Week four of the BBL starts to separate the men from the boys. Only 2.5 points exist between first and fourth place. It is getting exciting!
State of the Standings – “The Force Awakens”
For those that have not seen the new Stars Wars trailer here…well, you must be dead. Anyway, it is titled “The Force Awakens”. Darcy Jay’s Crew awakened and stands at the top of the standings with 72 total points led by an incredible 48 points from its pitching staff. Staff ace Michael Wacha sits at 1.94 ERA/1.04 WHIP/18 K and he is only the THIRD best pitcher on the staff. The top two honors go to Jarred Cosart and Anthony DeSclafani. Amazing work assembling the pitching staff.
But, what really moved the Crew to take it to a new level? Rumor has it that a testy exchange between the Crew management and the Nitro’s management provided all the poster board material the team needed. Apparently, Phillips was offered in a trade to the Nitro’s who responded with the following:
That is a tough sell:Phillips is 11 HR/5 SB/71 RBI/.304 OBPAll of those projections except for Phillps 71 RBI are negative anchors in each scoring category. Just not enough for me to be interested. Thanks for the offer.
You inspired Brandon last night. Thanks.
But, You Played Hard – That is What Counts
Kris Who?
Check out this exchange:
BBL Reporter – “When do you think Kris Bryant will hit his first homerun?”
Joc Pederson – “Kris who?”
Yes, you heard him right. Joc Pederson sits at 6 HR/15 RBI/.422 OBP/1 SB. Remember, this kid went 30/30 in his last minor league season and hit home runs in four straight games. Joc pushed the HooDoo Cats into fourth place, just 2.5 points out of first place. You know what this means? It means HDC management will start paying attention, so get ready for “The Biggest Deal in BBL History!”
Flash Gordon
Dee Gordon is killing it. No, literally he is killing the baseball sporting a .440 batting average. Is he a modern day Ted Williams? Nah. Expect a severe regression in the near future. For right now, the Pals are enjoying the ride and Cole Hamels has high praise for him. The Pals sit in third place just 2 points out of the lead. Rumor has it that Pals management is actually looking to roster a playing catcher this year as well.
The Tale of the Tape
Team leaders in home runs this year (in no particular order):
Al’s Pals – Corey Dickerson/Alex Guerrero (5)
Champ – Freddie Freeman (4)
Presumed Champ – Pedro Alvarez/Bryce Harper/Jay Bruce (5)
Darcy Jay’s Crew – MIguel Cabrera (6)
Squirrels – Adrian Gonzales (8)
Pastries – Goldy (6) (honorable mention – Crawford with 5)
HooDoo Cats – Justin Upton (7)
Meat – Nelson Cruz (13)
Nitros – Kelly Johnson (5) (yes, that Kelly Johnson)
Paezans – Nolan Arenado (6) (beast)
Peep Rub – Stanton (6)
Streak – Joey Votto (7)
Sundance Kids – Zack Cozart (5) (yes, that Cozart)
Musings – What is up with the middle infield power? Really, Cruz at $22…#$%$$@$$#. I still hate Joey Votto.
Chasing Saves
Colorado
Adam Ottavino is worried about his elbow and is currently on the DL. LaTroy Hawkins is on the DL with “I suck at baseball skills”. BBL teams are scrambling chasing Colorado saves in the form of John Axeford (Pals) and Betancourt (HDC).
Dodgers
Kenley Jansen is expected back soon. For the time being, Chris Hatcher (HDC) and Yimi Garcia (Nitros) are sharing closing duties.
Indians
It appears only a matter of time before Cody Allen gets removed from the closer role or an injury is disclosed. He is too good to be this bad. The BBL is guessing an injury. Shaw is not a viable alternative, so….big reveal…we are guessing that Salazar takes over?
Waiver Wire
Justin Turner was the big acquisition this week for $10. The 30 year old has some pop, but for a long-term solution it does not appear that it will work out. The Kids do love them some old, middle infielders as Turner joins Cozart, Espinosa, Gordon Beckham, Bonifacio and Infante. Kids management denies that it is intentionally violated anti-trust laws by acquiring all bad middle infielders.
Junior Lake is interesting. A very toolsy outfielder that is lost in the Young Cubs shuffle. The Pastries snag some decent upside with a $5 bid. I am guessing Lake turns into a full-time role if he can just hold his own in the big leagues. Lake could post a 10/10 for the remainder of the season even in a part-time role.
Pastries management is quoted as saying “Junior, yes we owned him that year that he broke his leg on the first day of the season.”
Dilson Herrera is a pretty savy move for Peep Rub. Herrera is the “second baseman of the future” for the Mets and will get plenty of playing time while Murphy is playing third base for the injured David Wright (when is Wright not injured?). The real question is whether or not Herrera sticks around after Wright returns. The Mets may look at him at shortstop in light of Flores’ poor start to the season and the fact that Tejada is really bad. The BBL reports this secret conversation from Peeps management on the decision to pick up Herrera: “Why did you not purchase Wright at the BBL auction? We love Wright! What is the next best thing…getting the guy who will play in his place. Now…go immediately and trade for Wright!”
View From the Cellar
No, this is not an entry on selecting wine although you can find a great blog on wine selection at the official View from the Cellar website here. The current bottom four are the Pastries (47), Champ (39), Streak (38) and Squirrels (37.5). The Pastries need pitching and the Champ needs offense. Streak and Squirrels need some luck and a bit more talent.
So, what seems to be the downfall for each of these teams this year?
Pastries
Jason Heyward went for $28 at the Auction. He is sporting .268/2/4/3 slash-line this year. Oiy. All of that talent seems to have evaporated into thin air. The Pastries paid the “St. Louis” premium for his services this year.
Champ
The Champ DOES NOT CARE. Do you understand? He does not give a flip what you think about his team because he is the HMFCIC (Head MotherF’er Champ in Charge) so don’t even presume to judge him! On the other hand, his entire catching battery produced 0 HR, 1 SB, 1 RBI and about a .200 OBP which would not be bad if you played for Al’s Pals, but they are Lucroy and Mesoraco. Oiy.
Streak
The loss of Wainwright and Wheeler for the season really placed a hardship on the Streak this year. Filling in for those two studs are Hendricks and Locke which sport around a 5.00 ERA/1.30 WHIP. Rumor has it that management is cleaning out those lockers for two middle relievers as this report is being published.
Squirrels
The downfall of the Squirrels this year was the special keeper trade for Duffy appears to be the untimely loss of Puig and Crawford to the DL and the early struggles of Strasburg and Zimmerman for the Nationals. Expect a fairly quick rebound for the Squirrels in light of the expected turn-around of those four players.
Venture 