SBL Notebook, Week 14

One hallmark of a good SBL team is an attribute known on the pro tennis tour as Survive And Advance. That is, the ability to endure a bad patch and still maintain, or even improve, one’s station, in much the same way that, say, Roger Federer or Serena Williams manages to win on a day when he/she is far below his/her top level, and gets through to the next round at a Grand Slam. Week 14 was such a week for Paulo’s Zero’s. The American division leaders struggled all week, achieving major suckage with their second-worst ERA of the season (5.09) and offense that, right up until the figurative fantasy-league bottom of the ninth, had “0-6 collapse” written all over it. But, as good teams do, they found a way to win – in this case, three games, a .500 week that enabled them to not merely tread water and tear another week off the calendar, but to actually increase their lead over the faltering BGoff Bammers, whose second straight 0-6 misstep left them 11 games back at the All-Star break. The Zero’s rescued themselves with a big Sunday (four HRs, 14 RBIs) that dragged their offensive numbers northward to respectability, and with solid performance in some of the “fringe” categories that don’t necessarily draw the eye on a casual inspection of a box score – such as their seven saves, 1.00 K-ratio, .366 OBP and 34 TB. It didn’t add up to a monster week, just an OK one – which isn’t bad at all for a team in their lofty position. Much like a golfer with a comfortable lead in a major who’s just looking to make pars on the back nine on Sunday, walk to the tent, sign the scorecard and kiss the trophy (and the trophy wife), the Zero’s have more than a little wiggle room. Basic math suggests they probably won’t have to be great the rest of the way, just decent – they’re playing .667 ball now, and playing at a mere .560 clip over the last 12 weeks would get them to 100 wins. No one else in the AL is even halfway to 100, and only the Bammers, at 47-40, are even within one good week of the half-century plateau. It’s not over, of course – it’s baseball, anything can happen! – but the Zero’s are in an enviably comfortable position just now. . . . In other SBL news, offense is back! Whether this is a true reawakening after nearly two months of doldrums, or a one-off aberration fueled by an usually busy schedule, we shall see. But there was a perceptible uptick in the numbers this week. The most noticeable increase was in plate appearances – it was a week without any light-schedule days, with many real-ball teams playing seven games (even working on both Monday and Thursday!). And when PAs go up, other numbers can tend to follow. Witness Mikee’s Moaners, who dragged their sorry butts to the dish a league-high 271 times and, perhaps not coincidentally, came away with league highs in runs (43) and home runs (13) and second-best totals in RBIs (46) and OBP (.380). Also notably benefiting from the increased batter’s-box activity were Dan’s Cherry Valley Bombers (261 PA, 43 runs, 44 RBIs, 40 TB, 11 HR) and JP's Whiteskins (255 PA, 43 runs, 47 RBIs, 38 TB, .384 OBP). Those three teams combined to go 17-1; the Bombers' 6-0 performance added a smidgen of breathing space to their NL lead, now four games over the Whiteskins.