Playoffs Week 5: Saturday's report

It's been a rough season for the Nationals, but Ryan
Zimmerman has had a few sparkling performances.

STUDS: Not a very exciting Saturday for FBLG performances, so this'll be brief. Adam Wainwright (Misfits) doubled, got the win and struck out 8 in 7 shutout innings. Ryan Zimmerman (TB) hit a 2-run homer and a solo homer.

DUDS: Does Starlin Castro (SSS) lead the league in Duds appearances? It sure seems like it. Castro went 0 for 4 and made his 18th error. Zack Cozart (PYB) went 1 for 4 with an error.

TRANSACTION: Manwaring a Muumuu acquires C Wilson Ramos and moves Buster Posey and his owie to the bench.

Finals scores

Arbitration Losers 147, Manwaring a Muumuu 116

Third-place series scores

Pitch You Blockhead 179, Misfits 133

Consolation scores

Rookies 127, Lawyers, Guns & Money 101
Fresh Fish 131, Going Going Gonzo 118
Testosteraun Braun 133, Silver State Sagebrushers 99

Playoffs Week 5: Friday's report

Cliff Lee has pitched like an ace down the stretch for
Arbitration Losers.

STUDS: A pair of aces have given Arbitration Losers a commanding lead over Manwaring a Mummuu in the finals. Cliff Lee struck out 10 and allowed 1 run in an 8-inning win. Jose Fernandez singled twice, got the victory and fanned 9 in 7 shutout innings. Hunter Pence (TB) was a triple short of the cycle and scored 3 runs, but he was unable to make a catch on Eric Chavez's liner to seal a perfect game for Yusmeiro Petit. Giancarlo Stanton (FF) had a 2-run single, hit a solo homer and scored twice. Matt Carpenter (PYB) tripled, had an RBI double and scored 3 runs. Junior Lake (TB) hit a grand slam and singled.

DUDS: Ryan Zimmerman (TB) went 0 for 4 and made his 21st error. Kyle Lohse (GGG) allowed 7 runs and struck out 3 in a 5-inning loss. A.J. Burnett (MM) gave up 5 runs and struck out 4 in a 3-inning loss.

Finals scores

Arbitration Losers 134, Manwaring a Muumuu 95

Third-place series scores

Pitch You Blockhead 162, Misfits 81

Consolation scores

Rookies 111, Lawyers, Guns & Money 74
Fresh Fish 111, Going Going Gonzo 100
Testosteraun Braun 106, Silver State Sagebrushers 97

Playoffs Week 5: Thursday's report

STUDS: Just two games in FBLG on Thursday, but some decent performances. Tony Cingrani (Misfits) returned from the DL to shut down the Cardinals, allowing 2 runs and striking out 7 in 5.1 innings. He also singled, stole a base and scored. Todd Frazier (Fresh Fish) did most of the damage against the Cardinals, hitting a pair of solo homers and singling. Paul Goldschmidt (Test. Braun), Pablo Sandoval (PYB), Shin-soo Choo (PYB) and Jay Bruce (Gonzo) each put up 6 hitting points on the day.

Former NL MVP Joey Votto is hitting .186 since August 10th,
dropping his average this season from .325 to .301.

DUDS: Championship contender Manwaring a Muumuu. In the last three days, this team has scored a total of 22 points in the first week of a best-of-three championship contest. Top picks Joey Votto (massive slump) and Buster Posey (injured) aren't doing much, and the rest of the offense has mostly followed them into the sewer. The only thing saving Muumuu so far is that Tim's Arbitration Losers have also struggled at the plate this week.

TRANSACTIONS: Misfits activate SP Tony Cingrani from DL and place SP Jon Niese on the bench. Pitch You Blockhead place injured 1B Yonder Alonso on waivers and sign 1B Justin Morneau.

Finals scores

Arbitration Losers 73, Manwaring a Muumuu 56

Third-place series scores

Pitch You Blockhead 142, Misfits 69

Consolation scores

Rookies 102, Lawyers, Guns & Money 46
Going Going Gonzo 87, Fresh Fish 86
Silver State Sagebrushers 94, Testosteraun Braun 86

Playoffs Week 6: Wednesday's report

This clearly wasn't Pablo's answer when asked,
"How many Big Macs would you like, sir?"

STUDS: Noted vegetable enthusiast and former personal trainer Pablo Sandoval (PYB) apparently thought yesterday was a playoff game, because Mr. Clutch clubbed 3 homers and drove in 6 runs. Teammate and former Ritalin test subject Hunter Pence (Test. Braun) doubled, homered, scored 3 runs and drove in 3. Former teen idol Jordan Zimmermann (Test. Braun) struck out 5 in 7 solid innings for the win. And former plus-size model Aramis Ramirez (Muumuu) had a double, a single, 2 RBIs and 3 runs.

DUDS: Former Gold Glove winner (this one's actually real) Joey Votto (Muumuu) enjoyed his 16-inning loss to the tune of an 0 for 7 with 3 strikeouts and his 13th error. Thirteen! Former Cub Scout Eric Young Jr. (Test. Braun) went 0 for 5 with 5 men left on base and an error. Former Menudo member Nolan Arenado (Gonzo) had a hit and an error. Former Salem-Keizer Volcano Francisco Liriano (Misfits) allowed 7 earned runs and struck out 4 in a 3-inning loss. And former middle reliever Edward Mujica (Fresh Fish) blew a save and didn't strike out any batters, though his team kept him from getting the loss.

Finals scores

Arbitration Losers 64, Manwaring a Muumuu 54

Third-place series scores

Pitch You Blockhead 126, Misfits 53

Consolation scores

Rookies 96, Lawyers, Guns & Money 42
Going Going Gonzo 79, Fresh Fish 72

Silver State Sagebrushers 92, Testosteraun Braun 79

Playoffs Week 6: Tuesday's report

Can you name this Marlin? He should be on your draft list for next year.

STUDS: It was a pretty weak day overall in FBLG on Tuesday, but a couple pitchers stood out. Kris Medlen (PYB) continued his late-season surge, beating the terrible Mets and striking out 9 in 7 innings of 1-run ball. And Homer Bailey (Fresh Fish) took the more challenging approach and dominated a powerful Cardinals lineup, striking out 8 and allowing 2 hits in 7 shutout innings. Slim pickings on the hitting side, but Christian Yelich (PYB) had a double, 2 singles, a run, 2 RBIs and a steal. Andrew McCutchen (LGM) homered, singled and scored 3 runs. And Angel Pagan (Arb. Losers) deserves special mention for managing 7 points without scoring or driving in a run: he singled, doubled, tripled and stole a base. Must be nice hitting atop that Giants lineup!

DUDS: Jim Henderson (Misfits) took the loss, striking out 2 but allowing 2 runs in one inning. Starlin Castro, a regular on this list, singled and committed his 17th error. Wade Miley (Arb. Losers) got battered by the Blue Jays, allowing 5 runs and striking out 3 in a 1.2-inning loss.

Finals scores

Manwaring a Muumuu 44, Arbitration Losers 43

Third-place series scores

Pitch You Blockhead 83, Misfits 29

Consolation scores

Rookies 69, Lawyers, Guns & Money 33
Going Going Gonzo 63, Fresh Fish 47
Silver State Sagebrushers 66, Testosteraun Braun 42

Playoffs Week 5: Monday's report

Even Juan Uribe was impressed by Andre Ethier's performance.

STUDS: Andre Ethier (SSS) homered, doubled twice, scored 3 runs and drove in 3. Charlie Morton (SSS) singled, scored, struck out 6 and allowed 2 runs (1 earned) in a 7-inning win. Ian Kennedy (GGG) allowed 1 run and struck out 7 in a 6-inning victory. Freddie Freeman (Misfits) had a 3-run homer and a 2-run double.

DUDS: Marlon Byrd (Misfits) went 0 for 4 with 2 Ks and an error. Adam Wainwright (Misfits) doubled and scored, which helped make up for his 6-inning loss. He struck out 3 and allowed 6 runs.

Finals scores

Manwaring a Muumuu 34, Arbitration Losers 13

Third-place series scores

Pitch You Blockhead 41, Misfits 16

Consolation scores

Rookies 40, Lawyers, Guns & Money 15
Going Going Gonzo 47, Fresh Fish 10
Silver State Sagebrushers 59, Testosteraun Braun 17

Week 23 Transactions and Lineups

Players acquired

Misfits sign OF Adam Eaton (September move #1).

Players released

OF Nate Schierholtz

 

OF Kyle Blanks

OF Jon Jay

Lineup changes

Testosteraun Braun: No changes.

Arbitration Losers: Bench 3B Chase Headley and SP Mike Leake; move Martin Prado from OF to 3B; activate OF Angel Pagan (from DL) and SP Wade Miley.

Silver State Sagebrushers: No changes.

Going Going Gonzo: No changes.

Lawyers Guns and Money: No changes.

Pitch You Blockhead: Bench SS Jordy Mercer and SP Dan Haren; activate SS Omar Quintanilla and SP Tim Lincecum.

Rookies: No changes.

Manwaring a Muumuu: Bench SP Shelby Miller; activate SP Joe Kelly.

Misfits: Bench C Carlos Ruiz; activate C Brian McCann.

Fresh Fish: No changes.

The Check Swing: Week 22

1. Manwaring a Muumuu (3,974 points): It wasn't pretty, but the Muumuu crew got hot late in the week and knocked off PYB to advance to the best-of-3 finals. Does this team have enough pitching to topple the Losers? Will Joey Votto contribute anything besides walks down the stretch?

2. Misfits (3,760 points): Reid's team put up one heck of a fight but didn't have enough to beat the Losers in the semis. Freddie Freeman and Troy Tulowitzki went cold at the wrong time, and Adam Wainwright and Jim Henderson combining for minus-7 points didn't help. Next up: a duel with PYB for third place.

Two of FBLG's top 3 teams in the points race will duel
for the championship.

3. Arbitration Losers (3,707 points): The wins just keep on coming for Tim's team, which advances to the finals against the Muumuu crew. Angel Pagan's return causes an outfield glut that likely means a position change for Martin Prado — and the end of the Chase Headley era. Is the trio of Cliff Lee, Jose Fernandez and Ricky Nolasco invincible?

4. Lawyers, Guns & Money (3,635 points): After pitching like aces for most of the season, Lance Lynn and Patrick Corbin have been duds in recent weeks. That outfield of Yasiel Puig, Andrew McCutchen and Jayson Werth sure looks good, though.

5. Testosteraun Braun (3,559 points): Bill's team got 34 points from Daniel Murphy and 29 from Eric Young Jr. in a week in which David Wright wasn't around to drive those guys in. Go figure. Ryan Hanigan put up only 4 points as Bill's catcher of the week.

6. Pitch You Blockhead (3,402 points): The Blockheads put a scare in the Muumuu crew, but the tide turned with Dan Haren's minus-4 outing. Yonder Alonso and Jordy Mercer didn't do much to help, either. It's off to the third-place series for a best-of-3 battle with Reid's Misfits.

7. Going Going Gonzo (3,365 points): Maybe Dan Uggla's eyes weren't really the problem. The slugging second baseman put up 2 points in 5 games after returning from the disabled list. Elsewhere, what happened to the flash and dash of Jean Segura?

8. Rookies (3,246 points): The Wil Nieves signing came at the wrong time for the Rookies — Miguel Montero came off the DL and got his job back. We've been calling for Adam LaRoche to step up for weeks, but the first baseman apparently chose to sit down. He scored 2 points this week.


9. Fresh Fish (3,181 points): Hey, check out one of the hottest teams in the league. Rick's Fish are 2-0 in the consolation round and look poised to keep on winning, especially if Zack Greinke keeps putting up 20 points every time he takes the mound.

10. Silver State Sagebrushers (3,169 points): The Sagebrushers crawled into last place this week and seem certain to stay there the rest of the way. At least Starlin Castro did something good for a change.

Playoffs Week 4: Sunday's report

Michael Cuddyer is much better at baseball
than he is at poker.

STUDS: Zack Greinke (Fish) singled, stole a base, allowed 1 run and got the win while striking out 7 in 7 innings. Michael Cuddyer (Muumuu) homered, doubled twice, singled, drove in 3 and stole a base. Hunter Pence (TB) was a triple short of the cycle, scored 3 runs and drove in 2. Shin-Soo Choo (PYB) stole a base, drove in 2 and was a triple short of the cycle. Buster Posey (Muumuu) doubled, singled twice, drove in 2 and scored twice.

DUDS: Alex Wood (GGG) allowed 7 runs and struck out 2 in a 2.1-inning loss to the Marlins. Yeah, that's right. Mike Leake (AL) singled and scored, but he allowed 6 runs and struck out 4 in a 4.1-inning loss.

Semifinal scores

Arbitration Losers 188, Misfits 177 (AL wins series 405-378)
Pitch You Blockhead 161, Manwaring a Muumuu 159 (Muumuu wins series 372-310)

Consolation scores

Fresh Fish 202, Rookies 130
Lawyers, Guns & Money 160, Silver State Sagebrushers 97
Testosteraun Braun 182, Going Going Gonzo 138