Week 8: The Check Swing

Here's your chance to add an all-star to your rotation. 

We're almost halfway through the regular season, so let's take a brief look at our standings. The Vladimir Guerrero Division is top-heavy, with 3 teams tied at 6-2. The Chipper Jones Division has only 1 team with a winning record: the Stable Geniuses. Every team has at least 2 wins, so no one is out of the playoff chase yet. 

Remember before the season when we implemented the rule about waiver claims for all-stars coming from the American League? Well, be sure to email the commissioners with your requests because 2010 all-star Phil Hughes has been traded to the Padres. The line forms to the right, folks. PLEASE REMAIN ORDERLY. 

The scoreboard

Please be OK please be OK please be OK please be OK...

1. Fasano Don't Dance (1524.8 points, 6-2, last week 2): The commissioners claimed the top spot in the rankings thanks to a balanced offense and outstanding pitching. The collection of right arms combined for 80.3 points, with all starters reaching double figures. Brandon Morrow (7.3) was the low man as usual, since the Cubs use him only once or twice a week. Jacob deGrom (15) lowered his ERA to a league-leading 1.54, Nick Pivetta (26) was great in 2 outings, and Stephen Strasburg (18) and Jack Flaherty (14) picked up wins. The hitting was solid if not great, with Chris Taylor (19) leading the way and Nick Markakis (16.5) plugging right along. The return of Jake Lamb (12.5) should help, too. There's concern about Ronald Acuna after his scary-looking knee injury, though. 

2. Stable Geniuses (1518.2 points, 5-3, last week 1): With the exception of one player, Matt's team stunk up the joint in a loss to Project Mayhem. Travis Shaw (31.5) homered 3 times and drove in 10, but the rest of the Geniuses combined for 2 homers and 13 RBIs. The pitching was as vanilla as it gets: the staff went 0-1 with no saves and totaled 33.7 points. Jhoulys Chacin (15.3 in 2 starts) was the only pitcher to make an impact. Junior Guerra (7), Tyler Anderson (5) and Kyle Freeland (3.3) combined to strike out 8 batters in 18.1 innings. Scott Kingery (2) looked like a world-beater early this season, but he has vanished. Philly teammates Odubel Herrera (8) and Jorge Alfaro (6) also struggled in Week 8.

It's good to have you back in LA, Matt.

3. Fresh Fish (1470.7 points, 3-5, last week 3): Our closest battle of the week ended with Rick's team losing to the Misfits by 3.8 points. Scooter Gennett (34) certainly did his part, homering 3 times and driving in 10. He leads the NL in batting average and might be the best player ever nicknamed Scooter (take THAT, Rizzuto). Matt Kemp (19) had another good week, and it's clear who won the Kemp-for-Bour trade with the Fasanos now that the Fish have both players. If the Fish are looking for someone to blame for the loss, they can look toward their Giants: Andrew McCutchen (5.5), Buster Posey (4) and Hunter Strickland (4) didn't get the job done. The pitching staff went 3-0, with Kenta Maeda (23.7), Patrick Corbin (18) and Max Scherzer (11) picking up W's. However, Yu Darvish didn't pitch and landed back on the DL. 

4. Arbitration Losers (1454 points, 6-2, last week 4): Tim's team relied on its offense to defeat the Bucs and remain tied atop the Vladdy Division. Bryce Harper (23) and a rejuvenated Matt Carpenter (20) were the top producers, but Marlins J.T. Realmuto (19.5) and Derek Dietrich (19) weren't far behind. It does make the commissioners smile to see Addison Russell (5) playing just as badly as he did as a member of the Fasanos. On the hill, there were no notable performances. Chris Stratton (13) and Michael Wacha (11.7) earned participation trophies, and Hector Neris (10) deserves credit for not blowing any saves. 

5. The Misfits (1424.7 points, 6-2, last week 6): Reid's team was a 4-man show, and it was enough to earn a victory against the Fish. Walker Buehler (31) allowed 2 runs and fanned 14 batters in 14 innings to lead the staff. Tyson Ross (19.7) turned back the clock and looked like an all-star. Christian Yelich (29.5) ripped 11 hits and scored 8 times, and teammate Lorenzo Cain (25) did the same. The rest of The Misfits were pretty disappointing, though. Tyler Chatwood (-0.7) can't throw strikes; Evan Longoria (9) hit just as poorly as the rest of the Giants not named Crawford or Belt; Eric Hosmer (5) and Trevor Story (4) did next to nothing; and Gregory Polanco (4.5) is hitting .205. 

6. BodySuit Man (1421.7 points, 3-5, last week 5): Sure, Adam's team lost to PYB. Sure, the pitching was solid, with a 3-0 record and 76.3 points. But HOLY CRAP that offense. Have we ever seen a week like this in FBLG history? BodySuit Man pulled off the baseball equivalent of pushing women and children out of the way to escape a fire. These guys — Joey Votto, Adam Duvall, Ryan Braun, Jose Martinez, Starlin Castro, Willson Contreras, Jedd Gyorko and others — combined for zero homers and 6 RBIs. How is that even possible? Meanwhile, Sean Doolittle (20.7) picked up a win and a couple of saves, and Jake Arrieta (18.7) was outstanding in a win. Noah Syndergaard (11) and Tanner Roark (11) pitched well in no-decisions, too. 

7. Pitch You Blockhead (1404.7 points, 4-4, last week 7): Scott's team might not have any of the top 5 pitchers in FBLG, but he does have two surprising standouts who are awfully close. Miles Mikolas (30) and Mike Foltynewicz (25) took advantage of double starts to help PYB take down BodySuit Man. Mikolas is 6-0 with a 2.58 ERA in his first season back from overseas, and Folty is 4-3 with a 2.55 ERA. Nice drafting, Scott! Charlie Blackmon (19) and Asdrubal Cabrera (18) paced the offense as they have all season, and Battle of Manassas hero Dansby Swanson (14) chipped in nicely. Yasmani Grandal (3.5) had a terrible week, but that's how it goes with catchers sometimes. 

Bring back the 'stache, Miles Mikolas! 

8. Project Mayhem (1336.2 points, 2-6, last week 9): It was a strange week for Bill's team. PM defeated the top team in FBLG and moved up a spot in the rankings, and it did so while its pitching staff went 0-3 with 1 save and 1 blown save. But Zack Wheeler (19 in 2 starts), Aaron Nola (15.7) and Jameson Taillon (14.3 in 2 starts) did enough to help PM nail down the win. Good performances from key hitters helped, too. Marcell Ozuna (19) ripped 10 hits — including 9 singles — and newcomer Juan Soto (19) made a good first impression. In case you didn't notice, Nolan Arenado (18.5) is hitting .324 and Brandon Crawford (15) is hitting .315. 

9. The Rookies (1310 points, 2-6, last week 8): Henry's team didn't put up much of a fight against the Fasanos, and they dropped a spot in the rankings as a result. The pitching staff was the Achilles heel, with only Gio Gonzalez (15) and Zack Greinke (14 in a pair of losses) producing points. Trevor Williams (0), Jeff Samarzija (0.7) and Felipe Vazquez (0.7, 2 blown saves) might as well have stayed home. On offense, Eugenio Suarez (21) was the driving force, providing 8 of The Rookies' 14 RBIs for the week. Freddie Freeman (15) and Ozzie Albies (9.5) cooled considerably, and David Peralta (10.5) is stuck in a lineup with no A.J. Pollock and a struggling Paul Goldschmidt. And hey, check out that classic performance from Chris Owings (-2). 

Now you know how Ray feels about your performance
this season, Rhys.

10. Clemente's Bucs (1296.8 points, 3-5, last week 10): Ray's team is last in the rankings but does have 3 wins thanks to a league-low points-allowed total. That's the good news. The bad news is that CB's offense put up a sickly 83 points in a loss to AL. Brandon Nimmo (22) was fantastic considering that he's a Met, and Paul Goldschmidt (12.5) is showing signs of life. Boy, how bad is it going for Goldy when you're pleased with a 12.5-point week? Kris Bryant (11) and Rhys Hoskins (7) didn't do much, and that's a problem when your team is built around offensive studs who haven't been studly. Kenley Jansen (18) appears to be back to normal after a rough start that included him getting fired by the Stable Geniuses. Jose Quintana (3.3) continues to be maddeningly inconsistent. 

This guy is one of the best hitters
in the NL. THIS GUY.

Hitting leaders after Week 8

1. Ozzie Albies (R) 171

2. Freddie Freeman (R) 170.5

3. Nick Markakis (FDD) 168.5

4. Bryce Harper (AL) 160

5. Charlie Blackmon (PYB) 154.5

Pitching leaders after Week 8

1. Max Scherzer (FF) 199.7

2. Patrick Corbin (FF) 160.3

3. Stephen Strasburg (FDD) 148

4. Jacob deGrom (FDD) 145.3
5. Aaron Nola (PM) 144.3

Week 8: Sunday Roundup

There will be a spelling test later. 

STUDS: Stephen Strasburg (FDD) didn't last long against the Marlins, but it was enough for an 18-point outing. Strasburg struck out 8 and didn't allow a run in a 5-inning win. Albert Almora (R) went 3 for 5 with 2 doubles, 2 runs and an RBI. Carlos Gonzalez (FF) went 4 for 4 with a mile-long, 2-run homer and 2 runs scored. Walker Buehler (M) struck out 8 Padres and allowed 1 run in a 7-inning win. Frankly, you should make the Duds list if you DON'T score 19 points against San Diego. Mike Foltynewicz (PYB) worked over the Red Sox, striking out 7 and allowing 1 run in a dominant 7-inning win.

DUDS: Felipe "Vazquez" (R) pitched only 0.1 inning and blew his third consecutive save opportunity. He's also battling forearm soreness. Willson Contreras (BM) tripled and walked, but he offset it by making 2 errors. That's our Willson.

Week 8: Saturday Roundup

That feeling when you see the Mets on the schedule and it's not Syndergaard or deGrom on the mound. 

STUDS: Aaron Nola (PM) was outstanding against the Jays, keeping them hitless into the 7th and finishing with 10 Ks and 1 run allowed in a 6.2-inning win. Scooter Gennett (FF) went 5 for 5 with a homer. A couple of Brewers had big days in a 17-5 win against the LOLMets: Lorenzo Cain (M) doubled, singled twice, walked twice, drove in a run and scored 3 times. Christian Yelich (M) was a homer short of a cycle, walked, drove in 3 and scored 3 runs.

DUDS: Anthony Rendon (PYB) went 0-fer with an error. Ozzie Albies (R) walked, scored and erred.

Week 8: Friday Roundup

We can't help it; we're rooting for Paul Goldschmidt to get back on track.

STUDS: Travis Shaw (SG) was a triple short of a cycle, drove in 3 and walked. Jon Gray (BM) picked up a classic Coors Field win, striking out 8 and allowing 4 runs in 6 innings. Patrick Corbin (FF) looked good again, fanning 7 and allowing 1 run in a 7-inning win. Matt Kemp (FF) went 3 for 4 with a 3-run homer. Paul Goldschmidt (CB) makes his first Studs appearance in ages; he tripled, doubled, drove in 2 and scored.

DUD: Maikel Franco (FF) went 0 for 3 with an error.

LET PITCHERS HIT: Just say no to the designated hitter (see below).

Sometimes you just have to help yourself. #PitchersWhoRake pic.twitter.com/KK0J5B0End

— MLB (@MLB) May 26, 2018

Week 8: Thursday Roundup

Found him.

STUD: Brandon Nimmo (CB) tripled, doubled twice, singled, scored 2 runs and walked. It makes you wonder why the Mets seem so determined to give playing time to anyone BUT Nimmo. Looking at you, Jose Bautista.

WHERE'S THE REST OF THE BLOG? Look, there were only 4 NL teams in action today, and one of them was the Mets. Not every day is going to be full of excitement.

Week 8: Wednesday Roundup

No wonder hitters are having trouble with Kenta Maeda.

Oh, you have a catcher who can hit? Bet he can't
make great defensive plays like Jeff Mathis can.

STUDS: Apparently, Kenta Maeda (FF) is a strikeout machine now. He struck out 12 and got the win in 6.2 shutout innings against the offense formerly known as the Blake Street Bombers. Josh Harrison (M) went 4 for 6 with a triple, a run, an RBI and a walk. Tyson Ross (M) tied up the Nationals, striking out 9 and allowing 1 run in a 6.2-inning win. Jake "from State Farm" Arrieta struck out 7 Braves and got the win in 6.2 shutout innings. Jacob deGrom (FDD) struck out 8 Marlins and didn't allow a run in 7 innings, but he didn't get the win because the Mets bullpen barfed up one of his leads for the third time this year. Not that the commissioners are bitter or anything.

DUDS: Following up on the deGrom note, Jeurys Familia (PM) took a minus-4 by allowing 2 runs in a blown save/loss combo platter against the Marlins. The MARLINS. He struck out 1 in his ugly inning of work. Andrew McCutchen (FF) went 0 for 4 with 3 Ks and an error. Chris Owings (R) went 0 for 4 with 2 Ks and an error. Asdrubal Cabrera (PYB) went 0 for 4 with a K and an error. Trea Turner (SG) went 1 for 4 with 2 Ks and an error.

WHAT'S WRONG WITH BASEBALL: With ridiculously overstaffed bullpens these days, managers have fewer bench options. Today, Arizona's Torey Lovullo used Jeff Mathis — career slash line of .198/.257/.306 and this year sitting at .170/.304/.191 — as a pinch-hitter in the 5th inning. You think that's bad? Milwaukee's Brent Suter walked Mathis.

Week 8: Tuesday Roundup

Tyler Chatwood walks — his specialty — to the dugout after getting pulled in the 3rd inning.
The "Hoosiers" star has walked 40 batters in 45.2 innings. Yes, really. 

STUDS: Scooter Gennett (FF) hit a grand slam, had an RBI double and tacked on a sacrifice fly. He now has more 6-RBI games for the Reds (2) than Joey Votto, Joe Morgan, Tony Perez or Pete Rose. Go figure. Sean Doolittle (BM) struck out the side in his inning of work and picked up the win. Nine points for beating the Padres? Seems excessive.

DUD: Tyler Chatwood (M) ruined what was supposed to be an exciting rematch of the 2016 World Series by walking a half-dozen guys. He allowed 4 runs and struck out 1 in a 2.2-inning loss.

RANDOMNESS: Since the NL was kind of a snoozer today, check out this BP homer by Shohei Ohtani (below) and enjoy Mark Gubicza's expert analysis.

Whoa. Shohei Ohtani with a BIG blast during BP today at the Rogers Centre

via @FoxSportsWest pic.twitter.com/rFmkpyuNFK

— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) May 22, 2018

Week 8: Monday Roundup

Juan Soto, Pedro Severino and Mark Reynolds. These are your injury-prone 2018 Washington Nationals. 

STUDS: Miles Mikolas (BM) struck out 9 and went the distance in shutting out the Royals. He's the first Cardinal to open a season 6-0 since Allen Watson in 1993. It's worth noting that Watson finished that year with a record of 6-7. Nick Pivetta (FDD) had another impressive outing, striking out 7 and earning the win in 7 shutout innings. Matt Carpenter (AL) was a triple short of a cycle and scored twice. Juan Soto (BM) hit a 422-foot, opposite-field, 3-run homer on the first pitch he saw in the bigs. He also singled and scored twice. Yeah, that'll work.

DUDS: Yasmani Grandal (PYB), Carlos Santana (FDD) and Trevor Story (M) each went 0 for 4 with an error.

Has this ball landed yet?!?

LoCain showing off that POWER. pic.twitter.com/kzpySa3uRm

— MLB (@MLB) May 22, 2018

Week 7: The Check Swing

You can score all the points you want, Brandon. You can basically singlehandedly beat my team.
I may even feel obliged to put your photo atop this blog. But I'll be damned if it's gonna be a flattering shot.

The usual author of this piece, Mr. Deka, asked me to do it this week because he felt my bitterness would be refreshing. I'm obliging him because my bitterness needs a healthy outlet, and nothing is more healthy than making Brandon Belt jokes to disguise my pain. So get ready for some invective.

In actual news, there was very little movement in the overall standings during week 7, with only the 4th and 5th teams switching spots. Four teams - Stable Geniuses, Fasano Don't Dance, Arbitration Losers and Misfits - are tied at 5-2, and poor Project Mayhem is alone at 1-6. There is still plenty of season to go, though.

The scoreboard

1. Stable Geniuses (1378 points, 5-2, last week 1): Let's talk about Brandon Belt. Seems like a nice enough guy, I guess, for a Giant. Deka and I were really excited to draft him last year... then he proceeded to hit .241 and miss 60 games with injury. Well, guess who's leading the National League in OPS+ this season? Yes, the Baby Giraffe is locked in, and never more so than this past week, when he had 5 homers, 11 RBIs and a ridiculous 39 points as Matt's Geniuses edged my poor Fasanos. Bitter? You bet. Matt's offense got contributions from Kyle Schwarber (15.5), Travis Shaw (15) and Odubel Herrera (14.5), but Belt was driving the bus. On the other hand, Kurt Suzuki and Christian Villanueva each finished the week in negative numbers, and wunderkind Scott Kingery continued his struggles with a 0. On the hill, the SG pitchers went 4-0 and were somehow led by Junior Guerra's 19.3 points. Makes no sense, but it's all good. 

We've renamed Ketel Marte "Ketel One" because, well,
he scores one point every couple games.

2. Fasano Don't Dance (1333 points, 5-2, last week 2): Fasano pitchers notched a silly 50 strikeouts in the narrow loss to the Belts. Jack Flaherty put up 32.3 points in 2 starts, including a 13-strikeout gem on Sunday. Jacob deGrom and Nick Pivetta both put up 20+ in a single start, leaving nominal ace Stephen Strasburg's 7.7-point loss as the ugly duckling. Hey, find the strike zone and keep the ball in the park, Strasburg. The FDD offense was ok but not great, led as usual by Braves Ronald Acuna Jr. (16.5) and Nick Markakis (16). Jake Lamb came back from injury which should help the team's power numbers, unless he falls into the giant void that has swallowed up every Dback hitter not named Pollock. The Nats barely played during the week due to weather, leading to minimal contributions from Pedro Severino (3) and Matt Adams (3). At least Ketel Marte (3.5) finally got cut. Lesson learned: Mariners stench doesn't wash off easy.

3. Fresh Fish (1305 points, 3-4, last week 3): Did you know that having Max Scherzer really helps your pitching staff? It's true, I swear it. They don't call me the Harold Reynolds of FBLG blog analysis for nothing. Anyway, Der Scherzer had an 18-point no-decision and only barely got into third place on the Fish pitching rankings this week. Yu Darvish (25 in 2 starts) got his first win, Kenta Maeda (21) had a dominant win, and Patrick Corbin (16.3 in 2 starts) scored well despite going 0-1. That's a pretty nice rotation, Rick. Offensively, Andrew McCutchen (20.5) led the way, with teammate Buster Posey (18.5) and hated rival Matt Kemp (14.5) chipping in in the win against Project Mayhem. This despite having the bloated corpse of Ryan Zimmerman at first base all week. Hey, Ryan: thanks for being terrible again, even before you got injured. Ya turd.

When Mac Williamson has surgery,
that means they give Mac the knife, right?

4. Arbitration Losers (1289.3 points, 5-2, last week 5): Tim's Losers had a strong week in the win against the Rookies, but at some point the injuries have to catch up, right? Let's take a quick peek at Tim's DL... (faints dead away). The injured are: DJ LeMahieu, Hunter Pence, AJ Pollock, Corey Seager, Mac Williamson, Johnny Cueto and Adam Wainwright. That's a lot of really, really good players, and also Mac Williamson. At least Tim got Justin Turner back, and he came off the DL swinging like he was still facing the Cubs in the NLCS, with 16.5 points in a partial week. Matt Carpenter (23) finally showed signs of life, with 6 doubles during the week, and JT Realmuto (18) was good as usual. But Tim is leaning a lot of the likes of Freddy Galvis, Derek Dietrich, Kike Hernandez and Addison Russell. If he keeps his team in contention, he's got owner of the year honors wrapped up. AL's pitching was strong, led by Jon Lester (18) and Michael Wacha (17), although Julio Teheran put up 11 in 2 starts and Chris Stratton managed 15 points despite getting 2 wins. Now THAT is impressive.

When Ender Met the Wall: A Story in Two Pictures

5. BodySuit Man (1258.8 points, 3-4, last week 4): Great sign! Noah Syndergaard scored 33 points in 2 starts last week. Bad sign! Adam's whole pitching staff scored 33.7 points in all their appearances last week. Yes, Jon Gray (-0.3), Jake Arrieta (-1), Sean Doolittle (-3) and Freddy Peralta (5) were somewhere south of stellar as the Costanzas fell to the Bucs. Adam's offense was really good, putting up 92.5 points led by Jose Martinez's 27. Again with the bad news, though: many of them are now injured. Ryan Braun (big shocker there), Yoenis Cespedes (ditto) and Paul DeJong (ok that's actually a surprise) all went on the DL, and Ender Inciarte tried to run through the outfield wall unsuccessfully. The good news is that he avoided major injury and should be back quickly. Still, that's a lot of firepower now on the DL for an offense that may have to carry more than its weight if the pitching remains lame. Also: 7 errors, BodySuit Man? Maybe your mascot should be Jose Offerman.

6. The Misfits (1255.2 points, 5-2, last week 6): Reid keeps winning, this time taking down PYB in a low-scoring affair. Eric Hosmer (27.5) and Christian Yelich (21.5) were monsters at the plate, but everyone in the lineup scored at least 12 except the now-injured Howie Kendrick. The pitching wasn't great, with Tyson Ross (11) earning the team's only win of the week. Wade Davis bounced back with a couple saves, though, and the balanced offense was enough to win the week. Josh Harrison comes off the DL right as Kendrick goes on, so Reid's offense shouldn't lose a step.

7. Pitch You Blockhead (1216.8 points, 3-4, last week 7): There's an old saying in baseball: when Ian Desmond (20) is your offensive leader for a week, that means Ian Desmond is your offensive leader for a week. As a former (multi-year!) owner of Ian Desmond, I have a soft spot for the guy, but you absolutely don't want him as your leading scorer. Scott found that out in the loss to the Misfits, as Desmond, Charlie Blackmon (16.5) and Anthony Rizzo (16) weren't enough to overcome the rest of the offense and pitching being mediocre. Alex Wood (20 in 2 starts) finally got his first win of the year despite pitching well in nearly every start, and Mike Foltynewicz (15) had a strong no-decision. But Joey Lucchesi (4) was bad and then got hurt, and Miles Mikolas (4.7) finally pitched like a dude who's been out of the majors for 3 years.

(pushes glasses up nose) See, it's called the Pit of Sarlacc. You throw
your enemies in there to be slowly digested over a thousand years.

8. The Rookies (1194.2 points, 2-5, last week 8): Lather, rinse, repeat: Henry's Braves were very good this week, with Ozzie Albies (22.5) again leading the way. Freddie Freeman (16.5), non-Brave Scott Schebler (16.5) and fellow non-Brave Albert Almora Jr (15.5) were also good, as the offense scored an even 100 points in a loss to the Fish. But David Peralta (2) and Chris Owings (6) fell in the Dback Death Hole, which swallows hitters whole like the big pit in Return of the Jedi. The Rookies seem to have found a staff ace in Trevor Williams (25 in 2 starts), though, and Zack Greinke (10) pitched well in a no-decision. However, Jeff Samardzija continues to be hilariously awful, Gio Gonzalez was mediocre, and Felipe "Vazquez" had 2 saves but also a blown save/loss combo where the wheels fell completely off.

Just try to remember the good times, Marcell.

9. Project Mayhem (1170.7 points, 1-6, last week 9): Poor, poor Bill. His offense scored 143.5 points and he still couldn't get a win. Brandon Crawford - who is leading the league in hitting this month, because God is hilarious and baseball is stupid - put up 30, and Nolan Arenado, Josh Bell, Jonathan Villar and Tommy Pham had 20.5 each. That's amazing! The team had 54 hits, 34 runs, 26 RBIs, 21 walks... and still lost because the starting pitching was atrocious. Aaron Nola (5) got beaten in his only start, Tyler Mahle went 0-2 in a 2-start week, and Homer Bailey put up -1.3. Closer Jeurys Famila had a win, a save and 14 of the pitching staff's 21 points. So, since the pitching was bad. we'll blame another player who greatly disappointed me after drafting him for the loss - Marcell Ozuna. Oh, Marcell. Two years ago, you were trash. Last year, you were an MVP candidate. Guess which year we drafted you? Now Bill is getting the trash version who scored 5 points all week.

10. Clemente's Bucs (1153.8 points, 3-4, last week 10): Ray can't escape the cellar, but is nearly at .500 after catching some scheduling luck. His team was pretty good in week 7 and destroyed struggling BodySuit Man. CB's offense was strong, led by pretty boy Kris Bryant (24.5) and the less good-looking Cesar Hernandez (22). Imagine if Paul Goldschmidt (7.5) ever starts hitting like he always has? Jose Bautista (6.5) was a bust, waived by the Braves after just a dozen games. Bravo to the Braves for taking a chance, I guess, but did anyone expect a different outcome with an ancient Joey Bats playing third base? Jose Quintana (20.7 in 2 starts) was the only CB starter to do much last week, but closer Brad Hand had 3 saves and 16.7 points. This team needs Goldschmidt and Quintana to lead the way if they're going to get back into it.

The top three hitters so far this year are all Braves.

Hitting leaders after Week 7

1. Ozzie Albies (R) 161.5
2. Freddie Freeman (R) 155.5
3. Nick Markakis (FDD) 152
4. AJ Pollock (AL) 140
5. Bryce Harper (AL) 137

Pitching leaders after Week 7

1. Max Scherzer (FF) 188.7

2. Patrick Corbin (FF) 142.3
3. Jacob deGrom (FDD) 130.3
4. Stephen Strasburg (FDD) 130
5. Aaron Nola (PM) 128.7

Watches Max Scherzer pitch one time.

Week 7: Sunday Roundup

Jack Flaherty thumps manager Mike Matheny on the chest after being pulled from the game. Like all other Cardinals catchers, Matheny was subsequently placed on the disabled list. 

Felipe Vazquez asks his teammates if he should change
his name back to Rivero after Sunday's disaster.

STUDS: Jack Flaherty shut down the Phillies, striking out 13 and allowing 1 run in a 7.2-inning win. Brandon Belt (SG) hit a 3-run homer, singled and scored twice. Yu Darvish (FF) picked up his first (!) win of the year by striking out 7 and allowing 1 run in 6 innings. Noah Syndergaard (BM) fanned 7 and allowed 1 run in a 7-inning win. Alarmingly effective Miguel Rojas (CB) went 3 for 3 with 2 homers, 3 runs and 4 RBIs. He made an error too, but whatever.

DUDS: Felipe Vazquez (R) didn't retire a batter, allowed 4 runs — only 3 earned! — blew the save and took the loss. That's a rare minus-7 for a closer. Carlos Santana (FDD) went 0 for 2 with 2 walks and an error. He also missed a chord change during the second verse of "Black Magic Woman."