Weekly Matchups - Week 21

Week 21's installment of the DDWPIPOTCFFBE (Diamond Dynasty Weekly Preview In Pursuit Of The Chalice For Fantasy Baseball Excellence)

Last week – Adrian wins big to stay within shouting distance of the playoff, Kurt gets a few insurance games, and Ben and James are the first to officially punch their ticket to the playoffs

Sleepy's® "Snoozer of the Week" – Richie (9^th) vs Alex (4^th)

The 7-1 loss Richie took at the hands of TJ was closer than it appeared, with a number of close categories. Richie's pitching, the only thing that gave him any bit of competitiveness this season, has completely fallen off in the past few weeks. He's neck and neck with Drew for the first pick next season. Alex played Ben to a 5-5 tie last week and remains in striking distance of a bye. His outfield has been the backbone recently as Curtis Granderson, Andrew McCutchen, and Giancarlo Stanton are all ranked in the top 100 in the last two weeks. With two non-playoff teams left on the schedule, he's got a shot at closing the 3 game gap.

Richie's randomly generated percentage to make the playoffs – 0%

Alex's randomly generated percentage to make the playoffs – 100% and bye – 40%

(season series Alex 12-6)

Dell's® "Dull Duel" – Kurt (5^th) vs Drew (10^th)

So much for the cold streak. Kurt dominated last week on both sides of the ball in a 7-3 win over a streaking Colin. He hit 14 bombs and hit .328 to go with 7 wins and 104 K's. Evan Longoria was Kurt's savior once again, going deep 4 times and hitting .360. Carlos Beltran went deep 3 times too. The win gave him a little bit of breathing room in the playoff picture and he now has a 4.5 game cushion. His ticket to the playoff is right in front of him with Drew, and a big win will lock him in. Drew lost big last week, 9-1 to Adrian and is now 1 game ahead of Richie for next year's first pick.

Kurt's randomly generated percentage to make the playoffs – 89% and bye - 1%

Drew's randomly gener-hahahahaha

(season series)

The Average Match of the Week presented by Not Your Average Joe's – TJ (3^rd) vs Adrian (8^th)

TJ beat Richie 7-1 and leapfrogged Alex for 3^rd place. He's 2.5 games behind James for the second bye but doesn't have an easy road back to the top. Over the last month he has 8 guys in the top 76 and 4 in the top 29, but the loss of Matt Harvey is a big one. He did have an innings limit but it wouldn't have come into play until approximately the finals, but it'll be a tough road without his golden boy. The most impressive week last week was Adrian, who's 9-1 win (albeit over Drew) put him back into contention after I just about wrote him off last week. It will still be really tough to make it as he's facing TJ this week and Alex next week, but the big win was exactly what he needed.

TJ's randomly generated percentage to make the playoffs – 100% and bye – 23%

Adrian's randomly generated percentage to make the playoffs – 9.4%

(season series TJ 13-7)

The Post-It® "Noteworthy Match-up" – James (2^nd) vs Colin (6^th)

James's streak finally came to an end last week against Jarrett. The 7-3 loss was a close one, as Jarrett stole a lot of the tight categories. But despite the loss, he has officially made the 2013 playoffs. He has a 2.5 game lead for the second bye and a favorable schedule ahead (Drew next week). With some help, he has a good chance at capturing the regular season crown. And call me crazy, but I think it would have been bad karma to carry a 16-week unbeaten streak into the post-season. If he kept it going, he would have needed an 18 or 19 week streak to capture the title for a third time, and I don't think that's happening. Colin dropped a 7-3decision to Kurt last week and is clinging to a half game lead over Jarrett, who he plays next week in what is sure to be an instant classic (I've had my eye on that match for weeks). A blowout for either team would severely impact the playoff picture.

James' randomly generated percentage to make the playoffs – 100% and bye – 85%

Colin's randomly generated percentage to make the playoffs - 55%

(season series Colin 12-8)

Diamond Strike Anywhere Matches® "Match-Up of the Week" – Ben (1^st) vs Jarrett (7^th)

Ben is in prime position to capture his first Diamond Dynasty regular season crown since 2010. He tied Colin 5-5 last week, has a 5 game lead for a bye, and he plays two current non-playoff teams to close the season (Richie next week). It would take a pretty epic collapse for him not to at least finish with a bye (jinxing powers activate!). On the other side, Jarrett is fighting for his playoff life. He grabbed a huge 7-3 win last week, closing the gap and giving him a last-ditch chance at a spot in the playoffs. Last two weeks, here we go!!

Ben's randomly generated percentage to make the playoffs – 100% and bye – 82.4%

Jarrett's randomly generated percentage to make the playoffs – 45%

(season series)

Weekly Matchups - Week 20

Week 20's installment of the DDWPIPOTCFFBE (Diamond Dynasty Weekly Preview In Pursuit Of The Chalice For Fantasy Baseball Excellence)

Last week – 4 blowouts drastically change the landscape with under a month to play in the regular season, and two teams bolster their roster for the playoff run as the trade deadline passes.  Who the hell called this season boring?

Sleepy's® "Snoozer of the Week" – Drew (9^th) vs Adrian (8^th)

It's an easy pick for the Snoozer of the week as Drew takes on Adrian in the only contest of non-playoff teams.  Drew is all but mathematically eliminated from post-season play after tying Richie 5-5.  Adrian was dealt a crushing blow to his playoff hopes in the form of a 9-1 thrashing at Colin's hands.  The Marathon Man had a putrid offensive effort at the worst possible time, posting only 5 homers, 24 RBI, and a .256 average - but even an above average week probably wouldn't have been enough against Colin last week.  The loss drops him 10.5 GB of the playoffs and with bye-week hopefuls TJ and Alex to close the season, Adrian's 2013 campaign is in grave danger.  Adrian has kicked ass against Drew this season but he'll need his biggest victory yet to get back into the playoff discussion.

(season series Adrian 14-4).

Dell's® "Dull Duel" – Richie (10^th) vs TJ (4^th)

Alfonso Soriano tied Drew last week 5-5 behind one of the most impressive fantasy weeks a mortal can have on the diamond.  His insane 9/5/18/2/.484 slash line is one rarely seen.  The output helped Richie take 3 categories on offense, but one of the season's worst pitching performances left Travers with just a 5-5 tie.  Richie had zero wins, just 34 strike outs, and a 6.23 ERA/1.46 WHIP.  On the final day of the non-waiver trade deadline Richie secured two 10th round picks in the 2014 draft, shipping the aforementioned Soriano and Giants closer Sergio Romo to Ben and Doug Fister, Mariano Rivera, and Ben Zobrist to Jarrett.  Those moves, along with Alex's 14th overall pick in the Felix Hernandez deal, gives Richie 3 extra picks next year.  So I got that goin' for me....which is nice.  TJ had a week to forget last week in a highly anticipated matchup against Ben.  After dominating O'Connor in the previous two meetings, Geers lost 9-0.  The loss, coupled with big wins from others, dropped TJ all the way down to fourth place.  This marks the first time in months that TJ does not hold one of the top two spots, and it's obviously coming at a bad time.  It was a bad week all around for TJ as both the offense and defense left much to be desired in what was a very winnable week.  At 7.5 games out of a bye with three struggling teams on the menu (Richie, Adrian, and Kurt), he's down but not out, and definitely not with that season series score!

(season series TJ 17-2)

The Average Match of the Week presented by Not Your Average Joe's – James (2^nd) vs Jarrett (7^th)

Alright good, we got 8th-10th place out of the way early.  All teams yet to be discussed are viciously fighting for playoff seeding and every game counts from here on out.  We'll start with James, who won 7-3 last week against Kurt and actually got passed in the standings by Ben.  Nevertheless, Maimonis is sitting pretty in second place, 5 games up on the nearest competitor. With the unbeaten streak at 13 games, James has clearly developed a team with no holes and he will be a really tough out in the playoffs.  Jarrett is the caboose in a three-team battle for the final two playoff spots after losing 7-2 to Alex.  The match was much, much closer than the score would suggest, as Staaf lost categories by 1 run, 1 homer, .010 BA, 1 win and .05 WHIP.  If the standings stay as is, Jarrett will have closed the season with 6 straight playoff opponents which is a hell of a way to make a playoff push.  Staaf acquired some help for his playoff push (Doug Fister, Mariano Rivera, and Ben Zobrist) from Richie in exchange for his 10th overall draft pick, something that might help him fight through his devil of a schedule.  He currently sits 4.5 games out of the playoffs but will need to play his best fantasy baseball to make it to the dance.  To his credit, Jarrett has played James tough this year, tying 5-5 in week 2 and losing 6-4 in week 11.

(season series James 11-9)

The Post-It® "Noteworthy Match-up" – Alex (3^rd) vs Ben (1^st)

This week's Noteworthy Match-up is actually the best match on paper, featuring two of the hottest teams in the league.  Ben's 9-0, Alpha male win over a strong TJ team has him looking down on the rest of the league for another week.  Last week Chris Davis popped another 3 dingers and hit over .400 and the pitching was fantastic, throwing up 8 W, 7 S, 81 K,  2.59 ERA and 1.03 WHIP.  The best got better over the weekend as he added Sergio Romo and  Alfonso Soriano for a 10th round pick. Ben has won three in a row but faces a tough task this week.  Alex has won 4 in a row following a 7-2 victory over Jarrett and has moved all the way up to third in the standings. Alex's schedule sets up nicely for him as he gets Richie and Adrian to end the year, and a win against Ben this week would give him a great shot at second or even first.  Both of these guys are comfortably in the playoff picture for 2013 and are now just jockeying for position.  Alex has yet to avenge the 10-0 loss from week 2 as he's 0-2 against O'Connor on the season.

(season series Ben 16-4)

Diamond Strike Anywhere Matches® "Match-Up of the Week" – Kurt (6^th) vs Colin (5^th)

These two teams are dead even in the standings, though Colin does have the slight advantage.  A note on how I believe Yahoo! calculates this (my apologies if this is common knowledge):  

Yahoo counts a tie as half a win, so a 6-3 win would result in a .650 winning percentage.  But they also recognize that two ties (two half-wins so to speak) does not equal one actual win (which I agree).  So the percentages are the same, but it's favored to the team that has more wins.  Seems fair to me. 

But while their records are virtually identical, Kurt and Colin are trending in very different directions.  A few weeks ago, Colin was mired in a 4 week losing streak, buried in 8th place and fading in the stands.  But he had a couple cupcakes on the schedule and took full advantage, following an 8-1 beat down on Richie two weeks ago with an even more dominant 9-1 win against Adrian last week.  He's had solid numbers across the board the past two weeks which suggests that it's his performance, and not his opponents, that have helped turn his fates around.  And in the middle of it, as always, are Miguel Cabrera and Mike Trout.  Over the past two weeks, they have combined for 22/11/32/5/.400.  Sick and absurd people, sick and absurd.  I always thought this team was too top heavy NOT to make some post-season noise, and I think we're finally seeing it.  Shifting our focus to the other side of the coin, Kurt is in a tail spin.  He's lost two in a row and four of five after his 10 game unbeaten streak and has fallen under .500 for the first time in (I'm guessing) roughly 4 months.  With three horses racing for two spots, the remaining strength of schedule looks like this:

Kurt - .477

Colin - .523

Jarrett - .570

A blowout would place the winner firmly in fifth, and the loser in a dogfight for the six seed with Jarrett.  Huge playoff implications in this week's Match-Up of the Week!

(season series Colin 9-7)

Weekly Matchups - Week 19

Week 19's installment of the DDWPIPOTCFFBE (Diamond Dynasty Weekly Preview In Pursuit Of The Chalice For Fantasy Baseball Excellence)

Last week – Colin wins big to launch himself back into the thick of the playoff race and James takes over first place while keeping his unbeaten streak alive.

Strength of Schedule (remainder of regular season)

1. Jarrett - .559

2. Richie - .531

3. Colin - .510

4. Kurt - .508

5. Ben - .503

6. Adrian - .501

7. Drew - .482

8. TJ - .478

9. Alex - .473

10. James - .454

Sleepy's® "Snoozer of the Week" – Richie (10^th) vs Drew (9^th)

This is that mid-September game when San Diego visits Miami and there are 1,245 people in attendance. Except worse. Three clear tiers have formed (as it does seemingly every year) and these two lovebirds have been kickin' it in the basement all season long. They are now in a virtual tie for last place, although Richie has finally slid behind Drew in the standings for the first time since week 6. Richie lost 8-1 last week behind just a terrible week all around. Offense and Defense were equally unimpressive and he very well could have gotten shutout, as the score was 9-0 for the majority of the week. I just pulled up Drew's match-up with Ben (6-3 loss) for the first time and my jaw almost dropped off my skull. After boasting one of the worst offensive seasons (if not the worst) this year, he put up arguably the best single week of the season. I should have been keeping track of these things, but I think his 56 RBI and .343 average might be the high water marks of the season. He got homeruns from everyone in his lineup except Marco Scutaro, and he had two guys go deep thrice. The pitching wasn't awful from a stat perspective, but he failed to win a pitching category against Ben. Richie's strength of schedule would suggest that he is the favorite for the 2013 Paul French Award but we've all seen what Drew can do. These teams have tied 5-5 in their two previous meetings.

(season series 10-10)

Dell's® "Dull Duel" – Colin (7^th) vs Adrian (8^th)

On the brink of playoff extinction, Colin roared back to take an 8-1 victory over the floundering Travers last week. The win jumped him up to 7^th and he is now just two games out of a playoff spot. Mariano Rivera (Richie) blew three saves in a row for the first time in his storied career, and two of them came (one of them directly, on e of them indirectly) from the bat of Miguel Cabrera (Colin). The saves category ended in a 5-5 tie. Cabrera finished with 4 home runs and 11 RBI for the week, and somehow has a shot at winning back to back triple crowns (first in AVG and RBI, second in HR). Mike Trout was a 5 category-filler as always with a 5/2/6/3/.350 slash line. Colin has a difficult road ahead with the third most difficult schedule the rest of the way, and his last 3 games are against current playoff teams. Adrian has a slightly easier schedule to end the season, but he is really scuffling at the worst possible time. He's 0-3-1 over the last month and has fallen 4.5 games out of the final playoff spot. He earned a respectable 5-5 tie last week against James but probably feels a little cheated after a poor Sunday performance cost him a chance at a win. Adrian closes with top-tier teams TJ and Alex so he'll have to take care of business this week and next, when he takes on Drew. These guys have split the season series 1-1 but Colin has a slight edge in the records.

(season series Colin 10-9)

The Average Match of the Week presented by Not Your Average Joe's – James (1^st) vs Kurt (5^th)

We move into the first of two match-ups that can have implications on both the bye and playoff races but first, let's take a moment to give James some respect as the new leader of the DD. The unbeaten streak is up to 12 (Kurt, record check?) and, with by far the easiest schedule the rest of the way he is poised to capture the regular season crown. This is the last week he'll face a top 5 opponent, and one of the last two weeks he'll face a (current) playoff opponent. As previously mentioned, James stole a tie last week against Adrian thanks to solid weekend play. He outscored Adrian by 8 RBI's on Sunday to give him a 1-RBI win, and his 2 saves gave him a 4-3 edge for the 5-5 tie. He draws Kurt this week, who's faded back to the middle of the pack after making a push for the top-tier group. He dropped an important 5-2 decision last week to Jarrett which featured some skittish offense (3 homers) but good pitching. Newly acquired Shelby Miller got two pitches into his first start with Kurt before taking a line drive off the elbow and exiting the game, which probably cost Kurt K's (84-81) and possibly wins (3-3). Like Adrian, Kurt is fading at a bad time. He's lost three of four and his playoff cushion is down to 6 games. With TJ looming in the last week of the regular season and James this week, he'll have to try to hold the fort against those two and solidify his playoff spot against Colin and Drew. Another even match-up here as these guys have split the season series as well.

(season series 10-10)

The Post-It® "Noteworthy Match-up" – Alex (4^th) vs Jarrett (6^th)

The second game that impacts both races is between Alex and Jarrett. While Shelby Miller didn't come back to haunt Staaf, Miller's compensation (Buster Posey) was equally bad, mustering only 1 RBI and a .105 average. But Staaf's staff came through again, racking up a 4-0-1 record on defense. Jarrett's played well as of late, going 3-2 in the last 5 weeks and playing at a .560 clip. But Alex is the best team that he's played since week 12 (Ben, an 8-0 loss) and his difficulty with good teams is well documented. To close the season Jarrett has to play three of the top four teams (James and Ben after this week) before closing with Colin. He has the 6^th spot now but by September he could be on the outside looking in. His opponent this week is one of the hottest teams going as Gentilli has a 5-1-1 record in his last 7 contests (and the only loss was a 6-4 decision in week 14 against Kurt). This excellent play has unexpectedly catapulted him into the bye week discussion. Don't get me wrong – Alex was my pre-season pick to win it all and I'm sticking to it, but I didn't think he really had a shot at a bye. At only 4.5 games out of second and the second-easiest schedule to end the year, Gentilli fans everywhere are going crazy. Alex has taken care of business against Jarrett this year, winning both matches.

P.S. - How bad does that 10-0 week 2 loss to Ben suck for Alex right now

(season series Alex 13-7)

Diamond Strike Anywhere Matches® "Match-Up of the Week" – TJ (2^nd) vs Ben (3^rd)

TJ plays Ben in the first match-up of 100 game winners this year. After trading off first place virtually all year, this will be the first week in months where one of these two fine gentlemen do not hold the top spot. TJ lost 6-3 last week to Alex in a close battle. He fell short by just 1 win and 2 runs, and the ratios were fairly close. The loss broke a 3 week winning streak for Geers, who is just 1 game behind James for first place. Ben is right on his heels at 2 GB following a 6-3 barn-buster win against Drew where every single starter going deep at least once (!). The hero was old friend Justin Concustin' Morneau, who went deep 4 times and drove in 10. His 4 homers this week were almost half of his homers for the season before this week (because he has 14 now, so that means he had 10 before he hit the 4 this week, and 5 is half of 10, and 4 is almost but not quite 5....my head hurts). Elvis Andrus also swiped 5 bags in the victory. Ben has 10 of the top 55 players over the last 30 days, but is surprisingly only 21-17 in the last month (.550). With James taking on Kurt and Alex playing Jarrett, the top four next Monday morning is anybody's guess. TJ has owned Ben this year, winning both match ups going away.

(season series TJ 14-5)

Weekly Matchups - Week 18

Week 18's installment of the DDWPIPOTCFFBE (Diamond Dynasty Weekly Preview In Pursuit Of The Chalice For Fantasy Baseball Excellence)

Last week – Little movement in the standings as the top 5 all win and the bottom 5 all lose

Sleepy's® "Snoozer of the Week" – Drew (10^th) vs Ben (3^rd)

Drew lost 6-4 last week to Alex. He hit one home run. Last week I pointed out that he's starting two guys on the DL – they're still starting. That's all I'll say about that.  Ben outlasted Colin 6-4 last week behind some stellar pitching. 6 wins, 80 K's, a 2.00 ERA and 1.06 WHIP will win you a lot of weeks. His worst pitcher was Adam Wainwright, go figure. Chris Davis was back to his mashing ways (3 homers) and Brian McCann had his best week of the season (3/3/9/.300). It was an important bounce back win for Ben to keep pace with the top 2 after his 9-1 loss to James last week. He is solidly in 3^rd place and projects to be there for at least another week before moving up or down the standings. Interesting to note that Ben has made significantly less moves than the others teams in the top four (TJ, James, and Alex happen to be the top three in moves). Ben's looking for his first back to back wins since weeks 12-13 and is the heavy favorite, but the standings should remain virtually unaffected regardless of this outcome.

(season series Ben 8-2)

Dell's® "Dull Duel" – TJ (1^st) vs Alex (4^th)

TJ has followed up a mid-season mini-slump with three straight victories. His latest was a tightly contested 6-3 win against Jarrett. Geers posted a 4-1 record on defense by really slim margins – 1 win, 2 K's, and .01 WHIP. He split offense 2-2-1 thanks in large part to his hometown Atlanta Braves (minus Dan Uggla). Justin Upton and Freedie Freeman combined for 18 runs, 5 homers (I saw one of Upton's in Philly on Saturday!), 17 RBI and an average right around .380. TJ would have taken the RBI category too if it wasn't for B.J. Shuck. The win allowed TJ to retain first place for another week but the competition is a little stiffer this week against Alex. Gentilli has taken care of business lately, going 4-1-1 in his last 6 weeks against mostly the bottom half of the league. He's unbeaten in his last 3 and is coming off a 6-4 win against Drew. Anthony Rizzo (3 homers, .310 average) and Andrew McCutchen (8/1/7/2/.379) were the standouts on offense, and a resurgent Francisco Liriano (2 win's, 14 K's, sub-1 ratios, ranked 40^th on the season) lead the way on defense. Alex owns three of the top 11 players over the last two weeks in McCutchen, Liriano, and Yasiel Puig, and just added Curtis Granderson from the DL. Alex has a tough three game stretch in TJ, Jarrett, and Ben before closing with Richie and Adrian. He won't miss the playoffs but a bye is starting to feel out of reach.

(season series TJ 6-2)

The Average Match of the Week presented by Not Your Average Joe's – Richie (9^th) vs Colin (8^th)

Richie saw his modest 2-week winning streak come to a frustrating end last week.. He fell short by three runs, one homer, and one stolen base en route to another 7-2-1 loss to James, the same score as in their previous meeting. Richie fell to 0-10 offensively against Maimonis on the season and is glad to be done with him in 2013. The defeat dropped him 16 games back of the playoffs, and with several key players either on or nearing the DL, Travers' 2013 season may finally be over. Colin has dropped 4 in a row to difficult competition (TJ, Alex, and Ben) although he's been able to avoid a death knell-type loss that would take him out of the hunt. Lancey lost 6-4 last week to Ben despite Jason Heyward's 12 runs scored (which I believe is a season-best for any player). As it currently stands, this week will be the last week Colin comes in as the favorite though he only has one elite team remaining on the schedule (James in week 21). It will be an uphill battle but he's certainly not out of it yet. (And for the record, Colin squares off against Jarrett in week 22 which could be a win-or-go-home situation.)

(season series Richie 7-3)

The Post-It® "Noteworthy Match-up" – Kurt (5^th) vs Jarrett (6^th)

Kurt found his way back to the win column last week after a 5-4 victory over Adrian. The offense was not good – 4 homers and a .252 average – but he did get one of the better pitching performances of the year from his staff. Pretty impressive to post 101 K's with only one spot start! Gottschalk had 5 guys hurl double digit strikeouts in the win. But the bigger news was his addition of rookie sensation Shelby Miller. The potential NL Rookie of the Year joins a staff that's already leading the league in Wins and K's, and should make Kurt virtually unbeatable in those categories moving forward. He should also help to lower The Commissioner's ERA and WHIP, which is currently in the middle of the pack. But you have to give something to get something and that something was Buster Posey, the best catcher in fantasy. This looks to be a truly mutually beneficial deal - Kurt had a servicable back up in Jonathan Lucroy and a lack of flexibility to keep Posey, and Jarrett had more arms than the Chinese Army. Just as Richie and Alex faced off the week after their deal, Kurt and Jarrett draw each other this week. Jarrett's lead over Adrian for the final playoff spot shrunk from 4 games to 3 following a 6-3 loss to TJ last week. He could have easily won by the same margin but lost some really close categories. There's one team that gets burned every week, and last week it was him. This should be a great, close battle. It'll be interesting to see how the new additions contribute for both sides. Also, it's another edition of the battle of whatever street you guys live on.

(season series 5-5)

Diamond Strike Anywhere Matches® "Match-Up of the Week" – James (2^nd) vs Adrian (7^th)

Another week, another Diamond Strike Anywhere Matches® "Match-Up of the Week" for James. The 7-2 win last week against Richie broke Kurt's record 10 week unbeaten streak. While Kurt had a better weekly record (8-0-2, .590), it's clear that James's streak is much more dominant (7-0-4, .655). Maimonis didn't play great last week but he got enough production to sweep offense. Mark Trumbo went deep 3 times and drove in 8 (but still only managed to hit .138) and Matt Holiday was great, scoring 9 times and hitting over .400. He gets Adrian this week, loser of three in a row. He seemed to be one of the few teams with a good offensive output last week, launching 11 homers, driving in 41, and hitting over .300. He was up against a monster in the form of Kurt's pitching staff, so he couldn't get much done on the mound (just a 1-4 record). I love this match-up because it's so important to both races we have right now; come Sunday night we could have a new team in first and Adrian desperately struggling for playoff life, or Adrian grabbing hold of 6^th and James falling behind Ben again in a race for the byes.

Or more than likely, a modest win from James and everything stays the same.

(season series 5-5)

Weekly Matchups - Week 17

Week 17's installment of the DDWPIPOTCFFBE (Diamond Dynasty Weekly Preview In Pursuit Of The Chalice For Fantasy Baseball Excellence)

Last week – James dominates Ben and moves up to second, Richie gets his first winning streak of the season, and the Trade Deadline BBQ helps to heat up trade talks.

Sleepy's® "Snoozer of the Week" – Colin (8^th) vs Ben (3^rd)

Colin and Ben draw the short straw this week as they're both slumping at a bad time. Colin is the coldest team in the league, riding his second three-game losing streak of the year. He made the only deal at the cookout, shipping Jean Segura and Kyle Lohse for Chris Sale and Glen Perkins. The trade bolsters his pitching staff (already above .500 not counting the saves category) and gives him a third reliable closer with Bobby Parnell and Steve Cishek. Colin lost a tough one last week against Alex. 6 RBI's, 1 win, .07 ERA and .08 WHIP marked the fine line between a win and a loss. The Wil Myers trade looks like it's starting to pay off as he went 5/3/8/1/.429 (what an outfield combo he might have moving forward in Myers and Trout!) Ben has cooled off recently, dropping two of his last three and playing two games under .500. James mopped the floor with him last week in a 9-1 drubbing, although it was closer than it looked. Despite 6 saves, a 2.29 ERA, and a 0.93 WHIP Ben lost all three and slipped out of the top two for the first time in months. Chris Davis finally went a week without hitting a home run. Max Scherzer had another good week, posting 2 wins, 12 K's and great ratios. The race for the bye week is on!

(season series Ben 8-2)

Dell's® "Dull Duel" – TJ (1^st) vs Jarrett (6^th)

TJ held on to beat the suddenly competitive Drew 5-4 behind a 4-0 pitching shutout. With the win, TJ re-takes first place by a slim margin over James. Craig Kimbrel racked up 4 saves and has given up just one run over his last 27 appearances. He'll take on Jarrett this week who beat Adrian 7-3 last week and has won two of three. More importantly, it's Jarrett's first win against an opponent outside the bottom three (Drew, Richie, Colin)(but to be fair, Adrian was 7^th so its a small improvement). Jarrett had an Adam Dunn week, knocking 10 homers, driving in 30, but hitting .197, which might be the low number on the year for the league. Jose Altuve stole 4 bases and Paul Goldschmidt drive in 7. On the rubber, Jon Lester was the ace of the staff netting Jarrett 2 wins, striking out 16, and boasting great ratios. This week will be a good test for Jarrett to see if he can beat a quality top 5 opponent, though I bet he would win if he added Prince Fielder, David Wright, Bartolo Colon, Mike Napoli, and Sergio Romo.

(season series TJ 7-3)

The Average Match of the Week presented by Not Your Average Joe's – Drew (10^th) vs Alex (4^th)

Drew had his two week winning streak snapped (barely) last week, dropping a close 5-4 decision to TJ. Donovan had his best offensive output of the year, hitting 13 homers, 47 RBI's, and a .311 average. He had really solid production from a number of offensive sources led by Jayson Werth's 7/3/7/1/.385 slashline. Unfortunately the pitching was a big letdown and was unable to get even one category for the tie. I still don't completely trust that Drew has come around from his negligence (he's starting two players on the DL) but to be fair, he has started making more moves so I'm inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt. But I'll be watching you, Drew. Every move you make, every breath you take, I'll be watching Yu Darvish. He takes on Alex, who dealt a promising lefty in Chris Sale for a breakout star this season, Jean Segura over the weekend. Despite Alex's deep pitching staff, his offense has actually posted a better record than his defense thus far. Consistent with that theme, Gentilli beat Colin 6-3 last week behind a 4-1 effort from his offense. Giancarlo Stanton and Nick Franklin hit 3 homers each in the victory. Alex was able to snatch the ERA and WHIP categories despite Ernesto Frieri's 33.75/5.25 efforts to thwart his manager. If Alex loses this week, he might put himself out of contention for a bye week so this will be one to keep an eye on.

(season series Alex 6-3-1)

The Post-It® "Noteworthy Match-up" – Kurt (5^th) vs Adrian (7^th)

This match-up could carry with it some heavy playoff implications. If Kurt wins big, he all but solidifies himself for the 2013 playoffs. If Adrian wins big, He thrusts himself back into the playoffs (temporarily) but, more importantly, drags Kurt back into the clusterfuck of playoff bubble teams. And Kurt just be ripe for the pickin'. Last week's 5-4 loss to Richie was his second in a row (and his first official losing streak). The teams were very evenly matched and were separated by just 4 runs, 2 homers, 2 rbi's, .003 average. The pitching was much the same, as they tied in wins and split the ERA/WHIP categories. Patrick Corbin kept the train rolling, winning a start and striking out 14 with great ratios. The good news for Kurt is Adrian has been playing even worse, dropping two in a row and four of five. His only win was a 5-4 edging of Ben, but his record over the last 5 weeks is a dismal 14-34-2 (.300%). He had a really poor offensive effort last week hitting only 5 homers and driving in 16. He somehow won average at .219. He did get jobbed on the pitching a bit, as his 2.49 ERA was not enough. Add it all up, and a 7-3 loss to Jarrett put him firmly in 7^th. It's officially playoff push time.

(season series Kurt 6-4)

Diamond Strike Anywhere Matches® "Match-Up of the Week" – Richie (9^th) vs James (2^nd)

Hey, Winning Streak! I waited a long time for you! We were good buddies last year, where'd you go?

Look, I kinda need you to stick around this week...and for the rest of the year. Most people don't think I have a shot at the playoffs this year – hell, deep down even I have my doubts. We did good last week to hold off Kurt on the final day. As you know, he's the 6 Win King and I definitely expected him to steal some bullshit category for a 6 spot. But look, James is really good. He's so cocky he's not even starting a catcher! Did you see last week, when he beat Ben 9-1? Ben! He was in first place! Did you notice he has 6 pitchers in the top 55 over the last 7 days? He finally cracked the top two as well. Either way, I'm glad you're back, Winning Streak. And just in time for the rival! Like I said, there's only 6 weeks left, why don't you stay a while?

P.S. - Hey, Winning Streak. I'm not going to question you but I'm not sure a 6.85 ERA after three days is the right play. Just sayin'.

(season series James 7-2-1)