Week 4: The Check Swing

This was Corey Seager in happier times. Well, until Game 7 anyway. 

We're 4 weeks into the season, and already you can put together a strong roster of injured players: Daniel Murphy, Anthony Rendon, Adam Eaton, Justin Turner, Corey Seager, Yasiel Puig, Rich Hill, Madison Bumgarner, Robbie Ray, Taijuan Walker, Wil Myers, Eric Thames, Jimmy Nelson, D.J. LeMahieu and many others — including two Mets catchers! Who else will join the ranks of the injured as the season goes along? Oh, Yoenis Cespedes just hurt himself opening a can of tuna. Add him to the list! 

The scoreboard

1. Stable Geniuses (827 points, 2-2, last week 3): Quite a week for Mr. Monaghan: he saw the fattest Panda pitch — in person! — and used an offensive onslaught to put up 211 points, beat The Rookies and vault to the top of the standings. Newly signed Jose Peraza finally woke up with 15 hits and 8 runs for a 31.5-point week to lead the way. Trea Turner (25.5) and Brandon Belt (24) chipped in too as the Geniuses had 38 runs, 33 RBIs and 61 hits. Which is good, because the pitching wasn't great. Zack Wheeler struck out 12 and earned a win, but 2-starters Chris Stratton (10) and Vince Velasquez (2.7) were lame. And Kenley Jansen only pitched once. Without much from Cody Bellinger, Travis Shaw or Kyle Schwarber, Matt's guys put up 167.5 offensive points, which should scare the rest of the league.

2. Fasano Don't Dance (809.5 points, 3-1, last week 4): Also vaulting up 2 spots in the standings was the commissioners' team, which finally got some offense to go with the pitching in a big win against Pitch You Blockhead. Braves Nick Markakis (28.5) and Ronald Acuna (22.5) led the way, with Taylors Chris (22) and Michael (19) chipping in nicely. There are still some gaping holes at catcher (Chris Iannetta scored 3) and shortstop (Ketel Marte and Addison Russell combined for 8), but at least there are signs of offensive life. And the pitching remains stellar, led by Jacob deGrom (20.3) and Robbie Ray (16 before a DL trip). Is this the balance Rich and Brian had in mind after the draft? It sure is. Are the guys doing the hitting the ones they anticipated? Good god, no. But you take what you get.

We liked Hunter Strickland better when he was serving up
playoff homers and picking fights with players who are
far better than he is.

3. Fresh Fish (830.5 points, 2-2, last week 1): Rick's team got the low-scoring win, but his roster looks like a MASH unit right now. Scooter Gennett, Justin Bour (since traded), Wil Myers and Yasiel Puig are all hurt, but at least Carlos Gonzalez is back. Last week, Gennett put up 26.5 of the offense's 81.5 points, which seems... awful. Javier Baez (14) cooled off, and no one else did much of anything. So how do you overcome that? Well, by having the league's two top-scoring pitchers. Max Scherzer put up 19 in his one start, and Patrick Corbin a mere 10.7 in his. But closer Hunter Strickland had a ridiculous 23.7 on his way to 4 saves, and Yu Darvish and Kenta Maeda put up 14 apiece. That's good for 81.3 pitching points and a win, even if the Fish slide a couple spots in the standings.

4. Arbitration Losers (785.2 points, 3-1, last week 2): Tim earned the win against Project Mayhem, but he lost the war, as he fell 2 spots in the standings and lost his middle infield to injury. With word breaking today that Corey Seager is out for the year, Tim's hopes just took a huge hit. But with an outfield of AJ Pollock (22.5), Corey Dickerson (20) and Bryce Harper (just 11.5, but second in the league in hitting points), this team can still mash. And Justin Turner is lurking, coming off the DL soon. Having J.T. Realmuto (21) back is a big help, too. The pitching was meh this week, as Jon Lester and Julio Teheran both got hit around a bit and Johnny Cueto didn't strike many guys out. But it's still a solid rotation. We'll see what it can do to overcome the offensive setbacks.

5. BodySuit Man (782 points, 2-2, last week 7): Adam's team stepped up in a big way to beat The Misfits, posting 209.2 points thanks to a big offensive outburst led by a few previously struggling hitters. Joey Votto (33.5) hit his first 4 homers of the season, drove in 8 runs and still found the time to walk 9 times. Ender Inciarte (32) came alive as most Atlanta hitters had a strong week. Yoenis Cespedes (26) discovered his inner Pedro Cerrano, finding hats for bats, before tweaking his thumb on a slide. The pitching was solid if unspectacular, with Brandon McCarthy (18.3) staying healthy long enough to make a pair of starts and Noah Syndergaard (13.3) getting no run support in an excellent no-decision. Hey, remember when Matt Kemp (1) and Ryan Braun (3) were battling for the MVP in the National League?  

Anthony Rizzo hasn't had much to smile about this year.

6. Pitch You Blockhead (756.7 points, 2-2, last week 5): Scott's offense fell flat in a loss to the Fasanos, as the hitters failed to put up 100 points. Anthony Rizzo, Billy Hamilton, Yasmani Grandal, Dansby Swanson, Preston Tucker and Jose Pirela all scored fewer than 10 points for the week, and leader Asdrubal Cabrera — who is fifth among all hitters in scoring, for some reason — had just 19. Is it time to worry about Anthony Rizzo? He's sitting at .157 with 1 homer and has already been on the DL. Scott really needs the big guido to hit like he can to get this offense back on track. On the mound, Mike Foltynewicz put up 25.7 in a pair of starts, but the rest of the staff went just 1-2 and closer Josh Hader only faced 2 hitters. Tough week, but it's not hard to see this team exploding if Rizzo gets going. (That also applies to the Cubs.)

7. The Misfits (738.5 points, 2-2, last week 6): Reid's team couldn't keep up with Costanza's bats, and the pitching wasn't much help, either. Walker Buehler (24 in 2 starts) was outstanding, but the rest of the staff went 0-2, and Wade Davis (8) picked up only 1 save. Is Clayton Kershaw (6) ever going to get back to the Clayton Kershaw we know and love? Howie Kendrick (22) was the leading hitter, which is a welcome surprise. Trevor Story (18), Eric Hosmer (17.5) and Evan Longoria (16.5) also were strong contributors, but The Misfits will need better performances from Christian Yelich (6) and Yadier Molina (a big fat zero) to move up in the rankings. 

8. The Rookies (720.7 points, 1-3, last week 10): Henry's guys had a big week but it wasn't enough in a loss to the Stable Geniuses. Still, the 179.5-point week vaulted The Rookies up 2 spots in this list. And who can we thank for this outburst? Why, the Braves of course! Rookie phenom Ozzie Albies — who is leading FBLG in offensive points, thanks largely to 22 extra-base hits — put up 33 points and teammate Freddie Freeman had 28.5. David Peralta also had a nice week with 23.5 points, but the rest of the hitters struggled: Dexter Fowler (7.5), Nick Ahmed (1.5), Michael Conforto (4.5), Chris Owings (7.5), etc. On the mound, Gio Gonzalez (22 in 2 starts) was sharp, but Zack Greinke (7), Steven Matz (0.3) and especially Jeff Samardzija (-2.3) were not. Henry needs more offensive balance, and some pitchers to get some guys out. But at least his Braves are raking.

We hit the Googles to
find a photo of Miami SS
Miguel Rojas, and this
came up. Is this him?

9. Clemente's Bucs (690.7 points, 2-2, last week 8): Nothing went right for Ray in the loss to the Fresh Fish. The "hitters" combined for just 74 points, which, aside from Paul Goldschmidt's 15 points, was "led" by 13.5 apiece from Miguel Rojas and Cesar Hernandez. Nothing about that sentence would make you think good things about the week. The entire team combined for just 6 RBIs, again "led" by Rojas' 4. DANGER WILL ROBINSON. The pitching was respectable, with Kyle Hendricks' dominant start leading to a 17-point outing and Ivan Nova and Chad Bettis putting up 13 apiece. But it wasn't enough to overcome the putrid offense. Kris Bryant barely played, so there's hope, but he, Rhys Hoskins and Goldschmidt will have to lead the way going forward.

10. Project Mayhem (677.5 points, 1-3, last week 9): Bill's pitching fell totally flat in the loss to the Arbitration Losers, totaling just 29.3 points. Aaron Nola got the team's lone win and put up 13, but Jameson Taillon was shelled to the tune of -3.3, and Homer Bailey put up 2. Francisco Cervelli led the hitters with 20, but until Nolan Arenado and Marcell Ozuna really get going, offensive points will be hard to come by.

Well, well, well. Look who's one of the top position
players in FBLG this year, Rich.

Hitting leaders after Week 4

1. Ozzie Albies (R) 102.5

2. Bryce Harper (AL) 94

3. Freddie Freeman (R) 93.5

4. A.J. Pollock (AL) 92.5

5. Asdrubal Cabrera (PYB) 89.5

Pitching leaders after Week 4

1. Max Scherzer (FF) 111

2. Patrick Corbin (FF) 105

3. Jacob deGrom (FDD) 93.3

4. Noah Syndergaard (BM) 79.7

5. Carlos Martinez (SG) 78.7