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| It's no wonder the protagonist of "Hungry Heart" left his wife and kids in Baltimore, jack. He couldn't stand watching baseball with that unholy designated hitter. |
Well, folks, we're 5 weeks into the FBLG season. Doesn't it seem like a good time for another music-related edition of The Check Swing? Oh, sure. We could provide in-depth analysis of the Fresh Fish knocking PYB out of the top spot and dealing PYB its first loss of the season. Or examine Bartolo Colon's 39-point week. Or discuss how Ben Zobrist and Ben Paulsen combined for 37 points for the commissioners — with 37 of those points coming from Zobrist. Instead, let's head to the edge of town and see what Bruce Springsteen would say about FBLG's teams.
1. Fresh Fish (953 points, 4-1, last week 3): Man at the Top... "Man at the top says it's lonely up there / If it is, man, I don't care." Rick vaulted past 2 teams to claim the top spot in the rankings. Do the Fish have the ability to stay there? With Clayton Kershaw (130 points), Johnny Cueto (99) and Hunter Pence (91) leading the way, it sure seems like it. If Adrian Gonzalez and Howie Kendrick return to form, the Fish could pull away.
2. Pitch You Blockhead (941 points, 4-1, last week 1): The Rising... "Lost track of how far I've gone / How far I've gone, how high I've climbed." Scott's team features a few great comeback stories. Jeff Samardzija (101 points) is pitching like a stud again, Wil Myers is healthy for a change, Wilson Ramos' eyes have been fixed, Jean Segura is back to his 2014 form and Jon Jay looks legit. With 131 points, Nolan Arenado is far and away FBLG's top-scoring position player.
3. Hundley Eyes (937 points, 3-2, last week 2): The Man Who Got Away... "As the credits rolled away / They were still chasing the man who got away." The commissioners' pitching has been average, but the bigger problem is the man they expected to anchor the lineup: A.J. Pollock. Instead, the outfield has included an uneven Marcell Ozuna, a feeble Denard Span and a pointless Ben Paulsen. Stephen Piscotty (99 points) and Trevor Story (97) are the leading scorers for Hundley Eyes.
4. Rookies (907 points, 2-3, last week 4): Glory Days... "He could throw that speedball by you / Make you look like a fool boy." Henry's team includes the men who are Nos. 1 and 3 in pitching points: Jake Arrieta and Stephen Strasburg. But this squad isn't all about the speedball. With an outfield of Starling Marte, Matt Kemp and Christian Yelich, the Rookies should remain in contention all season. However, the catcher position, held down by A.J. Pierzynski and Tony Wolters, still looks like an issue.
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Neil Walker scored 2 points to earn our
Dud of the Week award. |
5. Lawyers, Guns & Money (884 points, 3-2, last week 5): Waitin' On a Sunny Day... "Hard times, baby, well they come to tell us all / Sure as the ticking of the clock on the wall." Matt's team lost Dee Gordon to a PED suspension, so the next few months will be challenging. Meanwhile, LGM is waiting for mashers Giancarlo Stanton and Carlos Gonzalez to put up big numbers and knock John Lackey (85 points) from his perch as the team's top scorer.
6. Arbitration Losers (856 points, 2-3, last week 7): Reason to Believe... "At the end of every hard earned day / People find some reason to believe." There's reason to believe Tim's team will move up the standings soon. Joey Votto, Matt Duffy, Zack Greinke and Curtis Granderson have gotten off to slow starts. If Ryan Braun (96 points) and Yadier Molina (72) can keep producing and stay healthy, look out.
7. Misfits (852 points, 2-3, last week 6): Tougher Than the Rest... "Well it's Saturday night, you're all dressed up in blue / I been watching you a while, maybe you been watching me too." We've been watching the Boys in Blue struggle to boost the Misfits this year. Yasmani Grandal, Justin Turner and Alex Wood have been a miserable blend of injured and ineffective. On the bright side, Jon Lester (86 points), Gregory Polanco (86), Max Scherzer (85), Brandon Belt (80) and David Peralta (80) lead a balanced attack.
8. The Lumbar Yard (846 points, 2-3, last week 8): Roulette... "Roulette, I don't believe what they're saying / Roulette, everybody's playing." It looks like Adam's team will play pitcher roulette this season. Are Joe Ross and Tanner Roark really the best options? Let's hope not. The good news is that Anthony Rizzo (101 points), Daniel Murphy (98) and Bryce Harper (93) lead a powerhouse offense — and now Jung-Ho Kang is back.
9. Retire 21 (812 points, 1-4, last week 10): A Good Man is Hard to Find (Pittsburgh)... "She's gonna have to tell about the meanness in this world / And how a good man is so hard to find." The Steel City reference is an easy one for our resident Pirates fan, but Ray is also discovering how hard it is to stay at the top of FBLG. R21's top performers are Dexter Fowler (101 points), Andrew McCutchen (73) and Josh Harrison (72) — which means Freddie Freeman, Matt Carpenter and Kris Bryant need to pick up the slack.
10. Goldschmidt Happens (769 points, 2-3, last week 9): I'm Goin' Down... "You used to love to drive me wild / But lately girl you get your kicks from just driving me down." Bill's team has plummeted down the rankings with an awful couple of weeks. And the leader in the clubhouse for disappointment of the year would be GH first-round pick Paul Goldschmidt. The Arizona first baseman has scored 61 points, which is fewer than Randal Grichuk, Freddy Galvis, Martin Prado, Aaron Nola and Jimmy Nelson.
