Blog

  • Naturals Win Coin Toss

    First of all, the main purpose of this post is to verify that the new RSS feed application I just installed on Facebook is working.  If it is, this post should appear in the newly created DTBL group on Facebook.

    But while I’m at it, I might as well share the latest DTBL News.  Last night, Mike and I did the coin toss to break the tie between the Naturals and Darkhorses for draft position.  As you may recall, not only did the two teams tie for the league championship, but the first tie-breaker criteria also failed to break the tie.  So it came down to a coin toss.  I wanted to make sure I had another unbiased league member present when I did it, so Mike filled that role last night.  The result was that the Naturals will have the ninth pick in each round of the draft, while the Darkhorses will pick tenth for the fourth straight year.

    I’ve been doing some work on the new web site lately.  One of the main goals of this project is to make our league more interactive.  Part of the plan is to tie our league into popular social networking sites.  This is why I created the Facebook group last week.  My hope is to get new DTBL blog entries to show up in your Facebook feeds, so you won’t even have to go to the league web site to see the latest news.  Similarly, I have decided to create a Twitter account.  This account will be used exclusively to post DTBL and baseball related information.  If you are a Twitter user and want to start following me, my account name is @DTBL_Kevin, http://twitter.com/DTBL_Kevin.  You don’t need to sign up for Twitter to get the latest updates though.  I intend to set up a live feed on the new web site which will not only display my tweets, but those of some baseball media personalities as well.

    Although the full new web site probably won’t be finished for a few months, I hope to give you some previews soon.  Stay tuned!

  • Pujols Wins MVP Again

    Years from now after his career is over, we will have to give serious consideration to renaming the award for the league’s best player to the Albert Pujols Award.  Every single year, he puts up the kind of numbers you would expect for the recipient of such an award.  Never once has he had a bad season.  And now, for the fourth time in his career, Jackalope first baseman Albert Pujols has won the DTBL Most Valuable Player award.

    Has there ever been a more predictable player in terms of fantasy production?  Every season is the same for Pujols.  His numbers this year (.312 average, 42 home runs, 118 RBIs, 115 runs, 14 stolen bases) are basically identical to every other season of his career.  Shockingly, that batting average was a career worst.  Not too many guys win the MVP in their worst season in terms of batting average.  Basically, all of his numbers were right in line with his career averages.  Nothing spectacular, but only by his standards.  Pujols led the DTBL in home runs and runs.  He came in third in RBIs and tenth in batting average.  Even the stolen base numbers were pretty respectable.

    This is Pujols’ fourth MVP award.  It is the second time he has won the award in consecutive seasons.  He did so in 2003 and 2004 and now again in 2009 and 2010.  There were some pretty darn good seasons in between as well.  Pujols has essentially carried the Jackalope offense ever since they made him their first round pick back in 2002.  He is the franchise career leader in home runs (369), RBIs (1095) and runs (1069).  He broke the 1,000 milestone in RBIs and runs this season and will reach 400 DTBL home runs sometime next season.  It won’t be long before we see him near the top of the all-time league leaders.  He already ranks second in career batting average (.331).

    Pujols did not win this award easily.  In fact, I was a little surprised he won it at all.  Four other players had similarly fantastic seasons and this award could have gone to any of them.  Those players are Kings outfielder Carlos Gonzalez, Cougars outfielder Josh Hamilton and Naturals first basemen Miguel Cabrera and Joey Votto.  Cabrera and Votto may have hurt each others chances of winning this award, although Cabrera had a slight edge on Votto in every category except stolen bases.

    Pujols won the award with just three of the ten first place votes.  He placed second on four ballots and third on the other three for a total of 73 points.  This bested Gonzalez by just six points.  Gonzalez, the league’s Rookie of the Year, also garnered three first place votes.  Cabrera finished third with a pair of first place votes and 47 points.  He led the league in RBIs and also had a higher average than Pujols.  Somehow, he did not make the top five on one ballot.  Next came the guy who will probably beat out Pujols for the NL MVP, Joey Votto.  The MLB team success will be the primary factor in the NL MVP vote, which doesn’t apply here, although Votto did play for the co-champion Naturals.  He received one first place vote and 40 total points.  Finally, Josh Hamilton finished fifth, but even he received a first place vote.  His chances of winning this award were derailed by missing most of the final month with a rib injury though.  These five guys had tremendous seasons in a year otherwise dominated by pitching.  With the exception of Hamilton, the rest of them kept their DTBL teams in championship contention right until the last week of the season.

    So the Jackalope claimed two of the three post-season awards with the other going to the Kings.  Neither of the co-champions had an award winner, but I’m sure the Naturals and Darkhorses prefer the championship plaque anyway.

    Click here to view the full MVP voting results.

    That’s all for now, but a lot more is coming soon.  Next up, the roster cut deadline is quickly approaching.  Each team will need to cut down to 16 players by the end of November.  More to come on that soon.

  • Halladay Earns Cy Young Award

    Roy Halladay

    2010 was the best season for pitchers in DTBL history.  The countless number of dominating pitching performances was unprecedented.  A man responsible for two of the season’s best moments easily won the 2010 DTBL Cy Young Award.  That pitcher is Jackalope right-hander Roy Halladay.

    Halladay got his first Phillies and National League season off to a bang with a bunch of impressive starts in the first two months, capped off by throwing the 20th perfect game in MLB history in late May.  He wasn’t done with historic outings though.  In October, he threw just the second no-hitter in post-season history against Cincinnati Reds in the NLDS.  Of course, that performance did not count towards his DTBL accomplishments, but was a nice footnote to an incredible season.

    The Jackalope had the best pitching staff in the league and arguably one of the top starting rotations in DTBL history.  However, there was no question who the ace of the staff was.  Halladay tied for the league lead in wins with 21.  His 2.44 ERA and 1.041 WHIP were both the third lowest among qualified pitchers.  He finished fifth in strike outs with 219.  The win and strike out totals were career bests.

    Halladay has had a remarkably consistent career with the Jackalope.  This was the third time he reached the 20 win plateau and he is almost always near the top of the league in ERA and WHIP as well.  The Jackalope stole him in the fourth round of the 2002 draft and have reaped the rewards ever since.  Halladay has 146 wins for the Jackalope with a career ERA barely over 3.00.  Only one pitcher on a DTBL roster this season has more DTBL career wins (Andy Pettitte).  He ranks in the league’s all-time top 10 in wins, ERA and WHIP.  Although he has been a dominating force in the league for nearly a decade, this is his first DTBL Cy Young Award.  He finished third in the voting in both 2003 and 2008.

    As stated up front, this was a truly remarkable year for pitchers.  Although Halladay ran away with the award, the rest of the voting showed just how many deserving candidates there were for the award.  Halladay received nine of the ten first place votes for a total of 97 points.  12 other pitchers received top five votes.  Usually disbursement like that is saved for the other two awards more so than Cy Young.  Cougars pitcher Adam Wainwright finished second, receiving the other first place vote and five seconds for 54 points.  Wainwright also won 20 games, and even had a slightly lower ERA than Halladay.  Felix Hernandez was a test case in how people value wins.  Arguably, he had the most impressive stats of any pitcher if you ignore that he only had 13 wins.  He led the league in ERA and finished second in strike outs.  His 30 points ranked him third in the award voting, but four people didn’t put him on their ballot.  Next came Gators lefty C.C. Sabathia with 23 points.  Sabathia tied Halladay for the league lead with 21 wins.  Coming in fifth with 20 points was another Gators pitcher, Ubaldo Jimenez.  Early in the season, it appeared he would run away with this award.  He cooled off in the second half, but still finished with what would be Cy Young worthy numbers most years.  Even outside of the top five were a couple of pitchers who could have won in other years, like David Price and strike out champion Jered Weaver.  Not to mention a bunch of closers who received some token votes.

    Click here to view the full voting results.

    So far, Carlos Gonzalez and Roy Halladay have cruised to victories in the first two awards that have been named.  I can assure you though that the voting for Most Valuable Player was much, much closer.  Stay tuned for that tomorrow evening.

  • Gonzalez Named Top Rookie

    Initially thought to be a weak class, the 2010 DTBL rookies proved themselves to be a very capable group of first year players.  But one player stood head and shoulders above the rest.  Kings outfielder Carlos Gonzalez was unanimously voted the 2010 DTBL Rookie of the Year.

    Gonzalez was probably the biggest reason why the Kings were able to rebound from a last place finish in 2009 to finish in fourth place this year, just four points behind the co-champions.  Not only was he their best rookie, he was probably the best player on the team.  He hit .336 with 34 home runs, 117 RBIs, 111 runs scored and 26 stolen bases.  The batting average, home runs and runs scored led the Kings.  He was a close second on the team in the other two categories.  He easily led DTBL rookies in every category except stolen bases, making him a fairly obvious choice for this award.

    Gonzalez should be a strong candidate for the league’s Most Valuable Player award as well.  Those incredible numbers were also among the league leaders.  His batting average ranked second behind only Josh Hamilton.  His home run, RBI and run totals also placed him in the top five of the league.  Obviously, the 26 stolen bases are quite impressive as well, making him one of the elite five category players in all of baseball.  He will try to duplicate the feat of Ryan Howard, who in 2006 won both the DTBL Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player awards.  The MVP winner will be announced later this week.

    The Kings took a bit of a gamble on the Colorado Rockies outfielder, Gonzalez, with the first pick in the second round (11th overall) in the March draft.  He was drafted to be a solid five category player with a good upside.  Clearly, nobody projected him as an immediate superstar though, thus the second round draft slot.  In an unusually weak draft class for outfielders, he was the second outfielder picked, behind Andrew McCuthen who also had a strong rookie season.  A few other players selected ahead of him did receive ROY votes, but none had anywhere near the impact of Gonzalez.

    As mentioned, Gonzalez won the award unanimously, receiving all ten first place votes for a total of 100 points.  He is the first unanimous Rookie of the Year winner since Ryan Howard in 2006.  He was not the only rookie to have a great season though.  Mavericks closer Neftali Feliz finished second in the vote.  Feliz burst onto the scene with 40 saves and a minuscule 0.88 WHIP.  He received five second place votes and a total of 53 points.  Finishing third was Moonshiners pitcher Jonathan Sanchez with three second place votes and 41 points.  Sanchez led all rookies with 205 strike outs and 13 wins (tied with Ricky Romero).  Jackalope third baseman Casey McGehee came in fourth with 27 points.  McGehee’s 23 home runs and 104 RBIs were only bested by Gonzalez among the rookie class.  Finally, Naturals outfielder McCutchen filled out the top five.  McCutchen was another strong power and speed guy with 16 home runs and 33 steals.  A couple starting pitchers received votes and would have probably finished higher if they had spent the entire season on DTBL rosters.  Mat Latos and Trevor Cahill fit this description.

    Click here to view the full voting results.

    The 2010 DTBL Awards announcements will continue this week.  The Cy Young Award winner will be named tomorrow (Wednesday) evening.  Finally, the Most Valuable Player will be awarded on Thursday.

  • Fit To Be Tied

    In what turned out to be the wildest finish in league history, six months of thrilling baseball action was not enough to distinguish one team as being the league’s best.  Instead, for the first time ever, two teams will share the title.  When the regular season ended a week ago, David’s Darkhorses and Nick’s Naturals both finished with 76 points, making them the 2010 Dream Team Baseball League Co-Champions.

    Besides the tie at the top, this season becomes quite historic for another reason as well.  With the shared title, the Darkhorses captured their fourth consecutive DTBL Championship.  Kevin’s Kings accomplished the same feat in 2000-2003.  The Darkhorses fourth title ties them with the Kings for the most championships in DTBL history.  This was definitely the least dominating Darkhorses championship team, but that takes nothing away from what they have accomplished.

    Meanwhile, the Naturals captured their second DTBL crown.  They also won back in 2005.  For most of the seasons since then, they have been a consistent contender, but haven’t quite been able to run down the Darkhorses.  This second title matches the Naturals with the Mavericks, Gators and Choppers as two time champions.  Only the Darkhorses, Kings and Cougars have won more.

    The Naturals made some history of their own with this championship.  They captured all 50 possible batting points.  No team has ever reached 50 points in total batting or pitching, although the 1994 Cougars did obtain the maximum 30 batting points (there were only six teams in the league at that time).  Not surprisingly, the Naturals 26 pitching points is the fewest ever for a champion since the league expanded to 10 teams in 1998.  The Darkhorses reached 76 points in a much more conventional manner:  40 batting and 36 pitching.  So while the Naturals were dominating the league with offense and mediocre pitching, the Darkhorses proved to be the most balanced team, just like they have been in all of their championship seasons.

    Obviously, this was the closest finish in league history, but not only because the top two teams finished with identical point totals.  Two other teams came within five points of the title.  Jay’s Jackalope finished three points behind the leaders for a third place finish while the Kings came in fourth, just five points back.  The only other comparable season where the race came down to four teams was in 1999 when the Choppers won by two points with three teams tying for second place.  Since 2001, only three teams have finished within five points of first and those were in different seasons.  In fact, the league has completely lacked pennant races in recent years.  The closest margin of victory in the past four years was 8 1/2 points.  So to have four teams well within that margin is quite remarkable.

    The race was tight all season.  The Darkhorses held the top spot for a majority of the season and even seemed to be distancing themselves from the pack in the late summer.  But the Naturals put on a late season charge and even appeared headed to the consensus title in the final week of the season.  The Darkhorses put forth one final gasp and tied the Naturals with two days remaining.  Surprisingly, despite some extremely tight races in individual categories, the standings remained the same through the final weekend.  The prospect of a couple National League tie-breaking games loomed large, but it turned out the playoff spots were clinched in the final day of the regular season and no additional games were necessary.  So with that, the Darkhorses and Naturals each claimed a piece of the title.

    So how did each team do it?  As mentioned, the Darkhorses were the more balanced team.  They really didn’t have any players with MVP caliber seasons, but instead had a roster full of quality players.  Perhaps not quite to the extreme as their past championship clubs, but this squad didn’t have many weaknesses.  Adrian Gonzalez was probably their top offensive player, but Darkhorses were shockingly absent from the offensive league leaders list.   Gonzalez clubbed a team high 31 home runs.  Matt Holliday had a very good season as well with a .312 average and a team high 103 RBIs.  Hanley Ramirez had another typically solid season too.  But other than that, not a lot of guys stand out.  On the pitching side, Tim Lincecum, Chris Carpenter and Roy Oswalt once again helped make up one of the league’s best pitching staffs.  Although they were overshadowed by the Jackalope rotation this year.  The bullpen, led by Brian Wilson and Francisco Cordero, led the league in saves.  Oswalt won the league WHIP title (1.00) and Wilson recorded more saves than any other DTBL closer (48).

    The Naturals were led by offense, offense and more offense.  Two of the leading MVP candidates are Naturals.  First basemen Miguel Cabrera and Joey Votto will both garner strong MVP consideration.  Cabrera finished in the top four of the league in every offensive category except stolen bases.  He hit .329 with 38 home runs, a DTBL leading 126 RBIs and 111 runs scored.  Votto also finished among the league leaders in all of those categories, slightly behind Cabrera in each.  Votto hit .324, 37 home runs, 113 RBIs and 106 runs scored.  While those guys were awesome for the entire season, it was the late season tear of Troy Tulowitzki which may have pushed the Naturals over the top.  Tulo finished with 27 home runs, almost all of which seemed to be in the last month and a half of the season.  Although the Naturals pitching points were on the low side, they did have a few guys who had tremendous seasons.  David Price and Jon Lester carried the starting rotation and Joakim Soria had another solid season out of the bullpen.

    The Darkhorses and Naturals earned the league’s ultimate prize, but a few other teams have to be happy with their season as well.  The Jackalope had their best finish (3rd) since 2006 and were in the race the entire season.  Led by the league’s best pitching staff, if they can improve their offense a bit, they will be a favorite in 2011.  The Kings rebounded from an absolutely dreadful last place finish in 2009 to finish fourth this year.  An improved pitching staff in the second half of the season bodes well for the future too.  The Moonshiners and Gators saw modest improvement, moving up one spot each to finish fifth and sixth respectively.  And although a seventh place finish isn’t much to get excited about, it was the best finish for the Choppers since 2006.

    Then there were the rest.  The Mavericks took the honor of the league’s most disappointing team.  Ravaged by injuries and out of the race early, they made a bunch of trades with an eye to the future.  This left them with a very thin roster for the last couple months of the season.  Just like this year, they will have two of the first three picks in the draft next year though.  Hopefully it turns out better for them this next time around.  The Cougars fell to ninth place despite a surprisingly good offense led by MVP candidate Josh Hamilton.  However, their league worst nine pitching points removed any hopes of being a contender.  Finally, the Demigods had their worst season ever, finishing dead last.  For a while, last place looked like it was going to be an extremely coveted position.  However, Stephen Strasburg’s injury put a bit of a damper on that.  Next year’s draft still figures to be quite loaded though, so these bottom finishing teams will have an opportunity for immediate improvement.

    Speaking of next year’s draft, a coin toss will be performed to determine which team will pick 10th in the draft.  The first tie-breaker for determining draft position is a head-to-head stat category comparison.  However, the Darkhorses and Naturals each bested the other in five categories, so the coin toss will be necessary.  I will wait until I have another DTBL member present to witness it and will let you know how it turns out.

    That’s all for the 2010 DTBL season.  Thanks to everyone for yet another exciting year.  18 seasons are in the books!  This was one of our most active seasons in terms of activity too, which always helps keep things interesting.  I will be in touch about the post season awards voting soon.  Congratulations to Dave and Nick on their well deserved titles!

  • Co-Champions!

    It’s official.  The Darkhorses and Naturals will share the 2010 DTBL Championship.  Much more to come later, but I thought I would post this so you know the standings and stats were updated this morning and the season is officially over.  Congrats to Dave and Nick!

  • A Real Pennant Race

    After three years of Darkhorses domination, it appears we finally have an exciting race on our hands.  With two weeks remaining in the season, the championship is very much up for grabs.  Of course, the three time defending champs are one of the top contenders, but they are not running away with it like they have the last three years.  Through Sunday, the Darkhorses find themselves one point out of first, trailing the Naturals.  Those two have swapped the top spot several times the last couple weeks with neither team holding more than a couple point edge.

    The Naturals currently hold the top spot thanks to an incredible offense that leads the league in all five batting categories.  No team has ever come close to doing that before, so that will be an interesting thing to watch down the stretch.  They just may need to hang onto those 50 points to win the league because their pitching staff has been a little disappointing.  Their current 27 pitching points would be the lowest total ever for a league champion.

    The Darkhorses are a much more balanced team.  They rank third in the league in both batting and pitching points.  However, their total of 76 points is quite a bit below the pace they set the last few years.  The last team to win the league with fewer than 80 points was the Mavericks in 2006, but that could be the case this year.

    While mostly a two team race, the Jackalope and Kings are technically still alive as well.  The Kings were the story of the league in August, moving from the bottom half of the standings all the way up to second place at one point.  They did so thanks to a resurgent pitching staff.  They have fallen back a bit the last couple weeks and are currently 11 1/2 points out of first.  No matter how things turn out, this will be a successful season for the once proud franchise that finished dead last a year ago.

    Meanwhile, the Jackalope are keeping hope alive in their quest for a first DTBL championship.  They are in third place, 8 1/2 points behind.  However, close inspection of the standings shows several categories where they have an opportunity to pick up points.  It will take an incredible two week run and will probably require the top two teams to fall back a bit, but the Jackalope are certainly still in the running.

    Looking at the different categories, both the Naturals and Darkhorses are in pretty good shape with few worries about losing ground.  There aren’t a lot of points to be gained either though, so I would be very surprised if either team shifted more than a couple points up or down.  So with the current margin being just a single point, this is almost certainly going to wind up being one of the closest races in league history.  The Jackalope have several categories where they have an opportunity to pick up points, so it will be very interesting to see if this turns into a three team sprint to the finish.

    Perhaps not as exciting, the race is equally tight at the bottom of the standings.  The Cougars currently sit in last place, but just one half point behind the Demigods.  Meanwhile, the Mavericks, playing with barely more than half a roster, are four points out of last.  The Choppers have put on a nice late season run to move up to 7th place.

    Will the Darkhorses make it four in a row and tie the Kings for the most titles in league history?  Will the underdog Naturals hang on to win their second championship?  Or will the Jackalope put on a furious run to win their first title?  Stay tuned!

  • A Flurry of Trades

    The most active trade deadline in DTBL history saw five deals completed in the final two weeks before the August 15 deadline.  From what I heard, many other deals were discussed as well.  Some of the deals were made by the top three teams who are in an extremely tight race for the league championship.  Others were made by teams looking to the future.

    The activity began a little more than a week prior to the deadline.  On August 9, the three time defending champion Darkhorses completed a pair of trades.  First, they acquired catcher Ryan Doumit from the Kings for starting pitcher Ervin Santana.  The Darkhorses ran into a bit of a problem right before the deadline as both of their regular catchers suffered injuries (Russell Martin and Geovany Soto).  Martin’s injury was especially problematic because he will miss the remainder of the season.  Doumit took Martin’s spot in the Darkhorses lineup.  The Darkhorses released Martin who was a key member of their three championships.  Doumit has been mostly disappointing following a third round selection by the Kings.  He was recently replaced in the Pirates and Kings lineups by Chris Snyder.  He is getting time at other positions though, so he does have some fantasy value.  Meanwhile, Santana gives the Kings a little more depth to a starting rotation that has been mostly disappointing this season.  For now, Santana is on their bench, but the Kings had little to lose in this deal since Doumit was no longer part of their plans.

    The Darkhorses second deal on the 9th was a minor one.  They acquired second baseman Alberto Callaspo and a 10th round pick in exchange for a 9th round pick to the Mavericks.  The Mavericks had little use for Callaspo once Brian Roberts returned from the disabled list. so they were happy to move up a round for next year’s draft.  Callaspo does have value for the Darkhorses though.  Injuries to Martin Prado and Rafael Furcal have left the Darkhorses a little short handed in the middle infield.  In fact, all of the deals made by the Darkhorses were primarily to shore up spots vacated by injuries.  So far, they are still hanging on at the top of the standings, but their lead is tenuous at best.

    Three more deals were completed in the final weekend before the deadline.  The first was a pretty significant trade between two teams still in the championship hunt.  The Jackalope made their first trade in years, acquiring second baseman Kelly Johnson from the Kings for starting pitcher Max Scherzer.  The Jackalope have had the best pitching staff in the league all year, but their offense has kept them out of first place.  Johnson has had a very good year for the Kings, but was expendable due to a log jam in their middle infield.  Johnson should give the Jackalope an immediate power boost.  Meanwhile, Scherzer may have been the most talented pitcher sitting on a DTBL bench for most of the season.  He was stuck behind the Jackalope’s five superstar aces.  The Kings have had their eye on him for quite a while.  He provides them with a power arm.  Until earlier this week, the Kings were buried in last place in strike outs.  The Kings have a lot of ground to make up, so this trade may not be enough.  However, Scherzer will probably be part of their future plans.

    Perhaps the biggest trade was between two teams near the bottom of the standings.  The Mavericks traded DTBL home run leader Adam Dunn and a fourth round pick to the Cougars for a first round pick in next year’s draft.  So the Mavericks will have two of the first four or five picks in the draft again next year.  Hopefully for their sake, those picks will pan out a little better than they did this year.  On the other hand, the Cougars know exactly what they are getting in Dunn.  One of the most consistent power hitters in the league, Dunn will give the Cougars a huge power boost.  He clearly would have been a top five pick in the draft if he had been eligible next year, so trading the pick made sense for the Cougars.

    Finally, the Mavericks weren’t done with their fire sale.  The last trade before the deadline saw the Mavs deal veteran catcher Jorge Posada to the Darkhorses for relief pitcher Daniel Bard.  Posada fills the other injury hole in the Darkhorses catching duo.  Bard is a likely closer of the future, although if the Red Sox don’t make a decision soon on him vs. Papelbon, the Mavericks will have a difficult decision to make when roster cut time comes.  This deal also leaves the Mavericks very shorthanded for the remainder of this season.  They are out of free agent signings, so they will have to go with one catcher the rest of the way.  On top of that, they had to activate Magglio Ordonez to fill Dunn’s spot.  Ordonez probably won’t return until late September.  So the Mavericks are playing two men short at the moment.  Clearly, the Mavericks don’t have any particular desire to move up the standings.

    So what do these deals mean as far as this year’s pennant race is concerned?  The Darkhorses made a bunch of moves to cover up for injuries.  They weren’t necessarily big improvement type deals, but filled needs.  They are obviously still the team to beat, although they did lose their first place spot for one day earlier this week.  The Jackalope held first place for that one day.  It was their first taste of the top of the standings since early in the season.  Johnson should give the Jackalope offense a boost, but will it be enough?  The Jackalope pitching is so strong that they should be right in the running until the end.  As of today, they are just two points out.  The third team in serious contention is the Naturals.  Although they did not make any deadline deals, they still have as good a shot as anybody.  They continue to dominate the batting categories, but have some pitching issues.  Essentially, they are the exact opposite of the Jackalope.  Meanwhile, the Darkhorses remain strong in batting and pitching.  The Kings bolstered their starting pitching, but 11 1/2 points will be difficult to make up in a month and a half.  The moves they made were not just about this season though.  They hope to keep their strong offense in tact, while improving the starting pitching.

    The other six teams have very little hope of making a run this year, but the Cougars and Mavericks both made moves with an eye to the future.  The Mavericks have suffered through a miserable year full of injuries and disappointments.  With the picks they have acquired, they hope for better results next year.  The Cougars gave up their first round pick for ’11, but picked up a first round caliber player in Dunn.

    With three teams within four points of first place, the next month and a half should be very entertaining.

  • National Pitchers Prevail

    In a baseball season with headlines dominated by pitchers, it was quite appropriate that the pitching staff for the National Division was primarily responsible for a 4-1 victory in the 17th annual Dream Team Baseball League All-Star Game.  The game took place last Monday night, a day later that originally scheduled due to travel problems for yours truly.  But fortunately we were able to get the game in a day later.  A three run seventh inning proved to be the difference in the game as the National All-Stars picked up the victory at Cougar Coliseum, home of Kelly’s Cougars.

    Only two players from the host team made the National All-Star squad, but both played significant roles in the victory, including staff ace Adam Wainwright who got the start on the mound.  He was opposed by early Cy Young Award candidate, Ubaldo Jimenez of the Gators.  Both starters were sharp in this one, pitching a pair of scoreless innings.  Jimenez did get into a bit of a jam in the bottom of the second though.  Justin Morneau touched him up with a one out triple.  However,  successive strike outs of Robinson Cano and Hanley Ramirez ended the threat.  The Ramirez at bat was especially dominating as Ramirez whiffed at three consecutive pitches.

    Chris Carpenter took the mound for the National Division in the third and was rudely greeted with a lead-off home run by Ryan Braun, giving the American All-Stars an early 1-0 lead.  The National squad quickly answered in the bottom half.  Cougars outfielder Josh Hamilton knocked a two out single to right-center scoring Joe Mauer who had singled to lead off the inning.  The National team recorded three singles in the inning off league ERA leader Josh Johnson.

    The score remained tied until the bottom of the seventh.  Neither team recorded more than one hit in an inning during the middle frames.  Rafael Soriano took the mound for the American Division in the seventh and quickly retired the first two batters he faced.  But it started to unravel after that.  Soriano hit Torii Hunter and uncorked a pair of wild pitches on his way to walking Alex Rios.  Billy Wagner then relieved Soriano with runners on the corners.  An Adam Dunn single scored Hunter.  Then Kevin Youkilis reached on an error by third baseman David Wright to load the bases.  A bases loaded walk to Morneau increased the lead to 3-1.  Then Cano followed with another single to score the third run of the inning.  When the inning finally ended, the National All-Stars had built a 4-1 lead.

    The American Division never really had an opportunity to get back in the game after the big seventh inning.  Mariano Rivera pitched a scoreless eighth inning and Brian Wilson retired the American hitters in order in the ninth, including a pair of strike outs.  The game ended on a Wilson strike out of Albert Pujols after a lengthy nine pitch at bat.  Jonathan Broxton picked up the victory for the National Division while Soriano took the loss and Wilson recorded the save.

    There was a small controversy regarding the selection of the game’s Most Valuable Player.  OOTP chose Ryan Braun, but Dave and I immediately overruled that selection since not only was he on the losing team, but his solo home run was his only hit of the game.  There were a number of candidates, including Dunn and Cano, but we went with Kings first baseman Justin Morneau.  Morneau was one for two with a triple and two walks in four plate appearances.  One of his walks was with the bases loaded, so he also had an RBI.

    National pitchers were completely dominating in this one.  Not only did they surrender just the one run on a solo home run, but they gave up only four hits to a very impressive American lineup.  National pitchers also recorded 10 strike outs with just one walk.  American pitchers were not quite as dominant, but they gave up just two earned runs and struck out nine.

    Thanks to Dave and Nick for the time they spent making the final roster selections, setting their lineups and then showing up to manage the game.  It was a well played game and a great way to kick off the second half of the season.  Now we will just have to see if someone is going to make a run at the Darkhorses who appear primed to make it four in a row.

  • 2010 DTBL All-Stars

    Thanks to everyone for voting for the 2010 DTBL All-Stars.  The 17th annual DTBL All-Star Game is tentatively scheduled for Sunday, July 18 at 9 p.m EDT / 6 p.m. PDT.  Nick will be managing the American Division while Dave will be calling the shots for the National Division.  The two of them were responsible for breaking all ties in the voting and for selecting the 23rd player for each roster.  And now, here are your 2010 DTBL All-Stars.  The final voting results are posted below the rosters.

    American Division

    Starters:
    P – Ubaldo Jimenez, Gators
    C – Mike Napoli, Moonshiners
    1B – Miguel Cabrera, Naturals
    2B – Rickie Weeks, Naturals
    3B – David Wright, Moonshiners
    SS – Elvis Andrus, Jackalope
    OF – Carl Crawford, Naturals
    OF – Vladimir Guerrero, Choppers
    OF – Ryan Braun, Jackalope

    Reserves:
    C – Victor Martinez, Naturals
    1B – Albert Pujols, Jackalope
    1B – Paul Konerko, Moonshiners
    2B – Dan Uggla, Gators
    OF – Vernon Wells, Jackalope
    OF – Shin-Soo Choo, Moonshiners
    P – Roy Halladay, Jackalope
    P – Josh Johnson, Gators
    P – Yovani Gallardo, Moonshiners
    P – Jon Lester, Naturals
    RP – Rafael Soriano, Moonshiners
    RP – Heath Bell, Jackalope
    RP – Phil Hughes, Choppers
    RP – Billy Wagner, Gators

    National Division

    Starters:
    P – Adam Wainwright, Cougars
    C – Joe Mauer, Demigods
    1B – Justin Morneau, Kings
    2B – Robinson Cano, Kings
    3B – Evan Longoria, Demigods
    SS – Hanley Ramirez, Darkhorses
    OF – Josh Hamilton, Cougars
    OF – Carlos Gonzalez, Kings
    OF – Alex Rios, Kings

    Reserves:
    C – Jorge Posada, Mavericks
    1B – Kevin Youkilis, Mavericks
    2B – Dustin Pedroia, Demigods
    2B – Martin Prado, Darkhorses
    OF – Torii Hunter, Darkhorses
    OF – Adam Dunn, Mavericks
    P – Chris Carpenter, Darkhorses
    P – Tim Lincecum, Darkhorses
    P – Clayton Kershaw, Mavericks
    P – Clay Buchholz, Kings
    RP – Neftali Feliz, Mavericks
    RP – Jonathan Broxton, Darkhorses
    RP – Mariano Rivera, Mavericks
    RP – Brian Wilson, Darkhorses

    Players by team:
    7 – Darkhorses
    6 – Jackalope, Mavericks, Moonshiners
    5 – Kings, Naturals
    4 – Gators
    3 – Demigods
    2 – Choppers, Cougars

    Voting Results

    American Division

    Catchers

    10 – Mike Napoli, Moonshiners
    8 – Victor Martinez, Naturals
    2 – Kurt Suzuki, Gators

    First Basemen/Third Basemen

    10 – Miguel Cabrera, Naturals
    8 – Albert Pujols, Jackalope
    7 – Paul Konerko, Moonshiners
    6 – David Wright, Moonshiners
    5 – Joey Votto, Naturals
    3 – Adrian Beltre, Choppers
    1 – Scott Rolen, Naturals

    Second Basemen/Shortstops

    8 – Dan Uggla, Gators
    8 – Rickie Weeks, Naturals
    5 – Elvis Andrus, Jackalope
    4 – Derek Jeter, Gators
    3 – Troy Tulowitzki, Naturals
    1 – Howie Kendrick, Naturals
    1 – Chase Utley, Choppers

    Outfielders

    10 – Carl Crawford, Naturals
    10 – Vladimir Guerrero, Choppers
    9 – Ryan Braun, Jackalope
    8 – Vernon Wells, Jackalope
    5 – Shin-Soo Choo, Moonshiners
    4 – Jayson Werth, Choppers
    3 – Andrew McCutchen, Naturals
    1 – Justin Upton, Naturals

    Starting Pitchers

    10 – Ubaldo Jimenez, Gators
    8 – Roy Halladay, Jackalope
    7 – Josh Johnson, Gators
    6 – Yovani Gallardo, Moonshiners
    6 – Jon Lester, Naturals
    4 – Jered Weaver, Jackalope
    3 – Felix Hernandez, Jackalope
    3 – David Price, Naturals
    2 – Cliff Lee, Jackalope
    1 – C.C. Sabathia, Gators

    Relief Pitchers

    9 – Rafael Soriano, Moonshiners
    7 – Heath Bell, Jackalope
    6 – Phil Hughes, Choppers
    6 – Billy Wagner, Gators
    5 – Jose Valverde, Naturals
    3 – Francisco Rodriguez, Moonshiners
    2 – Carlos Marmol, Choppers
    1 – Matt Capps, Jackalope
    1 – Joakim Soria, Naturals

    National Division

    Catchers

    9 – Joe Mauer, Demigods
    7 – Jorge Posada, Mavericks
    2 – John Buck, Cougars
    2 – Geovany Soto, Darkhorses

    First Basemen/Third Basemen

    9 – Evan Longoria, Demigods
    9 – Justin Morneau, Kings
    7 – Adrian Gonzalez, Darkhorses
    7 – Kevin Youkilis, Mavericks
    4 – Alex Rodriguez, Kings
    4 – Michael Young, Darkhorses

    Second Basemen/Shortstops

    10 – Robinson Cano, Kings
    10 – Hanley Ramirez, Darkhorses
    7 – Dustin Pedroia, Demigods
    2 – Martin Prado, Darkhorses
    1 – Rafael Furcal, Darkhorses

    Outfielders

    10 – Josh Hamilton, Cougars
    9 – Carlos Gonzalez, Kings
    9 – Alex Rios, Kings
    6 – Torii Hunter, Darkhorses
    4 – Adam Dunn, Mavericks
    3 – Matt Kemp, Demigods
    3 – Ichiro Suzuki, Demigods
    2 – Andre Ethier, Darkhorses
    2 – Magglio Ordonez, Mavericks
    1 – Matt Holliday, Darkhorses
    1 – Shane Victorino, Cougars

    Starting Pitchers

    10 – Chris Carpenter, Darkhorses
    10 – Tim Lincecum, Darkhorses
    10 – Adam Wainwright, Cougars
    9 – Clayton Kershaw, Mavericks
    8 – Clay Buchholz, Kings
    2 – Justin Verlander, Kings
    1 – Roy Oswalt, Darkhorses

    Relief Pitchers

    9 – Neftali Feliz, Mavericks
    8 – Jonathan Broxton, Darkhorses
    8 – Mariano Rivera, Mavericks
    6 – Brian Wilson, Darkhorses
    5 – Andrew Bailey, Cougars
    2 – Francisco Cordero, Darkhorses
    1 – Matt Lindstrom, Demigods
    1 – Leo Nunez, Kings