Twelve teams remain in action this week, but the battle for the league championship T-shirt has reached the semi-finals. Thanks to David Wells, I'm still in it.
Shaking off a month-long slump, my Toronto Walrus defeated Baird Brain 7-4. Jurgen is a worthy adversary, and it could have gone either way -- we began Sunday's action in a virtual tie. Had Boomer not spun seven shutout innings, I might have lost WHIP, ERA (the #1 tiebreaking category) and the match. The Yankees would be squirming, too. Todd Zeile, my emergency pickup when Mike Lowell went on the DL, came through with 6 RBI and 375/444/938 to lead the Walrus hitters, with Marlon Byrd scoring 11 runs in a 345/457/621 week.
Nation Builders, owned and managed by Scott Lucas, defeated Gwyn Price's Mebion Glyndwr 7-5 in another close contest. You could say that the difference between Josh Phelps (8 RBI, .824 SLG) and Jay Gibbons (1 RBI, .211 SLG) decided it. Scott faces the regular-season powerhouse Gashouse Gorillas in a sudden-death showdown; the Walrus takes on second-place Billie's Bashers. The winners will meet in a two-week final, beginning next Monday.
The consolation bracket was also hard-fought. Red Mosquitos (Spicol) defeated K-Town Mashers (Jonny German) 7-5 by winning RBI and sweeping the pitching categories. The Eastern Shore Birds (Greg) had a big Sunday to prevail 8-3 over the Chatsworth Halos (Brad). Up next for the Birds are Jick's Rays; the Mosquitos take on the Thunderbirds.
I don't know what to expect against the Bashers; anything can happen in a short series. R Billie must be counting his blessings that the Giambino's 048/200/190 week (and Piazza's 150/227/200) coincided with his first-round bye. Our big July deal (he got Giambi and Morris; I got Lowell and Schilling) might come back to haunt me, but I have no regrets. At the time, it appeared doubtful that Morris would return to effectiveness this season, and Lowell's injury was just bad luck. I suspect this match will go down to the wire next Sunday night.
The other semi-final should be just as tight. Snellville Jones also enjoyed a bye while a few of his hitters had off weeks, but his pitching is extremely strong if Roy Oswalt, scheduled for two starts this week, is anywhere near 100%. It can be a big advantage if you have an ace who goes Monday or Tuesday then returns on the weekend. For example, Justin B. had last week off and didn't need 19 IP, 2 wins, 0.47 ERA, 0.47 WHIP and 7.50 K/BB from Roy Halladay -- one of the great pitching lines of the season. This week, Doc starts only once.
Best of luck to everyone. Even R Billie.
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