Playoffs Week 6: Saturday's report

With the exception of Freddie Freeman,
"Baby Giraffe" Brandon Belt scored more
points (17) on Saturday than any other
FBLG first baseman has scored all week.

STUDS: Brandon Belt (SSS) homered, doubled, singled 3 times, drove in 6 and scored 4 runs. Hunter Pence (TB) hit a grand slam, singled twice, scored 2 runs and drove in 7. Shin-Soo Choo (PYB) homered, doubled, drove in 3 and scored 3 runs. Gerardo Parra (AL) scored a run and had an RBI double and a 2-run double. Aaron Hill (Muumuu) had a solo homer, a 2-run single and a plain-old single. Tim Lincecum (PYB) singled twice, scored 2 runs, allowed 3 runs and struck out 6 in a 6-inning win. Kris Medlen (PYB) got the win and struck out 5 in 7.1 shutout innings.

DUDS: If Arbitration Losers end up falling in the finals to Manwaring a Muumuu, Tim can point to Ricky Nolasco (AL) as a primary reason. The right-hander allowed 7 runs (5 earned) and lasted only 1.1 innings in a loss to Tim's beloved Giants. Jonathan Lucroy (AL) came on as a pinch-hitter and struck out, then made an error. Ouch.

Finals scores

Manwaring a Muumuu 135, Arbitration Losers 131 (AL leads 1-0)

Third-place series scores

Pitch You Blockhead 193, Misfits 125 (PYB leads 1-0)

Consolation scores

Lawyers, Guns & Money 134, Fresh Fish 115
Testosteraun Braun 184, Rookies 151
Silver State Sagebrushers 95, Going Going Gonzo 73

Playoffs Week 6: Friday's report

Miguel Montero's training regimen includes
running in the rain while carrying Kirk Gibson's
dentures around in a Hefty bag.

STUDS: Carlos Gomez (Rookies) had 3 singles and 5 RBIs. Miguel Montero (FF) hit a 3-run homer and 2 singles. Giancarlo Stanton (FF) hit a pair of solo homers. Wilin Rosario (GGG) scored a run and had a 2-run double and a 2-run single. Kyle Lohse (SSS) went the distance in a win against the Reds, allowing 1 run and striking out 5. Ryan Zimmerman (TB) hit a solo homer, singled twice and scored 3 runs.

DUDS: Shin-Soo Choo (PYB) went 0 for 4 with 2 Ks and an error. Chase Utley (Misfits) went 1 for 4 with 2 Ks and his 17th error — if the hit had been a homer, we'd call that a "Dan Uggla." Mat Latos (Muumuu) provided only 3 points for a desperate Muumuu club and managed to injure FBLG teammate Aramis Ramirez with a beanball. Thanks, Mat.

Finals scores

Arbitration Losers 117, Manwaring a Muumuu 115 (AL leads 1-0)

Third-place series scores

Pitch You Blockhead 107, Misfits 105 (PYB leads 1-0)

Consolation scores

Lawyers, Guns & Money 124, Fresh Fish 86
Testosteraun Braun 153, Rookies 139
Silver State Sagebrushers 73, Going Going Gonzo 63

Playoffs Week 6: Thursday's report

Um...

STUDS: Ryan Zimmerman (TB) had a solo homer, hit an RBI double and scored 2 runs. Freddie Freeman (Misfits) hit a 2-run homer, singled twice and scored 2 runs.

DUDS: At a time when the Muumuu crew needs every precious point in its duel with the mighty Arbitration Losers, Joe Kelly (Muumuu) and Kenley Jansen (Muumuu) came up empty. Kelly committed 2 errors and allowed 3 earned runs with 4 strikeouts in a 5-inning loss. Jansen blew a save and allowed 1 run in 1 inning with no strikeouts.

NOTE: Holy crap, Gonzo and Sagebrushers. First one to 50 points wins!

Finals scores

Arbitration Losers 110, Manwaring a Muumuu 92 (AL leads 1-0)

Third-place series scores

Pitch You Blockhead 99, Misfits 71 (PYB leads 1-0)

Consolation scores

Lawyers, Guns & Money 107, Fresh Fish 61
Rookies 125, Testosteraun Braun 112
Going Going Gonzo 35, Silver State Sagebrushers 32

Playoffs Week 6: Wednesday's report

This isn't a photo. It's an animated GIF showing just how long
Jose Fernandez watched his homer against the Braves.

STUDS: No, it doesn't just seem like Cliff Lee (AL) and Jose Fernandez are making the Studs list every 5 days. It's really happening, and it's why Arbitration Losers are in position to win the playoff championship. Lee allowed 2 runs and struck out 9 in an 8-inning win. Fernandez homered and singled — oh, he also struck out 5 and allowed 1 run in a 7-inning win.

DUDS: Jonathan Lucroy (AL) went 0 for 4 with 2 Ks and an error. Adam Eaton (Misfits) walked as a pinch-hitter and was caught stealing.

Finals scores

Arbitration Losers 96, Manwaring a Muumuu 79 (AL leads 1-0)

Third-place series scores

Pitch You Blockhead 91, Misfits 52 (PYB leads 1-0)

Consolation scores

Lawyers, Guns & Money 93, Fresh Fish 48
Rookies 98, Testosteraun Braun 92
Going Going Gonzo 29, Silver State Sagebrushers 26

Playoffs Week 6: Tuesday's report

Manwaring a Muumuu is the only playoff team
Andrew Cashner will pitch for this season.

STUDS: Hunter Pence (TB) homered, doubled, singled twice and drove in 6 runs. Michael Cuddyer (Muumuu) hit a 3-run homer, a solo homer and a single. Jayson Werth (LGM) homered, doubled twice, drove in 2 and scored twice. Andrew Cashner (Muumuu) struck out 7 and allowed 2 runs in a 7.2-inning victory. Shelby Miller (Muumuu) got the win and struck out 4 in 6.2 shutout innings. Alfonso Soriano (PYB) hit a 2-run homer and a solo blast.

DUDS: Jay Bruce (GGG) went 0 for 3 with an error. Tony Cingrani (Misfits) got injured and allowed 2 runs with 1 strikeout in a 1.2-inning loss. Several players came up small with performances worth minus-1: Sergio Romo (TB), Jonathan Lucroy (AL), Jorge De La Rosa (SSS) and Edward Mujica (FF).

Finals scores

Manwaring a Muumuu 68, Arbitration Losers 37 (AL leads 1-0)

Third-place series scores

Pitch You Blockhead 65, Misfits 36 (PYB leads 1-0)

Consolation scores

Lawyers, Guns & Money 50, Fresh Fish 32
Rookies 76, Testosteraun Braun 58
Silver State Sagebrushers 21, Going Going Gonzo 12

Playoffs Week 6: Monday's report

Need a third baseman? This man just hit 3 homers
against the Diamondbacks.

STUDS: Gio Gonzalez (Rookies) threw a 1-hitter against the Las Vegas 51s and struck out 8 without allowing a run. Travis Wood (PYB) got the win and struck out 7 in 7 shutout innings. Ricky Nolasco (AL) allowed an unearned run and struck out 6 in a 6.2-inning victory. Hanley Ramirez (FF) homered, doubled and scored 3 runs.

DUDS: Randall Delgado (AL) committed an error and allowed 5 runs with 2 Ks in a 2.2-inning loss. Testosteraun Braun, with the exception of Ryan Zimmerman, was a big Dud. TB got zeros from Goldschmidt, Murphy, Simmons, Hanigan, Pence and Young. Romo added 1, and Lake didn't play.

Finals scores

Arbitration Losers 21, Manwaring a Muumuu 11 (AL leads 1-0)

Third-place series scores

Pitch You Blockhead 55, Misfits 9 (PYB leads 1-0)

Consolation scores

Fresh Fish 22, Lawyers, Guns & Money 21
Rookies 44, Testosteraun Braun 6
Silver State Sagebrushers 12, Going Going Gonzo 9

Week 24 Transactions and Lineups

Players acquired

Testosteraun Braun sign SP Michael Wacha (September move #1).

Lawyers, Guns & Money sign SS Willie Bloomquist (September move #1) and SP Dillon Gee (September move #2).

Rookies sign C Evan Gattis (September move #1) and OF Jon Jay (September move #2).

Manwaring a Muumuu sign SP Andrew Cashner (September move #2) and OF Will Venable (September move #3) as RFAs off Silver State's bench.

Misfits sign 3B Cody Asche (September move #2) and SP Yusmeiro Petit (September move #3).

Players released

SP Eric Stults

2B Jedd Gyorko

OF Darin Ruf

OF Domonic Brown

OF Chris Coghlan

3B Michael Young

C Carlos Ruiz

3B Juan Francisco

SP Nate Eovaldi

OF Alexi Amarista

C Wil Nieves

Lineup changes

Testosteraun Braun: No changes.

Arbitration Losers: Bench SP Wade Miley; activate SP Randall Delgado.

Silver State Sagebrushers: No changes.

Going Going Gonzo: No changes.

Lawyers Guns and Money: Bench SS Jimmy Rollins; activate SS Willie Bloomquist and SP Dillon Gee.

Pitch You Blockhead: No changes.

Rookies: Activate C Evan Gattis and OF Jon Jay.

Manwaring a Muumuu: Bench SP A.J. Burnett and SP Mike Minor; activate SP Shelby Miller, SP Andrew Cashner and OF Will Venable.

Misfits: Bench OF Bryce Harper and SP Tyson Ross; activate 3B Cody Asche, SP Yusmeiro Petit and OF Adam Eaton.

Fresh Fish: No changes.

The Check Swing: Week 23

1. Manwaring a Muumuu (4,122 points): The Muumuu crew laid an egg in the first week of the finals. What happened to these guys? The pitching has been lousy, and the veteran hitters have been disappointing lately. That's you, Joey Votto, Carl Crawford and Buster Posey.

2. Misfits (3,907 points): Reid's team got thumped by PYB to open the third-place match, but there's still hope for a comeback. Brian McCann, Troy Tulowitzki and Marlon Byrd have to start hitting again soon, right? Also, Michael Young's trade to Los Angeles is hurting his playing time.

These guys weren't impressed by Manwaring a Muumuu's
performance in the first week of the finals.

3. Arbitration Losers (3,877 points): Cliff Lee, Jose Fernandez and Aroldis Chapman made the difference in Tim's win against the Muumuu crew to open the finals. Those aces combined for 72 points in 2 starts and 5 relief appearances. This match could be over quickly.

4. Lawyers, Guns & Money (3,745 points): Where has all the pitching gone for Matt? Craig Kimbrel pitched only once this week, and Zack Wheeler, Patrick Corbin, Lance Lynn and Nate Eovaldi combined for 11 points. Yuck.

5. Testosteraun Braun (3,729 points): The Braunies improved to 3-0 in the consolation round and appear to be on track for a collision course with the Fresh Fish in a couple of weeks. Bill's team is getting offensive contributions from everywhere but catcher.

6. Pitch You Blockhead (3,609 points): PYB put up 207 points on the Misfits despite getting only 1 point from Russell Martin and nothing from first basemen Justin Morneau and Yonder Alonso. How about that 33-point week from FBLG MVP candidate Matt Carpenter?

7. Going Going Gonzo (3,507 points): With Ian Kennedy scoring 28 points and Huston Street 25, Jon might just become a huge Padres fan. Other than those guys and Jay Bruce's 23-point outburst, the Gonzo crew didn't do much this week.

8. Rookies (3,411 points): Alexi Amarista, Wil Nieves and Marco Scutaro aren't helping this team do much damage in the consolation round. Carlos Gomez's health has been a problem, as well. At least Stephen Strasburg has pitched better down the stretch.


9. Fresh Fish (3,338 points): With a 3-0 record in the consolation round, Rick's team is on one heck of a run. Can you imagine the kind of production Hanley Ramirez would have provided if he could have stayed healthy all season?

10. Silver State Sagebrushers (3,276 points): These guys have obviously mailed it in, so why bother finding something to say about this team? They deserve to finish in the basement.

Playoffs Week 5: Sunday's report

Jay Bruce didn't have any trouble with
Clayton Kershaw in this one.

STUDS: Cole Hamels (PYB) allowed 2 runs and struck out 9 in an 8-inning win. Jay Bruce (GGG) hit 2 solo homers off Clayton Kershaw. Ian Desmond (Muumuu) was a homer shy of the cycle, stole a base, scored a run and drove in 2. In classic Ian Desmond fashion, he also made an error. Wilson Ramos (Muumuu) homered, singled twice, drove in 2 and scored twice.

DUDS: Charlie Morton (SSS) allowed 5 runs, took the loss and didn't strike out anyone in 1.2 innings before leaving with an injury. Dan Uggla (GGG) struck out in both of his official at-bats and committed an error. Todd Frazier (Fish) went 0 for 4 with an error.

TRANSACTION: Arbitration Losers acquire 1B Matt Adams and move Allen Craig to the bench.

Finals scores

Arbitration Losers 170, Manwaring a Muumuu 148

Third-place series scores

Pitch You Blockhead 207, Misfits 147

Consolation scores

Rookies 165, Lawyers, Guns & Money 110
Fresh Fish 157, Going Going Gonzo 142
Testosteraun Braun 170, Silver State Sagebrushers 107