Week 8

Player of the Week: John Lackey (2-0, 13 IP, 3 ER, 7K, 6BB, 57 Points ).

John Lackey is the first 2-time winning of the POW award, but Miguel Tejada narrowly missed being the first offensive player to win the award. On the week, Tejada went 9 for 22 with 3HR, 8RBI, and 55.75 Points. One more hit, and Tejada likely would have won the award.

I just can't seem to get any closer to Otto in the standings, as I remain 2 games behind him. I closed out the weekend taking 2 of 3 from Sourman over the weekend. My offense had a pretty nice week all together. Miggy had a great week. Carl Crawford and Markakis chipped in with 40+ point weeks, and Miguel Cabrera, Pujols, and Josh Barfield all added more than 34 points. Chris Duncan and Mike Sweeney addded 2 HRs apiece. Despite having only 1 XBH, Pudge did go 9 for 21.

My pitching was very solid this week. With only 1 start, Johan compiled 45 points! Recently acquired Vicente Padilla went 1-1 on the week. Trevor Hoffman continues to dominate, as he picked up 4 more saves this week. Valverde added 2 saves, and Papelbon added one more as my strong unit of closers is only one off the league lead currently held by Galaxy.

Week 7:

Player of the Week: Jose Valverde (4IP, 0-0, 4 Saves, 4K, 0BB, 0ER, 59.5 Points).

I had a pretty good week, and it ended with a 4-0 record over the weekend. I'm creeping up on Otto, as he now leads me by only 2 games. I made a small trade this past week, picking up the struggling Vincente Padilla for RP Brian Shouse. I think Padilla's upside makes this trade a win. If he turns it around, I get a nice SP. If he doesn't, I don't really lose anything that isn't replaceable.

Minor League Report

Many of my minor leaguers are off to pretty nice starts, and some are getting close to (or already) contributing at the major league level. Here's a breakdown of some of the standouts.

Top 5 Starting Pitchers:
1) Eric Hurley: 5-0, 1.84 ERA, 36/12 K/BB
2) Clay Bucholz: 1-1, 1.85 ERA, 46/4 K/BB
3) Scott Baker: 3-2, 3.16 ERA, 41/4 K/BB
4) Matt Garza: 2-2, 3.75 ERA, 41/15 K/BB
5) Garret Olson: 1-4, 4.21 ERA, 41/10 K/BB (4 Quality Starts in a row)

Top Relief Pitchers:
1) Jim Hoey: 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 18/3 K/BB
2) Andrew Brown: 1-2, 1.74 ERA, 27/9 K/BB

Top Offensive Players:
1) Brandon Moss: 275/387/511, 7 HR, 25 RBI
2) Chris Nelson: 259/323/420, 4 HR, 21 RBI

Some of my minor leaguers are already in the majors. Tom Mastny and Eric O'Flaherty are already in ML bullpens, and both are pitching very well. Gerald Laird is the starting C for the Rangers, but he is struggling mightily. Carlos Quentin is having trouble adjusting to ML pitching so far this season, and he may find himself back in AAA shortly. Pedro Martinez is rehabbing from injury, and he should be back in late July or early August.

Week 6

Player of the Week: Ian Snell (1-0, 14IP, 12 K, 2 BB, 4 ER, 48.25 pts.)

Cliff Lee had 50 pts, but I acquired him in mid-week, so he doesn't qualify since most of his points were earned with a CG victory as a member of PIB.

Trade 1: Jermaine Dye, John Buck, Wes Littleton, Chris Narveson to PIB for Cliff Lee, Ivan Rodriguez.
I get a very solid starter in Cliff Lee. I like the fact that he pitches for a team with an outstanding offense. Pudge is definitely getting older, but he should still provide solid production for a catcher (which is something I have been missing because Laird was such a disappointment).

Trade 2: BLOCKBUSTER: I traded Manny Ramirez, Aaron Harang, and Edwin Encarnacion to Hounds for Miguel Cabrera, Mike Sweeney, Todd Coffey, and Tom Mastny. I get one of the best young players in all of baseball in M-Cab (who is only 24). I'm not a fan of Sweeney, and he'll just hold down the fort at my Util spot until I can upgrade. Coffey and Mastny are solid RPs who will help solidify my bullpen. I give up Manny, who I cannot stand. He's a great talent, but I'd rather trade him too early in his career than too late. If I had waited too much longer, he wouldn't have much value left. Harang is the only piece I'm sad to part with. Even though his 5-1 start is deceivingly good (terrible ERA, great run support), he is a strikeout machine. But, the presence of Miguel Cabrera eases that pain.

I now have an excellent young nucleus to my offense: Pujols, M-Cab, Carl Crawford, Markakis, Barfield, Duncan...with Carlos Quentin on the way.

Pess Weighs in on the Rocket

So, what would happen if Barry Bonds signed a contract saying he could leave the team whenever he wasn't playing? What if he decided to rent himself out to a team who appaeared to be a playoff contender in June each season? He would be crucified by the media. But, here comes the Rocket Man, riding in on his white horse to collect his 4.5 million buckaroos a month to resurrect the worst pitching staff money can buy (Honestly, how do you spend a Michael Bay movie's worth of cash and have a weak pitching staff?).

I guess it's time for the game's ultimate Ring Chaser to continue the self-indulgent end to his spectacular career. He is absolutely one of the best pitchers the game has ever seen...no doubt about it. Is he still very good? Absolutely. But, his new found "let me choose a team with a good chance to win and come back in June" shtick is getting tiresome. He's like a junkie searching for his next "fix." And, his new scheme to collect another ring could lead to a disgusting trend in Major League contracts. Why won't everyone at the end of their career do this? Why don't other veterans sit around until May to sign "3-month leases" with the Yanks/Sox/Mets/Cubs?

I'm just not sure there has been an athlete in the last 20 years who I have despised so much (and believe me...I despise lots of things). All I can hope for is a failed season, a wasted $28 million, and hopefully an end to his career. No more Roger. Please...I can't take anymore.

Week 5

Player of the Week: Trevor Hoffman (0-0, 3 Saves, 3 IP, 4K, 0 BB, 46.25 Pts.)

The ageless closer earned this week's top honor. It was the lowest point total for a P.O.t.W., but Hoffman still had a nice week. He was successful in 3 save opps, and he yielded no runs. He helped my team move to within 4 games of Otto (thanks to some help from Bklyn Royal Giants over the weekend). My offense has yet to get it going this season. Veterans like Manny Ramirez and Jermaine Dye are off to slow starts, with Manny finally starting to heat up. Youngsters like Josh Barfield and Edwin Encarnacion have been huge disappointments (Barfield did have a very nice 12 point day today). Chris Duncan has been called up to help, and he's relegated Markakis to the bench for now. The pitching has carried my team so far, with all 5 P.O.t.W. winners earning their keep from the bump. However, the rotation got some bad news this week, as Carp will be out for at least 3 months - and maybe the rest of the season. With that in mind, the hitters will need to pick it up to keep pace with Otto.