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Monday, August 11, 2008

MLB Headlines Week 19

Alright, check it out. On Friday, the Twins were a half game behind the White Sox. On Saturday, the Twins won garnering them first place in the division by a half game. At this point Horacio Ramirez, a relief pitcher, went to waivers. Because the Twins had a better record than the White Sox the White Sox were able to claim the relief pitcher on Sunday without the Twins getting a chance at him.
So the White Sox get a new relief pitcher on Sunday, which the Twins could use, and then what happens at the end of the day? The White Sox gained first place again. The sun is shining on Chicago...apparently.
Anyway, if you want my opinion, I think the Twins are on the verge of imploding. They've got sketchy bullpen play and they're making mistakes on defense. They're also leaving a lot more men on base. I think we're going to see more and more games being close through 6 or 7 innings, and then the Twins panic and give the game away. This all spells a division title for the White Sox. In my opinion.
But we all know that 50% of the time I'm wrong 80% of the time.

www.mlb.com Headline of the Week:
Dandy Moss: Amazing catch lifts Bucs past Phils

Get it? There's this famous football player named Randy Moss who's known for making amazing catches, and this baseball player, Brandon Moss, made a DANDY catch to save the game...so he's Dandy Moss! Brilliant!

Teebore:
August 10th, 2008 - Padres 16 Rockies 7
Livan resurrected in Colorado but Padres do all the feasting

August 10th, 2008 - Pirates 3 Phillies 6
Phillies sink Pirates' Ship in Battle of Pennsylvania

August 10th, 2008 - Twins 4 Royals 5
Candlestickmaker missed as Buscher and Baker fail to beat Royals

Dr. Bitz:
August 10th, 2008 - Twins 4 Royals 5
Twins have a Royal screw up that costs them first place

August 10th, 2008 - Red Sox 5 White Sox 6
Buchholz buckles against the other Sox

August 10th, 2008 - Rays 11 Mariners 3
Jackson moonwalks over the Mariners

Last week everyone came to their senses and voted for me. Let's keep it up! Don't stop believin'.............HOLD ON TO THAT FEEEEEEEEEEEELING!!!!!

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11:15 PM: I still hate closers. Just wanted to make sure that was clear. I am facing my brother this week so obviously I want to win big. From Wednesday to Saturday at around 6:00PM all my RBI came about via the home run. Luckily, my team hit 8 home runs in that time span. Unfortunately, all but two of them were solo home runs. Here's how it looks:

R HR RBI SB AVG W SV K ERA WHIP
Me: 35 11 23 4 .290 2 3 46 5.52 1.45
Him: 27 8 29 3 .278 5 2 45 3.72 1.22


So I'm not winning big. But I am winning. And if I had to guess, despite most of the categories being close, this is how it will stay. He definitely has Wins (I only have two starting pitchers going today), ERA and WHIP. I was slowly creeping up on ERA and WHIP but Dan Haren got rocked. My pitching is terrible...anyway, let's see what happens.

1:00 PM: First batter of the day is Brandon Phillips. Naturally he grounds out to shortstop.

1:39 PM: Jacobe "Drop the E" Ellsbury stole a base. Can't say I approve of the that.

1:40 PM: Jermaine "The Dominator" Dye just hit a solo home run. Can't say I don't approve of that...provided it doesn't result in a White Sox win.

1:56 PM: Argh, Brian Roberts hit a double, making my opponent 3 for 7. Since it's Sunday, my team is, of course, 1 for 7. My opponent has taken the lead in Average and is now winning the week.

2:00 PM: Make that 1 for 8.

2:07 PM: Now I'm 2 for 11. Quentin hit a 2 run home run. That tied the White Sox up with Boston. I'm conflicted. I'm still losing average but have closed the RBI gap to 3.

2:08 PM: Jermaine Dye singled. Now I'm winning average.

2:40 PM: Jermaine Dye struck out with the bases loaded. Which is only good if the Red Sox come back to beat the White Sox.

3:15 PM: Came back from my shower and I'm losing 6-4 this week. Awesome. Brian Roberts got a steal to take the lead in that category and I'm losing average. Alex *Expletive Deleted* Rodriguez managed to get an RBI without hitting a home run, so I'm still trailing RBI by 3.

3:17 PM: So my opponent manages to get two steals today to pass me in the category, for now at least, and my biggest base stealing threat, Carl Crawford, is on the bench for the game today. I think we all know how I feel about that.

3:26 PM: Texas is up 12-6 going into the 9th. Baltimore decides to bring in Sherrill. He's their closer and he's on my team. Needless to say, it's 15-6 now and Sherrill has yet to record an out. Single, walk, homer. Closers...I hate 'em.

3:30 PM: The inning's over for Sherrill. Now I need Baltimore to score 10 runs in the bottom of the ninth to get him a win. And since Texas' closer, Eddie Guardado, also on my team, is coming into the game, it's a definite possibility.

3:35 PM: And of course Brian Roberts, who my opponent has, singles off of Eddie Guardado to now have a 4 for 4 game on a day in which Average was in doubt for my opponent. I mean...come on...

3:45 PM: Well, Eddie Guardado did better than Sherrill. He only allowed one run in an inning.

3:54 PM: This week is slipping away from me. On a Sunday...again. I hate it. But I must go to a birthday dinner for Mrs. Dr. Bitz. That should be more entertaining than this anyway.

7:50 PM: Well, I got back from the birthday dinner. Twins biffed it. Not happy about that. Honestly, with their youth and bullpen issues, I just don't see the Twins pulling it out this year. Then again, I always doubt the Twins and they like to prove me wrong. Let's check the fantasy numbers...I'm scared to look.

7:52 PM: No real change. I'm still losing 4-6. Albert Pujols ia 0 for 1. What I really need is for A-Poo to go like 3-4, with two steals, and 4 RBI. It's possible but then again...well...you get the idea.
7:56 PM: Oh, and if you're keeping score at home, Brian Fuentes (another one of my closers) was brought into the game today in a non-save situation and walked in a run in two-thirds of an inning. So that's three of my closers today brought into non-save situations and none of them could not give up at least one earned run. Fun.

8:57 PM: I'm back from playing real tennis...well...hitting the ball around anyway...actually...ATTEMPTING to hit the ball around....ANYWAY, Alber Pujols is stinky once again in the night game. Fukodome is hitless too, which helps. I think I need two hits from A-Poo to get the win in Average. A Grand Slam would be nice too.

11:30 PM: OK, so Albert *snicker* Pujols didn't come up with a grand slam. He did get a hit that tied average for the week. It's always weird when a category like average is tied...anyway, here's how it ends up:

R HR RBI SB AVG W SV K ERA WHIP
Me: 40 13 28 4 .284 3 3 62 5.16 1.43
Him: 31 8 30 5 .284 6 2 46 3.27 1.20


Yeah, I came in winning 6-4 and ended up losing 4-5. Typical Sunday. My team has been getting a lot Runs lately. But 13 home runs to 28 RBIs means a lot of Solo homers. I need more RBI than 28. Oh well...

Nemesis of The Week:
Nobody really stands out. Jacobe Ellsbury's 3 steals don't make me happy. Cliff Lee gets the honors though. He's pissed me off all season. This week he has 2 Wins, 3 Strikeouts, 1.20 ERA, and a 1.20 WHIP. What really annoys me is my brother picked him up in the first week on a whim and he was a part of my brother's miracle Sunday comeback that took ERA away and WHIP away from me. My brother has owned Cliff Lee since then. Lame....

Savior of The Week:
Oy...I guess it'll go to Phat Albert. 6 Runs, 3 Home Runs, 8 RBI , a Stolen Base, and a .455 average. That's why I traded for him.

The Moral of this week's story is home runs aren't everything. Sure they're good, and arguably contribute to four categories, but in the end, you need a bit more than just the long ball. Just ask the White Sox.

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