The Check Swing: Week 8

Starlin Castro makes an error. I know that's hard to believe. 

Welcome to the Big-Time Questions edition of the blog. Every team faces major questions eight weeks into the season. And away we go!

1. Retire 21 (7-1, 1,504 points, last week 2): Will the Fightin' Clementes continue to get career seasons from Dee Gordon, Jean Segura, Starling Marte, Nick Hundley and Santiago Casilla to go along with the resurgent Aaron Harang and Tim Lincecum? 

2. Already Zaun (7-1, 1,492 points, last week 1): Is Tyson Ross going to pitch like 2014 Tyson Ross at any point, and is Troy Tulowitzki ever going to hit like 2009-14 Tulo again? 

3. Pitch You Blockhead (7-1, 1,412 points, last week 3): Will anyone want to face this team when Justin Morneau and Jonathan Lucroy come off the disabled list? That rotation is terrifying.

4. Soler Eclipse (4-4, 1,340 points, last week 4): Is Adam sick and tired of Starlin Castro's traditional maddening inconsistency yet?

5. Arbitration Losers (4-4, 1,301 points, last week 5): Is Tim's reliance on Giants going to backfire if San Francisco ever cools off? Maybe not: Bumgarner, Posey, Pagan and Belt are pretty good Giants to rely on.

6. Rookies (4-4, 1,293 points, last week 6): Andrelton Simmons and D.J. LeMahieu are among the leading scorers at their respective seasons. Will that continue long enough for the Rookies to make a surge to the top of the standings? 

7. The Bryce is Right (2-6, 1,276 points, last week 7): Will Yasiel Puig and Billy Hamilton contribute at any point? Bill already rebuilt his shaky middle infield, so it would be nice if two of his top outfielders did something to help.

8. Chateau Marmol (4-4, 1,273 points, last week 8): Will the supremely disappointing Jason Heyward and Ian Desmond ever see the field again for Chateau Marmol? 

9. Fresh Fish (0-8, 1,141 points, last week 9): Doug Fister. David Wright. Carl Crawford. Mike Morse. Henderson Alvarez. Khris Davis. Stephen Strasburg. All on the DL. How is it possible that Carlos Gonzalez is the healthiest member of this team? 

10. Misfits (1-7, 1,140 points, last week 10): In this week's showdown to watch, the Misfits will take on the Fresh Fish for basement supremacy. Who will emerge victorious?

Week 8: Sunday roundup

Carlos Martinez honored his friend Oscar Taveras by dominating the Dodgers.

Studs: Carlos Martinez (AZ) got the win and fanned 8 in a 7-inning win. A.J. Pollock (CM) was a homer short of a cycle, stole a base, drove in a run and scored. Todd Frazier (Bryce) was a triple short of a cycle, drove in 2 and scored twice. D.J. LeMahieu (Rookies) hit a 2-run homer, singled twice and scored twice. Jean Segura (R21) had 2 singles, a double, a triple, 2 RBIs and a run. 

Dud: Santiago Casilla (R21) gave up 4 runs (3 earned) in a 0.2-inning loss.

Scores

Already Zaun 187, Rookies 165 

Soler Eclipse 181, Fresh Fish 129 

PYB 180, Arbitration Losers 170 

Retire 212, Chateau Marmol 179

Bryce is Right 172, Misfits 131

Week 8: Saturday roundup

Chateau Marmol benched J.T. Realmuto, who
responded with a 9-point day.

Studs: Jace Peterson (SE) was a homer short of a cycle, stole a base and scored 3 runs. Paul Goldschmidt (SE) hit a 3-run homer and a solo homer. Giancarlo Stanton (Misfits) hit 2 solo homers. 

Duds: Kyle Lohse (Bryce) made an error and gave up 7 runs and 11 hits in a 3.1-inning loss. Aramis Ramirez (SE) went 1 for 4 with an error. 

Note: The Cubs-Royals game was rained out.

Transactions: Chateal Marmol activates C Yasmani Grandal and moves J.T. Realmuto to the bench. Fresh Fish move SP Johnny Cueto to the bench and sign Tanner Roark, who goes into Cueto's spot.

Scores

Already Zaun 154, Rookies 143 

Soler Eclipse 164, Fresh Fish 102 

PYB 145, Arbitration Losers 141 

Retire 194, Chateau Marmol 149

Bryce is Right 139, Misfits 123

Week 8: Friday roundup

Tulo was seeing the ball well off Cole Hamels.

Studs: Troy Tulowitzki (AZ) went 4 for 4 with 2 solo homers. Buster Posey (AL) homered, doubled, drove in 3 and scored twice. Adam Lind (Rookies) was a triple short of the cycle and drove in 3. Paul Goldschmidt (SE) had 3 doubles and scored twice. Francisco Liriano (SE) struck out 11 in 6 shutout innings. John Lackey (SE) got the win and struck out 9 in 7 shutout innings. 

Dud: Stephen Strasburg (FF) got hurt again. Sorry, Rick.

Transactions: The Misfits sign SP Chris Heston. Retire 21 activates SS Jean Segura and moves Freddy Galvis to the bench.

Scores

Already Zaun 134, Rookies 113 

Soler Eclipse 135, Fresh Fish 91 

Arbitration Losers 133, PYB 128

Retire 158, Chateau Marmol 131

Bryce is Right 126, Misfits 105

Week 8: Thursday roundup

Now that he's with the Braves, Juan Uribe is no longer Emo Juan Uribe.

Stud: Andrew McCutchen (Rookies) doubled twice, singled, drove in 2 and scored 2 runs.

Dud: He wasn't in the lineup for the Rookies, but Ian Kennedy served up 3 homers, allowed 7 runs and took the loss in 3.2 innings. He did strike out 5, though.

Transaction: Already Zaun acquires SP Brett Anderson to fill an empty bench spot.

Scores

Already Zaun 107, Rookies 83 

Fresh Fish 64, Soler Eclipse 56

Arbitration Losers 112, PYB 98

Retire 139, Chateau Marmol 107

Bryce is Right 107, Misfits 88

Week 8: Wednesday roundup

Noah Syndergaard has a pretty nice home-run trot.

Studs: Noah Syndergaard (AL) went 3 for 3 with a 430-foot homer and got the win while striking out 6 in 7.1 shutout innings. Max Scherzer (CM) singled and got the win while fanning 13 in 7 shutout innings. Gerrit Cole (Bryce) singled and struck out 7 while allowing 2 runs in a 7-inning win. Lucas Duda (Bryce) hit 2 solo homers, doubled and scored 3 runs. Zack Greinke (PYB) singled, stole a base, struck out 9 and allowed 1 run in 6 innings. 

Dud: Starlin Castro (SE) singled twice but made a pair of errors. 

Scores

Already Zaun 101, Rookies 66 

Fresh Fish 63, Soler Eclipse 53

Arbitration Losers 103, PYB 85

Retire 124, Chateau Marmol 98

Bryce is Right 106, Misfits 82

Week 8: Tuesday roundup

Just what the rest of FBLG wants to see: Clayton Kershaw dialing it up after a slow start for Retire 21.

Studs: Jeurys Familia (AZ) struck out 2 in 2 innings and got the win. Aroldis Chapman (SE) struck out the side in 1 inning and got the win. Clayton Kershaw (R21) got the win, struck out 10 in 7 shutout innings and had an RBI single. 

Duds: Julio Teheran (Bryce) gave up 8 runs in a 4.1-inning loss. Kolten Wong (PYB) went 0 for 2 with a run and an error. Nolan Arenado (PYB) went 0 for 3 and was caught stealing. Freddie Freeman (FF) went 0 for 4 with 4 Ks. Ryan Howard (Misfits) went 0 for 5 with 4 Ks.

Scores

Already Zaun 92, Rookies 46 

Fresh Fish 45, Soler Eclipse 29

Arbitration Losers 53, PYB 45

Retire 106, Chateau Marmol 37

Misfits 61, Bryce is Right 58

Week 8: Monday roundup

You can't spell Khris without HR. 

Studs: Khris Davis (FF) hit a pair of solo homers, single and scored 3 times. Carlos Martinez (AZ) singled and fanned 8 in 7 shutout innings. Hunter Pence (AZ) doubled, singled twice, stole a base, drove in 2 and scored. Nolan Arenado (PYB) homered, singled twice and drove in 3. 

Duds: Carlos Gomez (PYB) went 0 for 4 with 2 errors. Aroldis Chapman (SE) allowed a run in 1 inning and took the loss.

Scores

Already Zaun 61, Rookies 19 

Fresh Fish 34, Soler Eclipse 3

PYB 33, Arbitration Losers 21 

Retire 41, Chateau Marmol 14

Bryce is Right 35, Misfits 32

Week 8 Transactions and Lineups

No one loves a soft-tossing righty.

Players acquired

• Retire 21 sign SP Charlie Morton (May move #3).
• The Bryce is Right sign SP Kyle Lohse (May move #3).

Players released

• SP Josh Collmenter
• SP Jeff Locke
• 2B/3B Aaron Hill

Lineup changes

• Rookies: None.
• Retire 21: Bench SP Aaron Harang; activate SP Charlie Morton.
• Misfits: Bench C Devin Mesoraco and OF Curtis Granderson; activate C A.J. Pierzynski and OF Alex Guerrero.
• Soler Eclipse: None.
• Pitch You Blockhead: Bench OF Nori Aoki and SP Lance Lynn; activate OF Joc Pederson and SP A.J. Burnett.
• The Bryce is Right: Bench SS Zach Cozart, SP Carlos Frias and SP Archie Bradley; move Chris Owings from 2B to SS; activate 2B Matt Duffy, SP Kyle Lohse and SP Matt Garza.
• Chateau Marmol: Bench 2B Addison Russell; activate 2B Joe Panik.
• Arbitration Losers: None.
• Already Zaun: Bench SP Rubby de la Rosa; activate SP Carlos Martinez.
• Fresh Fish: None.

The Check Swing: Week 7

1. Already Zaun (6-1, 1,305 points, last week 2): Ryan Braun appears to have returned to form, which is good news for the Zaunies. This team put up 196 points with only 5 from Adrian Gonzalez, which shows how much depth the lineup has. 

2. Retire 21 (6-1, 1,292 points, last week 1): Ray's freshman season continues to be a strong one, with Nick Hundley being one of the league's top catchers and Yasmany Tomas looking like a legit offensive threat. The rotation has been great, too.

3. Pitch You Blockhead (6-1, 1,232 points, last week 3): Speaking of quality rotations, Scott sure seems to have the best one in FBLG with Zack Greinke, James Shields, Lance Lynn, Jason Hammel, A.J. Burnett and Jimmy Nelson. 

Meet the patron saint of Already Zaun.

4. Soler Eclipse (3-4, 1,159 points, last week 4): Adam's team keeps putting up points but isn't getting the head-to-head wins. Paul Goldschmidt and Derek Norris have been outstanding, but the pitching just hasn't been consistent. 

5. Arbitration Losers (4-3, 1,131 points, last week 6): The Giants heating up has been great news for Tim's team, which relies on many of San Fran's key cogs. Is it weird that the Losers have made this charge without their Nationals contributing? 

6. Rookies (4-3, 1,128 points, last week 7): Henry's team got a 27-point week from D.J. LeMahieu, and Andrew McCutchen's bat is awakening. The trio of Shelby Miller, Jordan Zimmermann and Gio Gonzalez is dangerous, as well.

7. The Bryce is Right (1-6, 1,104 points, last week 5): It was a rough week for Bill, who got single-digit performances from Chris Owings, Zack Cozart, Todd Frazier, Wilson Ramos and Andre Ethier. Bryce Harper cooled off, too. 

8. Chateau Marmol (4-3, 1,094 points, last week 8): Having 3/4 of the Cubs' infield is a roller-coaster ride because of the offensive production and errors. By the end of the week, Yasmani Grandal and Mat Latos went on the DL and Matt had to scramble to fill the void.

9. Fresh Fish (0-7, 1,012 points, last week 9): Dan Haren and Drew Storen combined for 43 of Rick's 122 points this week. And now Johnny Cueto is having arm trouble? Oy. The Fish might be in 10th place before too long. 

10. Misfits (1-6, 1,009 points, last week 10): The Misfits finally busted loose for the big week Reid was looking for. Unfortunately, they were playing PYB and came away with a loss. Still, that 26-point outburst for Ryan Howard was impressive.