Month: July 2019

2019 Week 16 Review: “Return of Rollins, Return of Key Cat, Exposing of Doch As Fraud” Edition

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Image result for edwin encarnacion GIF
Amazing that he was able to celebrate like this and still had the time to leg out a decisive double…

 

 

 

OUR LONG BACKYARDONAL NIGHTMARE IS OVER. A few weeks ago the Lacey Township BackdoorSliderz were some sort of undefeated unstoppable juggernaut (likely influenced by some wholly unsustainable BABIPs but I digress), their heel of an asshole of an owner had taken over the blog with promises of timely content and copious wrestling references, and things looked bleaked folks. Fast forward a few weeks and there has been very little content (FRAUD), and the BackdoorSliderz have finally tasted defeat in the 2019 Backyard season (FRAUD), and now I have returned to write about it in longform while also restoring Jimmy Rollins to his rightful JROLL throne. If you’re threatening an undefeated season culminating in a second straight championship we are forced to take you seriously because that THREATENS the 3PO greatest team of all time narrative. And that allows you a little leeway within the blogosphere. But now you’re just some fraud that’s got a first round bye that’s got to HOPE AND PRAY their team’s insanely good fortunes aren’t running out all at once at the worst possible time. Better to be .450 BABIPing in August and not April, folks. To be fair they also have insanely good players BUT you also have to yanno, HOPE AND PRAY those guys don’t slump or get injured. I see vulnerability in the Lacey’s beady little eyes…..

Oh yea there’s also some other matchups that happened, the X-Rayz finally bulk reliever’d their way to the Ks record, etc. etc. etc. all will be covered BUT FIRST…..

 

 

 

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For you, His Dochness…..

 

 

 

 

 

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East Coast Kings Perhaps Permanently Pummel Playoff Plans Pertaining Towards The Barnegat Banana Slugs (Probably?)  –  12-2-0

 

MVP:  Nelson Cruz  –  Honestly I forgot the Kings even HAD Nelson Cruz (been kinda outta the review game for a minute) but LOVE IT LOVE HIM love the energy, he’s my second favorite Old Man Masher in baseball (see opening GIF for #1).  12/29, 10 Rs, 1 2B, 7 HRs, 13 RBIs, .485 OBP     

 

LVP:  Yasiel Puig  –  Yasiel just didn’t contribute much stuff this week, and that’s about as much analysis as I intend to give here. On the Yasiel front.  4/21, 4 Rs, 2 2Bs, .292 OBP        

 

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JROLLs:  Francisco Lindor (2, ECK)

 

 

 

 

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HRs. The poor Banana Slugs likely mashed as hard as they’ve mashed all season (7th in HRs) but it still wasn’t enough against a locked in Kings squad, and they lost the HRs cat 25-17. That means 8 more runs for the Kings (the won Rs 60-48), at least 8 more and obviously more than 8 more RBIs for the Kings (they won RBIs 70-57), perhaps a slight OBP bump (the won OBP .363 to .357). Put it all together and you have two teams that had impressive offenses in Week 16 but yanno, one was more impressive. And so that one….won.

 

 

Assorted Musings Should I Feel Like Musin’:  Haven’t talked pitching in a Kings matchup so let’s do that, shout out to a weirdly dominant streamed Steven Matz CG shutout for the Kings. Also shout out to the fact that mayyybe just maybe Trevor Bauer isn’t the super-established ace Trevor Bauer likely thinks he is. I consider him a super-established whiny little bitch, however…

 

What’s Next (Week 17):  ECF v. LL (9-7 v. 6-10)

                   
   RRF @ AI (7-8-1 @ 7-9)

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Pacific Beach X-Rayz Rack Up A Shit Ton Of Strikeouts, Also Do Other Things Well In Big Beatdown of Astoria Isotopes  –  10-1-3

 

MVP:  Jose Ramirez  –  JOSE RAMIREZ SIGHTING. The X-Rayz have turned around an ugly start to the season but Jose has mostly been an afterthought even during said turnaround. That is up until July; 9 HRs in a month that has seen the X-Rayz go 3-0. If J-Ram keeps it going into the #BackyardBracket this team can make noise folks.  12/30, 7 Rs, 3 2Bs, 4 HRs, 9 RBIs, 2 SBs, .441 OBP     

 

LVP:  Mike Moustakas  –  More like Mike MOSTSUCKASS, AMIRITE? I hate that I’m dignifying that bad name joke, and also this was a real toss up between Mike and Khris (2/22, 2 RBIs), but ultimately we are going with Moustakas and with that shitty name joke and that is just how things are.  1/15, 1 R, .182 OBP    

 

 

 

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Strikeouts. In a week where the X-Rayz set a new and rather tough to top record in the Ks department, I guess I have to go with Ks here. Ever the Innovator Odom has really taken a shine to this whole “bulk reliever” craze because of course he has, but it’s worth noting the EFFECTS here. The ‘Topes rocked a 9.513 K per 9 in Week 16, better than the X-Rayz 9.217, but WHAT’S THAT MATTER when the latter team tosses 116.2 innings to your 84.2, THIRTY TWO MORE INNINGS THROWN on the Pacific Beach side. And that’s how you set a Ks record and win the cat 119-89, and that’s how you grab 11 wins, and usually there’s a risk of ERA ruin but the ‘Topes managed to suck more (X-Rayz won ERA 4.71 to 5.53), and that’s how you get your doors relatively blown off (also only hitting like 6 HRs doesn’t help) and get leapfrogged in the Backyard Bracket Standings.

 

 

Assorted Musings Should I Feel Like Musin’:  Eight bulk relievers used by the X-Rayz in Week 16, not sure what his usual is but SEEMS LIKE A LOT… ‘Topes were league-worst in Wk 16 in Runs, HRs, RBIs and I guess that’s just what happens when Khris Davis is slumping HARD… Also a real rollercoaster of a season for Astoria, whom started out 0-5 then won 7 in a row and have now lost 4 in a row…

 

What’s Next (Week 17):  PBX v. BBS (6-7-3 v. 5-10-1)

                   
   AI v. RRF (7-9 v. 7-8-1)

 

 

 

 

 

 

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River City Bad Dudes Best A Super Invested Definitely Started Twelve Pitchers* Rojo’s Renegade Force Squad  –  9-4-1

*one was an opener but beggars can’t be choosers

 

MVP:  Miguel Sano  –  Miguel Sano is a fat turd (whoever had “turd” twice in Blog Bingo gets a prize) who strikes out too much and is probably a piece of shit, BUT he’s mashing taters this season and mashed some taters in Week 16 and I guess that’sa ll the MVP of the week part cares about. Nice tie-in to the River City Mashers hidden in this paragraph, FAN SERVICE for longtime Backyard fans. The Doch Blog never delivered this sort of stuff, or any sort of stuff really. A totally Weak and Low Energy blogger. ANYWHO YEA MIGUEL SANO.   9/27, 6 Rs, 4 HRs, 11 RBIs, .379 OBP     

 

LVP:  Masahiro Tanaka  –  I mean, FOR FUCKS SAKE Masahiro. You get LVP of the Week cuz I’m not sure I’ve seen that many runs given up in quite some time. And it was against the Red Sawks so SHAME ON HIM.  3.1 IP, 12 ER, 4 Ks, 32.40 ERA    ***LVP OF THE WEEK***     

 

 

 

 

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Holds. You lost AT YOUR OWN GAME ROJO. The Bad Dudes won Holds 4-1 and that isn’t necessarily why they won the MATCHUP (the .342 to .311 OBP disparity probably more damning) but it IS necessarily all I want to talk about here cuz this matchup bores me.

 

 

Assorted Musings Should I Feel Like Musin’:  Renegade Force perhaps making league history as the first team to knowingly (I think) start an “opener,” THIS LEAGUE JUST GETS WACKIER AND WACKIER…

 

What’s Next (Week 17):  RCBD @ LTBS (6-7-3 @ 15-1) *BBOTW*

                   
   RRF @ AI (7-8-1 @ 7-9)

 

 

 

 

 

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Lakehurst Leviations Continue DREAM SEASON, Notch Sixth Win At Ocean Gate Fishing Club’s Expense  –  9-5-0

 

MVP:  Didi Gregorius  –  Both Didi and JD Martinez did real work in Week 16 (pretend Judge is JD in the GIF above) but Didi did slightly better work and fuck the sawks and so on and so forth.  11/26, 5 Rs, 4 2Bs, 1 3B, 2 HRs, 13 RBIs, .448 OBP     

 

LVP:  Francisco Mejia  –  On the opposite end of the spectrum, Mejia did the very opposite of work and contributed nothing but a few base hits and no wonder this goddamned owner always harrasses me about Gary Sanchez.  4/16, .294 OBP    

 

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JROLLs:  Trea Turner (2, OGFC) ; Adam Eaton (1, LL)

 

 

 

 

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Triples. This matchup was tiiiiiiiight all over the place man, but it’s always an unfortunate circumstance when your team musters more than one three-bagger and still loses the cat. And that was the case here so lets highlight Heroy sadness, two triples (AND ONE JROLL) out of the OGFC and they get bested by a Leviathans team that put up four despite the absence of Adalberto. Tough break kiddo. Other tough breaks include 1 “point” losses in SBs, QS, and Holds but this paragraph was about the triples so we are gonna STICK TO THE TRIPLES.

 

 

Assorted Musings Should I Feel Like Musin’:  The Leviathans had 69 RBIs (nice.)… ALSO, with this victory the Leviathans have more wins in Year 3 than they had in Years 1 and 2 COMBINED (double nice.)(#TrustTheProcess)…

 

What’s Next (Week 17):  LL @ ECK (6-10 @ 9-7)

                   
   OGFC v. IBB (8-7-1 v. 6-9-1)

 

 

 

 

 

2019 WEEK 16 BACKYARD BATTLE OF THE WEEK, SPONSORED BY THE 1985 CHICAGO BEARS’ WEEK 13 DEFEAT

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https://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/bears/ct-85-bears-dolphins-oral-history-spt-1129-20151128-story.html

 

 

 

 

 

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Island Beach Bears Accomplish Everything They Needed To In 2019 Season, Slay The Lacey Township BackdoorSliderz Beast Fucking Finally (they are now allowed to go win the championship or whatever I guess*)  –  7-6-1

*jkjk we root against any and all back-to-back chamPEEN challengers ’round here, fuck them I want ’em bounced in Round 2..

 

 

MVP:  Edwin Encarnacion  –  Were there better performers in Week 16 both on the Bears and on other teams? I mean yea PROBABLY (definitely). But this was another performance in a long line of CLUTCH PLAYOFF PERFORMANCES (as far as I’m concerned I just won the playoffs) wherein Encarnacion, win or loss, gave us a heroic effort. In this case we needed doubles and he HEROICALLY contributed FIVE, 45% of his total heading into Week 16. Good. Man.  11/32, 6 Rs, 5 2Bs, 1 HR, 3 RBIs, .400 OBP     ***MVP OF THE WEEK/PROBABLY YEAR***    

 

LVP:  Alex Bregman  –  Bad week outta Breggy and a quiet week outta a few other ButtSliderz Starz in Week 16, it’s almost like that’s how baseball is supposed to work as opposed to having EVERYTHING GO YOUR WAY ALL YEAR LONG. Suck it, turds.  1/17, 3 Rs, 1 2B, 1 RBI, .238 OBP          

 

 

 

Bears Hitter Of Note:  Jonathan Villar heard rumors of other owners BALKING at requested returns (probably justifiably so) when those owners came asking about himand so he went out and had himself a week on them basepaths (10/33, 9 Rs, 1 2B, 2 HRs, 5 RBIs, 5 SBs, .361 OBP).

Bears Pitcher Of Note:  When you trade away all of your other good pitchers you’re left with one good pitcher and then that good pitcher likely ends up your pitcher “of note” in these winning situations, and his name is Mike Clevinger (14 IP, 4 ER, 14 Ks, 2 QS, 2 Ws, 2.57 ERA).

 

BackdoorSliderz Hitter Of Note:  Lets all point at Cody Bellinger and laugh because he DIDN’T absolutely bludgeon me in Week 16 and perhaps he isn’t Barry Bonds, which would be nice for me and my trade psyche (he’s still really good and young and I regret that trade and that trade only)(I’ll still trade any mothafucka)(4/18, 4 Rs, 1 2B, 2 RBIs, .333 OBP).

BackdoorSliderz Pitcher Of Note:  And just for FAIR and BALANCED reporting of the FACTS I’ll not do the thing where I try and single out a bad performance here… Robbie Ray had double digit Ks in back-to-back starts so good for him, STILL LOST LOSER (12 IP, 5 ER, 21 Ks, 2 QS, 1 W, 3.75 ERA).

 

BBOTW BREAKDOWN

 

How many words does one owe history? When will enough be written about our triumphs in WWII, about the moon landing, about the moments that DEFINED civilization? Can enough words ever be written? I posit that they cannot, which is why this blog will fail regardless of how long I write about one of the greatest regular season victories (if not THE greatest) in Backyard history (and I intend to write a buncha words and they won’t even be particularly interesting but THE WORD COUNT, oh the word count). Sure teams have gone on some runs, won some games in a row, even won some championships in a row 😉 . But has there ever been a team that remained undefeated this late into one of our regular seasons? No seriously I am asking. And IF SO, could that team have possibly been helmed by a more despicable owner than the one that currently presides over the Lacey Township BackdoorSliderz? This one I can answer myself:  no, for that would be impossible.

Comeuppance has been a long time coming for this team, a talented unit to be fair but one that also has been hashtag BLESSED with some lucky bounces in its day. I think they beat the Banana Slugs in a week when they had like a .270-something OBP, I think Fernando Tatis Jr. and Keston Hiura have had UNSUSTAINABLE BABIPs to begin their respective careers, I think this had to happen the way it happened. At the hands of your fearless, really at this point less-than-part-time, blogger (and perhaps part-time lover) because only HE would then chronicle the great moment in glorious detail. And only HE, thanks to his own human failings, would be able to perfectly set up a Sunday Night Scenario that quite frankly I didn’t see enough applause for the in chat. Edwin Encarnacion is a BACKYARD TREASURE and he deserves your respect. Perhaps no player is more synonymous with their respective franchise, and obviously no player more perfectly epitomizes the GLORY DAYZ of back-to-back-to-back championships for this (once proud, now multiple times renamed) franchise, and now he has basically delivered a fourth championship. Feels like I’ve won the championship this season. You’re all free to keep playing and do the whole “Backyard Bracket” thing but yanno…..whatever.

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There was a time when I planned to break down each day of this HISTORIC VICTORY FOR THE ISLAND BEACH BEARS, but holy shit that sounds exhausting and its difficult enough to piece together the play-by-play just from Sunday. So yea with that caveat in place lets now get fucking pumped up and lets fucking LETS BREAK DOWN THIS HISTORIC MATCHUP’S HISTORIC SUNDAY, SHALL WE?! FUCK YEA LETS:

DAY 7 (Sunday, 7.28.19 Anno Domini)

The Island Beach Bears enter day 7 of their battle WEARY and sensing defeat. Things were lookin’ kinda solid with the BackdoorSliderz offense scuffling, and then Saturday they uhh unscuffled. Categories as of Sunday AM were as follows (not because I think anyone wants to read this shit, but because I want to pump up this word count to up the obnoxious):

Runs – Bears lead 53 to 38

Doubles – Sliderz lead 14 to 12

Triples – Bears lead 2 to 0

HRs – Bears lead 11 to 9

RBIs – Sliderz lead 44 to 37

OBP – Sliderz comfortably ahead just take my word for it

SBs – Bears lead 7 to 4

 

Ks – Bears lead 80 to 69 (nice.)

QS – Bears lead 9 to 5

CGs – Bears haven’t had one all goddamned year, surprised the ButtSliderz didn’t grab one but yea this ended up 0-0

Ws – Tied 6 to 6

Saves – Sliderz lead 4 to 1

Holds – Bears lead 5 to 1

ERA – Sliderz lead like 2 something to 3 something

 

BEARS LEADING 7-5-2

This lead, this lead is a mirage and the Bears know it. For what you DON’T see up there, though certainly I had the room to note it, is the Bears have maxed out their starts by Sunday AM (and amassed a measly 80 Ks doing so) while the BackdoorSliderz would be trotting out four arms for the final day:  Kyle Gibson, Robbie Ray, Walker Buehler, and AARON NOLA. The last arm is of obvious added significance, it’s an arm that already logged a start for the Bears earlier in the week and an arm they then traded away because dynasty is boring make some trades you pussies. It is also an arm that what was SUPPOSED TO BE starting only once in Week 16, was sort of important to me to avoid facing my sweet sweet Aaron in 2019. Alas he ended up getting bumped up to Sunday, and Lacey ownership did what Lacey ownership does best:  paid lip service to sitting him as some sort of courtesy or signaling of their high moral fiber but MERELY A SIGNAL, they were never gonna sit him WERE THEY (Bears ownership wouldn’t have wanted that, but also was drinking at the time of the initial message so didn’t really offer that opinion clearly one way or the other, so could Doch have even KNOWN what I wanted? Has he ever known what anyone else ever wanted? Has he failed to please everyone in his life?)?! ANYWHOM, ultimately Nola got the nod and that was the right move I wouldn’t have wanted a bullet left in the chamber.

SO, and stay with me now, what we have at this point is the Bears BASICALLY expecting Ks and Ws to go to Lacey, with a possibility of them going 4-4 in QS and tying that up as well….. things seemed bleak to say the least. As I alluded, the BackdoorSliderz had already used a 16 run/4 double/5 HR/15 RBI/.460 OBP Saturday to overtake OBP and generally signal the end times for the Bears upset chances. Or so we thought :))))))))))))))) It would require a good amount of good Lacey pitchers pitching poorly for the Bears to retake the ERA lead, and we had already done everything in our power to try and grab more Ks or more Ws or whatever by signing a buncha shitty SP-eligible relievers and treating it like BCS Sunday. And so at this point Bears ownership was on the beach not paying much mind to these sorts of longshot hypotheticals, is what I’m saying.

FAST FORWARD to late afternoon and suddenly the BackdoorSliderz pitching staff has managed to blow the ERA lead by pitching jusssttttt poorly enough, suddenly the Bears are told they’re clinging to a 7-6-1 advantage, and even more suddenly they must reckon with all of those fucking random SP relievers they brought in to try and grab additional pitching stats. Pretty quickly it was assumed by Bears ownership, QUITE CORRECTLY (because they’re actually super smart and stuff), that those shitty relievers were shitty for a reason and so they would fuck said Bears and return said ERA lead and the overall lead with it probably upon their first opportunity…. almost instantaneously Colin McHugh did just that. Around the same time just GENERAL LIFE LIVING, the sort of thing Rojo has tried to tell us all about from high atop the mountains, prevents Bears ownership (me) from subbing out a resting Nicholas Castellanos for a not-resting Hunter Renfroe. By the time of this realization the DEFINITELY EXPECTED Luis Perdomo earned runs have also crossed the plate and we’ve officially written off ERA (evidently we shouldn’t have we only lost 3.90 to 3.86, I would have been haunted by Josh Tomlin if things broke poorly), now turning the attention to catching the evil LTBS RBIs and/or 2Bs while also defending a slim lead in HRs.

This is gripping stuff, one would imagine, if both owners were both scowling MLBTV and furiously refreshing computer screens to follow along. And in fact for the sake of this blog post we are going to say that Doch definitely was doing precisely that, in some sad little Lacey cave like the ones people used to pretend Bin Laden was hiding in. There’s some parallels there. At some point we know the LTBS closed the HR gap to one (thanks to Soto or Conforto or Santana or one of those fucks, but this isn’t their story) and at some other point we now know Marcus Semien and Danny Santana have homered to give the #DongsCat it’s final margin of victory for the Bears. Small margin, small total overall but it’s not the size that counts. So ALL GOOD ON THE HRs, hooray for the good guys. RBIs inched close (another size pun in here somewhere), some thanks due to Travis D’Arnaud for contributing 7 RBIs for the IBB while only bequeathing 2 RBIs for the LTBS (he’s filled in admirably for Gary Sanchez), but ultimately despite our best efforts bad things sometimes happen to good people and good things sometimes happen to bad people (see Doch’s 2018 season) and so we couldn’t close the gap there. And by “best efforts” I mean we couldn’t close the gap because Hunter Renfroe hit a grand slam on the fucking bench, with plenty of space for him in our not-being-used RF slot.

SO RBIs weren’t working out and its down to doubles to slay the beast. Ozzie Albies knocked the lone Sunday double for Lacey, the very excellent Danny Santana and Jonathan Villar and Travis D’Arnaud chipped in their own two-baggers for Island Beach (left out a “two-bagger” joke about Dorothy here), and by the time the dust had settled we arrived at a very unsatisfying 6-6-2 tie heading into Sunday Night Sawks-Yanks. This could not stand, however….

SUNDAY NIGHT SAWKS-YANKS (7.28.19 Anno Domini)

The Yankee-loathing Lacey outfit has no participants in the Sunday night game, the Bears have ❤ Edwin Encarnacion ❤ and Aaron Hicks. The Bears need one double or 4 RBIs to finally hand the BackdoorSliderz a much-needed loss in 2019, and the presence of Edwin in this equation has them quietly CONFIDENT….. so confident they are not watching the game one bit, and are going to Mellow Mushroom. I think I’m back from Mellow by the time Edwin evidently smokes a single in the top of the 5th…..

….that moves Hicks to 3rd and no farther, so yea running out of innings but WE ARE FINE EVERYTHING IS FINE. STILL. I think at this point I’m “watching a documentary” on PFAS, Edwin would not betray this organization.

In the 7th inning, we get what we need and by “we” I mean THE LEAGUE AS A WHOLE needed:

 

Encarnación doubled to left center, Hicks to third.
PITCH TYPE MPH
1 Double Slider 82

 

Print that out and smoke it folks, I’m giving you PITCH TYPE and everything here. I will also note the double was hit off of Bad Dudes RELIEVER PHENOM EXTRAORDINAIRE Darwinzon Hernandez.

 

Bears win 7-6-1

Bears win self-proclaimed “last week they give a shit about winning”

Undefeated season for the ButtSliderz is off the table, which is a bit of a relief I think we can all agree

Bears now have to keep giving a shit until formally eliminated from playoffs (TAKE NOTE ROJO), which isn’t a relief per se but is still FINE ITS FINE we can pay attention to a fantasy baseball league while still existing in the world (TAKE NOTE LOBMAN, OR MAYBE ROJO, I am forgetting the gripes at this point)….

The league is saved and you’re all fucking welcome

Look I know this one was a bit of a coin flip in several spots and we just have easily could have allowed the LTBS to escape with yet another win and they’re still the current favorites (though clearly I think we’ve exposed some kinks in the armor, not gonna tell anyone what they are it’s a big secret) for that OTHER champeenship still to be awarded. I know all these things. But I also know that this shit needed to end and so Edwin ended it, and so nobody ever ask me if he was available to trade for ever again. Notta one of youz. ANYWAYZ Week 17 has the Bears still in the bracket hunt weirdly enough, so they’re gonna head to Ocean Gate and try and beat those jackasses. And if they don’t at least they beat this jackass. This jackass and his ButtSliderz take on the River City Bad Dudes in our Backyard Battle Of The Week.

 

What’s Next (Week 17):  IBB @ OGFC (6-9-1 @ 8-7-1)

                   
LTBS v. RCBD (16-1 v. 6-7-3) *BBOTW*

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Had to get one more in ^ 

 

2019 Week 16 Review: “Return of Rollins, Return of Key Cat, Exposing of Doch As Fraud” Edition

July Power Rankings

dochneyLeave a comment

June is in the books and it is time to do the monthly power rankings for the start of July.  To take a more objective approach, I tried to quantify the category rankings to help with the Power Rankings.  I did this by simply adding up a team’s rank in all the categories and dividing by the number of categories to find what I am going to call a team’s rating, just so I don’t use the word ranking 600 times in this blog entry.  I did this new rating system through the categories for offensive, pitching, and overall.  Obviously, the lower number rating the better, since every team would want to be first in every category.  This is by no means a perfect system, but if teams are close in record, their overall rating will be looked at to give a more objective approach to how they are ranked in the Power Rankings.  All stats for the rating system were done as of the afternoon of Monday, July 1, so week 14 stats will not be counted toward the rating system.

#1 Lacey Township Backdoor Sliderz 13-0

Runs (1), 2Bs (6), 3Bs (t-6), HRs (2), RBIs (3), SBs (3), OBP (1)        

Ks (2), QS (3), CG (1), WINS (3), SVs (3), Hs (t-6), ERA (2)                 

Offensive Rating 3.14 (1st)

Pitching Rating 2.85 (1st)

Overall rating 3.00 (1st)

Well the reigning champion Backdoor Sliderz remain undefeated and have clinch the number 1 seed for the playoffs before the all-star break.  As you can see by the category ratings, this is no fluke.  This is a complete, well balanced team that is rated first in offense and first in pitching in the league.  Their team has been known to devastate opponents to the point that they need to call out of work.  There’s a lot of young talent on this roster that should help them compete and make people call out of work for years to come, that is if they don’t break the league this season.  They already have 4 players with over 20 HRs (Bellinger, Freeman, Bregman, Acuna).  Albies and Domingo Santana are 2 other young hitters having themselves real nice seasons.  Santana has over 60 RBIs. 

We already saw what some of the young prospects they have can do last year in Soto, Albies, and Acuna, now we are seeing what Tatis Jr. and to a smaller sample size Keston Hiura can do.  Tatis Jr. looks legit if you ask me, which makes me love the Altuve trade for him and Bellinger even more.  A trade that caught Dochney some flak last year from most, not all though.

The pitchers don’t quite have as much youth as the hitters on Dochney’s Diaper Dandies.  They are led by the ageless wonder Justin Verlander as well as veterans like Greinke and deGrom.  Walker Buehler is the young gun of the group who is putting together a nice season with his 3.43 ERA and 104 Ks in 97 IP.  Robbie Ray is very serviceable because of his K rate but not quite as heralded as the rest because of his inconsistencies and inability to go deep into games.  I am sure everyone around the league would take a guy with 129 Ks in 98.2 IP. 

Relievers look solid for the Sliderz.  Osuna, Holland, and Colome all have firm control over their closer roles while putting up good numbers.  D Backs and White Sox need to hang around those Wild Card spots long enough for Holland and Colome not to get traded into setup roles at this year’s MLB deadline though, which is a lot to ask for.

#2 Ocean Gate Fishing Club 6-6-1

Runs (4), 2Bs (3), 3Bs (2), HRs (5), RBIs (6), SBs (4), OBP (2)            

Ks (4), QS (2), CG (t-4), WINS (6), SVs (2), Hs (9), ERA (1)                 

Offensive Rating 3.71 (3rd)

Pitching Rating 4 (3rd)

Overall Rating 3.86 (2nd)

The Fishing Club currently sit tied for 4th place in the standings but they make it to number 2 in the Power Rankings.  This is the first team that gets bumped up in the Power Rankings based on their ratings from the new imperfect system that was just created.  They are only a half game out of 2nd place anyway so it’s not a huge leap.  They have the 3rd rated offense and the 3rd rated pitching, but overall, they are the second rated team.  We all know what their core of can do.  I am talking about Trout, Betts, Rizzo, and Bryant, who is having himself a nice little come back campaign.  They also have some young players who are breaking out in a big way like Josh Bell, who has 25 HRs, 77 RBI, and 65 Runs as of July 2.  Austin Meadows is also enjoying himself a nice little breakout season as well, although he has been plummeting down to Earth over his last 30 days with 0 HRs and .267 OBP over that span.  Heroy may have missed his chance to trade Meadows at this point, especially now that I am blasting his last 30 on the blog.  The rookies are looking solid.  Senzel is doing just fine in his first taste of the big leagues, while Yordan Alvarez and Eloy Jimenez look like they will be legit power threats for a long time in this league.  Eloy

The pitching was a question mark heading into the season for Ocean Gate, but they have been phenomenal.  Luis Castillo has bounced back in a big way with a 2.56 ERA and 115 Ks in 98.1 IP.  We all knew Gerrit Cole was a stud, he has 161 Ks in 109.2 IP.  Tyler Glasnow was looking like another breakout star before being going down with a forearm injury.  Heroy probably won’t get him back before the end of the Backyard season, but I guess there’s still hope. 

His bullpen is solid with Iglesias, Vazquez, and Hader.  Hader hates to give up hits to minorities so he decides to strike them all out instead with his.  He is probably the best reliever in all of baseball and has a ridiculous 16.8 K/9.  Iglesias and Vazquez are prime trade candidates if the Reds and Pirates fall out of that Wild Card Contention, so the Fishing Club better be rooting for the Pirates and Reds to stay relevant in July.

#3 East Coast Kings 7-6

Runs (3), 2Bs (4), 3Bs (3), HRs (3), RBIs (5), SBs (2), OBP (3)

Ks (7), QS (4), CG (t-4), WINS (2), SVs (6), Hs (10), ERA (5)               

Offensive Rating 3.28 (2nd)

Pitching Rating 5.43 (6th)

Overall Rating 4.36 (4th)

R Mac has put together a nice a little squad for himself.  When I first came into this league, he was a pitching first team, but now he has a lot of young stud hitters while his pitching staff is more than formidable.  Let’s get Yelich talk out of the way since he is challenging Trout as best baseball player on the planet currently. Yelich only has 30 HRs, 65 Runs, 66 RBIs, 18 SBs, and a .428 OBP this season so far.  Still has a week to pad those stats prior to the all-star break.  He just traded for Rhys Hoskins in what I thought was a great move for R Mac.  Sold high on Ketel Marte in that move, good job.  Gleyber Torres is a stud buried down at the bottom of the Yankees stacked lineup but that’s ok because there’s still plenty of run producing opportunities down there.  Javier Baez continues to carry over his success from last year.  Yoan Moncada is finally playing up to his potential as well.  Saying finally seems harsh when he’s only 24 years old, but that’s what he gets for signing a huge contract at 19.

On the pitching side of things, the Kings look great on paper.  They have Paxton, Kershaw, Berrios Strasburg, and Syndergaard.  Paxton and Syndergaard have been mildly disappointing though, especially Thor for me personally being a Mets fan.  You can throw 99 all you want but when you leave it down the middle, big leaguers are going to catch up on it.  If the pitching stays healthy and clicks like they are supposed to, this will be a very dangerous team come playoff time.  Let’s not forget 2-way player Brendan McKay just getting called up by the Rays ready to contribute minors eligible innings and at bats for the Kings. 

In the bullpen, Doolittle and Hand are good options that I do not think stand to much a risk to be traded.  Kimbrel finally signed with the Cubs and that is great place for him to be and R Mac could not be happier after enduring those 2 long months of dead space on his roster.

#4 Astoria Isotopes 7-6

Runs (5), 2Bs (5), 3Bs (1), HRs (6), RBIs (7), SBs (9), OBP (4)            

Ks (5), QS (5), CG (3), WINS (8), SVs (8), Hs (t-1), ERA (7)                

Offensive rating 5.29 (6th)

Pitching Rating 5.29 (5th)

Overall Rating 5.29 (5th)

The IsoDOPES just had their impressive 7 game win streak snapped by the top team in the league and fell to 4th in the Power Rankings despite being tied for 2nd in the standings and just getting Judge back from injury.  T might have a legitimate gripe with the blog for his 4th place ranking, especially considering they were just in the championship game like I don’t know, 10 months ago.  But screw it, I have the rankings power now, and I am putting too much stock in my nowhere near perfect rating system, a system in which T is rated 5th in offense, pitching, and overall.  So, don’t @ me with your gripes bro, if anything you’re overrated in the power rankings.

The Topes have some good hitting.  Mike Moustakas, who I have a personal bias against I guess because I don’t think he is that good, has an Isotopes leading 23 HRs before the all-star break.  Those 23 HRs make me look real silly for making my previous statement.  Arenado and Blackmon have been a dynamic 1-2 punch as the Colorado edition of the Isotopes.  Each have 20 HRs, and OBPs north of .380.  DJ LaMahieu may be the hottest hitter in all of baseball currently, he has over 60 runs and RBIs before the all-star break.  He is another player I once doubted and questioned how he would hit away from Coors Field.  I am eating my words once again on that one.  Matt Olson has 16 HRs while missing the first like 6 weeks of the season or something like that, which is impressive.  This team’s offense is just going to get deadlier as they are just getting Judge back. 

Pitching is just so-so on paper for the Topes.  Chris Sale is a stud, I don’t feel like talking about him.  Mike Minor is a revelation this season with his 2.40 ERA and 110 Ks in 112.2 IP.  They have the ever-valuable SP eligible pitchers picking up saves for them in Sergio Romo and Ian Kennedy.  Both of which could be traded and out of closers roles by the end of the month though, because the teams they play for stink. 

#5 Rojo’s Renegade Force 6-6-1

Runs (7), 2Bs (10), 3Bs (10), HRs (4), RBIs (4), SBs (6), OBP (6)       

Ks (10), QS (t-6), CG (t-4), WINS (10), SVs (10), Hs (t-1), ERA (3)    

Offensive Rating 6.71 (7th)

Pitching Rating 6.29 (7th)

Overall Rating 6.5 (t-7th)

Dodgers pitcher Ryu firing out a fastball

Rojo Rojo Rojo.  Fan favorite of the league.  Winner of the superlative “most likely to not start 12 in a week.”  I probably should have given him a lower rank for his lack of commitment, but I was more impressed that he sits in a playoff spot even with that lack of commitment.  He doesn’t exactly go by the Rays Ways philosophy that Odom does, but he does go by the full line changes and I do not need a closer philosophy.  Don’t leave the league Rojo!!! You’re the only non asshole out of your group of friends, don’t leave me with all these other losers next year.

Let’s start off by talking about another player I have openly ripped in the chat or blog before.  Eric Hosmer has a Force leading 60 RBI this season.  That just upsets me, because I guess I have a personal bias for no good reason against the guy because I always say he stinks and I guess I was wrong, again.  Rafael Devers having himself a fine season in Boston.  Joey Gallo is not shocking anyone with his 20 HRs, but he has a .426 OBP!!!!!! Goldschmidt has been slightly disappointing, while Chavis has been a rookie sensation.  Also, Springer is a stud, but we knew that.  And Shohei shoheiing us that he is valuable even when he is not being a 2-way player.

On the pitching side of things, Ryu has been a boss (1.83 ERA, 94 Ks, 103 IP, 13 QS, 9 Ws).  Bumgarner looking to have a Verlander like resurgence if he could get traded to a contender by the end of the month.  But I know Bummy has a weird no trade list that I do not feel like looking up right now but recall there being some contenders on that list.  Maybe just a ploy to get them to commit long term to Bummy before trading for him.  Let’s not forget about fan favorite Charlie Morton, who has been unstoppable for Tampa this year (100 IP, 120 Ks, 2.43 ERA).

#6 Barnegat Banana Slugs 5-7-1

Runs (10), 2Bs (9), 3Bs (6), HRs (10), RBIs (9), SBs (8), OBP (8)       

Ks (3), QS (1), CG (t-4), WINS (7), SVs (7), Hs (5), ERA (4)                 

Offensive Rating 8.57 (10th)

Pitching Rating 4.43 (4th)

Overall Rating 6.5 (t-7th)

The Slugs currently are tied for 6th place with the Island Beach Bears.  I have no idea who would win the tie breaker if the season ended today, but we have a few weeks until we need to worry about that junk, if we need to worry about it by then.  This Slugs team is built on their pitching.  They are rated 4th currently, and sport quite an impressive rotation.  Simply put Max Scherzer is the best pitcher in the game and he is doing it again this year.  He owns a 2.43 ERA to go along with 170 Ks in 122.1 IP, 15 QS, and 8 Ws.  Yeah…. Um, he’s good.  The pitching doesn’t end with Scherzer, Trevor Bauer has 134 Ks while Patrick Corbin and Jon Gray each have 111.  Rookie sensation Chris Paddack looks very legit and being sent down to the minors for those few weeks might have been the best thing to happen for the Slugs if he avoids being shut down for the Backyard playoffs.  Oh yeah, there’s this other guy named Severino sitting on the IL for the Slugs.  Unfortunately, he may not be healed in time to make in a difference this year in the Backyard.  Also, Kirby Yates has 27 saves for the Padres, that’s good for most in the league by the way. 

The Slugs offense is a work in progress.  They are 10th in the category ratings, which basically equates to them being hot garbage (if you put stock in the irrelevant ratings that is).  Not ideal, but there’s potential here.  Luke Voit and Eddie Rosario both just landed on the IL, fortunately it doesn’t appear to be serious for either player.  Story, Eugenio Suarez and Jorge Polanco are all having good years as well.  Puig’s 17 HRs and 13 SBs are pretty good despite a .289 OBP and only 35 runs scored (this is considered having a monster season if you have a team with a shitty offense like the Slugs do).  Vlad Jr. has big time potential and we certainly haven’t seen him anywhere near his best. 

#7 Island Beach Bears 5-7-1

Runs (6), 2Bs (8), 3Bs (9), HRs (7), RBIs (8), SBs (7), OBP (9)            

Ks (8), QS (10), CG (10), WINS (5), SVs (4), Hs (3), ERA (10)             

Offensive Rating 7.71 (9th)

Pitching Rating 7.14 (9th)

Overall Rating 7.43 (9th)

As previously stated, the Island Bears are currently tied with the Slugs for the final playoff spot.  They rated 9th in all 3 of the categories.  Gary Sanchez is the best fantasy catcher in baseball with his 23 HRs.  Altuve has been banged up a bit and disappointing in general during his Bears tenure, but who knows, he could be healthy and back to his MVP like form any day now.  Edwin Encarnacion is another ageless wonder as he just keeps hitting bombs everywhere he goes and is now part of a modern-day Murderer’s Row.  Max Muncy and Dan Vogelbach have been having very good years as both have 20 HRs so far.  Possibly their good play and three mashers with first base eligibility is why the Bears traded Hoskins for Ketel Marte. 

Aaron Nola is the Bears best pitcher and set a pretty high bar for himself last year.  So, his 4.22 ERA this year is disappointing to say the least.  He still has 110 Ks in 96 IP, and he will be fine over the long run.  After Nola the Bears staff gets a little dicey.  Domingo German was amid a breakout season before getting injured.  Started pitching like dogshit in his last 3 starts before landing on the IL, but the Bears are hoping he gets back to his form in the first 10 starts when he comes back this week.

#8 Lakehurst Leviathans 5-8

Runs (9), 2Bs (7), 3Bs (5), HRs (9), RBIs (10), SBs (5), OBP (7)          Offensive Rating 7.49 (8th)

Ks (9), QS (8), CG (t-8), WINS (9), SVs (9), Hs (4), ERA (9)                 

Offensive Rating 7.49 (8th)

Pitching Rating 8 (10th)

Overall 7.71 (10th)

Shane’s 5 wins so far is the same amount of wins Shane had in his first 2 seasons in the league.  In fact, Shane’s squad is sitting a half game out of the final playoff spot with 5 weeks left in the Backyard season.  A playoff birth is very attainable for the fan favorite Leviathans.  He is rated 10th overall in the category ratings, but that rating is probably meaningless anyway. 

My main man Carlos Santana having a hell of a season back in Cleveland (55 Runs, 18 HRs, 50 RBI, .411 OBP).  Adalberto Mondesi is leading the league in SBs with 27 and 3Bs with 8.  Grandal is one of the few catchers worth rostering and has 18 HRs this year with a .379 OBP. 

Pitching hasn’t gone quite according to plan for the Leviathans.  Soroka has been a stud with a 2.13 ERA and 9 Wins for the Braves, but his 67 Ks in 84.2 IP is unimpressive.  Jack Flaherty’s 94 Ks in 85.1 IP is impressive, but his 6 QS and 4.75 ERA is not.  Matthew Boyd having a great year for Shane’s favorite team and I feel his 129 Ks is slightly out of nowhere.  His 11.4 K/9 is a dramatic increase from his career 8.4 K/9 and he’s not sacrificing control with a 1.8 BB/9 on the year. 

#9 Pacific Beach X-Rays 3-7-3

Runs (8), 2Bs (1), 3Bs (4), HRs (8), RBIs (3), SBs (1), OBP (10)         

Ks (1), QS (t-6), CG (2), WINS (1), SVs (1), Hs (8), ERA (6)                 

Offensive Rating 5 (5th)

Pitching Rating 3.57 (2nd)

Overall Rating 4.28 (3rd)

Another team that has been struck by some bad luck this season.  The category ratings justify the Rays Ways philosophy that Odom has implemented as they are the 3rd overall rated team in the league, even though their record has them tied for last.  They throw bulkers at you on a regular basis, constantly get to the 100 K mark during a week and have tied the Ks record twice this year.  The saves and stolen bases are there, just like every year for the Rays, but now their RBI numbers are way up to 3rd in the league.  6th in ERA is not bad either considering he’ll throw any bulker at you seemingly going against any team.

Tough to talk about individuals on a team that has literally made 1243 moves so far this year.  Lourdes Gurriel Jr and Austin Riley each look like they’re sticking around, and each have 14 HRs in under 200 at bats this season.  Jose Ramirez is supposed to be their best player but has struggled a whole lot this season, at least he has 18 SBs.  Speaking of steals, I know Odom is happy about rostering Mallex Smith these days and his 21 SBs. 

The pitching side of things is tough to track as well for the X-Rays.  They love to stream their bulkers, especially their Tampa Bay Rays bulkers.  Outside of the bulkers, Snell has taken a step back, but still has an insane 117 Ks in 85 IP.  Lucas Giolito has been a stud this season for the White Sox with his 115 Ks in 96 IP with a 2.72 ERA and 11 wins.  They also grab a lot of saves out of Chapman, Greene, and even Edwin Diaz.  Diaz is now a Met though so naturally his ERA has gone up 2 runs.

#10 River City Bad Dudes 3-7-3

Runs (2), 2Bs (2), 3Bs (8), HRs (1), RBIs (1), SBs (10), OBP (5)         

Ks (6), QS (9), CG (t-8), WINS (4), SVs (t-5), Hs (t-6), ERA (8)           

Offensive Rating 4.14 (4th)

Pitching Rating 6.57 (8th)

Overall 5.36 (6th)

This is a very unfair ranking for the Bad Dudes, the category ratings say he’s much better than last in the league.  Lobman and Odom should both probably be in the top 6 and not the bottom like they currently sit in the standings. Lobman has been struck with a lot of bad luck this year if you ask me.  His lineup has a ton of power and run producing evidenced by his recent record setting 28 HR and 87 RBI week, but he was only rated the 4th best offense because it does lack some speed.  This lineup boasts the likes of Pete Alonso, Manny Machado, and Matt Chapman who all have at least 20 HRs.  Bryce Harper and Willson Contreras are both good players, although it could be said Harper, the former prodigy and MVP has been disappointing this season.  All this is forgetting to mention that Giancarlo Stanton only has 31 at bats this season.  In a Stanton related note, I heard Stanton just signed a sponsorship deal with Herr’s to name a potato chip after him…. AJ Pollock has a deal with Lay’s.

The pitching is where this team seems to fall apart.  Alex Reyes is currently wasting a roster spot with his 53 career IP currently sitting in the minors.  Brandon Woodruff is really the only pitcher of note for this team with his 3.79 ERA and 120 Ks in 102 IP.  The Bad Dudes have a few prospect pitchers who can not make it to the majors soon enough for Lobman. 

July Power Rankings

Week 13 Recap

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Dedicated to Tyler Skaggs after his untimely passing.

Week 13 is in the books and we saw one impressive winning streak end to an even more impressive winning streak.  We already have the first seed for the playoffs clinched and we’re not even at the all-star break.  This clinching of the first seed means nothing, because all that matters is just getting into the playoffs, record doesn’t matter once in the playoffs. 

We also saw 2 teams flirt with breaking the Ks record, the HR beaten, and RBI record getting demolished, albeit in a losing effort.  Most of the matchups ended up not being that close except for 2. 

Unfortunately, there are no Jerichos to report this week either.  This is sad news because of the newly found interest in the distinction with the name change which everyone around the league seems to agree is a much better name.

East Coast Kings silence Rojo’s Renegade Force 8-2-4

MVP

Nelson Cruz 5 Runs 2 2Bs, 3 HRs, 10 RBI, .500 OBP

In an interesting strategic decision, Rojo decided it would be best to only make 7 out of 12 starts this week.  Bold strategy Cotton!  The move did not pay off as this matchup wasn’t particularly close, I am sure Rojo had numerous empty lineup spots as well if he only started 7 pitchers this week.  48 Ks might be an all-time low, but I don’t feel like fact checking that.  One must start questioning how long Rojo is going to stick around the Backyard or if he is just too cool for us losers.

R Mac won the battle of the chat mutes with relative ease this week.  He himself only made 11 starts, but that was still 4 more than the other Ryan in the league.  Nelson Cruz had a big week on his way to matchup MVP honors.  I guess I’ll make mention of Rafael Devers’ 7 2Bs this week, because that is impressive whether his GM was paying attention to him or not.

Next week

RRF (6-6-1) v IBB (5-7-1)

ECK (7-6) v RAYS (3-7-3)

Pacific Beach X-Rays bulk their way to victory against Ocean Gate Fishing Club 9-3-2

MVP

Lourdes Gurriel Jr. 7 Runs, 1 2B, 5 HRs, 8 RBI, .462 OBP

Lourdy Lourd, Gurriel had himself a week with his 7 Runs, 5 HRs, and 8 RBI.  He gets the MVP of the matchup despite The X-Rays tying the Ks record this week.  He got a lot of Ks from a lot of guys including like 16 or something from Snell, but his other stats weren’t the most impressive considering he had 1 so-so start out of his 2 this week.  Kevin Newman was another big bat for the Rays chipping in 3 HRs and 7 RBIs.  X-Rays may be tied for last, but do not mistake them for an easy win.  The no light days and bulking philosophy makes this team very dangerous.  They may have suffered from a bit of bad luck this season as well when you look at where they rank on the year in all the categories, but we’ll expand on that more in the July Power Rankings.

Greg’s team is pretty good in their own right.  He got big strike out performances from pitchers Bieber (17 Ks), Cole (13 Ks), and Fried (14 Ks), but unfortunately, he was playing the guy who seems to get 100 Ks every week.  The Fishing Club disappointed on offense this week which is a shame considering some of those guys they have.  They look to bounce back against the Isotopes in the extended Week 14.

Next Week

RAYS (3-7-3) v ECK (7-6)

OGFC (6-6-1) v TOPES (7-6)

Barnegat Banana Slugs out pitch the slugging Bad Dudes 7-6-1


***MVP OF THE WEEK***

Max Scherzer 16 IP, 24 Ks, 2 QS, 2 W, 1.29 ERA

87 RBI for the now last place Bad Dudes.  This shattered the previous RBI record which was established in the BD era, so who really cares about that old record anyway.  His 28 HRs were also an all-time Backyard record.  All this was done with Stanton landing back on the IL.  And you can forget about the 60/60 club, Lobman just established 60/80 club.  Most impressive part about these records is how Lobman still didn’t win the matchup.  He’s still a loser, even with his 62 Runs, 28 HRs, 87 RBI, and .388 OBP.  Lobman only has a few more weeks to trade for some pitching.  He may be sitting in last place currently, but he is by no means out of this playoff race. 

Breaking News.  Mad Max is pretty good.  24 K week is no joke no matter how many starts you have.  He was simply dominant and helped bring the Slugs to 1 K away from tying the all time K record with Odom’s Rays this week.  Trevor Bauer also pitched in 12 Ks over 6.2 innings.  This matchup was a classic pitching vs hitting battle and pitching won.  All the other team had to do was win 1 category on their weak side and the Slugs were able to win doubles.  Luke Voit only hitter of note for the Slugs as he chipped in 5 2Bs.

Next Week

BBS (5-7-1) v LTBS (13-0)

RCBD (3-7-3) v LAKE (5-8)

Island Beach Bears beat Lakehurst Leviathans 7-2-5

MVP
Max Muncy 4 Runs, 1 2B, 3 HRs, 12 RBI, .367 OBP

  • SAN FRANCISCO, CA – JUNE 09: Max Muncy #13 of the Los Angeles Dodgers celebrates as he trots around the bases after hitting a solo home run against the San Francisco Giants in the top of the first inning of a Major League Baseball game at Oracle Park on June 9, 2019 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)

Well this was an ugly matchup looking at the surface stats, so much so that I really do not want to spend to much time on it.  Bears won the category of ERA for the week with a hideous 5.65 ERA to Shane’s 6.00.  Max Muncy was good, 12 RBI weeks are very impressive.  To the Bears credit, 51 RBIs is pretty good, but .317 OBP is not.  The only teams that both these teams would have beat beside each other was probably the 7 start Renegades.

Next Week

IBB (5-7-1) v RRF (6-6-1)

LAKE (5-8) v RCBD (3-7-3)

***MATCHUP OF THE WEEK REVIEW***

Lacey Township Backdoor Sliderz stay undefeated with Sunday night magic to beat Astoria Isotopes 7-5-2

MVP

Ronald Acuna Jr 11 Runs, 2 2Bs, 2 HRs, 2 RBI, 4 SBs, .469 OBP

The matchup of the week did not fail to deliver.  The rematch from last year’s championship came down to the wire as Dochney was able to lean on the Baby Braves stirring up Sunday night magic in order to capture a victory.  It was Acuna’s home run that solidified the win for the REIGNING, DEFENDING, UNDISPUTED BACKYARD CHAMPION OF THE WOOOOOOOOORLD, SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSEAAAAAN DOCHNEY! (imagine Paul Heyman delivering that).  T’s winning streak ended at 7 while Dochney’s streak is now at 18 dating back to last season.  Dochney has clinched the top seed and it’s not even the ASB.

Dochney did everything he could do to lose this matchup by having empty lineup spots on full days with players sitting in their respected MLB lineup.  Missed out on a DeGrom QS because I was sleeping at the wheel and left him on the bench.  But the Sliderz were able to produce just enough while I was on auto pilot.  Pitching was awful for the Backdoor Sliderz.  Seems like they just have not been that sharp over the last few weeks, which is not a good sign going into an 18-start week against the Slugs.

T had a tough loss in this one as he lost a Sunday lead to Dochney’s squad down in Lacey.  T was so emotionally crippled and traumatized from #DochWeek that he had to take off work Monday.  Can anybody get LaMahieu out right now btw?  He was dominant once again with 8 Runs, 3 2Bs, 1 3B, 2 HRs, 10 RBIs, .654 OBP.  Charlie Blackmon is also back folks as he had himself one hell of a week as well (11 Runs, 2 HRs, 7 RBI, .452 OBP). 

Next Week

LTBS (13-0) v BBS (5-7-1)

TOPES (7-6) v OGFC (6-6-1)

A LOOK AHEAD

Next week will be the extended 2-week matchup because of the all-star break.  Each team will be able to start 18 pitchers.  The biggest storyline will be how many starts will Rojo throw out there? 

***Matchup of the week in week 14 East Coast Kings (7-6) vs Pacific Beach X-Rays (3-7-3)***

This is a shocking turn of events as I stated that Dochney will be getting every matchup of the week until his streak ends, but it was decided that R Mac and Odom getting it this week.  Odom is fighting to keep his playoff hopes alive as he goes against a formidable foe in R Mac.  Odom is sitting tied for last, but I do not believe his team is a last place team when looking at his stats compared to the rest of the league.  He may be victim to some bad luck according to the new rating system that means nothing that was just created by Dochney.  This will be expanded upon further in the July Power Rankings

Week 13 Recap