Week 15: Saturday's Roundup

Jake Lamb had 3 extra-base hits, and this is the only photo of him from Saturday's game. No wonder journalism is dead.

Studs: Jake Lamb (LY) tripled, doubled twice, drove in a run and scored. Adam Wainwright (LY) struck out 5 in shutting out the Marlins. Tanner Roark (LY) had an RBI single, earned the win and struck out 5 in 8 shutout innings. Jason Hammel (FF) struck out 7 and allowed 1 run in a 6-inning win. Jimmy Nelson (PYB) had a 2-run single, got the win and fanned 7 in 7 shutout innings. 

Duds: Santiago Casilla (R21) pitched to 4 batters, didn't retire any of them, allowed 2 runs, blew the save and took the loss. We call that a "Rosenthal." Asdrubal Cabrera (GH) and Josh Harrison (R21) each went 1 for 4 with an error. Yasiel Puig (PYB) went 0 for 5 and was caught stealing. 

Scores

Fresh Fish 64, Retire 21 32

The Lumbar Yard 70, Rookies 48

Misfits 56, Goldschmidt Happens 32

Pitch You Blockhead 95, Hundley Eyes 47

Arbitration Losers 72, Lawyers, Guns & Money 61

Week 15: Friday's Roundup

Stephen Strasburg shows solid form — and nice socks — while dropping down a squeeze bunt. 

Studs: Paul Goldschmidt (GH) homered, singled, drove in 3, scored twice and stole a base. Stephen Strasburg (R) scored, drove in a run, struck out 6 and allowed 1 run in an 8-inning win. He's now 13-0 this year. Anthony DeSclafani (PYB) singled and fanned 8 while allowing 3 runs in a 6-inning win. 

Duds: Jake Lamb (LY) did a lot of Jake Lamb things: he singled twice and drove in a run, but he also made a pair of errors. Speaking of third basemen who like to kick the ball around, Eugenio Suarez (R) went 0 for 3 with an error. Buster Posey (LGM) went 0 for 4 with an error. Seung-Hwan Oh (HE) struck out 2 in his 1 inning of work, but he allowed a run and took the loss. 

Scores

Fresh Fish 32, Retire 21 17

Rookies 31, The Lumbar Yard 11

Misfits 27, Goldschmidt Happens 25

Pitch You Blockhead 49, Hundley Eyes 24

Arbitration Losers 44, Lawyers, Guns & Money 41

Week 15 Transactions and Lineups

Mike Fulty... Faulty... Foltynewicz has found an FBLG home.

Players acquired

• The Lumbar Yard steal 3B Jake Lamb (July move #1) from Misfits.
• Goldschmidt Happens steal OF Trayce Thompson (July move #1) from The Lumbar Yard.
• Misfits sign SP Mike Foltynewicz (July move #1).
• Arbitration Losers sign 3B Jose Reyes (July move #2).
• Retire 21 sign OF Denard Span (July move #3).

Players released

• SP Julio Urias
• OF Ryan Raburn
• C Nick Hundley
• SP Shelby Miller
• OF Brandon Nimmo

Players unprotected/available to be stolen

• none on Fresh Fish
• 3B Aaron Hill (Rookies) 
• none on The Lumbar Yard
• 2B Cesar Hernandez (Goldschmidt Happens)
• 2B Kelby Tomlinson (Misfits)
• SP Aaron Nola (LG&M)
• none on PYB
• none on Arbitration Losers
• RP Trevor Rosenthal (Hundley Eyes)
• RP Fernando Rodney (Retire 21)

Please email the commish by first pitch Saturday to change your unprotected player.

• C Travis d'Arnaud (R21) and SS Trea Turner (FF) are also available to be stolen after spending four weeks on the bench.

Lineup changes

• Fresh Fish: None.
• Rookies: None.
• The Lumbar Yard: Bench 3B Jung-Ho Kang and SP Tyler Chatwood; move Hyun-Jin Ryu from DL to bench; activate 3B Jake Lamb and SP Robbie Ray.
• Goldschmidt Happens: Activate SP Gerrit Cole (from DL) and OF Trayce Thompson.
• Misfits: Bench C Derek Norris; place SP Matt Harvey on DL; activate C Yasmani Grandal and SP Mike Foltynewicz.
• Lawyers, Guns & Money: Bench SS Danny Espinosa, OF Odubel Herrera and SP Carlos Martinez; place 1B Ryan Zimmerman on DL; activate 1B Justin Bour, SS Addison Russell, OF Giancarlo Stanton and SP Adam Conley.
• Pitch You Blockhead: Bench SP Colin Rea; activate SP Jimmy Nelson.
• Arbitration Losers: Bench 3B Conor Gillaspie and SP Gio Gonzalez; activate 3B Jose Reyes and SP Matt Garza.
• Hundley Eyes: Bench SP Noah Syndergaard and SP Jose Fernandez; activate SP Jon Gray and SP Patrick Corbin.
• Retire 21: Bench SP Steven Matz and SP Mike Leake; activate OF Denard Span, SP Brandon McCarthy and SP Francisco Liriano.

Week 14: The Check Swing

Yangervis Solarte is a good hitter, a versatile defender and a bit of an acrobat. 

For the first time this season, there was no movement in the rankings. On the other hand, the standings became even more of a jumbled mess with most of the teams at the bottom picking up wins. And look who's all alone in first place at 9-5: The Lumbar Yard.

1. Fresh Fish (2,550 points, 8-6, last week 1): The all-star break came at the right time for the Fish, who are suddenly riddled with injuries. Matt Holliday and Yoenis Cespedes went down this week, and Clayton Kershaw is still on the shelf. On the bright side, Hunter Pence might be back soon. 

2. Hundley Eyes (2,505 points, 7-7, last week 2): Another week, another pathetic display from a HE first baseman. Thanks for the effort, James Loney (5). Noah Syndergaard's injury is a concern, too. At least Maikel Franco (31) erupted, but the Phillies can't always play at Coors Field. 

3. Lawyers, Guns & Money (2,487 points, 8-6, last week 3): In a classic case of overmanaging, Matt cost himself a win by benching Giancarlo Stanton and Addison Russell in favor of Odubel Herrera (11) and Danny Espinosa (7). Also, injury replacement Ryan Zimmerman quickly got hurt himself. 

4. Arbitration Losers (2,465 points, 6-8, last week 4): Madison Bumgarner (40) did his best for the Losers, but it wasn't enough in a 32-point loss to the Yard. Ryan Braun (1) and Conor Gillaspie (0) hindered the cause to the best of their abilities. 

5. Pitch You Blockhead (2,462 points, 7-7, last week 5): The PYB infield did the heavy lifting in a win against the points-leading Fish: Wil Myers (22), Jean Segura (20), Zack Cozart (24) and Nolan Arenado (21). Even outfielder Angel Pagan posted a 21. 

Conor Gillaspie, our Dud of the Week, didn't
want his face to be shown on this blog.

6. Retire 21 (2,426 points, 7-7, last week 6): Clemente's Kids got big performances from top two picks Kris Bryant (26) and Andrew McCutchen (23) to take down LGM. However, Matt Carpenter (3) went on the DL, and replacement Brandon Nimmo (1) didn't do much. 

7. The Lumbar Yard (2,423 points, 9-5, last week 7): Everyone except Jeremy Hellickson (8) scored in double figures for the Yard in a huge victory. Daniel Murphy (28) and Anthony Rizzo (27) did plenty of damage, and Melvin Upton Jr. (22) continued his resurgence. 

8. Rookies (2,384 points, 6-8, last week 8): The Rookies got 3 points from Jake Arrieta and still approached 200 points for the week. Jake Peavy (23) and Stephen Strasburg picked up the slack in the rotation, and Matt Kemp (20) started strong before closing the week with 3 zeroes. 

9. Misfits (2,351 points, 7-7, last week 9): Scott Kazmir (5), Matt Harvey (2) and Jon Lester (1) folded in the Misfits' loss to the Rookies. Harvey and Gregory Polanco (8) got hurt, but at least Polanco appears to be on track to return after the break. 

10. Goldschmidt Happens (2,188 points, 5-9, last week 10): Bill's bunch came alive to knock the mouthy commissioners down a peg. Yangervis Solarte (28) and Junior Guerra (27) were the top scorers for GH, which also got 21 points from its namesake. 

Week 14: Sunday's Roundup

Madison Bumgarner throws a pitch to ... aw, who cares? It certainly didn't matter on Sunday.

Studs: Madison Bumgarner (AL) almost threw a no-hitter but had to settle for a 1-hit shutout with 14 strikeouts. Poor guy. Kenta Maeda (HE) fanned 13 and allowed 1 run in a 7-inning win. Even more surprising than that strikeout total was Mike Leake (R21) striking out 10 and allowing 1 run in a 7-inning win. Maikel Franco (HE) hit a 3-run homer, singled twice and scored 3 runs. Cameron Rupp (R) went 4 for 5 with a homer and 4 RBIs. 

Duds: Billy Hamilton (HE) went 1 for 4 with an error. Odubel Herrera (LGM) singled and scored, but he was caught stealing and committed an error. 

Scores

Retire 21 191, Lawyers, Guns & Money 174

The Lumbar Yard 226, Arbitration Losers 194

Rookies 192, Misfits 169

Goldschmidt Happens 191, Hundley Eyes 179

Pitch You Blockhead 208, Fresh Fish 173

Week 14: Saturday's Roundup

Anthony Rizzo showed off his blazing speed in Pittsburgh on Saturday. 

Studs: Max Scherzer (M) scored and allowed an unearned run while striking out 9 in a 7-inning win. Carlos Martinez (LGM) allowed 1 run and struck out 11 in a 5-inning win. Anthony Rizzo (LY) went 4 for 5 with a triple, 2 doubles, an RBI and a run. Daniel Murphy (LY) was a triple short of a cycle and drove in 4. 

Dud: Jerad Eickhoff (HE) allowed 8 runs — including a 2-run homer by a pitcher — and fanned 3 in a 5.1-inning loss. 

Transaction: PYB released RP Brad Ziegler after his trade to Boston and sign Jeanmar Gomez. 

Scores

Retire 21 147, Lawyers, Guns & Money 146

The Lumbar Yard 204, Arbitration Losers 129

Rookies 162, Misfits 149

Goldschmidt Happens 177, Hundley Eyes 135

Pitch You Blockhead 200, Fresh Fish 149

Week 14: Friday's Roundup

Yasmani Grandal (3 homers, 2B, bunt 1B, 6 RBIs) had an 18-point day on the Misfits' bench. Ouch. 

Studs: Melvin Upton Jr. (LY) pummeled LA pitching, going 4 for 5 with 2 homers, 3 RBIs, 3 runs and a steal. Stephen Strasburg (R) improved to 12-0 by striking out 9 and allowing 1 run in 7 innings. Jose Fernandez (HE) allowed an unearned run and fanned 8 in a 7-inning win. Chris Carter (R) hit a pair of solo homers. Jeff Samardzija (PYB) doubled, scored, got the win, struck out 6 and allowed 2 runs in 6.1 innings. Brandon Crawford (AL) had a 2-run homer, a double and an RBI single. 

Duds: All the guys who got hurt Friday. Let's see if we can name them all: Billy Hamilton, Brandon Phillips, Gregory Polanco, Matt Holliday, Michael Wacha, Trevor Rosenthal, Noah Syndergaard and Yoenis Cespedes. Not to mention the AL guys who got hurt (Byron Buxton, C.J. Cron, Mark Teixeira and Brock Holt). What a strange day. 

Scores

Lawyers, Guns & Money 115, Retire 21 115

The Lumbar Yard 163, Arbitration Losers 108

Rookies 145, Misfits 105

Goldschmidt Happens 159, Hundley Eyes 124

Pitch You Blockhead 185, Fresh Fish 131

Week 14: Thursday's Roundup

Who likes facing crappy left-handed pitching? Trevor Story does!

Studs: Drew Pomeranz (R21) tossed 7 shutout innings, striking out 6 for the win and adding an RBI single. Nick Markakis (R21) hit 2 - yes, TWO - home runs to bring his season total to 4. That's 7 homers in the last 2 years in nearly 1,000 at-bats. Trevor Story (HE) also (but much more predictably) hit 2 homers, driving in 4 and scoring 3 runs. Adam Wainwright (LY) struck out 9 and allowed 1 run in a 7-inning win. Daniel Murphy (LY) homered and drove in 3 runs. He is slugging a ridiculous .580 this year, 140 points over his career mark. We don't want to imply he's been hanging out with Ryan Braun or anything, but...

Duds: Corey Seager (LY) went 0-fer with an error, ending his hitting streak at 19 games.

Transaction: Retire 21 place 3B Matt Carpenter on the DL, move Kris Bryant from OF to 3B and sign OF Brandon Nimmo.

Scores

Lawyers, Guns & Money 96, Retire 21 96

The Lumbar Yard 144, Arbitration Losers 89

Rookies 95, Misfits 87

Goldschmidt Happens 102, Hundley Eyes 90
Pitch You Blockhead 147, Fresh Fish 110

Week 14: Wednesday's Roundup

Don't you just hate when you bench a guy and he goes and homers in 4 consecutive at-bats?

Studs: Johnny Cueto (FF) singled and allowed 1 run while striking out 8 in a complete-game win against the Rockies. Yangervis Solarte (GH) was a triple short of a cycle, scored twice and drove in 5. Brandon Belt (M) tripled, doubled, scored twice and drove in a run. Jacob deGrom (PYB) scored a run and fanned 7 while allowing 2 runs in a 7-inning win. Wil Myers (PYB) is a Stud again. Imagine that. He stole a base, singled twice, scored 3 runs and had an RBI double. 

Duds: Jay Bruce (AL) walked and was caught stealing. Daniel Murphy (LY) went 0 for 4 with an error.

Transaction: Lawyers, Guns & Money place 1B Justin Bour on the DL, sign 1B Ryan Zimmerman.

Scores

Lawyers, Guns & Money 85, Retire 21 62

The Lumbar Yard 93, Arbitration Losers 75

Rookies 92, Misfits 66

Goldschmidt Happens 85, Hundley Eyes 62
Pitch You Blockhead 137, Fresh Fish 87

Week 14: Tuesday's Roundup

Say hi to Wil Myers, FBLG's leading scorer among hitters and also a guy who could tell you where the good waves are.

Studs: Pitch You Blockhead's infield owned the day Tuesday. Wil Myers tripled, singled 3 times and scored twice. Jean Segura tripled, singled twice and scored 3 runs. Zack Cozart doubled, homered and scored twice. And Nolan Arenado hit a 3-run go-ahead homer. That's 32 points for PYB's infield.
Billy Hamilton (HE) - yes, Billy Hamilton! - singled, doubled, scored twice and stole 3 bases.

Duds: Matt Carpenter (R21) - who seems to be either a Stud or a Dud nearly every day - dudded his way onto the list by going 0-for-5 with 2 strikeouts and his 10th error. Gregory Polanco (Misfits) also went 0-for-5 with an error.

Transactions: Misfits place OF Brandon Moss on DL and activate OF Randal Grichuk. Arbitration Losers place SP Jameson Taillon on DL and activate SP Bud Norris, while also activating RP Jonathan Papelbon from the DL and benching RP Shawn Kelley. Misfits activate SP Stephen Strasburg from DL, bench SP Jaime Garcia and cut C Tony Wolters.

Scores

Lawyers, Guns & Money 63, Retire 21 54

Arbitration Losers 51, The Lumbar Yard 45

Rookies 68, Misfits 43

Goldschmidt Happens 61, Hundley Eyes 49

Pitch You Blockhead 84, Fresh Fish 43