Free Agent Draft No. 5

Pre-draft moves:
Bammers activate 3B Longoria, drop Middlebrooks; move OF Werth to DL
Derelicts move SP Weaver to DL
Godfathers activate OF Morse, move Crawford to DL
DamianUnited activate 3B P.Sandoval, drop Reynolds; move OF V.Wells to DL
Badgers activate OF Cespedes, drop Belt; move 1B Hafner to DL
Zero's activate 3B C.Jones, drops Polanco

1. Bammers take OF Brantley
2. Derelicts take SP Burnett
3. Whiteskins take RP Wilhelmsen, drop Santiago;
........Taxi: Cahill up, Smyly down
4. Godfathers take 3B Frazier, drop Morel;
........Taxi: Kennedy up, Hudson down
5. Inmates take C Ruiz, drop R.Hernandez
6. Barristers take SP Dickey, drop Jurrjens;
........Taxi: Dickey and Jimenez up, Halladay and Lilly down
7. Moaners take RP Cook, drop League;
........Taxi: Worley up, Billingsley down
8. Pontiffs take OF Pierre, drop Bourjos
9. DamianUnited take OF Soriano
10. Badgers take 1B Moreland
11. Zero's take SS Al.Ramirez, drop S.Rodriguez;
........Taxi: Lester up, WRodriguez down
12. Bombers take SP Bauer, drop Latos;
........Taxi: Kuroda up, Samardzija down

SBL Notebook, Week 10

The end of the first round of interleague play couldn't have come soon enough for the National division, which lost the cross-divisional battle for the fourth consecutive week, this time by the humbling count of 31-5. That brought the final four-week tally to American 95, National 49. This was, let's say, unexpected, and it's a little difficult to divine just what happened here. There had been no indication during the first six weeks that the results of the first IL period would be so one-sided; in fact the NL entered Week 7 with a slight advantage, having won 25 of the 48 interleague games contested to that point. But then several NL teams simultaneously commenced a May-June swoon that coincided with the start of interleague play, and the AL took advantage. The Derelicts (3-21 the last four weeks), the Whiteskins (4-20), the Godfathers (7 -17) and the Inmates (8-16) spent the interleague period spinning their wheels in the mud, and by the time it was over all four teams were well below .500 (ranging from eight games under to 26), with only the Cherry Valley Bombers and DamianUnited left standing and relatively unscathed at the top of the heap. Meanwhile, the entire AL prospered, with all six teams posting winning records over the four-week stretch, led by the Badgers (19-5), the Pumped-Up Pontiffs (17-7) and the Zero's (also 17-7). The result was virtually no movement in the AL standings -- the Z's, BTIB with a 42-20 record, are three, four and six games ahead of the three teams closest to them in the standings; four weeks ago those margins were three, four and five games -- but six owners who could feel a little better about themselves and their teams' prospects for having spent the last month inflating their records at the NL's expense. Five of the six AL teams are above .500 at the moment, and none among that quintet is further than nine games back in the standings. The NL race has devolved into a two-team affair, with the Bombers -- whose 2-4 ledger was the best the Nationals could muster this week -- four games up on DamU, while the third-place Inmates have dropped 12 games in arrears. . . . The Holy Crusaders continue to ravage the land with their mighty bats, which this week produced 15 HRs and 43 RBIs, both league highs. In the last three weeks, the pointy-hatted horde has swatted 42 home runs and driven in 119 runs. Good God, man!

Week 10 Standings

AMERICAN DIVISION
Team, LW................W....L....PCT....GB
Zeros (6-0)..............42...20....677....--
Badgers (5-1)...........39...23....629.....3
Pontiffs (5-1)...........38...24....613.....4
Moaners (5-1)...........36...26....581.....6
Barristers (5-1).........33...29....532.....9
Bammers (5-1)..........20...42....323....22
NATIONAL DIVISION
Team, LW................W....L....PCT....GB
Bombers (2-4)...........39...23....629....--
DamUnited (1-5).........35...27....607.....4
Inmates (0-6)............27...35....435....12
Godfathers (1-5)........23...39....371....16
Whiteskins (0-6)........22...40....355....17
Derelicts (1-5)...........18...44....290....21

Week 10 Statistics

batting..........pa......r......h-bb-t....2b+3b=tb.......hr....rbi....sb....obp...tb Zeros...........223....37....52-28=80.......8+0=16........10....33....5....359 Moaners........233....32....56-21=77......12+1=27........10....31....4....330 Badgers.........219....31....50-26=76......11+1=25.........6....23....6....347 Bammers.......251....29....65-20=85......15+0=30.........6....40....2....339...168.1 Barristers......246....33....61-14=75.......8+2=22........12....28....2....305...186.3 Pontiffs........258....35....61-27=88.......9+0=18........15....43....4....341...171.6 Bombers.......252....35....62-15=77......14+1=31........12....30....2....306 Derelicts.......244....33....66-17=83......15+2=36.........3....25....3....340...154.7 Godfathers....235....25....59-23=82......11+1=25........10....34....2....343...158.7 Inmates........212....29....52-14=66......15+1=33.........8....25....2....311 DamUnited....248....32....60-25=85.......9+2=24.........8....31....3....343...157.4 Whiteskins....215....31....46--8=54......13+0=26.........6....26....4....251 pitching...........ip......er.....h-bb-hbp=br/avg.....k/avg........w-l....sv....era Zeros.............40.0.....10.....30-13-0=43/1.10......38/0.95......5-0.....4...2.25 Moaners..........60.1.....18.....46-12-2=60/0.99......55/0.91......5-3.....2...2.69 Badgers..........66.0.....23.....50-17-2=69/1.05......54/0.82......6-2.....3...3.14 Bammers.........42.2.....10.....32--8-1=41/0.96......45/1.055.....6-1.....3...2.11 Barristers........43.2.....11.....34--8-1=43/0.98......32/0.73......2-2.....7...2.11 Pontiffs..........37.1.....18.....37-21-0=58/1.55......29/0.78......3-4.....5...4.34 Bombers.........48.1.....26.....46-18-0=64/1.32......42/0.87......3-3.....4...4.84 Derelicts.........36.2.....16.....28-11-2=41/1.12......44/1.20......3-1.....3...3.93 Godfathers......43.2.....21.....46-11-0=57/1.31......48/1.10......3-2.....2...4.33 Inmates..........50.0.....29.....52-14-1=67/1.34......43/0.86......3-6.....1...5.22 DamUnited......47.2.....21.....43-18-2=63/1.32......51/1.069.....1-3.....5...3.96 Whiteskins......46.0.....23.....41-14-0=55/1.20......45/0.98......1-2.....2...4.50

Badgers Want To Ditch Mauer

From the office of A.B., owner of the Badgers:

"Last-minute mass email before today's draft...seeing if any fish are biting.

The Badgers have endured season-long injuries at first base (Berkman, Gamel, Hafner -- all casualties at Wounded Knee) and at catcher (Mauer currently day-to-day, Lucroy out).

With multiple needs to fill in this draft, I'd like to engage trade talk for your first baseman, catcher or draft pick.

Here's my roster for your consideration, academy members. Feel free to discuss among yourselves how the hell I am 12 games over .500:

C Mauer, Lucroy
1B Alonso, Hafner
2B Kipnis, AHill
SS Starlin, BCrawford
3B Hanley, PAlvarez
OF McCutchen, Gordon, Ibanez, Rasmus, Cespedes, Schafer

SP Kershaw, Bumgarner, Vogelsong, Moore, Lohse
RP Motte, Betancourt, Marshall, Walden

DL Berkman
Taxi: Mike Minor, Nicasio"

How the hell is he over .500? Your guess is as good as ours.

Whiteskins Put Ethier On Trade Block?

The rumor mill is circling with word that the Whiteskins, just barely avoiding the cellar in the National Division, are looking for saves and their owner is shopping L.A. Dodgers OF Andre Ethier.

Is there a team willing to add an all-star for a closer? Hard to see/say.

SBL Notebook, Week 9

Someone, perhaps the Big SBL God in the Sky, reached down and pushed the celestial pause button on us this week. The third week of interleague play was virtually a break-even affair – although it goes into the books as a 19-17 American division victory, their third IL win in a row, and the Americans will take it, thank you very much. And the division races were virtually unchanged – the Cherry Valley Bombers and runners-up DamianUnited both went 2-4 and remained three games apart in the NL, while (in the big 80-point headline here) Andy’s Badgers chipped a whole entire game off of the Zero’s advantage in the AL, trimming it to a mere two games. With a severely truncated MLB schedule on Thursday, plate appearances were down considerably, almost to Week 1 levels, and that helped depress hitting numbers pretty much across the board. The glaring exception was the Formerly Puny, Now Prodigiously Pounding Pontiffs, who rung up 14 HRs, 43 RBIs, 36 runs and a .373 OBP. That, plus a spiffy 2.66 ERA and six saves, lifted the Raging Papists to a 6-0 week and into third place, three games behind the resilient Zero’s, who went 4-2 and extended their occupation of the AL catbird seat to the six-week mark. After a 10-15 start, the normally docile Team Vatican has gone 23-8 over a five-week stretch to insinuate itself into the thick of the AL chase at 33-23. . . . One week of interleague competition to go, then it’s back to mixing with our own kind.

Week 9 Standings

AMERICAN DIVISION
Team, LW.................W....L....PCT....GB
Zero's (4-2)................36...20....643....--
Badgers (5-1).............34...22....607.....2
Pontiffs (6-0).............33...23....589.....3
Moaners (4-2).............31...25....554.....5
Barristers (0-6)...........28...28....500.....8
Bammers (0-6)............15...41....268....21
NATIONAL DIVISION
Team, LW.................W....L....PCT....GB
Bombers (2-4)............37...19....661....--
DamUnited (2-4).........34...22....607.....3
Inmates (4-2).............27...29....482....10
Godfathers (5-1).........22...34....393....15
Whiteskins (2-4).........22...34....393....15
Derelicts (2-4)...........17...39....304....20

Week 9 Statistics

batting..........pa......r......h-bb-t.....2b+3b=tb.......hr....rbi....sb....obp...tb
Zero's...........215....33....48-26=74......12+2=30.........9....36.....1....344
Moaners........213....29....57-15=72......10+0=20........10....29.....4....338...156.1
Badgers.........231....38....59-17=76......11+3=31.........8....31....10....329...165.1
Bammers.......209....22....44-23=67......03+0=06.........6....23.....8....321...117.4
Barristers......226....22....49-16=65......09+1=21.........6....17.....2....288
Pontiffs........241....36....69-21=90......11+1=25........14....43.....6....373
Bombers........236....26....58-24=82......13+2=32.........5....25.....5....347...147.1 Derelicts.......213....28....55-27=82......07+2=20.........7....28.....3....385
Godfathers....220....32....61-15=76......15+0=30.........8....29.....3....345...177.5
Inmates........194....22....53-15=68......14+2=34.........6....21.....2....351
DamUnited....233....28....58-16=74......10+1=23.........8....30.....3....318
Whiteskins....247....34....64-18=82......15+0=30.........8....35.....8....331...136.1
pitching...........ip......er.....h-bb-hbp=br/avg.....k/avg........w-l....sv....era
Zero's............47.1.....21.....45-17-0=62/1.31......50/1.06......2-1.....13...3.99
Moaners.........44.0.....20.....41-11-2=54/1.23......38/0.86......1-4......5...4.09
Badgers..........49.0.....19.....49-20-3=72/1.47......53/1.08......3-2......2...3.49
Bammers.........56.2.....30.....56-19-1=76/1.34......56/0.988.....4-4......4...4.76
Barristers........33.1......4.....22--7-1=30/0.90......27/0.81......2-1......4...1.08
Pontiffs..........47.1.....14.....43-15-2=60/1.27......39/0.82......4-3......6...2.66
Bombers.........44.0.....20.....49-14-1=64/1.46......37/0.84......2-4......7...4.09
Derelicts.........41.1.....23.....46-13-2=61/1.48......41/0.992.....5-1......3...5.01
Godfathers......48.0.....12.....31-18-1=50/1.04......53/1.10......5-0......1...2.25
Inmates..........52.2.....13.....42-20-0=62/1.18......56/1.04......5-2......0...2.22
DamUnited......41.0.....15.....38-15-1=54/1.32......38/0.93......1-2......2...3.29
Whiteskins......39.0.....29.....50-14-2=66/1.69......35/0.90......1-7......1...6.69

SBL Rosters (Updated)

INMATES
1B: Ortiz (79), Goldschmidt (235)
2B: Kinsler (14), Espinosa (209)
SS: As. Cabrera (27), Drew (222)
3B: Ar. Ramirez (40), R. Roberts (183)
C: Avila (92), R. Hernandez (248)
OF: Kemp (1), Hart (157), Maybin (170), C. Ross (196), Reimold (261), Heisey (300)
SP: Lincecum (53), Greinke (66), An. Sanchez (144), Sale (287), Harang (S)
Taxi: Carpenter (T1), Buchholz (274)
RP: Guerra (131), Cordero (S), Dolis (S), Fuentes (S)
DL: RP Bailey (118), RP Farnsworth (145)

BAMMERS
1B: Pujols (2), Dunn (158)
2B: Kendrick (54), Infante (288)
SS: Desmond (210), Cozart (249)
3B: Lawrie (67), Middlebrooks (S)
C: C. Santana (28), Mesoraco (289)
OF: B. Upton (80), Werth (106), T. Hunter (146), De. Young (223), De Aza (S), Jay (S)
SP: Hamels (41), M. Cain (93), Wainwright (132), Hanson (133), McCarthy (275)
Taxi: H. Alvarez (T2), T. Hudson (T23)
RP: Jansen (184), Reed (197), Pestano (236), Frieri (S)
DL: Longoria (15), RP Santos (119)

GODFATHERS

1B: Freeman (121), LaHair (S)

2B: Pedroia (16), Beckham (277)
SS: Andrus (42), Aviles (276)
3B: Mi. Cabrera (3), Morel (290)
C: R. Martin (224), Doumit (263)
OF: Bourn (29), Bruce (55), Victorino (81), C. Crawford (185), Span (S), Dirks (S)
SP: Price (68), Gallardo (94), Kennedy (120), Feliz (237), Niese (T22)
Taxi: D. Hudson (159), J. Santana (T3)
RP: Street (134), Francisco (172), Jo. Peralta (250), Ogando (S)
DL: OF Morse (107), OF Bonifacio (198)

WHITESKINS

1B: G. Sanchez (225), Helton (S)

2B: J. Weeks (69), Altuve (238)
SS: Tulowitzki (4), A. Escobar (264)
3B: R. Zimmerman (43), Callaspo (291)
C: J. Montero (173), Soto (212)
OF: Granderson (17), Ethier (56), Cuddyer (109), Stubbs (135), I. Suzuki (148), Tabata (265)
SP: Verlander (30), Garza (95), Morrow (160), Norris (T4), Smyly (S)
Taxi: Cahill (278), Oswalt (T21)
RP: Myers (186), Santiago (251), Shaw (S), Thayer (S)
DL: RP Storen (108)

ZERO'S

1B: Teixeira (18), Pena (123)
2B: Uggla (44), O. Hudson (279)
SS: Y. Escobar (174), S. Rodriguez (292)
3B: Youkilis (31), Polanco (266)
C: Iannetta (213), Buck (T)
OF: Bautista (5), C. Young (110), Willingham (187), Kubel (226), Trout (S), Choo (T)
SP: Strasburg (57), Beachy (149), W. Rodriguez (161), Dempster (T20), Paulino (S)
Taxi: Lester (96), J. Garcia (252)
RP: Kimbrel (70), Axford (83), Bell (97), Casilla (S)
DL: 3B C. Jones (S)

BARRISTERS

1B: Konerko (58), LaRoche (S)
2B: Cano (6), Raburn (241)
SS: Rollins (71), Hardy (137)
3B: Wright (45), Valencia (240)
C: Wieters (84), K. Suzuki (254)
OF: J. Upton (19), A. Jones (98), Morrison (201), Pagan (227), Rios (267), Viciedo (S)
SP: Halladay (32), C. Wilson (111), Lilly (175), Lewis (T6), McDonald (S)
Taxi: U. Jimenez (150), Jurrjens (T19)
RP: Papelbon (85), Clippard (188), R. Soriano (280), H. Rodriguez (S),
DL: RP Lidge (293), OF Gardner (124)

DAMIANUNITED

1B: Fielder (7), M. Adams (S)
2B: Zobrist (46), D. Murphy (242)
SS: D. Gordon (138), Bloomquist (294)
3B: Reynolds (86), Seager (S)
C: Arencibia (112), Y. Molina (215)
OF: Stanton (20), Jennings (72), Boesch (125), Duda (202), Wells (228), Francoeur (255)
SP: Cl. Lee (33), Sabathia (59), Darvish (99), G. Gonzalez (151), Peavy (T18)
Taxi: Liriano (T7), Volquez (268)
RP: C. Perez (163), Thornton (176), Rodney (S), Downs (S)
DL: 3B Sandoval (73), 1B Howard (229)

MOANERS

1B: K. Morales (60), Morneau (243)
2B: R. Weeks (74), Scutaro (203)
SS: J. Reyes (21), Furcal (282)
3B: A. Rodriguez (34), Encarnacion (190)
C: M. Montero (87), Saltalamacchia (256)
OF: N. Cruz (47), A. Jackson (177), Joyce (230), Mayberry (269), J. Rivera (295), Scott (S)
SP: Worley (126), Zimmermann (139), Cueto (216), Billingsley (T8), Miley (S)
Taxi: Jo Johnson (61), Chacin (T17)
RP: Putz (100), League (113), Chapman (217), Janssen (S)
DL: OF Ellsbury (8)

PONTIFFS

1B: Hosmer (35), C.Davis (S)
2B: Ackley (127), Barney (191)
SS: Jeter (178), Ransom (S)
3B: Trumbo (114), Freese (204)
C: Napoli (49), Ellis (S)
OF: Ca. Gonzalez (9), J. Hamilton (22), Heyward (75), Bourjos (231), Craig (270), Swisher (T)
SP: Haren (48), Hellickson (140), Scherzer (153), Nolasco (257), E. Jackson (T16)
Taxi: Masterson (205), J.Sanchez (T9)
RP: Valverde (101), Capps (165), De Los Santos (283), Aceves (S)

DERELICTS

1B: Votto (10), Mi. Young (89)
2B: N. Walker (102), Andino (S)
SS: Jh. Peralta (76), E. Johnson (S)
3B: Moustakas (154), McGehee (206)
C: McCann (63), Olivo (258)
OF: Holliday (23), Pence (36), Markakis (115), Prado (193), Harper (S), Reddick (S)
SP: Weaver (37), F. Hernandez (50), Romero (128), Fister (166), Marcum (179)
Taxi: D. Holland (T10), Floyd (T15)
RP: Hanrahan (141), Bastardo (219), G. Holland (245), Crain (284)
DL: 2B Utley (192), SS Al. Gonzalez (271)

BADGERS

1B: Hafner (S), Alonso (S)

2B: Kipnis (181), A. Hill (207)
SS: Castro (38), B. Crawford (272)
3B: H. Ramirez (11), P. Alvarez (285)
C: Mauer (103), Lucroy (246)
OF: McCutchen (24), A. Gordon (51), Rasmus (220), Ibanez (233), Belt (298), Schafer (S)
SP: Kershaw (25), M. Moore (77), Bumgarner (90), Vogelsong (259), Lohse (T14)
Taxi: M. Minor (194), Nicasio (T11)
RP: Walden (116), S. Marshall (129), R. Betancourt (142), Motte (167)
DL: OF Cespedes (155), 1B Berkman (64)

BOMBERS

1B: Ad. Gonzalez (12), Butler (91)

2B: Phillips (39), K. Johnson (208)
SS: Aybar (52), Lowrie (S)
3B: Beltre (26), Headley (260)
C: Posey (78), Pierzynski (S)
OF: Braun (13), Beltran (65), Me. Cabrera (117), Fowler (195), J. Martinez (234), Quentin (286)
SP: J. Shields (104), Beckett (130), Capuano (T12), Lynn (S), Samardzija (S)
Taxi: Latos (156), Kuroda (247)
RP: Nathan (168), Broxton (169), Ji. Johnson (182), Romo (273)
DL: SP Luebke (143)

Free Agent Draft No. 4

Pre-draft moves:
Bammers drop OF L. Cain, move RP Santos to DL
Derelicts move SS Al.Gonzalez to DL
Godfathers move OF Bonifacio to DL
Moaners activate 1B Morneau, drop Helton
Inmates move RP Farnsworth to DL
Barristers move OF Gardner to DL
Badgers move 1B Berkman to DL
DamianUnited move 1B Howard to DL
Zero's activate 3B Youkilis, move C.Jones to DL

1. Bammers take RP Frieri;
........Taxi: Wainwright up, Alvarez down
2. Dereicts take SS E. Johnson;
........Taxi: Romero up, Floyd down
3. Godfathers take OF Dirks
4. Whiteskins take 1B Helton, drop Lind
5. Moaners take RP Janssen, drop Balfour
6. Pontiffs take SS Ransom, drop Al.Ramirez
7. Inmates take RP Fuentes
8. Barristers take OF Viciedo
9. Badgers takes 1B Alonso
10. DamianUnited takes 1B Adams
11. Zero's takes SP Paulino, drop Danks;
........Taxi: Paulino up, Lester down
12. Bombers take C Pierzynski, drop Barajas

SBL Notebook, Week 8

It was the damnedest thing. The American division won the interleague tussle for the second straight week, which was surprising enough in itself, just from looking at some of the semi-ugly numbers accumulated by several AL teams. And the margin of victory, a fairly decisive 24-12, that was a surprise too. But the way all this came about, how the wins and losses broke down, well that was just seriously weird. Two National division teams, the front-running Cherry Valley Bombers and runners-up DamianUnited, just rolled over all six AL foes; nobody really came close to beating them. But then the other four NL clubs combined to go 0-24. Which means, as you advanced mathematics aficionados have no doubt already figured out, that all six AL squads posted the exact same WL ledger for the week, 4-2, keeping the division standings the same as last week (except for win-loss totals and percentages). Not so in the NL, where what had been a more-or-less competitive three- or four-team race was blown wide open. DamU remained three games behind the defending champion CVBs, of course, but the Inmates, Whiteskins, Godfathers and Derelicts all lost six games to the leaders and suddenly trail by 12, 15, 18 and 20, respectively. . . . The hard-luck award for the week probably should go to the Batfaced Barristers, who continued their horsehide-abusing ways with 12 HRs, 50 RBIs and 41 runs, only to see those incredible numbers bettered by the CVBs (16 HRs, 54 BI, 42 R), the key difference in the Bombers’ 7-4 victory. DamU was simply ultra-solid across the board – league-bests in OBP (.383), saves (8) and K-rate (1.05), and good-to-very-good numbers in every other category – to best the triple-Bs by the same 7-4 count. But it seemed just a little unjust that the Batfaces’ prodigious numbers could produce no more than four wins, the same number of Ws posted by the far more pedestrian Zero’s, Moaners and Puny Pontiffs. Had this been a week of intra-division competition, the Barristers would have obliterated those three teams by 9-2, 8-3 and 7.5-3.5 scores, respectively. But life, and baseball, ain’t always fair, and it just so happened that the other four NL teams were unable to offer much resistance against anyone this week, even the AL’s lesser achievers. The Godfathers were undone by puny hitting in almost every stat, the Inmates, Whiteskins and Derelicts by horrific pitching (8.02, 7.11 and 5.16 ERAs, respectively).

Week 8 Standings

AMERICAN DIVISION
Team, LW................W....L....PCT....GB
Zero's (4-2)...............32...18....640....--
Badgers (4-2).............29...21....580.....3
Barristers (4-2)...........28...22....560.....4
Pontiffs (4-2).............27...23....540.....5
Moaners (4-2)............27...23....540.....5
Bammers (4-2)..........15...35....300....17
NATIONAL DIVISION
Team, LW................W....L....PCT....GB
Bombers (6-0)...........35...15....700....--
DamUnited (6-0)........32...18....640.....3
Inmates (0-6)...........23...27....460....12
Whiteskins (0-6)........20...30....400....15
Godfathers (0-6).......17...33....340....18
Derelicts (0-6)..........15...35....300....20

Week 8 Stats

batting..........pa......r......h-bb-t.....2b+3b=tb.......hr....rbi....sb....obp
Zero's...........239....30....44-30=74......12+0=24.........7....24.....3....310
Moaners........242....30....60-25=85.......6+1=15........10....35.....8....351
Badgers........222....30....66-15=81......11+3=31.........9....36....10....365
Bammers......236....33....57-20=77.......7+1=17........11....35.....5....3263
Barristers......242....41....68-22=90......16+1=35........12....50.....4....372
Pontiffs........235....37....55-16=71.......8+2=22........13....33.....4....302
Bombers.......258....42....73-19=92......13+2=32........16....54.....6....357
Derelicts.......224....25....48-25=73.......8+0=16.........6....10.....6....3259
Godfathers....230....26....47-19=66......18+2=42.........6....27.....2....287
Inmates........212....31....53-22=75......13+0=26.........6....30.....5....354
DamUnited.....248....35....68-27=95......15+1=33.........9....37.....8....383
Whiteskins.....189....24....45-14=59......10+2=26.........7....24.....2....312
pitching..........ip......er.....h-bb-hbp=br/avg.....k/avg........w-l....sv....era
Zero's...........46.1.....21.....44-18-2=64/1.40......45/0.97......3-4.....5...4.08
Moaners........32.1.....15.....34-15-0=49/1.52......27/0.84......3-3.....5...4.18
Badgers........49.1.....17.....36-16-1=53/1.07......42/0.85......3-3.....3...3.10
Bammers.......40.1.....12.....39-10-1=50/1.239....33/0.818.....5-0.....1...2.68
Barristers......47.2.....26.....47-15-0=62/1.30......47/0.99......2-3.....7...4.91
Pontiffs........57.2.....22.....52-10-0=62/1.08......46/0.80......3-5.....4...3.43
Bombers.......48.1.....11.....34-11-2=47/0.97......44/0.91......3-1.....4...2.05
Derelicts.......52.1.....30.....54-16-5=75/1.43......48/0.88......4-3.....2...5.16
Godfathers....37.2.....10.....31-10-2=43/1.14......31/0.823.....2-1.....3...2.39
Inmates........33.2.....30.....42-18-2=62/1.84......32/0.95......1-4.....0...8.02
DamUnited....57.1.....23.....42-27-2=71/1.238.....60/1.05......5-2.....8...3.61
Whiteskins.....44.1.....35..... 54-18-1=73/1.65.....41/0.93......3-3.....2...7.11

SBL Notebook, Week 7

The first week of the first month of pure interleague play this season went to the American division, 21-15. Nothing particularly unusual about that; the AL has been the dominant force in cross-divisional competition for at least the past decade, with the exception of last year when the National division turned the tables. What was unusual, just a little bit, was the identity of the team that did the heavy lifting for the AL with a scorched-earth 6-0 sunburst. The team in question are the Batfaced Girls, one of two AL franchises that have never appeared in the SBL postseason. The other of those longtime down-on-their-luck clubs, the Puny Pontiffs, had served notice the previous two weeks that it just might have the personnel to make a serious run at its first playoff berth, and this time it was the Batfaces’ turn in a no-doubt-about-it performance that featured one 11-0 whitewash, a 10.5-0.5 thumping, a 9.5-1.5 win and three 9-2 triumphs. Talk about dominant: the BFGs’ offense, heavily dependent on the Baltimore Orioles (of all teams) with Adam Jones, J.J. Hardy and Matt Wieters, and spiced up by MLB batting leader David Wright, led the SBL this week in RBIs (42), TB (42) and OBP (.396) and was second in runs (35) and third in HRs (10) and SBs (7). If that wasn’t enough, they also had perhaps the league’s best pitching, topping the week with a 2.06 ERA and posting the second-best BR stat (1.10) -- thank you, Roy Halladay, Ted Lilly, Colby Lewis and James McDonald. . . . The unbeaten week lifted the BFGs alongside the Pontiffs as legit factors in the AL race – the Girls now occupy third place at 24-20, a game ahead of the PPs (who backslid with a 2-4 ledger after going 11-2 in weeks 5-6), four behind the pacesetting Zero’s and one back of the Badgers, who went 5-1 and moved up to second. The bottom of the AL deck features the somewhat jarring sight of the Moaners and the Bammers, who between them claim a dozen SBL championships, holding down the next-to-last and last spots, respectively. . . . Nothing much happened in the NL race, where the top three teams – the Cherry Valley Bombers, DamianUnited and the Inmates – all went 4-2, leaving the top of the standings unchanged. The CVBs, however, did nose ahead of the Zero’s for Best Record In Ball, by one game, while maintaining their three-game edge in the division. Another mildly jarring sight – the Derelicts, a playoff team last year, continuing their residence in the NL basement, an 0-6 week dropping them to 15-29.

Week 7 Standings

AMERICAN DIVISION
Team, LW................W....L....PCT....GB
Zero's (3-3)...............28...16....636....--
Badgers (5-1).............25...19....568.....3
Barristers (6-0)...........24...20....545.....4
Pontiffs (2-4).............23...21....523.....5
Moaners (1-5).............23...21....523.....5
Bammers (4-2)............11...33....250....17
NATIONAL DIVISION
Team, LW................W....L....PCT....GB
Bombers (4-2)...........29...15....659....--
DamUnited (4-2)........26...18....591.....3
Inmates (4-2)............23...21....523.....6
Whiteskins (2-4).........20...24....455.....9
Godfathers (1-5)........17...27....386....12
Derelicts (0-6)...........15...29....341....14

Week 7 Stats

batting..........pa......r......h-bb-t....2b+3b=tb......hr....rbi....sb....obp...tb
Zero's...........243....31...54-28=82......8+1=19.........9....30.....5....337....159.7
Moaners........248....28...50-22=72......9+1=21.........6....32.....3....290
Badgers........241....26...56-11=67.....14+1=31........11....41.....3....278....176.5
Bammers.......261....36...66-25=91.....11+0=22........9....33.....11...349
Barristers......260....35...74-29=103....18+2=42........10...42.....7....396
Pontiffs........259....16...66-14=80.....13+0=26.........2....22.....5....309
Bombers.......232....26...70-19=89.....13+0=26.........9....38.....6....383
Derelicts.......257....36...61-31=92......6+1=15........16....32.....0....358
Godfathers....253....29...58-20=78......8+3=25..........6....25.....8....308
Inmates........258....34...50-27=77.....13+0=26........10....28.....6....298
DamUnited....246....32...65-19=84.....14+0=28..........9....33.....4....341....174.5
Whiteskins.....249....25...54-22=76......9+2=24..........4....20.....5....305
pitching..........ip......er.....h-bb-hbp=br/avg.....k/avg........w-l....sv....era
Zero's...........63.1.....22.....64-14-1=79/1.25......49/0.77......4-4.....7...3.13
Moaners........54.2.....25.....68-22-1=91/1.66......49/0.91......3-4.....4...4.12
Badgers.........66.1.....21.....58-15-1=77/1.12......50/0.75......4-3.....4...2.85
Bammers.......40.1.....20.....44--8-1=53/1.31......31/0.77......4-2.....4...4.46
Barristers.......48.0.....11.....38-13-2=53/1.10......48/1.00......3-2.....4...2.06
Pontiffs.........50.0.....23.....49-15-2=66/1.32......50/1.00......2-4.....4...4.14
Bombers........53.1.....19.....51-14-1=66/1.24......56/1.05......2-3.....7...3.21
Derelicts........37.1.....22.....43-17-1=61/1.62......32/0.86......1-4.....3...5.30
Godfathers.....55.1.....27.....49-28-2=79/1.43......54/0.98......1-5.....2...4.39
Inmates........59.2.....17.....49-16-1=66/1.11......55/0.92......5-4.....1...2.56
DamUnited.....65.2.....23.....55-21-3=79/1.20......69/1.05......4-3.....5...3.15
Whitekins......55.0.....13.....38-14-1=53/0.96......55/1.00......3-3.....3...2.13

Free Agent Draft No. 3

Pre-draft moves:
Bammers move 3B Longoria to DL
Moaners move 1B Morneau to DL
Badgers move OF Cespedes to DL
Inmates move RP Bailey to DL
Bombers move SP Luebke to DL
DamUnited move 3B Sandoval to DL
Zero's move 3B Youkilis to DL; activate OF CYoung, drop Brantley

1. Bammers take 3B Middlebrooks;
........Taxi: Alvarez up, Wainwright down
2. Godfathers take RP Ogando, drop Marmol
3. Derelicts take OF Reddick, drop Ludwick;
........Taxi: Fister up, Romero down
4. Barristers take SP J.McDonald, drop Pineda;
........Taxi: McDonald up, Jimenez down
5. Whiteskins take RP Thayer, drop Rivera;
........Taxi: Norris up, Cahill down
6. Pontiffs take C Ellis, drop Ramos
7. Moaners take 1B Helton
8. Badgers take OF Schafer;
........Taxi: Lohse up, Minor down
9. Inmates take RP Dolis
10. Bombers take SP Samardzija;
........Taxi: Sarmardzija up, Kuroda down
11. DamUnited take 3B Seager
12. Zero's take 3B C.Jones

SBL Notebook, Week 6

Best. Week. Ever . . . ? Hard to say for sure, but the week just completed by Josh Hamilton of the Texas Rangers – and more to the point, of the Pulverizin’ Pontiffs – has to rank with any this observer can recall. We do distinctly remember a Ken Griffey Jr. streak of eight consecutive games with a home run – it was July 1993, we just looked that up, and it tied a major league record last previously achieved by one Don Mattingly in July 1987. But Junior’s torrid stretch, and Mattingly’s before it, straddled two SBL weeks. The damage Hamilton inflicted on unsuspecting MLB pitchers, within the confines of a single week, must be something close to unprecedented in SBL annals. Beginning Monday, the binge-hitting (and drinking!) slugger launched a staggering nine home runs (four in one game, famously), more than all but three entire SBL teams managed for the week. He also drove in 18 runs, scored 10 and went 15 for 30. He might have had more than two measly doubles, if only he hadn’t kept accidentally hitting the ball over the fence instead of off it. Oh, and the worthless, lazy dog did not steal a single base! Trade him immediately! . . . One of the more amazing things about his week was that he walked only four times . . . like, what were these people thinking, pitching to this guy almost every time he stepped in? The least they could’ve done was stuck one in his ear hole a time or two. . . . Hamilton’s power surge lifted the normally mild-mannered Popesters (previously known as the Puny Pontiffs, after all) to SBL season highs in home runs (17) and RBIs (46) – and right into the thick of the American division race after a 5-1 week that catapulted them to third place with a 21-17 record, four games behind the front-running Zero’s and one back of runners-up Moaners. . . . The National division standings feature a familiar sight this week, after the Cherry Valley Bombers, the defending league champions, climbed to the top of the heap with a 5-1 week, displacing DamianUnited, whose 1-5 stumble knocked them three games back. . . . It was another week of excruciatingly close competition, with 20 games decided by scores of 6-5, 6.5-4.5 or in tiebreakers. The Godfathers notched three such narrow victories in a 5-1 week that continued their impressive recovery from an 0-13/1-18 start – they’ve gone 15-4 the last three weeks to escape the cellar, and, at 16-22 and nine games back, are inching their way into the NL race. The G-Daddies manager might want to remind his troops, during his next clubhouse pep talk, that the 2011 champion Bombers were 10-28 at this very point last season. . . . Four weeks of interleague play commence this week, with the NL champing at the bit to engineer a repeat of its decisive eight-week clubbing of the AL last year.

Week 6 Standings

AMERICAN DIVISION
Team, LW.................W....L....PCT....GB
Zero's (3-3)................25...13....658....--
Moaners (5-1).............22...16....579.....3
Pontiffs (5-1).............21...17....553.....4
Badgers (2-4).............20...18....526.....5
Barristers (5-1)...........18...20....474.....7
Bammers (0-6)............7...31....184....18
NATIONAL DIVISION
Team, LW.................W....L....PCT....GB
Bombers (5-1)............25...13....658....--
DamUnited (1-5).........22...16....579.....3
Inmates (0-6).............19...19....500.....6
Whiteskins (2-4)..........18...20....474.....7
Godfathers (5-1).........16...22....421.....9
Derelicts (3-3)............15...23....395....10

Week 6 Stats

batting.........pa......r......h-bb-t....2b+3b=tb.......hr....rbi....sb....obp...tb
Zero's...........226....31...55-23=78.....16+0=32.........7....26.....1....345
Moaners........234....39...68-25=93.....12+1=27.........7....31.....8....397
Badgers........253....27...60-27=87.....10+3=29........10....28.....2....344....172.8
Bammers.......263....24...58-25=83.....12+1=27.........3....23.....5....316....144.7
Barristers......258....35...74-27=101....15+2=36.........9....34.....1....391
Pontiffs........249....40...67-26=93.....11+1=25........17....46.....2....373....182.1
Bombers.......256....38...72-22=94.....15+2=36........11....39.....3....367
Derelicts.......248....31...53-26=79.....16+0=32.........7....25.....6....319....152.9
Godfathers....270....32...70-32=102....16+0=32.........6....39.....6....378....153.7
Inmates........244....33...52-24=76.....19+1=41.........4....23.....3....311
DamUnited....227....20...52-18=70.....11+1=25.........5....24.....3....308....151.1
Whiteskins.....219....26...50-19=69.....10+0=20.........6....21.....6....315
pitching..........ip....er.....h-bb-hbp=br/avg......k/avg........w-l....sv....era
Zero's..........48.0....14.....38-15-1=54/1.13......49/1.02......4-3.....4...2.63
Moaners.......39.0....14.....43-13-0=56/1.44......40/1.03......4-1.....1...3.23
Badgers........40.2....15.....40-11-0=51/1.25......40/0.98......2-3.....2...3.32
Bammers......39.2....16.....33-22-4=59/1.49......47/1.185.....4-2.....1...3.63
Barristers......56.0....39.....53-24-3=80/1.43......61/1.09......2-7.....4...6.27
Pontiffs........42.1....23.....40-14-2=56/1.32......34/0.80......1-2.....6...4.89
Bombers.......49.2....22.....42-19-1=62/1.248.....37/0.75......4-3.....5...3.99
Derelicts.......43.2....18.....42-19-2=63/1.44......38/0.87......3-2.....1...3.71
Godfathers....48.1....27.....47-23-1=71/1.47......47/0.97......3-5.....1...5.03
Inmates.......38.0....13.....33-13-1=47/1.236.....35/0.92......1-3.....0...3.08
DamUnited....37.1....12.....38-13-2=53/1.42......44/1.179.....5-2.....2...2.89
Whiteskins....44.0....13.....32-20-3=55/1.250.....38/0.86......3-1.....2...2.66

Zero's and Pontiffs Strike Deal

Seeking a quick fix for injured C Wilson Ramos, the American Division-leading Zero's made a deal with the Pontiffs today, trading Ramos and OF Nick Swisher for C John Buck and OF Shin-Soo Choo.

Ramos, who sustained a torn knee ligament in a game on Saturday, May 12, is out indefinitely.

The Zero's, reigning SBL champions, seemed to be intent on making a move before Monday's Free-Agent Draft No. 3, in which they have the 12th overall pick.

The Pontiffs, 6-1 last week, have Josh Hamilton and you don't.

SBL Notebook, Week 5

You want pitchers? We got ‘em, right here in the National division. No belly itchers or glasses of water allowed on the premises . . . and no margin for error, either. It was pitch or perish this week in the NL, where no fewer than three teams checked in with sub-2.00 ERAs and sub-1.00 BR stats. DamianUnited’s ostensibly spiffy 2.72 ERA and 1.04 BR stat? Sorry, fellas, you’re losing those categories to half your division mates. The big winners for the week were the Derelicts, who combined lights-out mound work (1.97 ERA, league-leading .81 BR, 3-0 WL) with some very solid offense (league-best 41 RBIs and .375 OBP) to go 7-0 and escape the NL cellar, where the Godfathers tumbled back in despite their own perfectly satisfactory 5-2 week. Most disappointed losers of the week were the Whiteskins, whose sensational chucking (.92 BR, week’s-best 1.74 ERA) was compromised by across-the-board offensive puniness, causing the ‘Skins to go 2-5. The aforementioned DamU, meanwhile, did enough things well -- 11 HRs, 7 SBs, 7 saves, .95 K-rate, in addition to their ERA/BR numbers – to go 5-2 and move into first place in what is shaping up as a competitive, but fluid, NL race. DamU, 16-3 the last three weeks, are a game ahead of defending champs, the Cherry Valley Bombers, and two up on the up-and-down Inmates, who vacated the penthouse for the first time this year. . . . American division teams did not pitch nearly as well – three had ERAs of 4.25 or higher, including an unsightly 6.02 for the Badgers – and paid for it in the seven-game week’s 12 interleague contests, 10 of which the NL won. The runner-up Badgers’ horrific hurling resulted in an 0-7 crash, which enabled the Zero’s to quadruple their lead, from one game to four, despite a less-than-scintillating 3-4 performance. The Z’s also maintained the Best Record In Ball for a second successive week; they’re 22-10 to DamU’s 21-11. The Moaners, who also pitched piss-poorly, were unable to take full advantage of the Badgers’ pratfall, going 2-5 to remain in third place.

Week 5 Standings

AMERICAN DIVISION
Team, LW.................W....L....PCT....GB
Zero's (3-4)...............22...10....688....--
Badgers (0-7).............18...14....563.....4
Moaners (2-5).............17...15....531.....5
Pontiffs (6-1).............16...16....500.....6
Barristers (2-5)...........13...19....406.....9
Bammers (4-3).............7...25....219....15
NATIONAL DIVISION
Team, LW.................W....L....PCT....GB
DamUnited (5-2).........21...11....656....--
Bombers (5-2)............20...12....625.....1
Inmates (1-6).............19...13....594.....2
Whiteskins (2-5)..........16...16....500.....5
Derelicts (7-0)............12...20....375.....9
Godfathers (5-2).........11...21....344....10

Week 5 Stats

batting.........pa.....r......h-bb-t....2b+3b=tb.......hr....rbi....sb....obp....tb Zero's..........245....29...51-19=70.....11+0=22.........9....23.....2....286....154.3 Moaners.......246....28...67-21=88.....10+1=23.........7....27.....4....3577...155.8 Badgers........237....28...57-21=78.....13+1=29.........5....32.....5....329....126.8 Bammers......240....35...63-17=80......8+2=22........12....34.....2....333 Barristers......248....35...56-21=77......7+1=17.........6....23.....9....321....139.5 Pontiffs........243....35...57-30=87.....10+1=23.........8....31.....4....3580 Bombers.......233....26...57-21=78......8+3=25........10....38.....1....33476 Derelicts.......253....34...65-30=95.....13+1=29.........7....41.....5....375 Godfathers....270....32...82-19=101....18+3=45.........9....33.....6....374 Inmates........239....33...58-22=80.....17+2=40.........5....29.....1....3347.2 DamUnited....227....26...48-28=76.....10+1=23........11....25.....7....33480 Whiteskins.....228....26...58-23=81......8+2=22.........5....24.....2....355 pitching..........ip....er.....h-bb-hbp=br/avg......k/avg........w-l....sv....era Zero's...........49.1....19.....37-15-1=53/1.07......32/0.65......2-1.....4...3.47 Moaners........55.0....27.....64-17-2=82/1.51......39/0.71......1-5.....2...4.42 Badgers.........49.1....33.....58-21-1=80/1.62......48/0.97......3-3.....1...6.02 Bammers.......59.1....18.....54-12-2=68/1.15......57/0.9607....4-1.....1...2.73 Barristers.......55.0....26.....51-20-2=73/1.33......40/0.73......5-2.....3...4.25 Pontiffs.........55.2....16.....48-11-0=59/1.06......47/0.87......3-2.....2...2.59 Bombers........42.2.....9.....26-13-1=40/0.94......41/0.9609....4-1.....5...1.89 Derelicts........58.1....13.....28-19-0=47/0.81......52/0.89......3-0.....1...1.97 Godfathers.....39.1....17.....30-19-0=49/1.25......40/1.02......1-4.....6...3.89 Inmates........38.0....17.....38-12-0=50/1.32......27/0.71......3-1.....1...4.03 DamUnited.....46.1....14.....37-10-1=48/1.04......44/0.95......3-2.....7...2.72 Whiteskins......46.2.....9.....33--9-1=40/0.92......35/0.75......2-1.....4...1.74

Free Agent Draft No. 2

Pre-draft moves:
Barristers move RP Lidge to DL
Zero's move OF C.Young to DL

1. Godfathers take 1B LaHair, drop Ca.Lee;
........Taxi: Feliz up, D. Hudson down
2. Bammers take OF Jay, drop Crisp
3. Derelicts take OF Harper, drop Soriano
4. Barristers take RP H.Rodriguez
5. Pontiffs take 1B C. Davis, drop Loney;
........Taxi: Jackson up, Masterson down
6. DamUnited take RP Downs, drop Adams
7. Moaners take SP Miley, drop E.Santana;
........Taxi: Miley up, J.Johnson down
8. Bombers take SS Lowrie, drop Pennington
9. Zero's take OF Trout
10. Whiteskins take SP Smyly, drop Pomeranz;
........Taxi: Smyly up, Norris down
11. Inmates take RP Cordero, drop B.Wilson;
........Taxi: Harang up, Buchholz down
12. Badgers pass

SBL Notebook, Week 4

We're guessing that the proprietors of DamUnited did not go into the draft this year thinking, "Hey, let's see if we can assemble one of the great pitching staffs in SBL history" . . . because really, who ever does? Pitching is such a crap shoot, so difficult to predict year to year, more often than not, great SBL rotations tend to be happy accidents, rather than the result of brilliant planning and astute drafting. Witness the Moaners' experience two years ago, when they just kind of stumbled into a championship-winning rotation that featured 20-game winner Adam Wainwright as No. 3 starter (the year before he blew out his arm) and 19-game winner David Price as a No. 5 (!). While it's way too early to conclude that something similar is happening in the DamU clubhouse, we can say that things are shaping up quite nicely over there, and that the two-week run of sparkling pitching Damian's boys just completed might rank with any comparable stretch we've seen in our 30 years as a league. Following up last week's lights-out 1.12 ERA and microscopic .72 BR ratio, DamU checked in with an almost-as-good 1.71 and .84 this week. And, with their offense finally springing to life as well, the result was a 6-0 week that, combined with last week's 5-1, catapulted United into the thick of the National division race at 16-9, two games behind the pacesetting Inmates. Pitching must've been on Damian's mind to some extent on draft day, because he went fairly early for his ace, Cliff Lee at No. 33, the fourth SP taken. But, under the heading of isn't-that-always-the-way, Lee has been the one disappointment on the staff, logging only three starts before landing on the disabled list. It's been the later-round picks -- rock-steady-as-always CC Sabathia, as-good-as-advertised rookie Yu Darvish, good-and-getting-better Gio Gonzalez and wait-a-minute-where-the-hell-did-THAT-come-from-isn't-he-washed-up-retired-or-dead Jake Peavy -- who've made Damian's staff the envy of the league at the moment. The Damu bullpen looked shaky on paper when the season started, but it too is taking shape after the GM picked up newbie closers Fernando Rodney and Scott Downs in the first two supplemental drafts. And if the DamU hitters can stay warm after waking up from their April hibernation, this team could make a lot of noise in the NL race. . . . Also suddenly making noise are the Godfathers, who after a dismal first three weeks went 5-1 and escaped the NL cellar, replaced there by the Derelicts. The G-Daddies actually got off the schneid last week, although most of the league's owners are learning of this fact only now as they read this. To explain: Due to a statkeeping malfunction, the numbers from the second game of a Texas-Detroit doubleheader last week were not recorded before official Week 3 statistics were submitted to the commissioner's office. Once the error was discovered -- unfortunately after results had been published -- and stats from that game were added to Vic's totals, what was reported last week as a 6-5 victory for the Whiteskins over the Godfathers became a 6-5 win for Vic -- his first W of the season! The retroactive defeat dropped the 'Skins from a first-place tie into second, and this development so discombobulated Whitekins players that they apparently went into a snit and let it affect their play this week, when they rolled over and went 0-6, dropping the team all the way to fourth place. . . . The American division witnessed what could be called a return to normalcy this week, as 2011 pennant winners and perennial contenders, the Zero's, moved into first place, where they spent most of last season. The Z's have been doing it with pitching as well (2.66 ERA, nine saves, 1.14 K-rate this week), and the realization that they were able to go 6-0 and build a best-in-ball 19-6 record despite minimal input from slow-starting sluggers Jose Bautista, Mark Teixeira and Kevin Youkilis, and with red-hot Chris Young on the DL, is a disquieting, discomforting thought indeed for the rest of the AL.

Week 4 Standings

AMERICAN DIVISION
Team, LW................W....L....PCT....GB
Zero's (6-0)..............19....6....760....--
Badgers (3-3)............18....7....720.....2
Moaners (4-2)............15...10....600....4
Barristers (4-2)..........11...14....440.....8
Pontiffs (1-5)............10...15....400.....9
Bammers (0-6)............3...22....120....16
NATIONAL DIVISION
Team, LW................W....L....PCT....GB
Inmates (3-3)............18....7....720....--
DamUnited (6-0)........16....9....640.....2
Bombers (3-3)...........15...10....600.....3
Whiteskins (0-6).........14...11....560.....4
Godfathers (5-1)..........6...19....240....12
Derelicts (1-5).............5...20....200....13

Week 4 Stats

batting.........pa.....r......h-bb-t....2b+3b=tb.......hr....rbi....sb....obp....tb Zero's..........234....36...52-23=75.....12+2=30.........7....29.....4....321 Moaners.......235....27...52-25=77......9+1=21........10....36.....4....328 Badgers........237....23...53-21=74.....15+2=36.........3....31.....9....312....146.5 Bammers......232....21...46-24=70......7+1=17.........4....15.....4....302 Barristers......252....36...73-20=93.....13+0=26........11....31.....3....369....189.0 Pontiffs........242....33...62-23=85......9+0=18........11....38.....5....351 Bombers.......251....34...57-28=85.....11+0+22.........8....32.....5....339....168.2 Derelicts.......223....21...52-19=71.....11+1=25.........6....26.....2....318 Godfathers....247....34...67-18=85.....13+1=29........10....32.....8....344 Inmates........225....38...58-19=77.....11+2=28........11....29.....3....342....171.8 DamUnited....250....35...63-21=84.....10+2=26.........9....36.....7....336....186.9 Whiteskins.....222....29...59-19=78.....10+1=23.........5....22.....3....351 pitching..........ip....er.....h-bb-hbp=br/avg.....k/avg.......w-l....sv....era Zero's..........44.0....13.....37-11-2=50/1.14......50/1.14......2-1.....9...2.66 Moaners.......46.0....13.....40-11-2=53/1.15......46/1.00......3-2.....4...2.54 badgers........47.0....18.....38-13-0=51/1.09......36/0.77......3-3.....3...3.45 Bammers......39.1....10.....28-16-0=44/1.12......41/1.04......4-1.....2...2.29 Barristers......39.0....13.....28-14-1=43/1.10......33/0.85......1-4.....2...3.00 Pontiffs........45.0....19.....46-22-1=69/1.53......34/0.76......2-3.....3...3.80 Bombers.......53.0....14.....47-18-0=65/1.23......52/0.98......5-2.....3...2.38 Dereicts.......41.2......8.....29-18-2=49/1.1759...40/0.959.....2-1.....2...1.73 Godfathers....42.0....17.....38-14-1=53/1.26......36/0.86......3-1.....4...3.64 Inmates........47.1....18.....49-23-0=72/1.52......47/0.99......5-2.....0...3.42 Damunited.....63.1....12.....38-15-0=53/0.84......61/0.963.....5-2.....4...1.71 Whiteskins.....51.0....23.....48-10-2=60/1.1765....46/0.90......3-3.....3...4.09

SBL Notebook, Week 3

There is no fear of intimacy in the Sun Baseball League, where every team is willing to get as close as is legally permitted, regardless of race, creed, gender, sexual orientation or religious affiliation. It’s hard to envision a week much closer, both in terms of game scores and statistical totals, than the one we just experienced. Twenty of 36 games were decided by scores of 6-5, 6.5-4.5 or tiebreaker; another eight were 7-4 verdicts. That leaves only eight outcomes that could be described as in any way one-sided. Things were especially tight in the American division, whose teams were involved in three of the week’s four tiebreakers, five 6-5 results and three 6.5-4.5 games. Nothing was more emblematic of the wild week than this cool/cruel fact: the Badgers went 6-0, the Bammers went 0-6 . . . and their game against each other went to a tiebreaker. Of course when you look at the numbers, it’s easy to see how the line between victory and defeat could be so razor thin. All six AL teams finished in the 30s in runs, the totals ranging from 31 to 36. Four AL teams had RBI totals ranging from 31 to 35 . . . four posted a cluster of BR stats ranging from 1.11 to 1.19 . . . and, good grief, five American teams put up ERAs in the 2s, with a preposterously minuscule range of 2.52 to 2.70. The Badgers and the Moaners both came in at 2.68, necessitating some overtime calculations to determine that the Badgers had won the stat 2.679 to 2.683, a key moment in their 7-4 win over the M’s. . . . The Badgers’ 6-0 week took them to 15-4 on the season, tied for the best record in ball, and two games better than AL runners-up Zero’s. But pity the poor Bammers, who, it’s fair to say, suffered a major injustice by going 0-6 in a week when they totaled 35 runs, 33 RBIs, 33 TB, a 2.57 ERA and 1.11 BR ratio. It just don’t seem right. . . . Over in the National division, the Inmates’ block-rockin’ start cooled considerably, a 2-4 week dropping them from 13-0 to 15-4 and into a first-place tie with the Whiteskins, who went 5-1. And DamianUnited had a week almost as weird as the Bammers’, but in a good way. DamU’s offense produced a puny four HRs, 17 BI, 20 TB and .302 OBP, yet the team still went 5-1 on the strength of a pitching week that might be as good as any we’ll see all season – 1.12 ERA, 0.72 BR (!), .95 K-rate, 4-0, 6 saves. And naturally, of those five wins, one was by tiebreaker, two were by 6-5 and a fourth was 6.5-4.5. It was the only way to fly this week. . . . One final note: A moment of silence, please, for the Godfathers, whose inexplicably awful start extended to 0-19 with a third straight winless week.

Week 3 Standings

AMERICAN DIVISION
Team, LW................W....L....PCT....GB
Badgers (6-0)............15....4....789....--
Zero's (5-1)...............13....6....684.....2
Moaners (4-2)............11....8....579.....4
Pontiffs (3-3)..............9...10....474.....6
Barristers (2-4)............7...12....368.....8
Bammers (0-6)............3...16....158....12
NATIONAL DIVISION
Team, LW................W....L....PCT....GB
Whiteskins (5-1).........15....4....789....--
Inmates (2-4)............15....4....789....--
Bombers (3-3)...........12....7....632.....3
DamUnited (5-1)........10....9....526.....5
Derelicts (1-5)............4...15....211....11
Godfathers (0-6).........0...19....000....15

Week 3 Stats

batting.........pa.....r......h-bb-t....2b+3b=tb.....hr....rbi....sb....obp....tb Zero's..........253....36...61-30=91.....9+0=18.........9....40.....2....360 Moaners.......272....33...66-27=93....16+2=38.........9....35.....5....342....185.2 Badgers........239....31...69-27=96....12+3=33.........5....31....11....402....175.2 Bammers......253....35...55-23=78....15+1=33.........7....33.....4....308....167.3 Barristers......248....31...58-20=78....17+2=40.........9....35.....4....315....180.8 Pontiffs........257....32...70-21=91.....7+1=17........11....44.....6....354....157.2 Bombers.......246....31...62-23=85....10+2=26.........6....22.....4....346 Derelicts.......254....24...55-20=75.....9+1=21.........5....19.....1....295 Godfathers....260....30...64-23=87.....7+0=14.........4....26....13....335 Inmates........209....26...49-23=72....10+2=26.........7....19.....1....344 DamUnited....242....29...52-20=73....10+0=20.........4....17.....5....302....163.8 Whiteskins.....244....32...62-18=80....12+1=27........12....42.....5....328....162.7 pitching..........ip....er.....h-bb-hbp=br/avg.....k/avg.......w-l....sv....era Zero's..........43.1....13.....37-12-0=49/1.13......35/0.81......3-3.....4...2.70 Moaners.......53.2....16.....42-18-5=65/1.21......40/0.75......2-2.....4...2.683 Badgers........43.2....13.....38-13-1=52/1.14......42/0.96......4-0.....7...2.679 Bammers.......52.1....15.....47--9-2=58/1.11......44/0.84......2-3.....1...2.57 Barristers......57.0....16.....48-28-1=77/1.35......44/0.772.....5-2.....4...2.52 Pontiffs........47.2....29.....52-30-2=84/1.76......30/0.63......2-2.....5...5.48 Bombers.......48.1....13.....43-12-1=56/1.16......37/0.766.....4-2.....4...2.42 Derelicts.......55.2....22.....52-17-1=70/1.26......55/0.99......4-3.....1...3.86 Godfathers....56.0....24.....61-16-0=77/1.38......48/0.86......2-2.....0...3.86 Inmates........34.2....19.....35--9-0=44/1.27......39/1.13......1-3.....2...4.932 DamUnited.....48.1.....6.....24-11-0=35/0.72......46/0.95......4-0.....6...1.12 Whiteskins.....45.2....25.....49-17-2=68/1.49......42/0.92......3-4.....2...4.933

Free Agent Draft No. 1

1. Godfathers take OF Span, Morse to DL;

........Taxi: Niese up, Feliz down

2. Derelicts take 2B Andino, Utley to DL;
........Taxi: Floyd up, Fister down
3. Bammers take OF De Aza, Cain to DL
4. Barristers take 1B LaRoche, drop Davis
........Taxi: Lilly up, Jurrjens down
5. DamUnited take RP Rodney, drop Venters
........Taxi: Peavy up, Volquez down
6. Pontiffs take RP Aceves, drop Benoit
7. Moaners take OF Scott, Ellsbury to DL
........Taxi: Billingsley up, Santana down
8. Zero's take RP S.Casilla, drop Melancon;
........Taxi: Dempster up, J.Garcia down
9. Badgers take 1B Hafner, drop Gamel
10. Bombers take SP Lynn, drop Baker;
........Taxi: Lynn & Capuano up, Latos & Luebke down
11. Whitekins take RP Shaw, Storen to DL;
........Taxi: Norris up, Pomeranz down
12. Inmates take SP Harang, drop Stauffer

SBL Notebook, Week 2

It was another jailbreak week for the mighty Inmates, who have leaped out of their cage and fired a shot across the collective bow of the SBL with a scorching 13-0 start. Just eyeballing the ’Mates’ hitting numbers these first two weeks, you might think they’d been playing full seven-day schedules while the rest of the league was playing half-weeks. Led by fast-starting Matt Kemp, David Ortiz, Ian Kinsler, Corey Hart, Alex Avila and others too numerous to mention, the Inmates' ball-busters mashed 11 HRs this week – bringing their two-week total to an astonishing 23 – and accumulated 36 runs, 34 TB and 33 RBIs . . . all in 174 plate appearances, fewer than all but three other teams in a truncated five-day schedule. All that offense papered over some truly gruesome pitching – it’s hard to envision any SBL team this season throwing up an ERA as bad as the 8.01 the Inmates just left splattered on the dugout wall – and kept the Mental Defectives unbeaten, with a three-game lead on the Whiteskins. And, good grief, look down there at the poor Godfathers, winless and already 13 games out of first place in the National Division – after TWO WEEKS! Things are more competitive in the American Division, where the Badgers went 5-2 to supplant one-week wonders the Moaners at the top of the heap – but at a mere 9-4, one game better than quick-recovering Zero’s (who went 6-1) and two up on the Moaners, who experienced a 1-6 stumble after their 6-0 start. . . . Statistically, only the Z’s (33 BI, 30 runs, 7 HRs) and the Puny Pontiffs (8 HRs, 33 BI, 32 runs) were able to hang out anywhere near the Inmates’ high-rent neighborhood in a semi-short week when the league average for PAs was about 50 to 60 shy of what a typical SBL team would get in a typical SBL week.

Week 2 Standings

AMERICAN DIVISION
Team, LW................W....L.....PCT....GB
Badgers (5-2).............9....4.....692....--
Zero's (6-1)...............8....5.....615.....1
Moaners (1-6)............7....6.....538.....2
Pontiffs (4-3).............6....7.....462.....3
Barristers (1-6)...........5....8.....385.....4
Bammers (3-4)...........3...10.....231.....6
NATIONAL DIVISION
Team, LW................W....L.....PCT....GB
Inmates (7-0)............13....0...1.000....--
Whiteskins (5-2).........10....3.....769.....3
Bombers (5-2).............9....4.....692.....4
DamUnited (3-4)..........5....8.....385.....8
Derelicts (2-5).............3...10.....231....10
Godfathers (0-7)..........0...13.....000....13

Week 2 Stats

Batting.........pa.....r......h-bb-t....2b+3b=tb.....hr....rbi....sb....obp....tb Zero's..........189...30...47-19=66.....12+0=24........7....33.....3....349 Moaners.......176...21...33-16=49......7+0=14........6....16.....3....278....109.9 Badgers........177...23...51-19=70......7+1=17........5....25.....8....395....140.4 Bammers......193...16...53-14=67.....12+1=27........3....23.....2....347....138.3 Barristers......172...32...47-18=65......4+0=08........4....16.....4....378....123.4 Pontiffs........168...32...45-10=55.....11+2=28........8....33.....3....327....132.2 Bombers.......178...25...46-19=65.....14+0=28........4....21.....4....365 Derelicts.......177...21...52-12=64.....12+0=24........2....26.....3....362 Godfathers....175...20...33-15=48......5+2=16........3....11.....4....274 Inmates........174...36...50-12=62.....14+2=34.......11....33.....4....356 DamUnited.....172...23...37-14=51......8+0=16........3....18.....4....297 Whiteskins.....191...25...41-17=58.....12+1=27........6....24.....0....304 Pitching..........ip....er.....h-bb-hbp=br/avg.....k/avg.......w-l....sv....era Zero's..........37.2....13.....35-17-1=53/1.41......42/1.12......2-3.....4...3.11 Moaners.......39.1....21.....41-11-2=54/1.37......33/0.84......1-4.....3...4.81 Badgers........39.0....15.....31-15-2=48/1.23......26/0.67......2-3.....2...3.46 Bammers......31.0....13.....26-06-0=32/1.03......37/1.19......2-1.....1...3.77 Barristers......38.2....17.....47-16-1=64/1.66......29/0.75......4-1.....1...3.96 Pontiffs........33.0....19.....44-11-0=55/1.67......29/0.88......0-2.....2...5.18 Bombers.......41.1.....9.....33-14-2=49/1.18......24/0.58......3-2.....3...1.96 Derelicts.......37.0....15.....28-11-0=39/1.05......35/0.95......1-3.....1...3.65 Godfathers....30.1....20.....34-14-1=49/1.62......33/1.09......2-1.....1...5.93 Inmates........29.0....26.....38-14-1=53/1.83......29/1.00......2-2.....3...8.01 DamUnited.....40.0....14.....39-11-1=51/1.28......35/0.88......1-1.....2...3.15 Whiteskins.....40.1....12.....25-08--0=33/0.82......33/0.82......2-1.....3...2.68

SBL Notebook, Week 1

First order of business: Don't nobody panic! Take a step back, breathe, and recognize that first-week results, as they might put it in Old Blighty, don't mean shite. A certain strain of SBL owner -- the more neurotic among our number, and they shall remain nameless here, but you/we know who you/we are -- tends to look at Week 1 numbers and let his imagination run wild, mentally extrapolating this small, isolated statistical sample into full-blown, ironclad, irreversible season-long trends -- like, if your 35-HR slugger from last year doesn't go yard at least once . . . or your star closer blows a save . . . or that staff ace you were counting on for 250 K's whiffs only five in seven innings . . . or, worst of all, if any or all of this results in an 0-6 or 1-5 start to the season -- well, that's it, then. It's over, you're doomed, all these clowns who underperformed in Week 1 are going to underperform to the exact same level in Week 2, Week 3, Week 4, and every single godforsaken week all the way through Week 26, and a 100-loss season is now absolutely, positively guaranteed. And your friends in the commissioner's office are here to tell ya . . . it just ain't so. If your boys stumbled out of the gate -- as the Bammers and the Godfathers just did, going 0-6 -- take heart, all is not lost. If you roared off the starting line -- as the Moaners and the Inmates just did, going 6-0 -- don't get cocky, there are 25 weeks to go and a lot can change. For evidence, we need go back only one year and look at 2011's Week 1 standings. A year ago, the Bammers and the Whiteskins sat atop the American and National division standings after scintillating 6-0 starts. By season's end those teams sat in fourth and last place, respectively, a combined 22 games under .500. Down at or near the bottom of those 2011 first-week standings we found the Cherry Valley Bombers, at 0-6, and the Zero's, at 1-5. Do we need to remind anyone who wound up winning the division pennants and meeting in the SBL Series? The Z's and CVBs would finish a combined 207-117, with the Bombers winning a close battle in the championship tilt. So, there you are -- the baseball season is a marathon, not a sprint, so everyone just chill. . . . It's also worth noting that last season began with an expected burst of offense, despite a severely truncated 3 1/2-day schedule, but then hitting numbers soon regressed and stayed flat for several weeks thereafter. This year, again, brought some surprisingly robust hitting to kick off the season -- but, just as a warning, don't be surprised if the lumber cools off in the coming weeks. Our little scheme to tweak the schedule -- splitting the first 11-12 days of the MLB season into two somewhat-shortened SBL weeks so as to return us to our traditional format with (almost) every stat week ending on a Sunday -- worked out just fine, for one week, anyway. Although we had what amounted to only about five full days' worth of games, plate appearances weren't too far off what we'd see in a normal week -- all but a couple of teams made it into the 200s, and the league average of 208 was only about 30 or so short of a full load. That's a fair and representative sample, we'd say. The league average of 7.25 homers was better than we've seen in some full-length weeks, and while there weren't many eye-popping RBI numbers, a handful of clubs made it into the 30s in runs and/or TB. The Inmates enjoyed a 12-HR, 36-run, 34-BI bash-fest, numbers that would hold up as category-winners in many a seven-day week.

Week 1 Standings

AMERICAN DIVISION
Team, LW...............W....L.....PCT....GB
Moaners..................6....0...1.000....--
Badgers..................4....2.....667.....2
Barristers................4....2.....667.....2
Pontiffs..................2....4.....333.....4
Zero's....................2....4.....333.....4
Bammers................0....6.....000.....6
NATIONAL DIVISION
Team, LW...............W....L.....PCT....GB
Inmates..................6....0...1.000....--
Whiteskins...............5....1.....833.....1
Bombers.................4....2.....667.....2
DamianUnited...........2....4.....333.....4
Derelicts.................1....5.....167.....5
Godfathers..............0....6.....000.....6

Week 1 Stats

Batting.........pa.....r......h-bb-t....2b+3b=tb.....hr....rbi....sb....obp....tb
Zero's..........212...23...44-20=64.....12+0=24........8....27.....0....302....146.6
Moaners.......221...35...58-23=81.....14+2=34........5....20.....6....3665
Badgers.......207...23...35-21=56.......7+2=20........7....25.....8.....271....128.4
Bammers.....207...23...52-22=74.......7+1=17........5....19.....2.....357....133.1
Barristers.....196...17...52-20=72......11+0=22........5....17.....4.....3673
Pontiffs.......204...27...53-13=66.......4+1=11........9....26.....3.....324
Bombers......212...31...56-15=71......10+1=23........9....26.....3.....335
Derelicts......198...20...39-15=54.......6+1=15........8....23.....1.....273....137.3
Godfathers...205...22...45-23=68.......7+0=14........8....25.....4.....332....128.9
Inmates.......209...36...50-24=74.....11+1=25.......12....34.....4.....354
DamUnited...212...25...48-16=66......9+1=21.........6....25.....5.....311....136.3
Whiteskins...215...33...50-23=73......11+5=37........5....23.....2.....339
Pitching.........ip....er.....h-bb-hbp=br/avg.....k/avg.......w-l....sv....era
Zero's.........35.0....13.....37-15-0=52/1.49......21/0.60.....1-4.....2...3.34
Moaners......44.2....11.....38--8-1=47/1.05......32/0.72......2-3.....7...2.22
Badgers......32.2....14.....26-13-0=39/1.19......33/1.01......0-2.....4...3.86
Bammers....50.1....24.....49-15-2=66/1.31......48/0.95......2-5.....0...4.29
BFGs.........40.1....10.....24-14-3=41/1.02......33/0.82......4-1.....2...2.23
Pontiffs......39.1....20.....39-10-2=51/1.30......35/0.89.....3-1......1...4.58
Bombers.....34.0....28.....46-12-1=59/1.74......28/0.82......0-5.....5...7.41
Derelicts.....42.2....16.....33-10-4=47/1.10......45/1.05......4-0.....0...3.37
G's............36.1....19.....37-20-0=57/1.57......26/0.72......4-2.....4...4.71
Inmates......32.1....15.....27--7-2=36/1.11.......28/0.87.....3-1.....3...4.18
DamU........44.1....22.....46-24-1=71/1.60......46/1.04......2-1.....1...4.47
W'skins.......39.1.....8.....20-17-1=38/0.96......35/0.89......0-1.....4...1.83

2012 SBL Rosters

INMATES
1B: Ortiz (79), Goldschmidt (235)
2B: Kinsler (14), Espinosa (209)
SS: As. Cabrera (27), Drew (222)
3B: Ar. Ramirez (40), R. Roberts (183)
C: Avila (92), R. Hernandez (248)
OF: Kemp (1), Hart (157), Maybin (170), C. Ross (196), Reimold (261), Heisey (300)
SP: Lincecum (53), Greinke (66), An. Sanchez (144), Buchholz (274), Sale (287)
Taxi: Carpenter (1), Stauffer (24)
RP: B. Wilson (105), Bailey (118), Guerra (131), Farnsworth (145)

BAMMERS
1B: Pujols (2), Dunn (158)
2B: Kendrick (54), Infante (288)
SS: Desmond (210), Cozart (249)
3B: Longoria (15), Lawrie (67)
C: C. Santana (28), Mesoraco (289)
OF: B. Upton (80), Werth (106), T. Hunter (146), L. Cain (171), De. Young (223), Crisp (262)
SP: Hamels (41), M. Cain (93), Wainwright (132), Hanson (133), McCarthy (275)
Taxi: H. Alvarez (2), T. Hudson (23)
RP: Santos (119), Jansen (184), Reed (197), Pestano (236)

GODFATHERS
1B: Freeman (121), Ca. Lee (211)
2B: Pedroia (16), Beckham (277)
SS: Andrus (42), Aviles (276)
3B: Mi. Cabrera (3), Morel (290)
C: R. Martin (224), Doumit (263)
OF: Bourn (29), Bruce (55), Victorino (81), Morse (107), C. Crawford (185), Bonifacio (198)
SP: Price (68), Gallardo (94), Kennedy (120), D. Hudson (159), Feliz (237)
Taxi: J. Santana (3), Niese (22)
RP: Street (134), Marmol (147), Francisco (172), Jo. Peralta (250)

WHITESKINS
1B: Lind (122), G. Sanchez (225)
2B: J. Weeks (69), Altuve (238)
SS: Tulowitzki (4), A. Escobar (264)
3B: R. Zimmerman (43), Callaspo (291)
C: J. Montero (173), Soto (212)
OF: Granderson (17), Ethier (56), Cuddyer (109), Stubbs (135), I. Suzuki (148), Tabata (265)
SP: Verlander (30), Garza (95), Morrow (160), Pomeranz (199), Cahill (278)
Taxi: Norris (4), Oswalt (21)
RP: M. Rivera (82), Storen (108), Myers (186), Santiago (251)

ZERO'S
1B: Teixeira (18), Pena (123)
2B: Uggla (44), O. Hudson (279)
SS: Y. Escobar (174), S. Rodriguez (292)
3B: Youkilis (31), Polanco (266)
C: Ramos (200), Iannetta (213)
OF: Bautista (5), C. Young (110), Swisher (136), Willingham (187), Kubel (226), Brantley (239)
SP: Strasburg (57), Lester (96), Beachy (149), W. Rodriguez (161), J. Garcia (252)
Taxi: Danks (5), Dempster (20)
RP: Kimbrel (70), Axford (83), Bell (97), Melancon (253)

BARRISTERS
1B: Konerko (58), I. Davis (214)
2B: Cano (6), Raburn (241)
SS: Rollins (71), Hardy (137)
3B: Wright (45), Valencia (240)
C: Wieters (84), K. Suzuki (254)
OF: J. Upton (19), A. Jones (98), Gardner (124), Morrison (201), Pagan (227), Rios (267)
SP: Halladay (32), C. Wilson (111), U. Jimenez (150), Pineda (162), Lilly (175)
Taxi: Lewis (6), Jurrjens (19)
RP: Papelbon (85), Clippard (188), R. Soriano (280), Lidge (293)

DAMIANUNITED
1B: Fielder (7), Howard (229)
2B: Zobrist (46), D. Murphy (242)
SS: D. Gordon (138), Bloomquist (294)
3B: Sandoval (73), Reynolds (86)
C: Arencibia (112), Y. Molina (215)
OF: Stanton (20), Jennings (72), Boesch (125), Duda (202), Wells (228), Francoeur (255)
SP: Cl. Lee (33), Sabathia (59), Darvish (99), G. Gonzalez (151), Volquez (268)
Taxi: Liriano (7), Peavy (18)
RP: C. Perez (163), Thornton (176), Venters (189), Adams (281)

MOANERS
1B: K. Morales (60), Morneau (243)
2B: R. Weeks (74), Scutaro (203)
SS: J. Reyes (21), Furcal (282)
3B: A. Rodriguez (34), Encarnacion (190)
C: M. Montero (87), Saltalamacchia (256)
OF: Ellsbury (8), N. Cruz (47), A. Jackson (177), Joyce (230), Mayberry (269), J. Rivera (295)
SP: Jo. Johnson (61), Worley (126), J. Zimmerman (139), E. Santana (164), Cueto (216)
Taxi: Billingsley (8), Chacin (17)
RP: Putz (100), League (113), Balfour (152), Chapman (217)

PONTIFFS
1B: Hosmer (35), Loney (244)
2B: Ackley (127), Barney (191)
SS: Al. Ramirez (88), Jeter (178)
3B: Trumbo (114), Freese (204)
C: Napoli (49), Buck (218)
OF: Ca. Gonzalez (9), J. Hamilton (22), Choo (62), Heyward (75), Bourjos (231), Craig (270)
SP: Haren (48), Hellickson (140), Scherzer (153), Masterson (205), Nolasco (257)
Taxi: J. Sanchez (9), E. Jackson (16)
RP: Valverde (101), Capps (165), De Los Santos (283), Benoit (296)

DERELICTS
1B: Votto (10), Mi. Young (89)
2B: N. Walker (102), Utley (192)
SS: Jh. Peralta (76), Al. Gonzalez (271)
3B: Moustakas (154), McGehee (206)
C: McCann (63), Olivo (258)
OF: Holliday (23), Pence (36), Markakis (115), Prado (193), A. Soriano (232), Ludwick (297)
SP: Weaver (37), F. Hernandez (50), Romero (128), Fister (166), Marcum (179)
Taxi: D. Holland (10), Floyd (15)
RP: Hanrahan (141), Bastardo (219), G. Holland (245), Crain (284)

BADGERS
1B: Berkman (64), Gamel (180)
2B: Kipnis (181), A. Hill (207)
SS: Castro (38), B. Crawford (272)
3B: H. Ramirez (11), P. Alvarez (285)
C: Mauer (103), Lucroy (246)
OF: McCutchen (24), A. Gordon (51), Cespedes (155), Rasmus (220), Ibanez (233), Belt (298)
SP: Kershaw (25), M. Moore (77), Bumgarner (90), M. Minor (194), Vogelsong (259)
Taxi: Nicasio (11), Lohse (14)
RP: Walden (116), S. Marshall (129), R. Betancourt (142), Motte (167)

BOMBERS
1B: Ad. Gonzalez (12), Butler (91)
2B: Phillips (39), K. Johnson (208)
SS: Aybar (52), Pennington (221)
3B: Beltre (26), Headley (260)
C: Posey (78), Barajas (299)
OF: Braun (13), Beltran (65), Me. Cabrera (117), Fowler (195), J. Martinez (234), Quentin (286)
SP: J. Shields (104), Beckett (130), Luebke (143), Latos (156), Kuroda (247)
Taxi: Capuano (12), S. Baker (13)
RP: Nathan (168), Broxton (169), Ji. Johnson (182), Romo (273)

2012 SBL Draft

FIRST ROUND
1. Matt Kemp, OF, Dodgers (Inmates)
2. Albert Pujols, 1B, Angels (Bammers)
3. Miguel Cabrera, 3B, Tigers (Godfathers)
4. Troy Tulowitzki, SS, Rockies (Whiteskins)
5. Jose Bautista, OF, Blue Jays (Zero's)
6. Robinson Cano, 2B, Yankees (Barristers)
7. Prince Fielder, 1B, Tigers (DamUnited)
8. Jacoby Ellsbury, OF, Red Sox (Moaners)
9. Carlos Gonzalez, OF, Rockies (Pontiffs)
10. Joey Votto, 1B, Reds (Derelicts)
11. Hanley Ramirez, 3B, Marlins (Badgers)
12. Adrian Gonzalez, 1B, Red Sox (Bombers)
13. Ryan Braun, OF, Brewers (Bombers)
SECOND ROUND
14. Ian Kinsler, 2B, Rangers (Inmates)
15. Evan Longoria, 3B, Rays (Bammers)
16. Dustin Pedroia, 2B, Red Sox (Godfathers)
17. Curtis Granderson, OF, Yankees (Whiteskins)
18. Mark Teixeira, 1B, Yankees (Zero's)
19. Justin Upton, OF, Diamondbacks (Barristers)
20. Giancarlo Stanton, OF, Marlins (DamUnited)
21. Jose Reyes, SS, Marlins (Moaners)
22. Josh Hamilton, OF, Rangers (Pontiffs)
23. Matt Holliday, OF, Cardinals (Derelicts)
24. Andrew McCutcheon, OF, Pirates (Badgers)
25. Clayton Kershaw, SP, Dodgers (Badgers)
26. Adrian Beltre, 3B, Rangers (Bombers)
THIRD ROUND
27. Asdrubal Cabrera, SS, Indians (Inmates)
28. Carlos Santana, C, Indians (Bammers)
29. Michael Bourn, OF, Braves (Godfathers)
30. Justin Verlander, SP, Tigers (Whiteskins)
31. Kevin Youkilis, 3B, Red Sox (Zero's)
32. Roy Halladay, SP, Phillies (Barristers)
33. Cliff Lee, SP, Phillies (DamUnited)
34. Alex Rodriguez, 3B, Yankees (Moaners)
35. Eric Hosmer, 1B, Royals (Pontiffs)
36. Hunter Pence, OF, Phillies (Derelicts)
37. Jered Weaver, SP, Angels (Derelicts)
38. Starlin Castro, SS, Cubs (Badgers)
39. Bradon Phillips, 2B, Reds (Bombers)
FOURTH ROUND
40. Aramis Ramirez, 3B, White Sox (Inmates)
41. Cole Hamels, SP, Phillies (Bammers)
42. Elvis Andrus, SS, Rangers (Godfathers)
43. Ryan Zimmerman, 3B, Nationals (Whiteskins)
44. Dan Uggla, 2B, Braves (Zero's)
45. David Wright, 3B, Mets (Barristers)
46. Ben Zobrist, 2B, Rays (DamUnited)
47. Nelson Cruz, OF, Rangers (Moaners)
48. Dan Haren, SP, Angels (Pontiffs)
49. Mike Napoli, C, Rangers (Pontiffs)
50. Felix Hernandez, SP, Marinerz (Derelicts)
51. Alex Gordon, OF, Royals (Badgers)
52. Erick Aybar, SS, Angels (Bombers)
FIFTH ROUND
53. Tim Lincecum, OF, Giants (Inmates)
54. Howie Kendrick, 2B, Angels (Bammers)
55. Jay Bruce, OF, Reds (Godfathers)
56. Andre Ethier, OF, Dodgers (Whiteskins)
57. Stephen Strasburg, SP, Nationals (Zero's)
58. Paul Konerko, 1B, White Sox (Barristers)
59. C.C. Sabathia, SP, Yankees (DamUnited)
60. Kendrys Morales, 1B, Angels (Moaners)
61. Josh Johnson, SP, Marlins (Moaners)
62. Shin-Soo Shoo, OF, Indians (Pontiffs)
63. Brian McCann, C, Braves (Derelicts)
64. Lance Berkman, 1B, Cardinals (Badgers)
65. Carlos Beltran, OF, Cardinals (Bombers)
SIXTH ROUND
66. Zach Greinke, SP, Brewers (Inmates)
67. Brett Lawrie, 3B, Blue Jays (Bammers)
68. David Price, SP, Rays (Godfathers)
69. Jemile Weeks, 2B, Athletics (Whiteskins)
70. Craig Kimbrel, RP, Braves (Zero's)
71. Jimmy Rollins, SS, Phillies (Barristers)
72. Desmond Jennings, OF, Rays (DamUnited)
73. Pablo Sanchez, 3B, Giants (DamUnited)
74. Ricky Weeks, 2B, Brewers (Moaners)
75. Jason Heyward, OF, Braves (Pontiffs)
76. Jhonny Peralta, SS, Indians (Derelicts)
77. Matt Moore, SP, Rays (Badgers)
78. Buster Posey, C, Giants (Bombers)
SEVENTH ROUND
79. David Ortiz, 1B, Red Sox (Inmates)
80. B.J. Upton, OF, Rays (Bammers)
81. Shane Victorino, OF, Phillies (Godfathers)
82. Mariano Rivera, RP, Yankees (Whiteskins)
83. John Axford, RP, Brewers (Zero's)
84. Matt Weiters, C, Orioles (Barristers)
85. Jonathan Papelbon, RP, Phillies (Barristers)
86. Mark Reynolds, 3B, Orioles (DamUnited)
87. Miguel Montero, C, Diamondbacks (Moaners)
88. Alexei Ramirez, SS, White Sox (Pontiffs)
89. Michael Young, 1B, Rangers (Derelicts)
90. Madison Bumgarner, SP, Giants (Badgers)
91. Billy Butler, DH, Royals (Bombers)
EIGHTH ROUND
92. Alex Avila, C, Tigers (Inmates)
93. Matt Cain, SP, Giants (Bammers)
94. Yovani Gallardo, SP, Brewers (Godfathers)
95. Matt Garza, SP, Cubs (Whiteskins)
96. Jon Lester, SP, Red Sox (Zero's)
97. Heath Bell, RP, Marlins (Zero's)
98. Adam Jones, OF, Orioles (Barristers)
99. Yu Darvish, SP, Rangers (DamUnited)
100. J.J. Putz, RP, Diamondbacks (Moaners)
101. Jose Valverde, RP, Tigers (Pontiffs)
102. Neil Walker, 2B, Pirates (Derelicts)
103. Joe Mauer, C, Twins (Badgers)
104. James Shields, RP, Rays (Bombers)
NINTH ROUND
105. Brian Wilson, RP, Giants (Inmates)
106. Jayson Werth, OF, Nationals (Bammers)
107. Michael Morse, OF, Nationals (Godfathers)
108. Drew Storen, RP, Nationals (Whitekins)
109. Michael Cuddyer, OF, Rockies (Whiteskins)
110. Chris Young, OF, Diamondbacks (Zero's)
111. C.J. Wilson, SP, Angels (Barristers)
112. J.P. Arencibia, C, Blue Jays (DamUnited)
113. Brandon League, RP, Mariners (Moaners)
114. Mark Trumbo, 3B, Angels (Pontiffs)
115. Nick Markakis, OF, Orioles (Derelicts)
116. Jordan Walden, RP, Angels (Badgers)
117. Melky Cabrera, OF, Giants (Bombers)
TENTH ROUND
118. Andrew Bailey, RP, Red Sox (Inmates)
119. Sergio Santos, RP, Blue Jays (Bammers)
120. Ian Kennedy, SP, Diamondbacks (Godfathers)
121. Freddie Freeman, 1B, Braves (Godfathers)
122. Adam Lind, 1B, Blue Jays (Whiteskins)
123. Carlos Pena, 1B, Rays (Zero's)
124. Brett Gardner, OF, Yankees (Barristers)
125. Brennan Boesch, OF, Tigers (DamUnited)
126. Vance Worley, SP, Phillies (Moaners)
127. Dustin Ackley, 2B, Mariners (Pontiffs)
128. Ricky Romero, SP, Blue Jays (Derelicts)
129. Sean Marshall, RP, Reds (Badgers)
130. Josh Beckett, SP, Red Sox (Bombers)
ELEVENTH ROUND
131. Javy Guerra, RP, Dodgers (Inmates)
132. Adam Wainwright, SP, Cardinals (Bammers)
133. Tommy Hanson, SP, Braves (Bammers)
134. Huston Street, RP, Padres (Godfathers)
135. Drew Stubbs, OF, Reds (Whiteskins)
136. Nick Swisher, OF, Yankees (Zero's)
137. J.J. Hardy, SS, Orioles (Barristers)
138. Dee Gordon, SS, Dodgers (DamUnited)
139. Jordan Zimmerman, RP, Nationals (Moaners)
140. Jeremy Hellickson, SP, Rays (Pontiffs)
141. Joel Hanrahan, RP, Pirates (Derelicts)
142. Rafael Betancourt, RP, Rockies (Badgers)
143. Corey Lubke, SP, Padres (Bombers)
TWELFTH ROUND
144. Anibal Sanchez, SP, Marlins (Inmates)
145. Kyle Farnsworth, RP, Rays (Inmates)
146. Torii Hunter, OF, Angels (Bammers)
147. Carlos Marmol, RP, Cubs (Godfathers)
148. Ichiro Suzuki, OF, Mariners (Whiteskins)
149. Brandon Beachy, SP, Braves (Zero's)
150. Ubaldo Jimenez, SP, Indians (Barristers)
151. Gio Gonzalez, SP, Nationals (DamUnited)
152. Grant Balfour, RP, Athletics (Moaners)
153. Max Scherzer, SP, Tigers (Pontiffs)
154. Matt Moustakas, 3B, Royals (Derelicts)
155. Yoenis Cespedes, OF, Athletics (Badgers)
156. Mat Latos, SP, Reds (Bombers)
THIRTEENTH ROUND
157. Corey Hart, OF, Brewers (Inmates)
158. Adam Dunn, 1B, White Sox (Bammers)
159. Daniel Hudson, SP, Diamondbacks (Godfathers)
160. Brandon Morrow, SP, Blue Jays (Whiteskins)
161. Wandy Rodriguez, SP, Astros (Zero's)
162. Michael Pineda, SP, Yankees (Barristers)
163. Chris Perez, RP, Indians (DamUnited)
164. Ervin Santana, SP, Angels (Moaners)
165. Matt Capps, RP, Twins (Pontiffs)
166. Doug Fister, SP, Tigers (Derelicts)
167. Jason Motte, RP, Cardinals (Badgers)
168. Joe Nathan, RP, Rangers (Bombers)
169. Jonathan Broxton, RP, Royals (Bombers)
FOURTEENTH ROUND
170. Cameron Maybin, OF, Padres (Inmates)
171. Lorenzo Cain, OF, Royals (Moaners)
172. Frank Francisco, RP, Mets (Godfathers)
173. Jesus Montero, C, Mariners (Whiteskins)
174. Yunel Escobar, SS, Blue Jays (Godfathers)
175. Ted Lilly, SP, Dodgers (Barristers)
176. Matt Thornton, RP, White Sox (DamUnited)
177. Austin Jackson, OF, Tigers (Moaners)
178. Derek Jeter, SS, Yankees (Pontiffs)
179. Shaun Marcun, SP, Brewers (Derelicts)
180. Mat Gamel, 1B, Brewers (Badgers)
181. Matt Kipnis, 2B, Indians (Badgers)
182. Jimmy Johnson, RP, Orioles (Bombers)
FIFTEENTH ROUND
183. Ryan Roberts, 3B, Diamondbacks (Inmates)
184. Kenley Jansen, RP, Dodgers (Bammers)
185. Carl Crawford, OF, Red Sox (Godfathers)
186. Brett Myers, RP, Astros (Whiteskins)
187. Josh Willingham, OF, Twins (Zero's)
188. Tyler Clippard, RP, Nationals (Barristers)
189. Jonny Venters, RP, Braves (DamUnited)
190. Edwin Encarnacion, 3B, Blue Jays (Moaners)
191. Darwin Barney, 2B, Cubs (Pontiffs)
192. Chase Utley, 2B, Phillies (Derelicts)
193. Martin Prado, OF, Braves (Derelicts)
194. Mike Minor, SP, Braves (Badgers)
195. Dexter Fowler, OF, Rockies (Bombers)
SIXTEENTH ROUND
196. Cody Ross, OF, Red Sox, (Inmates)
197. Addison Reed, RP, White Sox (Bammers)
198. Emilio Bonifacio, OF, Marlins (Godfathers)
199. Drew Pomeranz, SP, Rockies (Whiteskins)
200. Wilton Ramos, C, Nationals (Zero's)
201. Logan Morrison, OF, Marlins (Barristers)
202. Lucas Duda, OF, Mets (DamUnited)
203. Marcos Scutaro, 2B, Rockies (Moaners)
204. David Freese, 3B, Cardinals (Pontiffs)
205. Justin Masterson, SP, Indians (Pontiffs)
206. Casey McGehee, 3B, Pirates (Derelicts)
207. Aaron Hill, 2B, Diamondbacks (Badgers)
208. Kelly Johnson, 2B, Blue Jays (Bombers)
SEVENTEENTH ROUND
209. Danny Espinoza, 2B, Nationals (Inmates)
210. Ian Desmond, SS, Nationals (Bammers)
211. Carlos Lee, 1B, Astros (Godfathers)
212. Giovani Soto, C, Cubs (Whiteskins)
213. Chris Ianneta, C, Angels (Zero's)
214. Ike Davis, 1B, Mets (Barristers)
215. Yadier Molina, C, Cardinals (DamUnited)
216. Johnny Cueto, SP, Reds (Moaners)
217. Aroldis Chapman, RP, Reds (Moaners)
218. John Buck, C, Marlins (Pontiffs)
219. Antonio Bastardo, RP, Phillies (Derelicts)
220. Colby Rasmus, OF, Cardinals (Badgers)
221. Cliff Pennington, SS, Athletics (Bombers)
EIGHTEENTH ROUND
222. Stephen Drew, SS, Diamondbacks (Inmates)
223. Delmon Young, OF, Tigers (Bammers)
224. Russell Martin, C, Yankees (Godfathers)
225. Gaby Sanchez, 1B, Marlins (Whiteskins)
226. Jason Kubel, OF, Diamondbacks (Zero's)
227. Angel Pagan, OF, Giants (Barristers)
228. Vernon Wells, OF, Angels (DamUnited)
229. Ryan Howard, 1B, Phillies (DamUnited)
230. Matt Joyce, OF, Rays (Moaners)
231. Peter Bourjos, OF, Angels (Pontiffs)
232. Alfornso Soriano, OF, Cubs (Derelicts)
233. Raul Ibanez, OF, Yankees (Badgers)
234. J.D. Martinez, OF, Astros (Bombers)
NINETEENTH ROUND
235. Paul Goldschmidt, 1B, Diamondbacks (Inmates)
236. Vinnie Pestano, RP, Indians (Bammers)
237. Neftali Feliz, SP, Rangers (Godfathers)
238. Jose Altuve, 2B, Astros (Whitekins)
239. Michael Brantley, OF, Indians (Zero's)
240. Danny Valencia, 3B, Twins (Barristers)
241. Ryan Rayburn, 2B, Tigers (Barristers)
242. Daniel Murphy, 2B, Mets (DamUnited)
243. Justin Morneau, 1B, Twins (Moaners)
244. James Loney, 1B, Dodgers (Pontiffs)
245. Greg Holland, RP, Royals (Derelicts)
246. Matt Lucroy, C, Brewers (Badgers)
247. Hiroki Kuroda, SP, Yankees (Bombers)
TWENTIETH ROUND
248. Ramon Hernandez, C, Rockies (Inmates)
249. Zach Cozart, SS, Reds (Bammers)
250. Joel Peralta, RP, Rays (Godfathers)
251. Hector Santiago, RP, White Sox (Whiteskins)
252. Jaime Garcia, SP, Cardinals (Zero's)
253. Mark Melancon, RP, Red Sox (Zero's)
254. Kurt Suzuki, C, Athletics (Barristers)
255. Jeff Francoeur, OF, Royals (DamUnited)
256. Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C, Red Sox (Moaners)
257. Ricky Nolasco, SP, Marlins (Pontiffs)
258. Miguel Olivo, C, Marlins (Derelicts)
259. Ryan Vogelsong, SP, Giants (Badgers)
260. Chase Headley, 3B, Padres (Bombers)
TWENTY-FIRST ROUND
261. Nolan Reimold, OF, Orioles (Inmates)
262. Coco Crisp, OF, Athletics (Bammers)
263. Ryan Doumit, C, Twins (Godfathers)
264. Alcides Escobar, SS, Royals (Whiteskins)
265. Jose Tabata, OF, Pirates (Whiteskins)
266. Placido Polanco, 3B, Phillies (Zero's)
267. Alex Rios, OF, White Sox (Barristers)
268. Edinson Volquez, SP, Padres (DamUnited)
269. John Mayberry Jr., OF, Phillies (Moaners)
270. Allen Craig, OF, Cardinals (Pontiffs)
271. Alex Gonzalez, SS, Brewers (Derelicts)
272. Brandon Crawford, SS, Giants (Badgers)
273. Sergio Romo, RP, Giants (Bombers)
TWENTY-SECOND ROUND
274. Clay Bucholz, SP, Red Sox (Inmates)
275. Brandon McCarthy, SP, Athletics (Bammers)
276. Mike Aviles, SS, Red Sox (Godfathers)
277. Gordon Beckham, 2B, White Sox (Godfathers)
278. Trevor Cahill, SP, Diamondbacks (Whiteskins)
279. Orlando Hudson, 2B, Padres (Zero's)
280. Rafael Soriano, RP, Yankees (Barristers)
281. Mike Adams, RP, Rangers (DamUnited)
282. Rafael Furcal, SS, Cardinals (Moaners)
283. Fautino De Los Santos, RP, Athletics (Pontiffs)
284. Jesse Crain, RP, White Sox (Derelicts)
285. Pedro Alvarez, 3B, Pirates (Badgers)
286. Carlos Quentin, OF, Padres (Bombers)
TWENTY-THIRD ROUND
287. Chris Sale, SP, White Sox (Inmates)
288. Omar Infante, 2B, Marlins (Bammers)
289. Devin Mesoraco, C, Reds (Bammers)
290. Brett Morel, 3B, White Sox (Godfathers)
291. Alberto Callaspo, 3B, Angels (Whiteskins)
292. Sean Rodriguez, SS, Rays (Zero's)
293. Brad Lidge, RP, Nationals (Barristers)
294. Willie Bloomquist, SS, Diamondbacks (DamUnited)
295. Juan Rivera, OF, Dodgers (Moaners)
296. Joaquin Benoit, RP, Tigers (Pontiffs)
297. Ryan Ludwick, OF, Reds (Derelicts)
298. Brandon Belt, OF, Giants (Badgers)
299. Rod Barajas, C, Pirates (Bombers)
300. Chris Heisey, OF, Reds (Inmates)
TAXI-SQUAD ROUND (1)
1. Chris Carpenter, SP, Cardinals (Inmates)
2. Henderson Alvarez, SP, Blue Jays (Bammers)
3. Johan Santana, SP, Mets (Godfathers)
4. Bud Norris, SP, Astros (Whiteskins)
5. John Danks, SP, White Sox (Zero's)
6. Colby Lewis, SP, Rangers (Barristers)
7. Francisco Liriano, SP, Twins (DamUnited)
8. Chad Billingsley, SP, Dodgers (Moaners)
9. Jonathan Sanchez, SP, Royals (Pontiffs)
10. Derek Holland, SP, Rangers (Derelicts)
11. Juan Nicasio, SP, Rockies (Badgers)
12. Chris Capuano, SP, Dodgers (Bombers)
TAXI-SQUAD ROUND (2)
13. Scott Baker, SP, Twins (Bombers)
14. Kyle Lohse, SP, Cardinals (Badgers)
15. Gavin Floyd, SP, White Sox (Derelicts)
16. Edwin Jackson, SP, Nationals (Pontiffs)
17. Jhoulys Chacin, SP, Rockies (Moaners)
18. Jake Peavy, SP, White Sox (DamUnited)
19. Jair Jurrjens, SP, Braves (Barristers)
20. Ryan Dempster, SP, Cubs (Zero's)
21. Roy Oswalt, SP, Free Agent (Whiteskins)
22. Jon Niese, SP, Mets (Godfathers)
23. Tim Hudson, SP, Braves (Bammers)
24. Tim Stauffer, SP, Padres (Inmates)

Just Moments Away Now

After finally connecting with everyone across the globe, we're now almost ready to go.

We're breaking down certain players, position-by-position. After the hurly-burly settles into a dull roar, we'll get going.

The Inmates are on the clock.

Draft Order

1. Inmates
2. Bammers
3. Godfathers
4. Whiteskins
5. Zero's
6. Barristers
7. DamUnited
8. Moaners
9. Puny Pontiffs
10. Derelicts
11. Badgers
12. Bombers

Running Late But Ready To Go

So far there are five owners at the Hacienda in Chino Hills and it's almost 10 min. after the supposed 12:30 p.m. start.

Owners for the Inmates, Bammers, Barristers, Derelicts and Puny Pontiffs are the first to show. And the owner of the Barristers said "What the f*ck?" in response to not more owners being here.

So basically, we're right on time.

Draft Date (Almost Apparently) Set

It appears they're going ahead with their elaborate prank.

From The Commish:

"The 2012 SBL Draft is set for Sunday April 1. That's two weeks from tomorrow!

The time: 12:30 p.m. PDT and MST (for our Arizona contingent), 2:30 p.m. CDT (for our Texas representative), 12:20 a.m. Monday-or-whatever-the-f***-time-it-is in the Persian Gulf."

So there it is. Draft Day. April 1. April Fool's Day. Who knows what wonders lay beyond?

Whatever happens, it'll get live-blogged right here. The whole thing. Well, unless it's a wasp's nest. Then I'm out.

I'm allergic.

Potential Draft Day? Or April Fool's Day Prank?

So there was this e-mail, and now there's this rumor and let's just say they're contradictory.

First, the crucial details of a preliminary e-mail from The Commissioner:

"We're looking again at a daytime draft, which seemed to work best for the most people last year. For the sake of discussion, let's run this date up the flag pole and see who salutes:

Sunday, April 1, 12:30 p.m., at Gregg's house in Chino Hills. That's three days before the Wednesday opener."

Now, the rumor:

Sunday, April 1 will not be the date of the 2012 SBL Draft. Why? Priviledged few may know.

Could it be something rational, like a conficting work schedule? Hmm.

Or could it be something more sinister? Something from the crusty depths of a mind so demented, it would actually sense joy from interrupting an otherwise prolific Sunday afternoon?

Personally, I'd prefer a week night. Not that anyone gives a rip.