MLB Headlines Week 10

Yup, more headlines this week. Not surprisingly, the Twins headlines weren't overwhelmingly positive. But you know, I've been looking at the Twins line up and I'm not surprised the Twins are losing. If Mauer, Morneau, and Cuddyer don't have a good game then they're screwed. Sure Everett and Punto are injured, but it's not like they're a linchpin to a good offense.
So I wondered how the Twins were even 500 to begin with. Then I realize that the real difference between the Twins now and the Twins earlier in the season was the pitching. The pitching was good and the Twins were winning 5-4 and 3-2. But when the pitching gives up 7, 8, or 12 runs the Twins don't stand a chance.
That's the problem with young pitching, it's inconsistent. And I have a feeling the rest of the league is 'figuring out' our younger pitchers. Also, Livan is...Livan. So I'm expecting the Twins season to head for a downward spiral. But I could be wrong.

www.mlb.com Headline of the Week:
Bend it like Beckham: Rays tab prep star No. 1

So the Rays picked Tim Beckham with their number one pick of the baseball draft. But it gets me thinking, if you're last name is Beckham are you relegated to that pun for the rest of your life? How many time do you think Tim Beckham has been told he needs to bend something or other...like himself. Does Tim Beckham curse the name Gurinder Chadha regularly?

Onto the Headlines:

Dr. Bitz:
June 8th, 2008 – Indians 2 Tigers 5
Sowers sour after loss against Detroit

June 8th, 2008 - Giants 6 Nationals 3
Zito zesty in Giants win

June 6th, 2008 - Twins 2 White Sox 12
White Hot White Sox White Wash Wimpy Wusses...Wow

boots~:
June 8th, 2008 – boots~ 0 MLB Headlines 1
I got nothing this week.

Teebore:
June 7th, 2008 – Twins 2 White Sox 11
Young finally homers while we still were, but it gets buried in Sox offensive onslaught.

June 8th, 2008 - Mets 6 Padres 8
Padres prayers are answered as walk-off win sweeps the Mets

June 8th, 2008 - Reds 2 Mariners 9
Masterful performance: Masterson masticates Mariners in pitching duel.

Voting to your left. Teebore won last week. Log below.

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11:34 AM - Well, surprisingly I'm winning. A big Saturday catapulted me to a 7-2 lead. This is how it looks:
R HR RBI SB AVG W SV K ERA WHIP
Me: 30 9 27 3 .281 2 11 46 5.22 1.43
Him: 26 4 27 8 .278 4 3 36 5.62 1.67

So, a lot of the categories are up for grabs. I think I have Home runs, and Saves. He definitely has Steals. Beyond that, they are all in doubt. But being ahead, you'd think I'd be happy, and I am, but I do have a deep feeling of dread. Maybe it's because I was in similar position going into Sunday last time I played my brother. Then, in desperation, he picked up two pitchers on Sunday, including a certain crappy Kyle Lohse and their incredible performances brought him a 7-3 win. Naturally, he picked two pitcher this Sunday too, including crappy Barry Zito. And if Barry Zito is instrumental to my defeat this week a certain outfielder is going through a sliding glass door. Also, my brother has two guys batting in the night game. And I HATE when my opponent has players in the night game. There always seem to be some category I'm winning by a narrow margin and a player in the night game manages to get just what my opponent needs. But I suppose we'll see what happens.
I picked up Milton 'I wish I was still with Coco Crisp" Bradley midweek despite the fact that it gave me an extra batter. I couldn't help it. He was playing too good. Surprisingly, he paid immediate dividends. In the first two days I've had him he's gone 3 for 8 with 3 runs, a home run, and 2 RBI. After Delmon Young hit three doubles my brother/opponent picked him up. Naturally, yesterday, he hit his first home run of the year. Of course, to annoy me more, the home run came while the Twins were getting blown out so it was completely useless. Not that I have much of a leg to stand on, because my brother is playing me the week Mr. Glass hit his first and second home run of the year. Which has to be annoying.
As far as pitching goes, I have 3 starters going today and he has 2. Although, one of my pitchers is Jason Marquis whom I picked up last night. He wasn't the best option available but I went with him because he plays in the night game. That way, I can bench him if it turns out that Wandy Rodriguez and Erik Bedard do their job. My opponent has Barry Zito and Matt "How does the trade for Delmon Young look now?" Garza going. Let's see what happens...

11:55 PM - I see that "Professor" Xavier Nady is not playing for today. Good thing he's out my of lineup already. That just makes my decisions easier. But expect a big pinch hit grand slam from the X-Man.

12:16 PM - First batter of the day is Brandon Phillips. And I'm not happy with his 0 for 5 performance yesterday. Let's see if he can redeem himself.

12:18 PM - Phillips grounded into double play shortstop to second to first, Griffey Jr. out at second. He's officially on my S List. Until he redeems himself, he's Brandon 'S List' Phillips.

12:20 PM - Stupid Bobby Abreu homering. Now the bases are empty for A-Rod.

12:22 PM - Alex *Expletive Deleted* Rodriguez singled. You see, if there were men on base I could have gotten an RBI!

12:25 PM - Miguel "Miggy Cabriggiddy" Cabrera hits an RBI single for my opponent. You see, HE had people on base! My bro is up by one RBI.

12:34 PM - Mr. Glass is in the lineup today. You'd think I'd be surprised but I'm not. And it's not because of the kids. It's because the Twins cheated and didn't play him last night.

12:52 PM - Brian Roberts singled for my opponent and Brandon 'S List' Phillips flied out. I'm now losing average.

1:05 PM - Well, the Twins are under rain delay. Which means Joe Mauer and Carlos Quentin are sidelined for my team and Delmon Young is sidelined for his team. Advantage...him...hopefully they play the game!

1:07 PM - I see that Joba Chamberlain has given up 3 runs in 3 innings. Great move by the Yankees switching him to a Starting Pitcher.

1:12 PM - Alex *Expletive Deleted* Rodriguez walked. You know how much I love the walks.

1:15 PM - Stupid Hunter Pence grounding out.

1:18 PM - Here's a shocker, Zito has pitched 3 innings and has a 9 ERA and 1.67 WHIP...hehehehe...I like when things go the way they're supposed to.

1:19 PM - Both Bedard and Wandy Rodriguez have combined for 3 innings, 2 strikeouts, no earned runs, and a .67 WHIP. Hopefully things stay that way.

1:20 PM - Stupid Miguel 'Spicy' Tejada striking out swinging.

1:32 PM - S List grounds into fielder's choice....awesome.

1:39 PM - Well, Bedard has loaded the bases with two outs. J.D. Drew is batting.

1:41 PM - And Drew is hit by a pitch...stupid good for nothing Bedard. I bet Drew leaned into it that pitch too.

1:43 PM - Oh good, Manny Ramirez is up to bat. He's a sucky hitter...

1:45 PM - Phew, Ramirez struck out swinging

1:50 PM - Hey! Pence singled! That's like...my second hit of the day.

1:59 PM - Thanks to a Berkman home run both Pence and a walked Tejada scored. Gives me a cushion in the runs category. Helps Wandy in the Win department too.

2:19 PM - Brian Roberts is 3 for 4 and my opponent's entire team is 5 for 9. I'm 2 for 8. I feel average is slipping away from me.

2:20 PM - Since the Twins are in Rain Delay I'm watching Andromeda Strain on A&E. Nothing like the book, but it's intriguing enough. But I think if this was the direction they wanted to take the story they should have just adapted the book Prey instead. Listen to me, I almost sound learned until you realize I'm talking about Michael Crichton novels.

2:28 PM - I just noticed that Jason Bay has two RBIs. Unless my team starts picking it up I feel like RBIs are slipping away too.

2:37 PM - S List lined out to left. I think we all know how I feel about that.

2:38 PM - Bedard was taken out of a tie game after the 5th. Probably because his vagina hurt. No win for him, which probably gives my opponent the win there.

2:39 PM - A-Rod up to bat with two men on. I think we all know what needs to happen.

2:42 PM - I see Mr. Glass managed to line out with a man on second and third and nobody out. Glad he's playing today.

2:43 PM - Well, a two RBI double by A-Rod but he was thrown out at third. I'll take it. I'm only one down in RBIs.

2:53 PM - Wandy Rodriguez just gave up a bases clearing single. Bad for the win. I think they were all unearned. Good for ERA. Wandy was relieved so no win for him. Jason Marquis is now officially out of my line up.

3:01 PM - I'm a bit tired of watching the White Sox hit home runs against the Twins.

3:03 PM - Well, apparently some of the runs were earned for Wandy. 5.40 ERA for Wandy Rodriguez. He gave up 5 runs, 3 of which were earned, but by my calculations only 1 should be earned. But I can never figure out earned runs.

3:17 PM - Well, now Wandy Rodriguez has no Earned Runs according to stat tracker. OK.

3:18 PM - Mr. Glass grounds out. This isn't looking like a good hitting day for my team. Maybe Carl Crawford and Milton Bradly can improve this when their games start.

3:22 PM - Well, Carlos Quentin hit a single and eventually scores. Bad for the Twins, and not great for my team. I mean, it's good, but Runs I'm confident in and average I've pretty much given up on. If Quentin's going to hurt the Twins, I'd like to be via RBIs.

4:04 PM - Well, Despite my razzing of him Barry Zito's 5 inning, 5.40 ERA, and 2.20 WHIP was good enough to get him the win. Meanwhile, Eric Bedard's 5 inning 1.80 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and Wandy Rodriguez's 6.2 inning, 0.00 ERA, .75 WHIP performances both failed to get a Win. You know, I think you should subtract the unearned runs from the game and if that was enough for a pitcher to win they should get a Virtual Win. I know that sounds ridiculous, but then again, look up the rules for a Win, a Save, ERA...etc.

4:11 PM - Kotchman lined out and Quentin hit into a double play. that's 6 for 23 for my team. But what's sad is Quentin's double play came after the Twins gave up 4 runs in the inning. Way to go Twins.

4:13 PM - Crawford stole second. I'm only down by 4 steals!

4:17 PM - Well, the White Sox are crushing the Twins and now Quentin was taken out of the game after going 1 for 4 with a Run. Nice...I'm not even sure how he has four at bats already...whatever.

4:20 PM - Well, Garza's getting ready to pitch. He could have a perfect game and that may not be enough to beat me in ERA and WHIP...but I wouldn't want to test that theory. Actually, I bet a perfect game would end up beating me in ERA and WHIP.

4:23 PM - No fantasy relevance, but it says 'Dye line out to center' on Stat Tracker but on TV it was a great diving catch by Carlos Gomez. I think stat tracker should put an asterisk next to the play or say "Dye line out to center (Great Play)" just so everybody who's looking at Stat Tracker and has Dye on their team know they got screwed out of a hit.

4:25 PM - Well, I don't have to worry about Garza's perfect game. He just game up a solo homer to Murphy. Wish it was to Bradley, who just walked, but beggars can't be choosers.

4:26 PM - I keep staring that at the score seeing that I'm down in RBIs 29 to 30. C'mon, can't any of my players step it up?

4:31 PM - I think there should be a drinking game in LA for every time the Angels play a game. The rule would be anytime Vladamir Guerrero looks high you take a drink...but then again, we'd have an awfully drunk city on our hands.

4:54 PM - Two outs man on second Crawford up to bat. Possible RBIs coming up...

4:55 PM - Crawford flied out to deep center. Ironic that Iwamura doubled to deep center...the center fielder must have learned his lesson.

5:01 PM - Just a saw a 'Start SEEING Motorcycles' commercial and it pisses me off much like the bumper stickers do. I mean, I'll guarantee that every time a car hit a motorcycle the drivers weren't actively NOT looking for motorcycles. I mean, it's like telling a car driver to 'drive safely' or the Twins to 'play better'. I mean, most people TRY to drive safely and baseball players TRY to play well it just doesn't happen sometimes. Now maybe, if there were a tip or trick I could use to see motorcycles better I would do it. But in general, just telling me to start SEEING motorcycles doesn't help me. What a pointless ad campaign.

5:05 PM - Bradley stole second base. Now I'm only down by 3 steals.

6:34 PM - Bradley stole another base, I'm only down by 2 steals! Too bad that'll probably be my last stolen base.

7:01 PM - Well, two on, two out, Bradley up to bat. Probably my last RBI opportunity...

7:02 PM - A walk...too bad the bases weren't loaded...

7:14 PM - Well, it turns out I have one last RBI opportunity. 2 on and Crawford up to bat. His team is down by three, can he hit a clutch home run for his AND my team?

7:19 PM - No...he strikes out looking.

10:59 PM - Alright, well, the night game is over and today just wasn't as exciting as it could have been. My opponent took an early lead in two categories, RBIs and Average, and that's pretty much how things ended.

R HR RBI SB AVG W SV K ERA WHIP
Me: 35 9 29 6 .267 3 13 64 4.15 1.18
Him: 26 4 30 8 .281 5 5 41 5.49 1.66

Yes, I'm very annoyed that my team could only muster 2 RBIs today. What's worse is that it was all from the same guy. The rest of them couldn't do anything but score runs! Creepily enough, I have the same amount of RBIs this week as last. Unfortunately, 29 is just not getting it done. My team needs to step it up.
13 Saves is a gaudy number for my team and its frankly just showing off. I've got to remind my closers to act like they've been there before and show some class. Also, I'm lucky my opponent stunk in the ERA and WHIP department even worse than I did. If his pitchers were competent I could have easily lost this week 4-6.

Nemesis of The Week:
Very tempted to give this title to Carl Crawford for his pathetic performance this week. But I suppose I'll stay consistent and pick an opponent's player. Brian Roberts gets the honors this week. No home runs, but his 4 runs, 4 RBIS, and 4 Steals was annoying. And his .433 averages didn't make me happy either.

Savior of The Week:
You'd think Joe Mauer having two home runs in a single week would earn him the honor. But not this week. Actually, my Savior of the Week kind of surprises me, but it really shouldn't. When I think about it, it's about time Alex *Expletive Deleted* Rodriguez is my Savior of the Week. 6 Runs, 2 Home runs, 8 RBI, and a .458 batting average. That's the kind of player I expected when drafting him number one overall. Keep it up, A-Rod.

The moral of this week is that the Wins stat can have little to do with a pitcher's actual performance. But we already knew that.