The Check Swing: Week 8

This week, it's the Beatles edition of the FBLG blog's roundup. Each team will be associated with a song title from the legendary band.

1. Manwaring a Muumuu (1,441 points, 6-2): "CARRY THAT WEIGHT." This squad has a target on its back after holding down first place since Week 4. The pitching has slipped a bit in the past couple of weeks, but the infield of Joey Votto, Aaron Hill, Jedd Gyorko, Ian Desmond, Aramis Ramirez and Buster Posey should make this team consistently tough to beat. Up this week is a duel with second-place Testosteraun Braun.

2. Testosteraun Braun (1,377 points, 6-2): "DOCTOR ROBERT." Paul McCartney once said, "The song was a joke about this fellow who cured everyone of everything with all these pills and tranquilizers." Sounds like the type of fellow Ryan Braun hangs out with. Anyway, this team has gotten better pitching from the back of the rotation as it makes a charge to chase down Manwaring a Muumuu.

3. Misfits (1,302 points, 4-4): "HELLO GOODBYE." This team has said "hello" to D.J. LeMahieu, Francisco Liriano and Scott Feldman after saying "goodbye" to Chase Utley, Roy Halladay and Jaime Garcia — all of whom have been placed on the disabled list recently. It's a good thing offensive leader Troy Tulowitzki is staying healthy, but Carlos Beltran's shoulder might be a concern.

Arbitration Losers can be found
in a 4-team pack separated
by 13 points.

4. Going Going Gonzo (1,292 points, 3-5): "I NEED YOU." Gonzo's squad is on the cusp of making a move to the top of the rankings but needs B.J. Upton, Martin Prado and Ian Kennedy to break out of their funks and be the consistent performers they were expected to be this season. Upton had another lackluster week and has contributed only 43 points this year.

5. Arbitration Losers (1,291 points, 4-4): "I'M ONLY SLEEPING." This team sure has the look of a sleeping giant. Matt Kemp has put up sleepy numbers, as his shoulder injury seems to be restricting his swing. But with Allen Craig and Matt Holliday powering the offense and the pitching rounding into shape, the Arbitration Losers are poised to make a run — especially if Aroldis Chapman keeps putting up huge points despite his occasional struggles.

6. Pitch You Blockhead (1,289 points, 6-2): "HELP!" The song is the first to be played in the film of the same name, which originally was to be called "Eight Arms to Hold You." Which brings us to the weakness of PYB: the eight pitchers on the roster. Cole Hamels has posted a record of 1-8, Kris Medlen has been good but not great, Tim Lincecum has been wildly inconsistent (but consistently wild), James McDonald is hurt, Dan Haren has been mostly bad and Edwin Jackson has been completely bad. Good thing Travis Wood has been fantastic, and there's no doubting Jonathan Papelbon.

7. Lawyers, Guns & Money (1,234 points, 5-3): "FIXING A HOLE." The ownership of the Fighting Zevons addressed the major problem on the roster: the nothingness coming from the right side of the infield. Now, Ike Davis is collecting FBLG unemployment and Danny Espinosa is on the bench. In their places are Yuniesky Betancourt and Mark Ellis. With Corey Hart and Logan Morrison returning to action soon, will the Zevons try to make another move to shore up first base?

8. Rookies (1,206 points, 2-6): "HERE COMES THE SUN." Things are looking up for the Rookies, who approached 200 points this week. Powering the team's surge was the pitching of Stephen Strasburg and Gio Gonzalez. With Carlos Gomez playing at an all-star level and Adam LaRoche, Marco Scutaro and David Freese hitting better, this team looks dangerous. Can Jason Heyward join the party and contribute as well?

9. Silver State Sagebrushers (1,149 points, 2-6): "LET IT BE." The Sagebrushers have made zero lineup changes this season and must be hoping for miracles of modern medicine to get Chad Billingsley and J.J. Putz back in action. Also, Kyle Lohse missed a start with an elbow problem and could miss another. It's no surprise that the lineup stagnation has contributed to the Sagebrushers' plunge down the rankings.

10. Fresh Fish (1,121 points, 2-6): "GET BACK." Add Ryan Vogelsong to the Fresh Fish's lengthy list of injured players. It's hard to believe how many injuries have decimated this roster. Would things be different with a full season of Hanley Ramirez, Zack Greinke, Ryan Ludwick and Giancarlo Stanton? You'd certainly think so. Stanton and Ramirez are due back soon, so perhaps it's not too late for the Fish to turn it around.