Week 12: The Check Swing

PYB owner Scott (left) shows his displeasure as Chad Kuhl costs his team a win against The Rookies. 

We’re two-thirds of the way through our regular season, and our division battles are intriguing. FBLG’s three best records belong to teams in the Vladimir Guerrero Division, and no team in the Chipper Jones Division is above .500 — 3 teams are tied for first with records of 6-6. Since 4 of 5 teams in each division will make the playoffs, there are 2 good battles going on for the final playoff spots. The Rookies and Clemente’s Bucs are tied at 4-8; Project Mayhem and BodySuit Man are locked up at 5-7. 

In this week's rankings, the only change was the plummeting of The Misfits from 5th to 8th. That moves PM, PYB and BM up 1 spot apiece. 

The scoreboard

We've seen less of this out of Jason Heyward in 2018.

1. Fasano Don't Dance (2240.8 points, 8-4, last week 1): The commissioners managed to widen their lead thanks to a 229.8-point outburst against Clemente's Bucs. It was the high score of the week that came thanks to a nice balance of offense and defense. Nick Pivetta (28.3) struck out 20 in 12.1 innings but didn't pick up a decision, a la Jacob deGrom. Speaking of the Mets' ace, deGrom (25) finally earned a win but also took a loss. Jack Flaherty (19) and Zack Godley (14) also pitched well as the Fasano staff put up 90.3 points. Carlos Santana (26), Johan Camargo (22.5) and Nick Markakis (21) led the way at the dish, with Jason Heyward (18.5) looking like he rediscovered his swing and contributing nicely. On the injury front, Chris Taylor is dinged up and Matt Adams and Brandon Morrow are on the DL, but Ronald Acuna and Robbie Ray should be back this week. 

2. Stable Geniuses (2182.7 points, 6-6, last week 2): Matt's team didn't do much of anything on the mound except lose, but it didn't matter against the Fish because the SG offense was explosive. Whether he's hitting the ball all over the yard or misplaying fly balls, Odubel Herrera (37) is one of the most entertaining players in the game. Herrera homered in 4 consecutive games, drove in 9 runs and scored 8 times. Tera Turner (20.5) did a little bit of everything, and fat guy Jesus Aguilar (17.5) and former fat guy Kyle Schwarber (18) each homered 3 times. Cody Bellinger (12.5) had only 3 hits, but 2 of them were solo homers. Unfortunately for Matt, his pitching was hilariously inept. Jhoulys Chacin (2.7) and Tyler Anderson (11.3) had double-start weeks; they combined to go 0-4 with 16 earned runs allowed in 22 innings. Brad Boxberger (5) blew another save, and usual studs Ross Stripling (7) and Sean Newcomb (9) pitched well but combined to go 0-1. 

3. Fresh Fish (2147.8 points, 6-6, last week 3): As much as we'd love to place all of the blame for Rick's loss on Hunter Strickland, the Giants' closer wasn't quite that bad. Strickland (-6.7) worked his usual schtick, allowing 3 runs in 0.1 inning, blowing a save, taking a loss, yelling at an opponent for doing his job and being happy about it, and going on the DL for doing something moronic. The rest of the FF pitching staff was the baseball equivalent of a tree falling in the woods: The rotation didn't post a decision in 4 starts. Patrick Corbin (19) was great and Max Scherzer (14) was good, but Kenta Maeda (2.7) didn't last long and Mark Melancon (6) might not be the full-time replacement for Strickland. Javier Baez (25) was FF's top hitter despite not leaving the yard, and Matt Kemp (9) hit a grand slam but didn't do much else. Carlos Gonzalez (18.5) and Scooter Gennett (15.5) were pretty good, and Buster Posey (16) homered for a nice change of pace now that he's a singles hitter. 

This is what happened when Tim
called his bullpen this week.

4. Arbitration Losers (2144.5 points, 9-3, last week 4): Tim's offense put up a remarkable 152.5 points, but AL wasn't able to come away with a W against a scalding-hot Project Mayhem club. PM walked away with a 193-190.8 victory, and we're holding the Braves responsible for AL's loss. Arodys Vizcaino did not pitch all week after being listed as day-to-day for multiple days; the Braves then folded and put their closer on the DL. Julio Teheran (0.7) pitching better might have made a difference, too. Andrew Suarez (20) was impressive in a pair of no-decisions. Michael Wacha (4.7) was placed on the DL, so the AL pitching ranks are getting thin. But let's focus on Tim's bats. J.T. Realmuto (27) collected 9 hits, including 5 doubles and a homer. Matt Carpenter (27) homered 3 times, doubled 3 times and walked 8 times. Gorkys Hernandez (24.5) might not be a punch line anymore, and even Derek Dietrich (24.5) went deep 3 times. Bryce Harper (19.5) had only 6 hits for the week, but they were all doubles. If Justin Turner (8.5) ever heats up, watch out. 

5. Project Mayhem (2092 points, 5-7, last week 6): Is there a hotter team in FBLG than Bill's Project Mayhem? There might not be a hotter hitter than Nolan Arenado (37), who homered 5 times and drove in 13 runs in Week 12. Young Juan Soto (22.5) keeps on raking and shows no sign of slowing down. The rest of the PM offense was nothing special, but it was enough for PM to edge the Losers. Bill got 64 points from his pitchers in only 4 starts and 3 relief appearances, and that made the difference in the win against AL. Tyler Mahle (17), Aaron Nola (14) and Kyle Freeland (13) each picked up a 6-inning win. Raisel Iglesias (14) is much more valuable now that the Reds aren't a train wreck. Just imagine if Bill's injured pitchers — Hyun-Jin Ryu, Alex Reyes, Dinselon Lamet and Jimmy Nelson — were healthy enough to contribute. 

That's Anthony Rendon?
I've got to watch more Nationals games.

6. Pitch You Blockhead (2086.7 points, 6-6, last week 7): In another close, high-scoring battle, PYB came up short against The Rookies, 204.3-197.2. Scott can point the blame directly at Chad Kuhl (-7), who had pitched well until his blow-up outing in Week 12. The rest of the pitching staff did a great job, going 4-0. Even soft-tossing giant Clayton Richard (13) put up puntos! Corey Knebel (17) earned a save and a win, Alex Wood (16) appeared to get back on track, and Miles Mikolas (18.7) did well in a double-start week. On the offensive side, Anthony Rendon (34) went nuts, hitting 5 singles, 4 doubles and 3 homers. Charlie Blackmon (22) did his usual thing, and Asdrubal Cabrera (21) hit like the guy we saw back in April. Ian Desmond (18.5) did perhaps the most unexpected thing in FBLG this week: He walked a whopping 9 times! That's one way to get that OBP closer to .300, Ian. 

7. BodySuit Man (2054.2 points, 5-7, last week 8): Behind a couple of outstanding performances, Adam's team put a hurting on The Misfits. Jon Gray (23) finally had a result that equaled the quality of his repertoire, and Joey Votto (30.5) mashed — and walked — his way to a big week. Votto had only 7 hits, but 4 went for extra bases; he also walked 7 times while scoring 7 times and driving in 9. Sean Doolittle (12) had another strong week, but the rest of the staff was "meh." Jake Arrieta (8) hasn't been the best — or arguably even the second-best — starter on his own team, Michael Soroka (2.7) got hurt, and Tanner Roark (2.3) got roughed up. Ender Inciarte (22.5) was a strong contributor on offense, and Ketel Marte (15) is finally starting to hit. Waiver-wire regular Jon Jay (14.5) posts puntos without doing anything particularly well. Willson Contreras (6.5) is slumping badly; his Week 12 homer was his first long ball and 4th extra-base hit since May 12. 

8. The Misfits (2041.3 points, 7-5, last week 5): Reid's team had a shockingly bad week, scoring only 121.5 points in a loss to BM. The pitching staff was the prime cause, but we'll come back to that in a bit. First, let's focus on the 5-homer week by Yadier Molina (29). He has 11 homers this season, which is already the 5th-highest total of his career. Trevor Story (17) keeps plugging along, and Max Muncy (15) hit 2 more bombs while walking 8 times. On the down side, Gregory Polanco (5.5) might have lost his job, Josh Harrison (3) forgot how to hit, and Eric Hosmer (7.5) is still a Padre. Now, let's take a closer look at the Misfits' struggling pitching staff, which went 0-3, totaled 21 points and allowed 14 earned runs in 22 innings. Wade Davis (7) picked up a save in 3 innings of work and was the high man on the staff. Tyson Ross (6) allowed 1 run in a hard-luck loss in classic San Diego fashion. Seth Lugo (5) didn't last long at Coors Field, and Anibal Sanchez (5) got knocked around. Let's not mention the dud outing by Joe Musgrove (-2). At least Clayton Kershaw is back! 

Calm down, Zack. No need to get all worked up.

9. The Rookies (1975.7 points, 4-8, last week 9): Henry's club won a tight one against PYB thanks to outstanding pitching. Zack Greinke (31.3) went 2-0 as the Rookies' staff posted 4 wins and 86.3 points. Madison Bumgarner (21) looked like he was pitching in the World Series, and Trevor Williams (25) did well in a pair of outings. Gio Gonzalez (1) didn't pitch badly but left his appearance early because of a long rain delay. Ozzie Albies (22.5), David Peralta (22.5) and Eugenio Suarez (21.5) paced an offense that was adequate but not strong. Tucker Barnhart (18) has been a surprisingly good contributor behind the plate, and Freddie Freeman (15) still put up points despite having what for him would be considered an "off" week. Dexter Fowler (6.5), however, is one of the NL's most disappointing performers. He's hitting .130 in June, and his slash line for the season is an ugly. 169/.278/.280.

10. Clemente's Bucs (1938.7 points, 4-8, last week 10): Ray's offense was outstanding in a week in which the Bucs almost reached 200 points, but they drew a rough draw in the Fasanos. Brandon Nimmo (29) continues to look like one of the best hitters in the NL, and Rhys Hoskins (25.5) finally looks like the player he was last season. Paul Goldschmidt (22) is scorching hot and is now 6th in hitting points in FBLG. Cesar Hernandez (23.5) doesn't get a lot of publicity, but he certainly lights up the stat sheet. The Bucs actually outscored the Fasanos at the plate but couldn't keep up on the mound. Luke Weaver (22.7) allowed 6 runs in 10.2 innings but picked up the Bucs' only win. Chase Anderson (13) and Kenley Jansen (12) did their jobs, but Cubs teammates Kyle Hendricks (3.7) and Jose Quintana (1) were disappointments. 

Sadly, the FBLG pitching leaders do not include
Heath "Taco" Bell. 

Hitting leaders after Week 12

1. Freddie Freeman (R) 255

2. Nolan Arenado (PM) 245.5

3. Nick Markakis (FDD) 241

4. Ozzie Albies (R) 233

5. Trevor Story (M) 230

Pitching leaders after Week 12

1. Max Scherzer (FF) 284.7

2. Jacob deGrom (FDD) 224.3

3. Patrick Corbin (FF) 214

4. Aaron Nola (PM) 210.3

5. Sean Newcomb (SG) 180