves lead in our last update, but three saves in four days by Jim Johnson sent Nathan back down in the standings.

Let’s take a look at some of our All-Star break leaders in past years along with their final standings: Steve Craig in 2012 (finished 9^th), Dan McCloskey in 2011 (finished 3^rd), David Jones and John Agnello in 2010 (finished 4^th and 15^th respectively), Jon Pauley and Tony Wight in 2009 (finished 2^nd and 8^threspectively), Will Rice in 2008 (finished 2^nd), and Jud Ehrbar in 2007 (finished 2^nd). In summary, an All-Star break lead does not necessarily translate into a title.

But what about Karen McCloskey? Karen has finished top three on three occasions this month and has HBP over all contenders at this point. Chris Davis would probably need to be abducted by aliens for her AL HR pick of Edwin Encarnación to catch up, but a similarly mysterious disappearance by NL SB leader Everth Cabrera coupled with second-half struggles for King Felix could provide a tiebreaking scenario for Karen.

Enjoy the festivities at Citi Field and we’ll check back in next Wednesday.

-Dan and Jud

July 10, 2013

Rob LaColla maintains the lead for a fifth straight week, leaving Will Rice and Karen McCloskey in second and third. Rob’s HBP total dictates that Will beats him outright in points, but Karen (second highest HBP in pool) can win by merely tying LaColla in picks.

Felix Hernández earned Will a precious AL ERA point after former leader and fellow Mariner Hisashi Iwakuma blew an early 5-1 lead against the Red Sox. However, Will’s hopes for a second King Felix conquest in AL IP were dashed by CC Sabathia’s complete game loss last night in the Bronx.

Our next update goes out on Monday due to All-Star festivities next week. See you then!

-Dan and Jud

July 3, 2013

The LaColla reign of terror continues as Rob bags his fourth straight update lead. Will Rice remains in second place with Mark Watzke in third by just 2 HBP. Rob led in the first July update last year as well, but failed to finish in the top five at the end of the season.

Last week we considered Will’s chances of capturing a lead, but what about Mr. Watzke? Mark can gain ground with Mike Trout in the AL runs category, or perhaps Joey Votto for the NL batting title. Jim Johnson slipping in the AL saves column would also help Mark’s case for first place.

Have a happy Fourth!!

-Dan and Jud