Week 8: Saturday's Roundup

Were Mets fans cheering because Noah Syndergaard threw a pitch behind Chase Utley? Or were they cheering
the performance of Lawyers, Guns & Money? They certainly didn't cheer when Utley homered twice later in the game. 

Studs: Kyle Hendricks (LGM) singled and fanned 7 while allowing 1 run in a complete-game win. Chase Utley (LGM) hit a grand slam and a solo homer. Buster Posey (LGM) hit a pair of 3-run homers. Adam Duvall (LGM) homered, doubled, drove in 4 and scored twice. Adrian Gonzalez (FF) went 4 for 5 with a homer, a double and 2 runs. Jonathan Lucroy (FF) homered, singled, drove in 3 and scored twice. Adam Wainwright (LY) hit a 2-run doubled, scored and struck out 5 while allowing 4 runs in a 7-inning win. Paul Goldschmidt (GH) stole a base, hit a 2-run homer, doubled and scored twice.  

Duds: Jeremy Jeffress (GH) got 2 outs, allowed 1 run and took the loss. Marcell Ozuna (HE) singled and made 2 errors. Anthony Rizzo (LY) went 0 for 3 and was caught stealing. 

Scores

Fresh Fish 191, Hundley Eyes 140

Retire 21 165, Goldschmidt Happens 138

Misfits 159, Arbitration Losers 120

Rookies 133, Pitch You Blockhead 105

Lawyers, Guns & Money 181, The Lumbar Yard 116 

Week 8: Friday's Roundup

We like to give the Padres a lot of grief on the FBLG blog, but Yangervis Solarte deserves praise.

Studs: Jonathan Lucroy (FF) homered, doubled, drove in 3 and threw out a base-stealer. Jonathan Villar (R) stole 2 bases, doubled, singled twice, drove in 2 and scored twice. Starling Marte (R) homered, singled twice, scored twice and stole a base. Yangervis Solarte (GH) blasted a 3-run homer and a solo homer. Jon Lester (M) allowed 2 runs — 1 earned — and struck out 7 in a 6.1-inning win. 

Duds: J.T. Realmuto (R21) went 0 for 3 and was caught stealing. D.J. LeMahieu (AL) went 1 for 4 with an error. Matt Cain (PYB) made it through 1.2 innings before getting hurt. Sorry, Scott. 

Transactions and notes: With Alex Wood not starting this week, the Misfits gain the 22-point outing from Scott Kazmir on Wednesday. Hundley Eyes place 1B Lucas Duda on the DL and acquire SP Jon Gray.

Scores

Fresh Fish 156, Hundley Eyes 129

Retire 21 143, Goldschmidt Happens 106

Misfits 140, Arbitration Losers 78

Rookies 125, Pitch You Blockhead 86

Lawyers, Guns & Money 121, The Lumbar Yard 81 

Week 8: Thursday's Roundup

Gerrit Cole was one of the best hitters in the National League on Thursday. 

Studs: Jose Fernandez (HE) struck out 12 and allowed 1 run in a 7-inning win. Adeiny Hechavarria (FF) hit a 2-run homer, singled twice and scored twice. Gerrit Cole (GH) hit a 3-run homer, doubled, allowed an unearned run and struck out 5 in 5 innings. 

Duds: None.

Scores

Fresh Fish 132, Hundley Eyes 96

Retire 21 126, Goldschmidt Happens 82

Misfits 99, Arbitration Losers 66

Rookies 86, Pitch You Blockhead 57

Lawyers, Guns & Money 89, The Lumbar Yard 65 

Week 8: Wednesday's Roundup

Is it weird that the conversation about the Mets' best pitcher doesn't involve Jacob deGrom or Matt Harvey?

Studs: Steven Matz (R21) tossed another gem, improving to 7-1 by striking out 7 Nationals in 8 shutout innings. Kris Bryant (R21) hit a 3-run homer, singled and scored twice. 

Dud: Sure, Jake Arrieta (R) improved to 9-0, but he allowed 4 runs in 5 innings and struck out only 4. A 10-point outing for Jake from State Farm counts as a Dud these days.  

Scores

Fresh Fish 123, Hundley Eyes 55

Retire 21 117, Goldschmidt Happens 54

Misfits 67, Arbitration Losers 56

Rookies 73, Pitch You Blockhead 50

Lawyers, Guns & Money 87, The Lumbar Yard 52 

Week 8: Tuesday's Roundup

Michael Wacha can't believe how many pitchers and catchers earned spots on the Duds list.

Studs: Jason Hammel (FF) had a 2-run double and struck out 4 while allowing 1 run in a 7.1-inning win. Stephen Strasburg (R) singled and fanned 11 while allowing 2 runs in a 6.2-inning win. Gregory Polanco (M) was a triple short of a cycle, scored twice and drove in 5. Julio Teheran (R21) struck out 12 and allowed 1 run in 7 innings. Brandon Crawford (AL) tripled, singled, drove in 4 and scored. Jeff Samardzija (PYB) struck out 7 and allowed 1 run in a 6.2-inning win. 

Duds: Shelby Miller (LY) allowed 6 runs and fanned 3 in a 5-inning loss. Michael Wacha (GH) allowed 8 runs and struck out 4 in a 4-inning loss. Matt Harvey (M) allowed 5 runs and struck out 1 in a 5-inning loss. Yasmani Grandal (M) went 0 for 3 and was caught stealing. J.T. Realmuto (R21) went 0 for 3 with an error. Welington Castillo (HE) went 0 for 2 with an error. Nolan Arenado (PYB) went 0 for 4 with 3 Ks and an error. 

Transactions: PYB signs Matt Cain, moves Colin Rea to the bench and places Domingo Santana to the DL.

Scores

Fresh Fish 103, Hundley Eyes 32

Retire 21 75, Goldschmidt Happens 38

Misfits 38, Arbitration Losers 36

Rookies 44, Pitch You Blockhead 42

Lawyers, Guns & Money 49, The Lumbar Yard 39 

Week 8: Monday's Roundup

Johnny Cueto looks good in Pablo Sandoval's old uniform, doesn't he?

Studs: It was a pretty good day for Fresh Fish pitchers. Clayton Kershaw (FF) singled and struck out 7 in a 2-hit shutout of the Reds. Johnny Cueto (FF) wasn't quite as good, striking out only 6 in a 2-hit shutout of the Padres. Step it up, Johnny. Both pitchers are 7-1, which might explain why the Fish are in first place in the points race. 

Duds: Brandon Phillips (R) went 0 for 3 with an error. Mark Reynolds (HE) went 1 for 4 with an error. Welcome to FBLG, Mark. 

Scores

Fresh Fish 75, Hundley Eyes 22

Retire 21 22, Goldschmidt Happens 21

Misfits 18, Arbitration Losers 12

Rookies 12, Pitch You Blockhead 1

Lawyers, Guns & Money 20, The Lumbar Yard 13 

Week 8 Transactions and Lineups

Jeremy Hellickson was excited to be signed to the FBLG. Really, he was. This is just his reaction to Ryan Howard's slash line.

Players acquired

• The Lumbar Yard sign SP Jeremy Hellickson (bonus move).
• Arbitration Losers sign SP Junior Guerra (May move #2).
• Hundley Eyes sign 1B Mark Reynolds, retroactive to Sunday (May move #2).

Players released

• 2B Kelly Johnson
• SP Cesar Vargas

Players unprotected/available to be stolen

• OF Michael Taylor (Fresh Fish)
• C Tony Wolters (Rookies)
• SP Tyler Chatwood (The Lumbar Yard)
• 3B David Freese (Goldschmidt Happens)
• 2B Kelby Tomlinson (Misfits)
• 2B Derek Dietrich (LG&M)
• C Derek Norris (PYB)
• SP Robbie Ray (Arbitration Losers)
• OF Denard Span (Hundley Eyes)
• none on Retire 21

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

• SS Alexei Ramirez (Misfits), OF Billy Hamilton (Rookies), OF Nick Markakis (R21) and 3B Aaron Hill (Rookies) are also available to be stolen after spending four weeks on the bench.

Lineup changes

• Fresh Fish: Bench SP James Shields; activate SP Bartolo Colon.
• Rookies: Bench SP Jaime Garcia; activate SP Brandon Finnegan.
• The Lumbar Yard: Bench SP Joe Ross, SP Tyler Chatwood and OF Angel Pagan; activate SP Adam Wainwright, SP Jeremy Hellickson and OF Ben Revere.
• Goldschmidt Happens: Bench 3B Javier Baez and SP Juan Nicasio; activate 3B Yangervis Solarte (from DL) and SP Michael Wacha.
• Misfits: Bench 3B Justin Turner and SP Scott Kazmir; activate 3B Jake Lamb and SP Alex Wood.
• Lawyers, Guns & Money: Bench 3B Derek Dietrich and OF Giancarlo Stanton; activate 3B Anthony Rendon and OF Joc Pederson.
• Pitch You Blockhead: Bench SS Zack Cozart; move Jean Segura from 2B to SS; activate 2B Joe Panik.
• Arbitration Losers: Bench OF Kike Hernandez and SP Robbie Ray; activate OF Curtis Granderson and SP Tom Koehler.
• Hundley Eyes: Bench 1B Lucas Duda, SP Kenta Maeda and SP Jerad Eickhoff; activate 1B Mark Reynolds, SP Patrick Corbin and SP Rubby De La Rosa.
• Retire 21: None.

Week 7: The Check Swing

One of these players has been among the best in baseball this year. The other has been persona non Duda. 

1. Hundley Eyes (1,349 points, 5-2, last week 1): The commishes posted a 191-point week to stay in first place thanks to the efforts of ace Noah Syndergaard (45 points). Not even stinkers from Trevor Rosenthal (6), Maikel Franco (4) and Lucas Duda (1) could hold them back. Next up is a battle with the Fish.

2. Fresh Fish (1,317 points, 5-2, last week 2): Rick's team was handed its second loss of the year by longtime rival Arbitration Losers. But 172 points is nothing to sneeze at, especially with the Fish getting only 1 start from each member of the rotation. That will change next week against Hundley Eyes. 

3. Pitch You Blockhead (1,256 points, 5-2, last week 4): Another week, another win for Scott's Blockheads. Jeff Samardzija struck again, scoring 20 in a stellar outing. Jean Segura (22) and Wil Myers (18) continue to outperform many players drafted ahead of them. 

Giancarlo Stanton made a fool of himself to earn
Dud of the Week dishonors. 

4. Rookies (1,221 points, 3-4, last week 3): Henry got 66 points from Jake Arrieta, Stephen Strasburg and Jon Niese, but surprising subpar efforts from Jaime Garcia (-2 in 2 starts), Brandon Phillips (5), Matt Kemp (4) and A.J. Pierzynski (2) hurt the cause. 

5. Arbitration Losers (1,201 points, 3-4, last week 8): Despite a brutal offensive showing, Tim got a ton of pitching points to knock off the Fresh Fish. Madison Bumgarner (47), Zack Greinke (37), Robbie Ray (24) and Gio Gonzalez (16) combined for 7 starts to carry the load. 

6. Lawyers, Guns & Money (1,171 points, 4-3, last week 5): What went right for Matt in a 108-point week? Almost nothing. Buster Posey had the top offensive day with 6 points on Saturday. Giancarlo Stanton went 1 for 21 with 17 Ks. He also made an error. Ugly all the way around. 

7. Retire 21 (1,161 points, 2-5, last week 9): Don't look now, but our defending champions are moving up the standings. Like the Fish, R21 got only 4 starts from its pitchers — so 170 points is impressive. Freddie Freeman led the way with 20 points, and Steven Matz posted a 19. 

8. Misfits (1,138 points, 3-4, last week 6): Max Scherzer (30) and Gregory Polanco (29) erupted for the Misfits, but that's where the accolades end after a 115-point display. Matt Harvey and Jon Lester each barfed their way to starts worth -4; Brandon Belt (5), Neil Walker (5) and Yasmani Grandal (0) didn't show up, either.

9. The Lumbar Yard (1,125 points, 3-4, last week 7): Don't you just hate it when you bench a pitcher and he goes berserk with an amazing start? Don't you hate it even more when it happens every damn week? Poor Adam. 

10. Goldschmidt Happens (1,041 points, 2-5, last week 10): Goldschmidt finally happened for Bill, with the Arizona first baseman scoring 21 points. Unfortunately, the Cubs offense stalled — and Javier Baez (3), Miguel Montero (7) and Jason Heyward (4) brought down the GH offense as well. 

Week 7: Sunday's Roundup

Jaime Garcia scored -6 and Matt Carpenter scored -1 on Sunday. That's the Cardinal Way.

Studs: Max Scherzer (M) struck out 8 and allowed 2 runs in an 8-inning win. Zack Greinke (AL) had a sac fly, singled, struck out 7 and allowed 1 run in an 8-inning win. Madison Bumgarner (AL) brought in the game's only run with an RBI double, struck out 6 and got the win in 7.2 shutout innings. Noah Syndergaard (HE) allowed an unearned run and fanned 11 in a 7-inning win. Jerad Eickhoff (HE) drove in a run and got the win while striking out 3 in 7 shutout innings. Melvin Upton Jr. (LY) tripled, singled twice, scored, drove in a run and stole a base. Howie Kendrick (FF) homered, doubled twice, singled and scored twice.

Duds: Jaime Garcia (R) allowed 5 runs on 10 hits in a 2.1-inning loss. Giancarlo Stanton (LGM) and Matt Carpenter (R21) each singled and erred. Adam Conley (LGM) allowed 6 runs on 7 hits and 7 walks. He struck out 2 in a 5.1-inning loss. 

Note: The Rockies-Pirates game was postponed by rain.

Transaction: Hundley Eyes sign free-agent 1B Mark Reynolds. 

Scores

Arbitration Losers 209, Fresh Fish 172

Retire 21 170, Rookies 146

The Lumbar Yard 121, Misfits 115

Pitch You Blockhead 182, Goldschmidt Happens 131

Hundley Eyes 191, Lawyers, Guns & Money 108

Week 7: Saturday's Roundup

A soft-tossing lefty striking out 13 batters? That's more impressive than Max Scherzer striking out 20.

Studs: Jose Fernandez (HE) struck out 9 and allowed 1 run in a 6-inning win. Alex Wood (M bench) somehow struck out 13 and allowed 2 runs in 6 innings. For shame, Padres. 

Duds: Jon Lester (M) allowed 5 runs and fanned 1 in a 2.2-inning loss. Yasmai Grandal (M) went 0 for 4 with a catcher's interference error. Francisco Cervelli (LY) went 0 for 3 with an error. Eugenio Suarez (R) went 0 for 4 with 3 Ks and his 10th error. 

Scores

Arbitration Losers 159, Fresh Fish 152

Retire 21 159, Rookies 149

The Lumbar Yard 104, Misfits 87

Pitch You Blockhead 143, Goldschmidt Happens 121

Hundley Eyes 130, Lawyers, Guns & Money 92