Season review: Boondock Saints

Boondock Saints

Owner: Bill Kelm

Overall finish: 4042 points, 10th place

Drafted team: 1B Joey Votto; 2B Rickie Weeks; SS Khalil Greene; 3B Ryan Zimmerman; C Brian McCann; OF Carlos Beltran; OF Jordan Schaefer; OF Fred Lewis; SP Brandon Webb; SP Josh Johnson; SP Jeff Suppan; SP Jonathan Sanchez; RP Francisco Rodriguez; B: Elijah Dukes, Mike Pelfrey, Chris Duncan

Players added (23): SP Livan Hernandez (W2), SP Jason Marquis (W3), C David Ross (W3), SP Dave Bush (W4), SP Chris Coghlan (W6), 2B Chris Counsell (W7), SP Ross Ohlendorf (W7), 1B Casey Kotchman (W9), SS Alex Gonzalez (W9), 1B Adam LaRoche (W10), 2B Joe Thurston (W13), 1B Derrek Lee (W13-trade), SP JA Happ (W14), OF Josh Willingham (W16), SS Jack Wilson (W17), OF Matt Holliday (W17), SP Mat Latos (W18), SP Cliff Lee (W18), SS Alcides Escobar (W20), SP John Smoltz (W21), 2B David Eckstein (W23), SP Josh Hammel (W24), SS Wilson Valdez (W25)

Players dumped (22): SP Mike Pelfrey (W3), SP Livan Hernandez (W4), C David Ross (W6), SP Jordan Schaefer (W6), SP Jason Marquis (W7), OF Elijah Dukes (W11), 1B Joey Votto (W13-traded), SP Jonathan Sanchez (W14), OF Chris Duncan (W16), 1B Adam LaRoche (W16), SS Khalil Greene (W17), 1B Casey Kotchman (W17), 2B Joe Thurston (W17), SS Alex Gonzalez (W20), OF Fred Lewis (W21), SP Jeff Suppan (W23) SP JA Happ (W24), Matt Latos (W24), Ross Ohlendorf (W24), SS Jack Wilson (W25), SP Brandon Webb (W26), 2B Rickie Weeks (W26)
Players on DL: SP Brandon Webb (W2-W26), C Brian McCann (W3-5), 2B Richie Weeks (W7-W26), 1B Joey Votto (W9-12), SS Khalil Greene (W9-10, W13-16), 1B Casey Kotchman (W10-11), SS Alex Gonzalez (W11-17), OF Carlos Beltran (W12-22), SP Dave Bush (W12-23), SP Jeff Suppan (W18-22)

Time lost with players on DL: 93 weeks

Points/rank by position: 1B-442/4; 2B-255-10; SS-183/10; 3B-427/1; C-345/1; OF-354/7; SP-302/9; RP-215/4

Final analysis: Bill has been known to never waste a monthly move. But 22 free agents added to his roster is even a record for him. He used all 19 allocated monthly moves, plus three more when he had players traded to the AL. And even was involved in the lone of trade of the season. But all of this activity could not help him avoid the second last-place finish by a defending FBLG champion. Why? Injuries played a big role. He lost his ace, and second-round pick, Brandon Webb for the season in Week 2. His No. 1 pick, OF Carlos Beltran, spent 10 weeks on the DL. All totalled he sent nine players to the DL for a total of 93 weeks of lost playing time. Not even the additions of Matt Holliday and Cliff Lee could keep the Saints from the cellar. And to add insult to injury, Bill cut Jonathan Sanchez the week prior to his no-hitter.

Top scoring players for 2009

BATTERS
1. Albert Pujols (WWJB) 525
2. Prince Fielder (GG) 491
3. Ryan Braun (AL) 484
4. Ryan Howard (Mis) 475
5. Hanley Ramirez (CC) 468
6. Matt Kemp (VC) 464
7. Chase Utley (TA) 431
8. Ryan Zimmerman (BS) 427
9. Jimmy Rollins (PB) 422
10. Jayson Werth (GG) 417
11. Andre Ethier (Mis) 415
12. Carlos Lee (VC) 407
13. Shane Victorino (CC) 402
14. Adrian Gonzalez (AL) 399
15. Mark Reynolds (TA) 393
16. Miguel Tejada (AL) 392
17. Raul Ibanez (TA) 387
17. Brandon Phillips (CC) 387
19. Pablo Sandoval (Mis) 382
20. Troy Tulowitzki (WWJB) 371

STARTING PITCHERS
1. Tim Lincecum (AL) 495
2. Adam Wainwright (CC) 483
3. Javier Vazquez (WWJB) 456
4. Dan Haren (Mis) 451
5. Josh Johnson (BS) 419
6. Chris Carpenter (PB) 387
7. Matt Cain (GG) 382
8. Jair Jurrjens (VC) 361
9. Ubaldo Jimenez (FF) 340
10. Wandy Rodriguez (CC) 335

RELIEVERS
1. Jonathan Broxton (WWJB) 305
2. Heath Bell (CC) 271
3. Brian Wilson (AL) 247
4. Francisco Rodriguez (BS) 215
5. Ryan Franklin (TA) 184

Season's final daily report

Overall standings

1. Chico's Chuggers (Shawn) 4708 -- Shawn completes first worst-to-first finish in FBLG history
2. WWJB (Scott) 4608 -- Best finish ever for Scott in seven FBLG season
3. Misfits (Reid) 4545 -- Fourth consecutive top-4 finish for Reid
4. Triple-A's (Ken) 4400 -- Fourth upper-division finish in past five seasons
5. Arbitration Losers (Tim) 4348 -- 16th upper-division finish in 18 FBLG seasons
6. Goatwhisperers (Arik) 4283 -- Arik still waiting on Jose Reyes to return
7. VC Appraisers (Kevin-Dave) 4190 -- Fourth second-division finish for Klock/DeLong tandem
8. Fresh Fish (Rick) 4141 -- Season is about three months too long for Fish
9. Pickle Bugs (Jon) 4067 -- Late rally avoids fourth last-place finish.
10. Boondock Saints (Bill) 4042 -- Second first-to-worst finish in league history, first since 1998.

Consolation head-to-head

Pickle Bugs 144, Triple-A's 107

Friday's report

With two days left in the season, there's not a lot of expected change in the overall standings.

Positions 1-6 should not change. The Fresh Fish, down 36 points to the VC Appraisers, could move up to seventh with good pitching performances Sunday from Tim Hudson and Jason Marquis. The Appraisers lost out on a start from Maholm because of Thursday's cancelled game.

The other issue at stake is who will finish in last. The Pickle Bugs take 24-point lead over the Boondock Saints into the weekend. If the Saints do not overtake the Bugs, then we will not only have the first worst-to-first finish in league history, but we'll also have a first-to-worst finish. Hurting the Saints' chances is the fact that it appears their starting pitching is done for the season.

The most dramatic finish is in the consolation final. The Bugs lead the Triple-A's by 3 points. Today may be the deciding day. The Bugs have Johnny Cueto on the mound, while the Triple-A's counter with Max Scherzer. Both teams haven't done much with their hitters this week, so these starts may be pivotal.

Overall standings
1. Chico's Chuggers (Shawn) 4671
2. WWJB (Scott) 4573
3. Misfits (Reid) 4473
4. Triple-A's (Ken) 4382
5. Arbitration Losers (Tim) 4296
6. Goatwhisperers (Arik) 4218
7. VC Appraisers (Kevin-Dave) 4144
8. Fresh Fish (Rick) 4108
9. Pickle Bugs (Jon) 4015
10. Boondock Saints (Bill) 3991

Consolation head-to-head
Pickle Bugs 92, Triple-A's 89

Week 26 moves

Week 26 active roster changes

Chico's Chuggers: No changes

Fresh Fish: No changes

Goatwhisperers: Benched RP Franklin Morales; activated RP Hudson Street

VC Appraisers: Benched OF Aaron Rowand; activated OF Chase Headley

WWJB: Benched SP Joe Blanton; activated SP Anibal Sanchez

Triple-A's: No changes

Pickle Bugs: Benched SP Barry Zito; activated SP Tommy Hanson

Arbitration Losers: Benched 3B Scott Rolen and OF Ryan Ludwick; activated 3B Andy LaRoche and OF Mike Cameron

Misfits: Benched 2B Skip Schumaker and SP Braden Looper; moved OF Eugenio Velez to 2B; activated OF Garrett Jones and SP Jonathan Sanchez

Boondock Saints: Benched SP Dave Bush; activated SP Josh Hammel

Sunday's report

OVERALL STANDINGS

1. Chico's Chuggers (Shawn) 4589 -- Three pitching wins over weekend cements hold on first
2. WWJB (Scott) 4488 -- 206-point week seals win of third-place in head-to-head
3. Misfits (Reid) 4349 -- Take 56-point lead over Triple-A's into final week
4. Triple-A's (Ken) 4293 -- Advances to consolation final despite loss to Losers
5. Goatwhisperers (Arik) 4150 -- Cain's 21-point outing puts Goatwhisperers back in upper division
6. Arbitration Losers (Tim) 4148 -- Nearly posts 200-point week despite modest pitching
7. VC Appraisers (Kevin-Dave) 4059 -- Huge 44-point week for Votto
8. Fresh Fish (Rick) 4020 -- Loads of DNPs from Hardy, Molina
9. Pickle Bugs (Jon) 3923 -- Working to avoid yet another last-place finish
10. Boondock Saints (Bill) 3906 -- Derrek Lee's neck spasm is a pain in neck for Bill

Head-to-head scores

Third-place
WWJB 206, Fresh Fish 151 (WWJB wins 2-1)

Consolation round-robin
Arbitration Losers 196, Triple-A's 138
Pickle Bugs 210, VC Appraisers 187
Goatwhisperers 142, Boondock Saints 123
Standings
x-Pickle Bugs 4-1
x-Triple-A's 3-2
Boondock Saints 3-2
VC Appraisers 2-3
Arbitration Losers 2-3
Goatwhisperers 1-4
Consolation final
Pickle Bugs vs. Triple-A's
(Triple-A's beat Boondock Saints in tiebreaker: Total points during round-robin 833-804)


Emergency pitchers used
Goatwhisperers started SP Clayton Kershaw in place of SP Yovani Gallardo
WWJB started SP Joel Pineiro in place of SP Ted Lilly
Arbitration Losers started SP Nelson Figueroa in place of SP Pedro Martinez

Wednesday's report

OVERALL STANDINGS

1. Chico's Chuggers (Shawn) 4453 -- Bell's save gets them positive pitching points
2. WWJB (Scott) 4380 -- Four DNPs from eight position players
3. Misfits (Reid) 4241 -- NOW Chuggers have bad week!
4. Triple-A's (Ken) 4214 -- Still waiting on first pitching start of week
5. Goatwhisperers (Arik) 4065 -- Hold on fifth place getting tenuous
6. Arbitration Losers (Tim) 4057 -- Another 7-point save for Wilson
7. VC Appraisers (Kevin-Dave) 3972 -- Pair of 10s from Votto
8. Fresh Fish (Rick) 3941 --Hudson's modest win rallies the Fish
9. Boondock Saints (Bill) 3847 -- What?!? No points from Derrek Lee?
10. Pickle Bugs (Jon) 3807 -- Only 40 points away from leaving cellar

HEAD-TO-HEAD SCORING

Third-place
WWJB 98, Fresh Fish 72

Consolation round-robin
Boondock Saints 64, Goatwhisperers 57
Arbitration Losers 105, Triple-A's 59
VC Appraisers 100, Pickle Bugs 94

Week 25 roster changes

PLAYERS ACQUIRED

C Geovany Soto (by Misfits, Sept. #2)
SS Wilson Valdez (by Boondock Saints, Sept. #3)
OF Drew Stubbs (by Chico's Chuggers, Sept. #2)
SP Hiroki Kuroda (by WWJB, Sept. #2)
C Yorvit Torrealba (by Goatwhisperers, Sept. #1)
RP Frankin Morales (by Goatwhisperers, Sept. #2)
SP Tom Gorzelanny (by Pickle Bugs, Sept. #2)

PLAYERS RELEASED

C Ivan Rodriguez (by Misfits)
SS Jack Wilson (by Boondock Saints)
SP Zach Duke (by Chico's Chuggers)
SP Hiroki Kuroda (by VC Appraisers -- stolen)
C Chris Iannetta (by Goatwhisperers)
SP Chad Billingsley (by WWJB)
SP Randy Johnson (by Arbitration Losers)
OF Lastings Milledge (by Pickle Bugs)
OF Dexter Fowler (by Pickle Bugs)

ACTIVE ROSTER CHANGES

Chico's Chuggers: Benched OF Shane Victorino and SP Kevin Correia; activated OF Drew Stubbs and SP Jon Garland

Fresh Fish: Benched SS Edgar Renteria; activated SS J.J. Hardy

Goatwhisperers: Released C Chris Iannetta; benched RP Hudson Street; activated C Yorvit Torrealba and RP Franklin Morales.

VC Appraisers: Benched SP John Lannan; activated SP Kyle Lohse

WWJB: Benched SP Joel Pineiro; activated SP Hiroki Kuroda

Triple-A's: Benched SP Rich Harden; activated SP Max Scherzer.

Pickle Bugs: Benched SP Tommy Hanson, 2B Casey McGehee and 1B Todd Helton; moved OF Jay Bruce from DL to bench, 3B Juan Uribe to 3B to 2B; activated SP Tom Gorzelanny, 3B Chipper Jones and 1B Lance Berkman

Arbitration Losers: None

Misfits: Released C Ivan Rodriguez, benched SP Roy Oswalt and OF Garrett Jones; activated C Geovany Soto, SP Braden Looper and OF Eugenio Velez

Boondock Saints: Released SS Jack Wilson; benched SP Josh Hammel; activated SS Wilson Valdez and SP Dave Bush

Sunday's report

OVERALL STANDINGS

1. Chico's Chuggers (Shawn) 4394 -- Worst-to-first finish nearly complete

2. WWJB (Scott) 4282 -- Second place overall would be best finish ever

3. Misfits (Reid) 4168 -- Lost in head-to-head final for second year in a row

4. Triple-A's (Ken) 4155 -- Aiming to play for consolation title for second year in a row

5. Goatwhisperers (Arik) 4008 -- Would be a lot better with more healthy Rockies

6. Arbitration Losers (Tim) 3952 -- Three negative pitching outings cap worst week of year

7. VC Appraisers (Kevin-Dave) 3872 -- Need some help to reach consolation finals

8. Fresh Fish (Rick) 3869 -- Dropped to eighth, but still alive in head-to-head playoffs

9. Boondock Saints (Bill) 3783 -- Looks like Jack Wilson is toast.

10. Pickle Bugs (Jon) 3713 -- Need big finish to avoid yet another last-place finish

Head-to-head scores

Championship

Chico's Chuggers 184, Misfits 165 (Chuggers win series 2-0)

Third-place

WWJB 167, Fresh Fish 138 (Series tied 1-1)

Consolation round-robin

Pickle Bugs 173, Goatwhisperers 134

Triple-A's 185, VC Appraisers 168

Boondock Saints 185, Arbitration Losers 101

Records

Boondock Saints 3-1

Pickle Bugs 3-1

Triple-A's 3-1

VC Appraisers 2-2

Arbitration Losers 1-3

Goatwhisperers 0-4

Player acquisitions

OF Drew Stubbs (by Chico's Chuggers, Sept. #2)

SP Tom Gorzelanny (by Pickle Bugs, Sept. #2)

C Yorvit Torrealba (by Goatwhisperers, Sept. #1)

RP Franklin Morales (by Goatwhisperers, Sept. #2) 

Emergency pitchers

Goatwhisperers used SP Doug Davis in place of SP Clayton Kershaw

Where we stand after 24 weeks

Well, the Chico's Chuggers have one half of the Double Crown in hand. 

The Chuggers sealed up the head-to-head championship with a 184-165 win over the Misfits, sweeping the series 2-0. Now, all the Chuggers have left is to wrap up the overall championship, completing the first worst-to-first finish perhaps in league history (we'll have to double-check that one).

The Chuggers take a 112-point lead into the final fortnight of the season. To lose that would take the combined efforts of the Chuggers (collapse) and WWJB (miracle). Even if WWJB still had Jesus on their roster, I don't know if that would be enough.

Speaking of WWJB, they stayed alive in the battle for third place in the head-to-head competition. That series with the Fresh Fish will go to a deciding Game 3 this week. 

In the consolation round, the Boondock Saints, Triple-A's and Pickle Bugs take 3-1 records into the final round-robin week. All three teams play different opponents, meaning a three-way tie is possible. The tiebreaker is total points scored during the round-robin games. Entering this week, that favors the Triple-A's (695), followed by the Boondock Saints (681) and Pickle Bugs (650). The VC Appraisers remain alive in the hunt to claim one of the two spots in the consolation final game in Week 26. They need to beat the Pickle Bugs this week, then hope one of the other 3-1 teams lose. Then it would come down to points. The Appraisers have 682 points scored during the round-robin.

As far as the overall standings go, there isn't a whole lot of drama. The lone question left unanswered appears to be who will finish third and fourth.

As we mentioned, the Chuggers hold a 112-point lead over second-place WWJB. WWJB leads third-place Misfits by 114. And fourth-place Triple-A's lead fifth-place Gladstone Goatwhisperers by 147 points. But the Misfits and Triple-A's are separated by only 13 points heading into the final two weeks of the season.

PAYOUTS

OVERALL: $100, 1st; $60, 2nd; $35, 3rd; $25, 4th

HEAD-TO-HEAD: $70, 1st; $40, 2nd; $20, third; $10, fourth; $10 consolation