Week 5: Friday's Roundup

Jung-Ho Kang returned from the disabled list and homered twice for the Pirates.
Too bad he wasn't in The Lumbar Yard's lineup.

Studs: John Lackey (LGM) singled and allowed 2 runs while fanning 11 in a 7-inning win. Madison Bumgarner (AL) allowed 4 runs — 3 earned — and struck out 10 in a 7.1-inning victory. Matt Duffy (AL) had an RBI triple, singled, scored twice and stole a base. Ben Zobrist (HE) scored 3 runs and hit a solo homer and a 3-run homer off Max Scherzer. Francisco Liriano (R21) allowed 2 runs and struck out 10 in a 7-inning win. 

Duds: None.

Transactions: Misfits put C Nick Hundley on the DL and replace him with Yasmani Grandal. The Lumbar Yard activates OF Ben Revere from the DL and sends Angel Pagan to the bench. 

Scores

Lawyers, Guns & Money 152, Retire 21 128

Arbitration Losers 149, The Lumbar Yard 123

Rookies 166, Misfits 115

Hundley Eyes 144, Goldschmidt Happens 78

Pitch You Blockhead 134, Fresh Fish 119

Week 5: Thursday's Roundup

Colorado pitcher Chris Rusin (right) attempts to touch greatness. Rusin failed to pitch 5 innings
and didn't get the win in a blowout victory, so the magic clearly didn't transfer.

Studs: Adam Conley (LGM) followed up his near-no-hitter by striking out 6 and not allowing a run in a 5.1-inning win. Jaime Garcia (R) fanned 5 and allowed 2 hits and 0 runs in a 7-inning win. Brandon Phillips (R) had a sac fly, a 2-run homer and a double. Ben Zobrist (GH) hit a 2-run homer and a 2-run single. It was a great day for Rockies hitters, and the game wasn't even at Coors Field (LOL Giants pitchers for serving up a 13-run inning). Nolan Arenado (PYB) hit a 3-run homer and scored 3 runs. Gerardo Parra (GH) doubled, singled twice, scored 3 runs and drove in 3. Trevor Story (GH) homered, singled twice, drove in 3 and scored twice. 

Dud: Michael Conforto (PYB) went 0 for 4 with a error on a throw reminiscent of an Oregon State quarterback's (cough, Ryan Gunderson, cough). 

Transaction: Goldschmidt Happens replaces OF Jason Heyward with Jorge Soler. 

Scores

Lawyers, Guns & Money 118, Retire 21 88

The Lumbar Yard 109, Arbitration Losers 92

Rookies 140, Misfits 84

Hundley Eyes 99, Goldschmidt Happens 60

Pitch You Blockhead 111, Fresh Fish 107

Week 5: Wednesday's Roundup

Daniel Murphy is hitting .398 this season.
He's out-slugging Bryce Harper, too.

Studs: Steven Matz (R21) allowed only 2 hits and got the win while striking out 8 in 7.2 shutout innings. Lucas Duda (HE) blasted a 2-run homer and a solo homer. Anthony Rizzo (LY) was a triple shy of a cycle and scored 3 runs. Daniel Murphy (LY) went 4 for 5 with a homer, a double, 3 RBIs and 4 runs. Stephen Strasburg (R) allowed 2 runs and struck out 7 in a 6-inning win. Eugenio Suarez (R) homered, singled twice and drove in 3. Giancarlo Stanton (LGM) hit a 2-run homer, doubled and scored twice. Jon Lester (M) got the win and fanned 5 in a 5.2-inning win. 

Duds: Jhoulys Chacin (AL) served up 4 gopher balls and allowed 8 runs while striking out 4 in a 4.2-inning loss. He did single, though.

Scores

Retire 21 81, Lawyers, Guns & Money 76

The Lumbar Yard 94, Arbitration Losers 61

Rookies 103, Misfits 82

Hundley Eyes 75, Goldschmidt Happens 45

Fresh Fish 95, Pitch You Blockhead 92

Week 5: Tuesday's Roundup

Chris Carter is hitting .287 and slugging .713. That'll work.

Studs: Scott Kazmir (M) allowed 4 runs and fanned 9 in a 6.2-inning win. Jake Arrieta (R) had an RBI single and improved to 6-0 by striking out 5 and not allowing a run in 7 innings. Chris Carter (R) hit a 2-run homer and a solo homer. Yasiel Puig (PYB) hit a 3-run homer, singled and scored twice. Jeff Samardzija (PYB) allowed 1 run and struck out 9 in an 8-inning win. Aaron Nola (LGM) doubled and struck out 7 without allowing a run in a 7-inning victory. Howie Kendrick (FF) went 4 for 5 with a double, 2 RBIs and 2 runs. 

Duds: Jonathan Papelbon (AL) allowed 3 runs and struck out 1 in a 0.2-inning loss. Gerardo Parra (GH) went 0 for 4 and was caught stealing. Jon Niese (LY) struck out 3 and allowed 6 runs in a 5-inning loss. Addison Russell (LGM) went 0 for 3 with a run and an error. 

Scores

Lawyers, Guns & Money 51, Retire 21 42

The Lumbar Yard 61, Arbitration Losers 52

Rookies 69, Misfits 48

Hundley Eyes 39, Goldschmidt Happens 32

Fresh Fish 85, Pitch You Blockhead 77

Week 5: Monday's Roundup

There are two things we here at the FBLG blog absolutely adore. One is pitchers who can hit. The other is Bartolo Colon.

Studs: Bartolo Colon (FF) got the win and struck out 7 in 8 shutout innings. But it was against the Braves, so it doesn't really count. Jimmy Nelson (PYB) singled twice, scored, drove in a run, struck out 6 and allowed 2 runs in a 7-inning victory. Adam Wainwright (LY) earned a spot on this list with his bat alone. He blasted a 3-run homer into the upper deck and doubled. In his day job, he allowed 3 runs and struck out 4 in a 6-inning win. Brandon Crawford (AL) had a 3-run homer and an RBI single. Brandon Belt (M) tripled, singled twice, scored twice and drove in a run. 

Dud: Josh Harrison (R21) went 0 for 4 with an error. 

Scores

Retire 21 23, Lawyers, Guns & Money 13

Arbitration Losers 49, The Lumbar Yard 37

Misfits 26, Rookies 22

Hundley Eyes 15, Goldschmidt Happens 7

Fresh Fish 56, Pitch You Blockhead 30

Week 5 Transactions and Lineups

Eugenio Suarez is excited that he has 0 FBLG points this year but has been traded twice already.

Players acquired

• Goldschmidt Happens sign SP Juan Nicasio (May move #1).
• Lawyers, Guns & Money sign 2B Derek Dietrich (May move #1).
• Pitch You Blockhead steal C Wilson Ramos (May move #1) from Arbitration Losers.
• Arbitration Losers sign SP Jhoulys Chacin (May move #1).
• Hundley Eyes sign SP Rubby De La Rosa (May move #1).

Players released

• 2B Kolten Wong
• SP Andrew Cashner
• SP Archie Bradley
• 1B Ryan Zimmerman
• SP Taylor Jungmann

Trade

• Hundley Eyes trade 3B Eugenio Suarez to Rookies for 1B Lucas Duda.

Players unprotected/available to be stolen

• SP Jarred Cosart (Fresh Fish)
• C Tony Wolters (Rookies)
• OF Juan Lagares (Lumbar Yard)
• 2B Kelly Johnson (Goldschmidt Happens)
• SP Alex Wood (Misfits)
• OF Joc Pederson (LG&M)
• C Derek Norris (PYB)
• none on Arbitration Losers
• OF Denard Span (Hundley Eyes)
• 2B/SS Trea Turner (Retire 21)

Please email the commish by first pitch Saturday to change your unprotected player.

• OF Michael Taylor (Fresh Fish) and OF Billy Hamilton (Rookies) are also available to be stolen after spending four weeks on the bench.

Lineup changes

• Fresh Fish: Bench OF Matt Holliday and SP James Shields; activate OF Yoenis Cespedes and SP Bartolo Colon.
• Rookies: Bench 3B Adonis Garcia; activate 3B Eugenio Suarez.
• The Lumbar Yard: Bench SP Robbie Ray and SP Shelby Miller; activate SP Adam Wainwright and SP Joe Ross.
• Goldschmidt Happens: Bench 2B Kelly Johnson; place SP Raisel Iglesias on the DL; activate 2B Cesar Hernandez and SP Michael Wacha.
• Misfits: None.
• Lawyers, Guns & Money: Bench 1B John Jaso, SP Kyle Hendricks and 2B Chase Utley; activate 1B Justin Bour, SP Adam Conley, SP Aaron Nola and 2B Derek Dietrich.
• Pitch You Blockhead: Bench C Derek Norris and OF Domingo Santana; activate C Wilson Ramos and OF Jon Jay.
• Arbitration Losers: Bench OF Jayson Werth and SP Tom Koehler; activate OF Curtis Granderson and SP Jhoulys Chacin.
• Hundley Eyes: Bench OF Marcell Ozuna; move Ben Paulsen from 1B to OF; activate 1B Lucas Duda.
• Retire 21: Bench SP Drew Pomeranz; activate SP Francisco Liriano.

Week 4: The Check Swing

Neil Walker hit 16 homers in 151 games last year. He already has 9 in 22 games this year.

After a month of the FBLG season, now is a good time to check in with our clubs and examine the pressing questions. Just imagine reading this analysis in Tim McCarver's voice. (SHUDDER)

1. Pitch You Blockhead (736 points, 4-0, last week 2): Thirty-three points from Michael Conforto and 29 from Nolan Arenado helped PYB continue its undefeated season. Wil Myers looks like the stud he was expected to be years ago, and Jeff Samardzija's resurgence has been impressive (and frankly, kind of annoying). WTF? What happened to Derek Norris? That slash line of .150/.190/.238 is horrifying. 

2. Hundley Eyes (733 points, 2-2, last week 1): Brandon Drury (28) came out of nowhere to lead the commishes, who got thumped and knocked out of the top spot. Patrick Corbin, Kenta Maeda and Trevor Rosenthal (who pitched only once) combined for a whopping 5 points. WTF? Ben Paulsen is sometimes sitting against right-handed pitchers, and Ryan Zimmerman might as well be Ryan Seacrest. Is there a first baseman in the house? 

3. Fresh Fish (729 points, 3-1, last week 5): The Marlins Fan Club got a mixed bag from its Dodgers this week. Clayton Kershaw scored 43, but Howie Kendrick posted a 1 and Adrian Gonzalez slumped his way to a -2. The Fish still put up 194 points, so keep up the lousy work, fellas! WTF? Do you think the Fish management is looking longingly at PYB's second-base tandem of Joe Panik and Jean Segura? 

4. Rookies (690 points, 1-3, last week 4): The Rooks might have the most impressive starting-pitcher tandem in the league, with Jake Arrieta and Stephen Strasburg dominating every time out. But this week, Brandon Phillips (4), Adonis Garcia (4) and A.J. Pierzynski (-2) dragged the team down. WTF? Will someone step up and claim the catcher and third-base jobs? Pierzynski/Tony Wolters and Garcia/Aaron Hill have been disappointing, to put it mildly. 

Fresh Fish first baseman Adrian
Gonzalez is our Dud of the Week.

5. Lawyers, Guns & Money (688 points, 2-2, last week 6): The Fightin' Zevons squeaked out a win despite a big, fat zero from Andrew Cashner and single-digit performances from a handful of others. Good thing Giancarlo Stanton (25) and A.J. Ramos (20) went off. WTF? Will Anthony Rendon ever again be the player he was in 2014? And how much will the loss of Dee Gordon hurt LGM? 

6. Misfits (676 points, 2-2, last week 8): A double-start week from Max Scherzer (34) and strong outings from Matt Harvey (16) and Jon Lester (16) propelled the Misfits to a 190-point week and a victory. Neil Walker continued to mash, and Gregory Polanco looks like a top outfielder this year. WTF? Was Randal Grichuk, who's struggling immensely this season, just a flash in the pan in 2015? 

7. Arbitration Losers (664 points, 1-3, last week 7): Matt Duffy (18) was the only offensive player to score more than 14 points for AL in another loss. Tom Koehler replaced the demoted Archie Bradley to score 11 points on Tuesday and -9 on Sunday. WTF? It's hard to decide which player has been the biggest disappointment this season. Joey Votto? Brandon Crawford? Jayson Werth? Zack Greinke? Oh, there it is. Yeah, it's definitely Greinke. 

8. The Lumbar Yard (657 points, 2-2, last week 3): Nothing went right in a disaster of a week for Good Vertebrations. Kenley Jansen (1) pitched once in a nonsave situation. Shelby Miller (4) pitched twice and might as well have stayed home. Robbie Ray (1) got knocked around. Bryce Harper (5) and David Wright (5) forgot how to hit. Ugly. WTF? Besides Joe Ross and Tanner Roark, are there any reliable starting pitchers on this team? Looking at you, Adam Wainwright. 

9. Goldschmidt Happens (631 points, 2-2, last week 9): Vincent Velasquez (28) and Wei-Yin Chen (27) had strong double-start weeks for GH, but the offense was lousy again. Kelly Johnson (6) doesn't appear to be the answer at second base, but perhaps the return of Charlie Blackmon will help. WTF? It's embarrassing that David Freese (48) has almost as many offensive points as Jason Heyward (52) and Paul Goldschmidt (56). Will these stars perk up in time to get GH closer to the top of the standings? 

10. Retire 21 (618 points, 1-3, last week 10): Our defending champion picked up its first win of the season thanks to a good effort from Julio Teheran (27) and a balanced offense featuring Andrew McCutchen (20), J.T. Realmuto (17), Freddie Freeman (16) and Matt Carpenter (16). WTF? Can the powerhouse offense make up for a struggling rotation with inconsistent options such as Francisco Liriano, Mike Leake and Drew Pomeranz?

Week 4: Sunday's Roundup

Just another typical 30-point outing for this Kershaw guy.

Studs: Max Scherzer (M) singled twice and got the win while fanning 9 in 7 shutout innings. Vincent Velasquez (GH) scored a run and got the win while striking out 6 in 6 shutout innings. Chris Carter (R) homered twice, doubled, drove in 3 and scored 3 runs. Clayton Kershaw (FF) had an RBI single and shut out the Padres, striking out 14. Nolan Arenado (PYB) homered, singled, drove in 3 and scored twice. Madison Bumgarner (AL) got the win and struck out 7 in 6 shutout innings. Julio Teheran (R21) fanned 9 in 7 shutout innings. 

Duds: Tom Koehler (AL) allowed 8 earned runs in a 2.1-inning loss. Hector Rondon (M) pitched an inning and fanned 2, but he allowed a run and took the loss. 

Scores

Fresh Fish 194, Goldschmidt Happens 167

Retire 21 176, Arbitration Losers 164

Pitch You Blockhead 176, The Lumbar Yard 107

Misfits 190, Hundley Eyes 164

Lawyers, Guns & Money 161, Rookies 152

Week 4: Saturday's Roundup

Until Saturday, we hadn't heard much from Jayson Werth this season.

Studs: Jacob deGrom (PYB) struck out 5 and allowed 3 unearned runs in a 6-inning win. Wil Myers (PYB) doubled twice, scored twice, stole a base and drove in a run. Michael Conforto (PYB) was a triple short of a cycle, drove in 3 and scored twice. Jayson Werth (AL) had a 3-run homer, a single and a sac fly. Trevor Story (HE) tripled, doubled, scored twice and drove in 3. 

Duds: Jonathan Villar (R) went 0 for 3 with 2 Ks and an error. Brad Ziegler (PYB) gave up 3 runs and took the loss while getting only 1 out. 

Note: The Braves-Cubs game was rained out.

Scores

Fresh Fish 146, Goldschmidt Happens 137

Retire 21 131, Arbitration Losers 117

Pitch You Blockhead 160, The Lumbar Yard 96

Misfits 160, Hundley Eyes 145

Rookies 127, Lawyers, Guns & Money 126