Welcome to The Check Swing, our look at the past week in FBLG. This week is the Tom Petty edition, in which we associate each team with a song from Petty's catalog. Enjoy.
1. Ryan's Rangers (399 points, 2-0, last week 5): "The Damage You've Done." Bill's offense has done plenty of damage, led by his trio of 40-point outfielders — Ryan Braun, Carlos Gomez and Angel Pagan. Anthony Rendon has been a pleasant surprise and also has surpassed 40 points. On the downside, the Rangers' closer isn't even a closer — Rex Brothers is being used in Colorado as a late-inning man and hasn't gotten a save opportunity.
2. Arbitration Losers (395 points, 2-0, last week 3): "The Best of Everything." Tim's team might be as balanced as any in FBLG this season. The rotation of Cliff Lee, Gerrit Cole, Tim Hudson and Marco Estrada has performed well, and any offense led by Freddie Freeman, Matt Holliday, Yadier Molina and Michael Cuddyer is bound to be good. Just wait until Jedd Gyorko, Jean Segura and Pablo Sandoval heat up.
3. Fresh Fish (376 points, 1-1, last week 1): "The Waiting." With two key injured players for Rick, it certainly is the hardest part. Propelled primarily by the hot starts of Brandon Belt, Buster Posey, Giancarlo Stanton and Jayson Werth, the Fresh Fish look poised to contend all season. That's certain to be the case if Yovani Gallardo continues to pitch like an ace and Hyun-jin Ryu keeps rolling. If you think this team is tough now, just wait until Clayton Kershaw and Ryan Zimmerman return from the disabled list.
4. Danger Zaun (373 points, 0-2, last week 4): "Too Much Ain't Enough." In this case, too much speed in the outfield ain't enough to get points. Billy Hamilton has had one good game in two weeks, Starling Marte hasn't broken out and A.J. Pollock is on the verge of losing his job. Still, the Rich/Brian team has standouts in Adrian Gonzalez and Aramis Ramirez leading the way, and the Strasburg-Fernandez-Cashner rotation looks like one of FBLG's toughest.
5. Pitch You Blockhead (370 points, 1-1, last week 2): "Something Big." It might not be the best pitching trio in FBLG, but the Greinke-Samardzija-A. Wood group has been awfully close to it in the season's first two weeks. With Scott's team waiting for the inevitable offensive outbursts from Hanley Ramirez and Jay Bruce, PYB is a team to watch in 2014.
6. Tanana in the Tailpipe (360 points, 1-1, last week 7): "A One Story Town." Matt's team to this point has been powered by a dominant ace and a few hot hitters. Adam Wainwright and Mark Trumbo have cracked the 50-point mark already, and Chase Utley isn't far behind. Cole Hamels is coming off the disabled list soon, but the pitching depth is the only thing keeping Tanana from being higher in the rankings. Homer Bailey and someone from the Niese-Gee-McCarthy trio needs to step up.
7. Rocky Mountain High (356 points, 2-0, last week 6): "All Or Nothin'." Jon's team is stacked with boom-or-bust hitters, including Anthony Rizzo, Pedro Alvarez, Carlos Gonzalez, Troy Tulowitzki and Yasiel Puig. The pitching staff looks like the biggest question mark here, with Dan Haren and Lance Lynn being mostly good and Matt Garza and Tim Lincecum being less good. Come back soon, Mat Latos.
8. Misfits (336 points, 1-1, last week 9): "Counting on You." The fortunes of Reid's team seem to be centered on how well Matt Kemp performs this season. If Kemp can get back to all-star form, the Misfits will shoot up the FBLG standings. Until then, Reid needs Chris Johnson, Hunter Pence, Wilin Rosario and Daniel Murphy to get rolling. Madison Bumgarner and Michael Wacha can't be expected to do all of the heavy lifting.
t9. Rookies (284 points, 0-2, last week 10): "Yer So Bad." This isn't meant to be a knock on Henry. It's a criticism of the performances of Cody Asche, who has scored 3 points since opening day, and B.J. Upton, who is duplicating his disappointing 2013. On the flip side, Paul Goldschmidt, Justin Upton and Kyle Lohse have produced 128 of the team's 284 points.
t9. E-3 (284 points, 0-2, last week 8): "Even the Losers." They get lucky sometimes, right? We figure Adam got lucky with his selection of Dee Gordon for a bench spot, as the Los Angeles speedster is getting on base and stealing like mad. Unfortunately, Adam's roster is saddled with underperforming veterans. A.J. Burnett and Matt Cain have been a drag on the rotation; Ryan Howard and David Wright have gotten off to sluggish starts. And when will the star-studded outfield of Andrew McCutchen, Allen Craig and Curtis Granderson start hitting?
