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