SBL Notebook, Week 25

Congratulations, first of all, to Paulo’s Zero’s, who clinched the American division pennant with a 5-2 Week 25 performance that catapulted them over the 100-victory plateau -- the first and, as it turns out, the only SBL team that will break through that magical threshold this year. It is the second division title for this perennially competitive but ultimately hard-luck charter franchise, and, though the team's ownership no doubt would insist otherwise, it was a steady and not particularly nerve-racking march to the championship. The Z's have been the best team in ball for most of the season; they acquired first place in Week 11 and never gave it up . . . and in fact were never seriously threatened. From Week 13 on they never led by fewer than six games (and it got that close for only one week), and from mid-August on their lead never shrank below nine games. Not a cakewalk, exactly, but not quite 1978 Red Sox-Yankees-Bucky-Effing-Dent, either. So, a respectful tip o' the SBL cap to the Zero's, and let's move on to more pressing matters -- namely, the wild-card races, which this week underwent upheaval on the order of a Samoan tsunami. Andy's Badgers, riding the crest of a 17-2 three-week surge, went 7-0, and this coincided with an 0-7 face-plant by the BGoff Bammers to produce . . . that's right, Einstein breath, a seven-game swing that deposited the Badgers in second place and dropped the Bammers to third, three games out of the AL's No. 2 playoff slot with six to play. A similarly breathtaking reversal occurred in the National division, where Vic's Godfathers, culminating a long, steady climb, jumped from third place to second and all but clinched the NL wild-card spot in the bargain, the 6-1 swath they cut through the division combining with an 0-7 plunge by JP's Whiteskins to leave the G-Daddies with a five-game bulge. The 'Skins had been ensconced in second place since Week 9 (can that be right?), but they'd also been ripe for a fall, having posted only one winning record since Week 16, and this week it finally happened. . . . The week itself saw a major (by 2009 standards) revival of offense, after the near-microscopic numbers of Week 24. Five teams reached double figures in homers (that'd be five more than last week); another five had at least eight. Five teams had at least 40 RBIs (last week the league HIGH was 32), five also attained that benchmark in runs, and OBPs kinda went through the roof, with half the league getting into at least the .380s and two teams topping .400. Apparently most of this damage was done at the expense of two SBL pitching staffs in particular, those of Mikee's Moaners and the Patton Inmates, who sported morbidly obese ERAs of 7.63 and 7.18, respectively. The Ms did pop out a league-high 52 RBIs, but it was a pyrrhic victory in an otherwise mundane 3-4 week. The other statistical theme of the week: Strikeouts. Apparently SBL hitters were swinging for the fences and either hitting the ball a long way or missing it entirely, with the latter scenario playing out often enough for seven teams to post K-ratios of 1.00 or better, led by the 1.17 recorded by Dennis' Power-Armed Pontiffs.

Week 25 standings

AMERICAN
Team, LW........W....L....PCT....GB
Paul (5-2)........103...53....660...--
Andy (7-0)........92...64....583...11
Brian (0-7)........89...67....571...14
Mike (3-4)........84...72....538...19
Dennis (3-4)......82...74....526...21
David (3-4).......78...78....500...25
NATIONAL
Team, LW........W....L....PCT....GB
Dan (5-2).........88...68....564...--
Vic (6-1)..........73...83....468...15
JP (0-7)...........68...88....436...20
Gregg (2-5).......63...93....404...25
Damian (2-5).....60...96....385...28
Derek (6-1).......55..101....353...33

SBL Notebook, Week 24

Congrats, of a somewhat muted variety, are due Dan’s Cherry Valley Bombers, who wrapped up the National division pennant this week, albeit in unceremonious fashion. The CVBs did not exactly storm the gates in securing their second NL flag in the last three years (and third in the last five, and fourth in the last seven); in fact they turned in their puniest offensive performance of the year and lurched into the postseason on the vapors of a 1-5 week. But second-place JP’s Whiteskins could do no better than 2-4, leaving them 15 games behind with 13 to play, so that’s that, and the Bombers can start resting up for the playoffs. Who the NL’s other postseason representative will be remains very much up in the air, with the ’Skins now only one game ahead of third-place Vic’s Godfathers heading into the last two weeks. There was also a slight tightening sensation in the American division races, with the BGoff Bammers now within nine games of the pacesetting Paulo’s Zero’s – after the Z’s stumbled to a 1-5 week, their first losing ledger in nearly two months – but only four games ahead of the onrushing Andy’s Badgers, who put a serious whupping on everyone in their path in a 6-0 week that featured victories by scores of 11-0, 10-1, 10-1, 9-2, 9-2 and 8.5-2.5. The Badgers, who rolled up 42 runs, 42 TBs and a .415 OBP, were the glaring exception during a week in which offense, in general, made a giant sucking sound as it imploded and collapsed in on itself like a white dwarf (that’s a dying star, not a Caucasian little person). There were no double-figure home-run totals, and the league high in RBIs was . . . 32? True story. Two teams, the Bombers and Bristow’s Batfaced Barristers, couldn’t even make it to 20 ribbies. And other than the Badgers, no one had more than 33 runs or 34 TBs. The late-season blahs seem to have hit baseball and, by extension, the SBL.

Week 24 standings

AMERICAN
Team, LW........W....L....PCT....GB
Paul (1-5).........98...51....658...--
Brian (5-1)........89...60....597....9
Andy (6-0)........85...64....570...13
Mike (1-5)........81...68....544...17
Dennis (2-4)......79...70....530...19
David (4-2).......75...74....503...23
NATIONAL
Team, LW........W....L....PCT....GB
Dan (1-5).........83...66....557...--
JP (2-4)...........68...81....456...15
Vic (3-3)..........67...82....450...16
Gregg (1-5).......61...88....409...22
Damian (6-0).....58...91....389...25
Derek (4-2).......49..100....329...34

Free agent draft No. 12

Pre-draft moves:
Damian: activates Matsuzaka, drops Volstad
Paul: drops Liriano and R.Johnson

1. Derek: C Moore, drop Johnson
2. Damian: passes
3. Gregg: 1B Overbay, drops Pena
4. Vic: RP F.Morales, drops Ryan
5. JP: 1B Murphy, drops Morneau
6. David: RP Madson, drops Sosa
7. Dennis: OF Stubbs, drops Cubbyer
8. Andy: 1B LaPorta, drops Thome
9. Mike: OF DeJesus, drops Soriano
10. Dan: 2B Kendrick, drop Teahen; activate Zito, zambrano down
11. Brian: SS A.Escobar, drop Lugo
12: Paul: OF Podsednik, drop Guillen

Badgers make deal with Whiteskins

Andy's Badgers and J.P.'s Whiteskins completed the following four-player trade on Monday, Sept. 21:

To Badgers: C Matt Wieters and 1B Jim Thome

To Whiteskins: C Jeff Baker and 1B Paul Konerko

Whiteskins seek 1B, any 1B

J.P. Hoornstra, owner of the Whiteskins, is in dire need of obtaining a first baseman. His e-mail:

"If the Jim Thome trade was the SBL equivalent of an ingrown toenail,
the season-ending injury to Justin Morneau was a veritable root canal. So yeah, I don't have a first baseman. Peruse my roster and propose a trade. No one's untouchable (though you might not want to touch Michael Young, he could miss the rest of the season)."

We'll see if the Whiteskins, currently holding on to 2nd place in the National Division, can bouy their playoff hopes by making a deal.

SBL Notebook, Week 23

Close action was the order of the day, or week, with several Week 23 games decided by the narrowest of statistical margins, others by the narrowest of scores. Five games went to tiebreakers, involving seven teams. There were nine 6-5 scores and six 6.5-4.5 results, and let’s see, that makes 20 games, out of 36, that we’d describe as coulda-gone-either-way close. What isn’t close – not even – is the competition in the two division races, which are basically done deals at this point. Paulo’s Zero’s went 6-0 to improve the best record in ball to 97-46 and their American division lead to 12 games over the BGoff Bammers, with 19 to play. Dan’s Cherry Valley Bombers actually lost a game off their NL lead but are still up by 16, meaning their coronation probably will be delayed by only one more week. NL runners-up JP’s Whiteskins managed to stave off elimination with a 4-2 week, but with the division flag well out of reach, they need to be more concerned with the rearguard action being mounted by Vic’s Godfathers, whose 5-1 performance pulled them within two games of the NL wild-card spot. The No. 2 spot in the AL also remains in play, with Mikee’s Moaners, Andy’s Badgers and Dennis’ Periodically Productive Pontiffs bunched up five, seven and eight games behind the Bammers, respectively. . . . Amid all these close games, the week’s Skin Of The Teeth award would go to the Zero’s, who avoided a tiebreaker with the Badgers by dint of an ultra-slim .8399-to-.8391 edge in K-ratio. But the week’s Hard Luck award goes not to the Badgers, who still went 4-2, but to the CV Bombers, whose 3-3 ledger featured two tiebreaker losses and a 6-5 defeat.

Week 23 standings

AMERICAN
Team, LW........W....L....PCT....GB
Paul (6-0).........97...46....678...--
Brian (5-1)........85...58....594...12
Mike (3-3)........80...63....559...17
Andy (4-2)........78...65....545...19
Dennis (0-6)......77...66....538...20
David (2-4).......71...72....497...26
NATIONAL
Team, LW........W....L....PCT....GB
Dan (3-3).........82...61....573...--
JP (4-2)...........66...77....462...16
Vic (5-1)..........64...79....448...18
Gregg (1-5).......60...83....420...22
Damian (2-4).....52...91....364...30
Derek (1-5).......45...98....315...37

Zero's, DamU execute trade

Paulo’s Zero’s and DamianUnited completed the following four-player trade, on Monday, Sept. 14:

To DamU: OF Nick Markakis and 3B Hank Blalock

To Zero's: OF Jose Guillen and 3B Casey McGehee

SBL Notebook, Week 22

Oh, it is so on in the American division. We’re talking not so much about the pennant race, where Paulo’s Zero’s enjoy a commanding 11-game lead with 25 to play, but in terms of day-to-day, week-to-week competition. If you snooze -- for a day, for a single outing by a starting pitcher, even for a few at-bats – you may well lose in this fiercely, intensely, insanely competitive division, which we are hereby nominating as the strongest, top-to-bottom, in SBL history. Here we are, four weeks from the end of the season, and every team in the AL has a winning record. Every. Single. Team. Because the skimpy SBL archives lack a record of every week’s standings in the league’s 27-year history, we have no way of knowing whether this is an unprecedented occurrence, but we’re strongly guessing that it is the first time all six teams in a division have been over .500 this late in the season. Anyway, this much we know for certain: Every team is good, in varying degrees – even the last-place Bristow’s Bat-Faced Barristers, who have been scorching hot for the last month-and-a-half, with the exception of one bad week. We understand, intellectually, that this can’t be true, but doesn’t it at least seem like about 90 percent of the best players in the majors, or at least those having the best years, belong to American division teams? Any AL team can beat any other in the league at any time, and when an AL team meets up with an NL opponent, it seems to win almost every time. That was never truer than in the most recent interleague period, when the Americans rolled up a 109-35 win-loss record, and it was certainly true again this week, when the AL won 11 of 12 interleague tilts, most by one-sided scores, the only exception being a 6-5 squeaker pulled out by Dan’s Cherry Valley Bombers over Andy’s Badgers. That W, coupled with a sweep of their intra-division games, resulted in a 6-1 week that virtually wrapped up the NL pennant for the CVBs, whose lead ballooned to 17 games over JP’s Whiteskins. With both division leaders so far ahead, the real action continues to be found in the wild-card races – three teams (second place through fourth) separated by three games in each division. The Whiteskins’ prolonged struggles have allowed Vic’s Godfathers and the injury-ravaged Patton Inmates to creep to within three games of second place in the NL, despite their rather pungent 59-78 records. The Badgers’ 1-6 hiccup this week dropped them from third to fifth place, though they’re still in the wild-card hunt, six games behind the second-place BGoff Bammers. . . . And so we lurch into the season’s final stages, and into another week of nerve-wracking, cutthroat competition in the AL, where every team owner usually reaps something enjoyable from his daily inspection of box scores, but also wonders, quietly and apprehensively: Will it be enough?

Week 22 standings

AMERICAN
Team, LW........W....L....PCT....GB
Paul (5-2).........91...46....664...--
Brian (3-4)........80...57....584...11
Dennis (7-0)......77...60....562...14
Mike (4-3)........77...60....562...14
Andy (1-6)........74...63....540...17
David (6-1).......69...68....504...22
NATIONAL
Team, LW........W....L....PCT....GB
Dan (6-1).........79...58....577...--
JP (1-6)...........62...75....453...17
Vic (4-3)..........59...78....431...20
Gregg (3-4).......59...78....431...20
Damian (2-5).....50...87....365...29
Derek (0-7).......44...03....321...35

Free agent draft No. 11

Pre-draft DL move:
Dennis: Activates OF JUpton, OF NMorgan to DL

1. Derek: takes SP Pedro Martinez, JSantana to DL
2. Damian: takes 3B McGehee, drops Glaus
3. Vic: takes OF Pagan, drops Duncan
4. Gregg: takes OF S.Smith, drops Sizemore; taxi: Feldman up, Richmond down
5. JP: No pick; activates Cueto from DL, drops Holland
6. David: Passes
7. Derek (from Dennis): takes OF Diaz, drops Rasmus
8. Mike: takes 1B Cantu, Branyan to DL
9. Dan: takes SP Zito, drops Norris
10. Andy: takes RP Gutierrez, Qualls to DL
11. BGoff: takes RP NFeliz, drops Zumaya
12. Paul: takes OF Coghlan, drops Sheffield

SBL Notebook, Week 21

The return to intra-divisional play did not yield quite the cutthroat competition that was expected, particularly in the red-hot American division. Instead, everyone seemed to take a moment to catch their breath after four weeks of frenzied interleague play – hitting numbers shriveled, ERAs rose, and numbers that were merely decent translated to great success in the W-L column. Andy’s Badgers were good in only two of six offensive stats (HRs and RBIs), but went 6-0 on the strength of quality pitching. The Patton Inmates were almost perfectly middle-of-the-road in most o-stats (36 runs, 33 RBIs, 34 TB, 8 HR) and posted an unsightly 4.78 ERA, but that didn’t keep them from going 6-0 too. Dan’s Cherry Valley Bombers also overcame some pretty execrable pitching (4.67 ERA, 1.52 BR) to go 5-1 (14 HRs and 49 ribbies didn’t hurt); the BGoff Bammers posted the same record despite not doing all that much on offense (13 HRs and 39 runs, yes, but also 31 RBIs, 22 TB and a .310 OBP). What this all meant in the standings was . . . not a whole lot in the AL, where the Bammers gained one game on Paulo’s Zero’s but still trail by nine. It’s another four games back to the Badgers and the fading Mikee’s Moaners. But the Bombers busted things open a bit in the NL, where they remain the only winning team and now are 12 games ahead of the slip-sliding JP’s Whiteskins. In fact, don’t look now, but the defending division champion Inmates, scuffling along at 18 games under .500, are only five games out of the wild-card playoff spot. The five worst records in ball belong to NL teams.

Week 21 standings

AMERICAN
Team, LW........W....L....PCT....GB
Paul (4-2).........86...44....662...--
Brian (5-1)........77...53....592....9
Andy (6-0)........73...57....562...13
Mike (1-5)........73...57....562...13
Dennis (2-4)......70...60....538...16
David (1-5).......63...67....485...23
NATIONAL
Team, LW........W....L....PCT....GB
Dan (5-1).........73...57....562...--
JP (1-5)...........61...69....469...12
Gregg (6-0).......56...74....431...17
Vic (0-6)..........55...75....423...18
Damian (2-4).....48...82....369...25
Derek (3-3).......44...86....338...29

2009 SBL Rosters (Updated)

Here's an updated version of the rosters for each SBL team, thanks (once again) to commissioner Mike Davis and his roster monkey, Derek Rich.

MIKE
C: Napoli (118), YMolina (261)
1B: Ortiz (27), Branyan (S)
2B: Schumaker (287), Ellis (S)
SS: Zobrist (S), Andrus (T)
3B: Reynolds (183), An.LaRoche (S)
OF: ASoriano (14), Ludwick (40), Span (196), R.Davis (S), Granderson, (T), Wells (T)
SP: Harden (79), Lester (144), UJimenez (T), JShields (T), Happ (S)
Taxi: Lohse (24), Buehrle (S)
RP: Soria (66), FCordero (92), Rodney (222), MacDougal (S)

DAMIAN
C: VMartinez (106), Barajas (288)
1B: Berkman (15), Huff (133)
2B: KJohnson (171), Kennedy (S)
SS: Furcal (54), OCabrera (210)
3B: DWright (2), Glaus (197)
OF: Quentin (41), Hunter (119), Hawpe (158), Ethier (T), G.Jones (S), JGuillen (249)
SP: Lincecum (28), ClLee (93), Saunders (236), Nolasco (S), Marquis (S)
Taxi: Kazmir (146), Volstad (T)
RP: FRodriguez (67), Fuentes (80), Wheeler (T), Johnson (S)
DL: SP Matsuzaka (146)

GREGG
C: BMolina (159), Montero (S)
1B: CPena (94), Helton (237)
2B: Uggla (29), Callaspo (S)
SS: AlRamirez (68), YBetancourt (276)
3B: Figgins (120), DeRosa (185)
OF: Sizemore (3), Hamilton (16), BUpton (42), Choo (224), Fukudome (290), Reimold (S)
SP: Price (107), Cain (121), Kershaw (172), Scherzer (211), Richmond (S)
Taxi: Kawakami (3), Feldman (S)
RP: Lidge (55), Jenks (81), Capps (134), Marmol (147)

PAUL
C: Ianetta (109), KSuzuki (264)
1B: Pujols (4), Loney (S)
2B: Hudson (225), Castillo (S)
SS: Renteria (212), HaRamirez (T)
3B: Kouzmanoff (199), Blalock (251)
OF: Markakis (17), Ordonez (56), Cameron (278), Lind (291), Byrd (S), Sheffield (S)
SP: FHernandez (95), Gallardo (135), Kuroda (265), JerWeaver (4 taxi), Pettitte (S)
Taxi: Gaudin (S), Hughes (S)
RP: Papelbon (30) MRivera (69), Street (122), Bell (148)
DL: SP RJohnson (186), SP Liriano (82)

DEREK
C: McCann (57), R.Johnson (S)
1B: Howard (5), Votto (70)
2B: Pedroia (18), Barmes (213)
SS: Hardy (96), Guzman (S)
3B: Lowell (187), Stewart (S)
OF: Rios (44), Burrell (110), Werth (161), Griffey (239), Willingham (S), Rasmus (S)
SP: JSantana (31), Chamberlain (83), Danks (149), Jurrjens (174), Washburn (S)
Taxi: Meche (5), Blackburn (S)
RP: Downs (200), Kuo (266), Hawkins (S), Sherrill (T)
DL: OF Bruce (136)

DENNIS
C: Doumit (111), Pierzynski (T)
1B: Fielder (32), Butler (S)
2B: Cano (84), FSanchez (227)
SS: JReyes (6), Theriot (188)
3B: RZimmerman (124), Crede (240)
OF: Holliday (19), Ellsbury (58), Cuddyer (S), Morgan (S), HMatsui (S), CGuillen (S)
SP: Halladay (45), Haren (71), Wainwright (137), DeLaRosa (S), Floyd (6 taxi)
Taxi: Glavine (19), RHill (T)
RP: Saito (280), CWilson (S), Valverde (T), Frasor (T)
DL: 1B Delgado (98),OF JUpton (162)

BRIAN
C: IRodriguez (242), Bard (S)
1B: CDavis (46; S), LaRoche (S)
2B: JLopez (86), FLopez (229)
SS: Scutaro (T), Lugo (S)
3B: Longoria (20), Rolen (294)
OF: Braun (7), Bay (33), Dye (112), Damon (151), Francoeur (215), Spilborghs (268)
SP: Hamels (72), Beckett (72), Carpenter (138) JJohnson (163), WRodriguez (228)
Taxi: Millwood (S), CYoung (T)
RP: Broxton (99), MGonzalez (125), Putz (202), Zumaya (S)

DAVID
C: Mauer (100), Jaramillo (S)
1B: MiCabrera (8), NJohnson (S)
2B: BRoberts (47), Getz (295)
SS: Jeter (87), Bartlett (256)
3B: Mora (190), Beckham (S)
OF: CaLee (21), Guerrero (60), Pence (126), Winn (217), CRoss (S), Gutierrez (S)
SP: Sabathia (34), SBaker (139), Wolf (17 taxi), Verlander (T), Nippert (S)
Taxi: Lowe (164), Hochevar (S)
RP: FFrancisco (152), Franklin (S), Bailey (S), Sosa (T)

ANDY
C: Soto (62), Baker (S)
1B: Teixeira (9), Konerko (205)
2B: Polanco (178), AHill (S)
SS: SDrew (49), Tulowitzki (S)
3B: CJones (48), Sandoval (88)
OF: Beltran (22), ISuzuki (35), Ibanez (101), AdJones (218), Cust (T), McCutchen (S)
SP: Greinke (114), Burnett (165), Hanson (T), Smoltz (S), Anderson (9 taxi)
Taxi: Romero (S), Porcello (191)
RP: BWilson (75), Qualls (140), Aardsma (T), Meredith (S)
DL: C Flores (270)

JP
C: Martin (37), Wieters (193)
1B: Morneau (23), Thome (166)
2B: Utley (10), AsCabrera (S)
SS: YEscobar (128), Aybar (S)
3B: MYoung (63), Blake (284)
OF: Abreu (50), Victorino (76), Kubel (245), JDrew (271), Bourn (S), Scott (S)
SP: ESantana (192), Garza (219), EJackson (S), Maholm (15 taxi), RWells (S)
Taxi: Latos (S), Holland (S)
RP: Nathan (36), Gregg (89), Ziegler (141), Lindstrom (154)
DL: SP Cueto (10 taxi), SP Bergesen (S)

VIC
C: Navarro (272), Ruiz (S)
1B: AdGonzalez (77), DLee (129)
2B: BPhillips (51) KMatsui (233)
SS: Rollins (11), Greene (259)
3B: ARodriguez (24), Inge (S)
OF: Kemp (25), Crawford (38), Hart (90), Ankiel (207), JRivera (285), Duncan (S)
SP: Oswalt (103), Lackey (116), JVazquez (155), Duke (S), JSanchez (14 taxi)
Taxi: Niemann (S), Bush (S)
RP: Ryan (142), Balfour (246), Villanueva (298), RSoriano (S)
DL: SP Peavy (64), C Hernandez (194)

DAN
C: Posada (234), Laird (286)
1B: Youkilis (39), KMorales (299)
2B: Kinsler (13), Teahen (221)
SS: Peralta (65), Tejada (208)
3B: ARamirez (26), Feliz (S)
OF: MRamirez (12), McLouth (52), Dunn (78), NCruz (156), Swisher (S), Fowler (S)
SP: Dempster (104), Billingsley (117), Zambrano (156), Lilly (168), Blanton (S)
Taxi: Lannan (13), Norris (S)
RP: Wood (91), Hoffman (182), Howell (S), Nunez (S)
DL: SP Volquez (143)