I admit, that was a long break. Much longer than I anticipated. Originally, I thought I might miss a week or two while I tended to all of my other commissioner duties, but it ended up being more like a month.
Did you miss me? C'mon, you know you did...don't be coy.
Much has happened throughout the league while I was gone and, rather than recite every detail, I think it's best if I just focus on some of the more notable highlights. After all, I've been gone for so long, I need to ease back into the process. Producing blog posts filled with incredible insights and wisdom isn't easy.
About a month ago, when I wrote my last article, the Los Perros Locos and Akes and Pain were the division leaders. Not any more.
Over the past several weeks, You're Killing Me Smalls and Tallahassee Tator Tots have put together some impressive games putting them at the top of their divisions.
For weeks Smalls had been trailing the Perros, remaining just a game or two off the lead. But over the past 5 weeks or so, things changed. Though the Perros' scoring dropped by only 3 runs per game, they lost a pair of tough matchups to Smalls and the Mermen.
That week 12 victory over the Perros appears to be a catalyst for You're Killing Me Smalls, pushing them to become a different team; one I wouldn't want to play right now.
Through the first 11 weeks of the season, Smalls' highest single-game score was 293 runs and they averaged 258.5 runs/gm. But over the past 4 weeks, Smalls has NOT scored less than 300 runs in a game with a high of 370 runs last week and an average of 329.7 runs/gm. Yes, you read that right - You're Killing Me Smalls increased their average score by more than 70 runs/gm.
The fight for the Sagebrush division lead was a little different. The Tallahassee Tator Tots were already one of the best teams in the league, having reeled off a league-best 9 straight wins in weeks 5 through 13. Despite all that winning, they just couldn't quite catch Akes and Pain.
That is until Akes and Pain hit a rough spell in weeks 12 through 15 where they lost 3 of 4 games and saw their average score fall from 307.6 runs/gm to 293.5 runs/gm. Normally, an average weekly score over 290 is going to see you win more than you lose - except when you're playing teams like the Mermen, Smalls and the Tots.
What could likely be the deciding factor in determining the Divisional Champions might be their remaining matchups. Los Perros Locos will get another crack at reclaiming their lead when they host You're Killing Me Smalls next week. But Akes and Pain will need to wait a little longer for their opportunity when they host the Tots in the final week of the regular season. Until then, they'll need to be sure they get back to their winning ways or the Tots could very well run away with it before then.
One of the more interesting changes I've noticed since returning from my leave is the fact that scoring 300 or more runs is no longer a guaranteed victory. Through the first 11 weeks of the season, there were 27 instances of teams scoring 300+ in a game. And they were 27-0, winning every single time.
Since then, teams have hit that scoring threshold 18 times which means they're doing it more often. And among those 18 teams that have scored over 300 runs since week 12, four of them did so in a losing effort. In fact, we've seen one losing team score over 300 runs each week since week 12.
Do you want to hear another bizarre fact about scoring? Teams have score 80+ runs in an inning 57 times this year, but no one has done it in the 4th inning of their matchup. Whereas it makes sense that teams will lose despite scoring 300+ since more teams are doing so, I have no explanation for this...other than the fact the you guys are terrible in the 4th inning.
And speaking of scoring 80+ runs in an inning, there was only one team that hadn't done so before I left: the Springfield Isotopes. I am happy to report that they finally did so in week 13 when they scored 85 runs in the 7th inning...and lost.
It's unusual to lose when you score that many runs in an inning unless you're the Poke Bananas who own a 2-5 record whenever they score over 80 in an inning. But that pretty much sums up their season, doesn't it?
Looking at this week's matchups, there isn't much to get excited about other than the fact that it's the final week of inter-league play for the season. In case you haven't been keeping track, the Sagebrush division is 13-11 against the Cactus side of the league and they've outscored the Cactus teams by an average of almost 16 runs per game.
The one game I imagine most will be following is the contest between You're Killing Me Smalls and Myrtle Beach Mermen. The Mermen are coming off their worst outing of the season, scoring just 188 runs in a loss to the Isotopes. But with only 5 weeks remaining in the season, and sitting 4 games out of a playoff berth, I expect the Mermen will want to make the most of their final games to keep their postseason hopes alive.
And in case you were thinking the fact that the Mermen's final 5 games are all at home is somehow beneficial to them, don't. Statistically speaking, they're a much better team on the road. At home this season, the Mermen average 264 runs/gm compared to 272.4 runs/gm on the road.
However, they play their best against divisional opponents where the average 274.4 runs/gm. If you were to dive a little deeper into their team stats this season, you'd probably also note it almost always comes down to their pitching staff. Their hitters are consistent, if nothing else, and hover around 150 runs/gm. But their pitching staff averages almost 20 points less when in their own backyard.
It'll be interesting to see if newly-acquired Urias can help turn that Mermen staff around and put a scare into the Tator Tots and Akes and Pain. If he can't, and the Mermen come up short, it'll probably feel a lot like a line-drive shot to the ass...it's going to leave them sore for a few days.
Best of luck in week 16!
-- Commish
POWER RANKINGS
To almost no one's surprise, the Tator Tots remain the #1 team in the league. Akes and Pain fall another spot, to #3, this week as the Los Perros Locos take over the #2 position. Moving up from #5 to #4 is You're Killing Me Smalls who unseated the Mermen.
ALL-STAR LINEUP CHALLENGE
Akes and Pain remains our leader in the All-Star Challenge and their lead over the field seems to be growing. The closest challenger is Los Perros Locos, sitting 154 pts behind, in the #2 spot. Beyond that, I'm not sure anyone is within striking distance.
BATTING CHAMPION & CY YOUNG CHALLENGES
It took a little while but, with an incredible month of July, Shohei Ohtani now leads our Batting Champion contest. Our previous leader, Matt Olson, falls to #2 despite the fact that he's still having a great season.
Two of the biggest gainers since the last update are Christian Walker (#11) and Nolan Arenado (#12) who were both outside of the top 50 just a few weeks ago.
Gerrit Cole has regained the top spot in the Cy Young race, replacing Framber Valdez who fell to #9. But four other pitchers remain within 15 points of Cole and, interestingly, three of them are on the Tator Tots; Webb, Eovaldi, and Stroman.
Given the Tots successes this season, I think there might be a connection between quality pitching and winning games. Just a hunch.
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