Author: michaels

wow. what a game #163. throughout it, mike and i were texting one another with possibilities, thoughts, highs, and lows. not to mention rick wolfe sent me a note noting that though i was in first, that there were a number of variables that could rattle the statistical house of cards and send my team tumbling below mike’s.

but, rick porcello pitched well enough, and jason kubel belted a homer to secure third in that category for me, and in the end, amazingly, my team prevailed.

but, not without a serious fight. mike forced me to keep pressing hard all season, something essential to win any league.

and, well, mike plays as well as the two best players i know: jason grey and tony blengino (though tony retired from fantasy when he started working for the brewers a few years back).

not to mention ron, who came out of nowhere to threaten my peace.

i am still shaking my head with some kind of disbelief that i won, but, there are the standings, proving i did.

what a year, capped by that amazing twins tigers game.

in closing, thanks for following us here. thx to mike and ron for forcing me to play my hardest. and, of course, thx to monsieur peter kreutzer who was our SWAT and who organized and managed the web site here.

see you all next year (and don’t forget to log into creativesports.com, the little site that grabbed two tout and two nfbc titles this year!)

man, what a day i had yesterday.

i got back from a guitar lesson, in time to watch the athletics game while tracking the rangers, as i had saunders and feldman pitching. i knew that being tied with dean for wins, i needed to convert one to be able to hang onto a tie or finish first in tout.

as is my wont, i don’t run to the computer first thing when i get home. i try to exercise a little discipline and self control.

so, i made some lunch and i let jazzy and pavi out and opened the back door for them so they could either watch with me, or lie on the warm sun-baked bricks in the back yard as the afternoon passed.

when i did log in i was shocked to see that arod, jd drew, and jason kubel all already had two-homer games, and i was just two behind ron.

more amazingly, carl pavano took the ball with three days rest and had left with a lead and seven whiffs, giving me ostensibly a win sans feldman/saunders and putting me just seven whiffs behind sam with both my starters yet to pitch.

more amazingly, brad kilby, whom i picked up the sunday before to replace justin masterson, was starting for oakland making my whiff chore more attianable.

and, at 2:12, pm, yesterday, as michael cuddyer homered to tie me with ron, scott feldman logged a whiff that tied me with sam. those two achievements negated the need for my whip to stay lower than matt berry’s, and, well, one strikeout later i had the lead.

now, it is iffy. mike has already pointed out all the directions in which things can go right/wrong, depending upon.

but, i also know a serious pitching meltdown in a game like this is unlikely simply because a manager will not allow a game to get away like that.

still, yesterday john mcdonald homered, and if he can, so can nick punto.

either way, eight homers on the final day of the season with a 18 RBI, a pair of wins, and 17 whiffs is pretty sweet.

not to mention mewelde moore tossing a td pass for two of my teams: something as unexpected as 8 dingers.

like i said, what a day i had yesterday.

thx ron, for encapsulating so well.

good luck guys.

that connection would be the song “crazy,” which i happen to be practicing on bass for a gig this coming friday.

and the song, written by nelson, sung so soulfully by cline, pretty much describes the season.

going into today, mike and i were tied at 92. right now, we are tied at 92.5, with ron refusing to capitulate at 87.

a stolen base here or there could send either mike or me down the chute right now, as could a good or a bad inning.

there are some ERA points mike can gain, and steal and win point he can lose. there is a WHIP point i can lose, and a steal and win point i can lose as well.

so, we are tied. and i looked at the tout rules regarding a tie.

in the event that there is a tie, the win goes to the team with the most winning categories.

mike leads in rbi, ERA, and whiffs.

i lead in ba, runs, and wins.

even that is even.

like i said, crazy. at least we have the tigers and the twins to model.

crazy…

going into the last weekend, jake peavy has just done what i needed him to do, putting me within half a point.

i guess, though, it is in the hands of those infamous baseball gods.

it has been a great season and more than exciting final month.

best of luck mike and ron. duking it out to the end with you both has been as woody allen might note, “as much fun as i have had with my clothes on.”

note that i wrote this last night, and thought it was posted, but something happened…in many directions. computer. american league. time.

tim wakefield and carlos torres were cooperating, but carl pavano would not.

i did not need much from him. six innings. five whiffs. 1.25 whip.

i did not get it.

although, at the point when he gave up three rbi and a hit to mags, i was, for a flicker, in first. because he did get the strikeouts and that got me a point.

but, part of my last week strategy was sitting justin masterson because he simply could not be trusted to protect in whip and era. at least pavano could help in whip and he has pitched well against the tigers.

so, masterson strikes out 11 and gives up almost nothing over seven while pavano is getting raked.

now, i did have to sit masterson. but, the two weeks i did, this season, he pitched great.

if i can pull the string and get it right with chad gaudin, how can i be so off with masterson?

i guess it is the zen. that balance thing.

but, one other thing i know is, whether it kills me or not, i had to sit masterson, and never second guess a move like that as a caclulated attempt to win.

but, that does not mean it is not killing me justin…

ok, so i have written before here about rooting for my guys to do well, as opposed to mike’s or ron’s players doing poorly.

the germans, should you not know, had a word, schaedenfreude, which basically means deriving pleasure from the misery of others.

which is a little shy of what i would like to think we are doing, but, i gotta confess, it takes a lot of consciousness not to engage.

i know if tim wakefield or carlos torres get clobbered tomorrow, it will probably be to my advantage.

and, it is sooooooooo bloody hard to not think of that. although, i do need to focus on scott feldman having his own good start today, for that is as important.

as of now i am half a point down, with maybe six categories where in mike or i can pick up or drop a point or so to the other.

and, ron is not far off, although only in strikeouts can he directly influence the battle between mike and i.

although, if he does, and we have a blip, well…

i am trying to watch the tigers and twins, and am rooting for the twins to go all the way. cos i like them and it would be a good story.

i am trying not to pay attention to jeremy gutherie, whom i have benched, and don’t have to not pay attention to justin masterson cos his game got rained out.

and, now i understand peavy will go against the tigers this weekend. meaning maybe i have to rethink and hope the tigers clinch friday, giving peavy a second string roster?

sigh. i don’t know. i think i will go hide in ken burns wonderful documentary on the national park system, and forget about watching.

just wake me when it is over….

last week. i remember back in july when i had a big lead and just wanted the season to be over with then and there and spare me, well, the tension of this last week.

which is tense.

as of now mike leads me 92-90.5

there are a handful of points i can gain or lose. there are a handful of points he can gain or lose.

as with ron, i essentially need the cooperation of our league mates, however.

i will note that i did activate chad gaudin against the royals. and, i grabbed brad kilby of the athletics, and reserved jeremy gutherie and justin masterson. meaning i still have seven starts this week to mike’s four. but, i don’t have a clue any longer how many starts jason grey and dean peterson have.

too hard to track, and, well, as with the rain in new york as i write, and that in detroit, well, que sera sera.

a good last week to you all. i have trust we will survive, but not sure in what shape…