Week 2: The Check Swing

We thought Cardinals shortstops were supposed to be slick-fielding, singles-hitting, backflip-making speedsters.

We're back, belatedly, with another look back at the week that was in FBLG. Hey, cut us some slack. We commissioners have lives, too. We don't just sit around at FBLG's marble-and-gold headquarters, watching banks of TVs while eating sushi all day. OK, maybe Rich does that. But some of us have actual jobs! Anyway, moving on...

We'll see how much Milwaukee loves Yasmani Grandal
when the playoffs roll around. 

1. When the Ledee Breaks (503.7, 1-1, last week 9): Matt's team was the only one in FBLG to crack the mystical 200-point barrier in Week 2, and the big performance helped Ledee vault several teams to claim first place in the rankings. Young stud Ronald Acuña (37) collected 12 hits, including 3 homers, and drove in 9 runs. Yasmani Grandal (27) and Mike Moustakas (23.5) also hit 3 homers apiece as the Ledee offense totaled almost as many taters (12) as Ricky Ledee did in his best season (13). Perhaps this team is misnamed, Matt. Trevor Story and Juan Soto (17.5 each) did their part, but Eric Hosmer (9) didn't really do much. He's a Padre, though, so that comes with the territory. Jake Arrieta (19) and Caleb Smith (17) picked up nice wins, but Joey Lucchesi (-2) got knocked around and Freddy Peralta (1.3) was roughed up so badly the Brewers placed him on the Injured List.

2. Lumber Co Lumber (495 points, 1-1, last week 1): The new guy looked unbeatable in Week 1 but came back down to earth in Week 2. (Sorry, John. You're going to be "the new guy" for a while.) Lumber Co looks like a team that will rely on its offense, and that offense didn't show up in a loss to the Fresh Fish. Seven homers and 21 RBIs isn't enough from a roster that strong. We like Brandon Nimmo (18.5) as much as you can possibly like a Met, but he shouldn't be your leading scorer. Rhys Hoskins (18) homered twice and Freddie Freeman (16) had 6 hits, but where's the punch from Bryce Harper (14), Robinson Cano (10.5), Wil Myers (12.5), Willson Contreras (9.5) and Corey Seager (7)? The LCL pitching staff was a disappointment, with only Steven Matz (17) earning a win. Josh Hader (3.3) pitched 1.1 innings. Jon Lester (6) lasted 2 innings before getting hurt. Tanner Roark (9.3) was fine in a Tanner Roark kind of way, but Kenta Maeda (2.3) was awful in a loss.

Aaron Nola has the highest ERA (7.45) among qualified
starting pitchers. "Qualified" may be a stretch.

3. Hassey's Girl (474.3, 1-1, last week 2): The commissioners' club looked pretty strong in Week 1 but was kind of a mess in Week 2. The power-laden team got only 7 homers, and 5 of them came from Fernando Tatis (18.5) and Nick Markakis (26.5). Christian Yelich (14) looked human for the first time in a while, and his Milwaukee teammates Travis Shaw (7.5) and Jesus "Belt-Buster" Aguilar (5) were no-shows. Matt Carpenter (8.5) and Wilson Ramos (7.5) were hindered by errors and by being on teams we don't like. The offense wasn't the only problem, though. German Marquez (22) collected half of Hassey's pitching points, with alleged aces Aaron Nola (5.3) and Jameson Taillon (10) not looking ace-worthy at all. Hyun-Jin Ryu (0.7) got hurt and still managed to be only the second-most-disappointing fat guy on this squad. Also, HG is the only team in FBLG that hasn't picked up a save yet. 

4. Yari's Autonomics (467.2, 1-1, last week 6): Adam's team got an all-or-nothing approach from its offense in a win against Hassey. Anthony Rendon (28.5) homered twice, doubled 4 times and drove in 8 runs. Pete Alonso (21) added 3 homers of his own, and Andrew McCutchen (20) and Jean Segura (18.5) added plenty of points from the top of the Philly lineup. Brian Dozier (12.5) was the only other YA hitter to reach double digits. Where were you, Yasiel Puig (6), Austin Hedges (6) and Ian Desmond (9.5)? While we're focusing on the negative, let's call out Kyle Freeland (2) and Jhoulys Chacin (-2.3), who combined to allow 19 earned runs and go 0-4. It's a good thing Adam had Zack Greinke (28.7) and Sean Doolittle (15.7). Max Scherzer (12) wasn't half bad in a no-decision, as well.

Kirby Yates (shown being held by an
unidentified teammate) has 9 saves
in 10 appearances this season.

5. Arbitration Losers (460.7, 1-1, last week 7): Tim has 4 Giants on his roster, so it's a surprise to see him this high in the rankings. We kid, we kid (not really). In their Week 2 victory against the Bucs, the Losers' leading scorer was ... closer Kirby Yates (24), who struck out 8 batters in 4 innings while earning 4 saves. Julio Teheran (23) picked up a couple of wins, and Madison Bumgarner (21) earned 1 win for every time he's crashed his dirt bike. Adam Eaton (23) made the most of his time being healthy for a change, and Javier Baez (15) had a good week despite not leaving the yard. Kevin Pillar (14) hilariously homered 3 times — and in true Giants fashion, he scored only 3 runs and drove in 4 runs for the entire week. Eugenio Suarez (15.5) and Manny Machado (12) each hit a pair of homers, but we're not really sure what trans-slender outfielder Kyle Schwarber (4.5) was doing out there.

6. Project Mayhem (459.8, 2-0, last week 4): Bill's team remained undefeated with a win over the Misfits, and the offense gets most of the credit. Paul DeJong (29.5) posted the highest point total without a home run that we can remember. The Cardinals shortstop scored 9 runs, doubled 5 times, tripled once and singled 4 times. Joc Pederson (20), meanwhile, did his damage on only 5 hits — 3 of which were homers. David Peralta (18) also did some damage as the only power hitter in the middle of the Diamondbacks lineup. Miles Mikolas (16) wasn't great in his 2 starts but picked up PM's only win. Walker Buehler (4) hasn't pitched like a first-round pick, and Pablo Lopez (2.7) pitched poorly in a loss. Chris Archer was suspended and didn't pitch. Hey, Chris: If you don't like guys pimping 500-foot homers, maybe you shouldn't give up 500-foot homers. 

7. The Rookies (453, 0-2, last week 10): Henry's team had a good week — good enough to move up 3 spots in the rankings — but not good enough to beat Ledee. The pitching was a high point, with everyone performing well except for Michael Wacha (-0.3). If he weren't a Cardinal, we might even feel sorry for the guy. Zack Wheeler (17) looked good in a victory, and Patrick Corbin (17) was even better in a no-decision. Raisel Iglesias (12) got back on track with a couple of saves, and Robbie Ray (12) managed to find the strike zone enough to complete 5 innings and fan 10 batters. On offense, Cody Bellinger (25.5) led the way again and remains the leading scorer in FBLG. The rest of the hitting was just average, with good-but-not-great performances coming from Ozzie Albies (16), Nolan Arenado (14), Brian Anderson (14.5), Jesse Winker (15.5) and Eduardo Escobar (14).

Back in Toronto, the umpires had to help Josh Donaldson
find first base. That's the American League for you.

8t. Clemente's Bucs (446.5, 0-2, last week 3): Ray's Bucs were hard-luck losers in Week 1, but they really earned this one. Clemente's pitching staff totaled 21.7 points, which is fitting for an owner whose favorite pro team has started pitchers Mike Dunne, Todd Ritchie, Ron Villone, Paul Wagner, Kip Wells, Ian Snell, Paul Maholm, Zach Duke and Kevin Correia on opening day. To make matters worse, 20 of those points came from injury fill-in Ross Stripling. Kenley Jansen (2) pitched once, Stephen Strasburg (1) gave up 6 runs in 4 innings, and Zach Eflin (-0.3) and Nick Pivetta (-1) combined to serve up 13 earned runs in 2 losses. The offense was good, though. Josh Donaldson (29) did something noteworthy for the first time in years, and everyone's favorite Civil War veteran — Dansby Swanson (20) — drove in 9 runs. Jeff McNeil (20) continues to be a nice surprise, and we mean it's surprising that a Met is both healthy and productive. 

8t. Fresh Fish (446.5, 2-0, last week 8): Rick's pitching staff managed to do something amazing in the win against LCL. Felipe "Vazquez" (22.7), Luis Castillo (20), Sonny Gray (10) and Joe Musgrove (10.3) combined to pitch 22 innings and not allow an earned run. Wow! The fifth guy on the staff, some loser named deGrom, allowed 9 earned runs in 9 innings and lost twice while totaling 6 lousy points. This is different from last year, when Jacob deGrom would have allowed 2 runs in 14 innings — and lost twice. Marcell Ozuna (27.5) hit 4 homers and drove in 8; he was far and away the Fish's best hitter. Amed Rosario (19) overcame his Metsiness long enough to drive in 6 runs on 7 hits. We're sure Rick would like to see more out of his Cubs duo of Anthony Rizzo (11.5) and Kris Bryant (10.5), though. Speaking of disappointments, Ian Kinsler (3.5) is hitting .160 and might have lost his job already. Who does he think he is, Ian Desmond? Ian Stewart?

10. The Misfits (431.2, 1-1, last week 5): The offensive numbers for Reid's team are ugly. In Week 2, The Misfits totaled 7 doubles, 3 homers and 14 RBIs. No wonder the offense scored only 82 points in the loss to PM. Yadier Molina (16), who had 3 extra-base hits and 6 RBIs, was the offensive leader of the club. Jose Peraza (5) and Ryan Braun (3.5) were useless, and regular standouts Paul Goldschmidt (12), A.J. Pollock (11) and Justin Turner (9.5) were nothing special. The pitching was pretty good except for Sean Newcomb (-2.7), who still hasn't found the strike zone but did find a bus ticket to Gwinnett. Jack Flaherty (18) and Noah Syndergaard (15) picked up victories, and Jon Gray (8.7) allowed only 1 run in a hard-luck loss.

Luis Castillo is FBLG's leading pitcher after 2 weeks. Perhaps he's more comfortable pitching in front of dozens of fans in Cincinnati this season than he was last season, when the Reds drew hundreds of fans. 

Batting leaders after week 2

1. Cody Bellinger (R) 94
2. Christian Yelich (HG) 82.5
3. Anthony Rendon (YA) 72
4. Pete Alonso (YA) 64
5. Paul DeJong (PM) 60.5

Pitching leaders after week 2

1. Luis Castillo (FF) 54.7
2t. Jacob deGrom (FF) 53
2t. German Marquez (HG) 53
4. Max Scherzer (YA) 51
5. Zack Greinke (YA) 43.3