Seattle Zephyrs Recaps: Week 8, 8-7 Win

On paper, this looked like it was going to be a huge week. With only a two-game lead atop the league standings, the Zephyrs faced off against the second place team, Love Me Ortiz Me. However, what was supposed to be a battle for first place ultimately ended with neither team gaining much ground. Technically, the Zephyrs came out ahead, squeaking out a win when Dustin Pedroia stole a couple bases this morning to carry that category. However, the Zephyrs' lead is still a tiny one and we head off to Week 9 looking to put more distance between us and the competition.

Offense
-Runs: Jose Reyes, 8
-Hits: Reyes, 14
-Home Runs: tie - Carlos Gonzalez, Dustin Pedroia, 2
-Runs Batted In: tie - C. Gonzalez, Pedroia, 6
-Stolen Bases: Pedroia, 3
-Walks: Pedroia, 3
-Batting Average*: Reyes, .519
-On-base Percentage plus Slugging*: Reyes, 1.313

*minimum 15 at-bats

...and the Week 8 Offensive MVP Award goes to:


JOSE REYES! While the offense certainly wasn't overpowering this week, the Zephyrs managed to put together a balanced attack, with everyone chipping in somewhere. The only truly incredible performance, however, came from Reyes, who batted over .500 and slugged the ball with command. I wasn't sure what to expect when I picked him up on draft day, but Jose probably has the strongest case so far for being my season MVP.

Pitching
-Wins: tie - Dan Haren, Daniel Hudson, 1
-Losses: tie - Daniel Bard, Heath Bell, John Danks, Haren, James Shields, 1
-Saves: J.J. Putz, 4
-Strikeouts: Jered Weaver, 12
-Holds: none recorded
-Earned Run Average*: Weaver, 0.56
-Walks plus Hits Per Inning Pitched*: Weaver, 0.81
-Strikeout-to-Walk Ratio*: tie - Haren, Hudson, 4.00

*minimum 5.0 innings pitched

...and the Week 8 Cy Young Award goes to:


JERED WEAVER! In yet another week where the Zephyrs' offense struggled to keep pace with out opponent, the pitching came through again, doing everything but actually picking up wins. Jered sure pitched like a winner, especially when he threw 9 shutout innings yesterday while giving up only two hits, but even a performance like that couldn't net him a victory. With John Danks being cut from the team and additional setup man David Robertson being added, the Zephyrs will continue to lean heavily on their five starters to keep up our winning ways.

Seattle Zephyrs Recaps: Week 7, 8-7 Win

After a couple dominating weeks, Week 7 went down to the wire, with the Zephyrs finally pulling out the win when Daniel Bard snagged a hold in tonight's Cubs v. Red Sox matchup. Bard's four keys outs allowed the Zephyrs to tie with our opponent in the holds category, breaking an otherwise 8-8 tie. It wasn't easy, but the team walks away with their third straight win and maintains a 2-game lead in the league standings.

The theme of this week was pitching, pitching and more pitching. The Zephyrs set season highs in wins, ERA, WHIP and strikeout-to-walk ratios, while racking up an insane 71 strikeouts in only seven days. All of this was needed to offset the offensive shellacking we were subjected to by the opposing team, Utley's Uglies, who bombarded us with 11 homers and 73 hits overall. The Zephyrs were playing without the injured Grady Sizemore, while Colby Rasmus and Carlos Gonzalez also missed time, but there's no way around the fact that the Zephyr run-producing juggernaut wasn't there this week. Thankfully, a whole new set of games is right around the corner and the team looks poised to continue their run with new pickup Logan Morrison holding down one of the outfield spots.

Off to the stats...

Offense
-Runs: Dustin Pedroia, 5
-Hits: Adrian Gonzalez, 13
-Home Runs: Carlos Gonzalez, 2
-Runs Batted In: tie - A. Gonzalez, C. Gonzalez, 7
-Stolen Bases: Jose Reyes, 3
-Walks: Colby Rasmus, 6
-Batting Average*: A. Gonzalez, .481
-On-base Percentage plus Slugging*: C. Gonzalez, 1.057

*minimum 15 at-bats

...and the Week 7 Offensive MVP Award goes to:


ADRIAN GONZALEZ! I'm starting to wonder if this MVP award is a curse. Every single player I've given it to seems to follow their great week with a lame one, which is exactly what Victor Martinez did here in Week 7. Thankfully, I've got guys like Adrian here to pick up the slack. After narrowly missing out on the top honors last week, Gonzo hammered his opponents this week, leading the team in hitting. Don't fail on me next week, Adrian. We need you to stay awesome.

Pitching
-Wins: tie - Daniel Hudson, Michael Pineda, 2
-Losses: tie - James Shields, Jered Weaver, 1
-Saves: J.J. Putz, 3
-Strikeouts: Shields, 22
-Holds: Daniel Bard, 1
-Earned Run Average*: Pineda, 0.00
-Walks plus Hits Per Inning Pitched*: Pineda, 0.43
-Strikeout-to-Walk Ratio*: Pineda, 16.00

*minimum 5.0 innings pitched

...and the Week 7 Cy Young Award goes to:


MICHAEL PINEDA! What a ridiculous week for the young Mariners rookie, who threw fourteen combined shutout innings over two games, striking out 16 while walking only one batter. Yikes. Although James Shields had another ridiculous week, giving Pineda honors here is the easiest decision I've had yet. Giving up no runs will do that. It's wonderful when my real baseball team and my fantasy team can both win. Thanks, Michael.

[Programming Note: Friday's The Week in Albums post has been skipped, since I was A) traveling from Boston to Seattle at the time and B) no worthwhile albums were released. Shucks. The Week in Albums will return this upcoming Friday.]

Seattle Zephyrs Recaps: Week 6, 11-3 Win

Last week, the Seattle Zephyrs offense finally came to life, posting their strongest power numbers of the season. However, this week, they went absolutely ballistic. With a combined overall OPS of 0.999 (!!!) and a season-record 12 (!) home runs from the lineup, the Zephyrs obliterated their competition. Led by the ridiculous hitting tandem of Adrian Gonzalez and Victor Martinez, we swept the offensive categories, all by significant margins.

Of course, you can't have everything and the Zephyrs' pitching staff suffered their first truly substandard week, posting lows in virtually all pitching categories. With only one win to the team's credit and the worst group ERA of the season, this simply wasn't their week. Thankfully, the explosive offense bailed them out and the Zephyrs march on to Week 7 with a stronger hold on first place.

Offense
-Runs: Adrian Gonzalez, 7
-Hits: Victor Martinez, 11
-Home Runs: A. Gonzalez, 5
-Runs Batted In: Martinez, 11
-Stolen Bases: Dustin Pedroia, 3
-Walks: Pedroia, 6
-Batting Average*: Martinez, .579
-On-base Percentage plus Slugging*: Martinez, 1.757

*minimum 15 at-bats

...and the Week 6 Offensive MVP Award goes to:


VICTOR MARTINEZ! Make no mistake here: Adrian Gonzalez had an incredible week, smacking 5 dingers, knocking in 10 and leading the team in runs scored. However, Martinez was playing in a different league, posting absurd batting average and OPS numbers during his first full week after returning from injury. The Zephyrs have missed him and we're all so glad he's back in the lineup.

Pitching
-Wins: James Shields, 1
-Losses: tie - John Danks, Dan Hudson, Jered Weaver, 1
-Saves: J.J. Putz, 2
-Strikeouts: Shields, 7
-Holds: Daniel Bard, 2
-Earned Run Average*: Dan Haren, 2.35
-Walks plus Hits Per Inning Pitched*: Haren, 0.78
-Strikeout-to-Walk Ratio*: Haren, infinite (5 Ks, no BBs)

*minimum 5.0 innings pitched

...and the Week 6 Cy Young Award goes to:


DAN HAREN! Good ol' Danny takes home his second weekly Cy Young for the Zephyrs. Yes, yes, James Shields is the only guy on the staff who actually won a game, but Haren's overall numbers were much better. He deserved to win his start, but had it vultured away by Fernando Rodney's poor relief. Jered Weaver started off the season as the ace of the team, but Haren is rapidly turning into the Zephyrs' most consistent starter.

Seattle Zephyrs Recaps: Week 5, 14-1 Win

Well, that's more like it. After two straight losses brought on by the offensive drought my lineup was going through, the Zephyrs' bats came through in a big way, posting their highest weekly OPS of the season. With the pitching staff continuing to be utterly dominant, the team delivered the most lopsided victory in the league so far. Thanks to this outstanding week, the Zephyrs sit atop the league standings and things are only looking to get better. Tonight, the struggling Corey Hart was cut from the team and Mariners slugger Justin Smoak will be DHing for us this coming week. The future looks bright.

The fact that the team posted such outstanding results despite our ace, Jered Weaver, losing both his starts is quite impressive and bodes well for the future. After about of month of frantic lineup tweaks and roster shuffling, the team has truly settled down into an efficient unit. Our six-man rotation, featuring Weaver, Haren, Danks, Shields, Pineda and Hudson, can go toe to toe with any team's best and the offense is starting to look explosive. Hopefully, this will lead to more landslide victories and a continued stranglehold on the league leader boards.

Offense
-Runs: tie - Adrian Gonzalez, Colby Rasmus, 7
-Hits: Jose Reyes, 11
-Home Runs: A. Gonzalez, 3
-Runs Batted In: A. Gonzalez, 9
-Stolen Bases: Reyes, 2
-Walks: tie - Carlos Gonzalez, Casey McGehee, Dustin Pedroia, Rasmus, Reyes, 4
-Batting Average*: Reyes, .440
-On-base Percentage plus Slugging*: Reyes, 1.357

*minimum 15 at-bats

...and the Week 5 Offensive MVP Award goes to:


JOSE REYES! One of the weird things about the Zephyrs this year has been the unpredictable nature of our offense. From week to week, there has been no single player who's been leading the charge. In five weeks, five different batters have won the MVP. However, the fact that it has taken over a month for Reyes to win the award for himself doesn't do his season justice. Although he's been eclipsed every week by someone else, he's been the only truly consistent offensive player we've got. Combining steals with a solid batting average and ability to hit for power, Reyes has been the biggest unsung star for this team in the early going. Adrian Gonzalez had a monster week, but Reyes is finally getting the nod here.

Pitching
-Wins: Daniel Hudson, James Shields, 1
-Losses: Jered Weaver, 2
-Saves: Heath Bell, Joel Hanrahan, 2
-Strikeouts: Dan Haren, 18
-Holds: Daniel Bard, 2
-Earned Run Average*: tie - Bard, Hudson, 0.00
-Walks plus Hits Per Inning Pitched*: Bard, 0.40
-Strikeout-to-Walk Ratio*: tie - Hudson, Michael Pineda, infinite

*minimum 5.0 innings pitched

...and the Week 5 Cy Young Award goes to:


DANIEL HUDSON! Although new Zephyr Daniel Bard had an incredible week, giving the team its first holds and generally being awesome out of the bullpen, I've got to give Hudson the accolades here. His seven shutout innings against the Padres stabilized a pitching staff that was losing some very close games, striking out six dudes while walking none. It wasn't a dominant week for Daniel, but he got the job done and has become a valued contributor to the team.

Seattle Zephyrs Recaps: Week 4, 6-7 Loss

Well, it's late as fuck, the country is celebrating and the past forty-hours have been an insane blur for me. I've written one of my last college papers; another two await me in the morning. Meanwhile, the man most vilified by the American people in recent memory has been killed today. How am I choosing to respond to all this? By writing about my fantasy baseball team. Because numbers are simple. Numbers are objective. Numbers either are or they aren't. They are they only things I trust myself to think about right now.

Offense
-Runs: Grady Sizemore, 7
-Hits: Adrian Gonzalez, 10
-Home Runs: Sizemore, 2
-Runs Batted In: Sizemore, 4
-Stolen Bases: Jose Reyes, 2
-Walks: Colby Rasmus, 5
-Batting Average*: Gonzalez, .417
-On-base Percentage plus Slugging*: Sizemore, 1.148

*minimum 15 at-bats

...and the Week 4 Offensive MVP Award goes to:


GRADY SIZEMORE! He hit things. A few of those things went over some fences. He also scored some runs, often by hitting things over fences. The other players on the team did not. Therefore, Grady is better than the rest of them. Sometimes, I honestly think this is the best way to write about baseball.

Pitching
-Wins: Daniel Hudson, 2
-Losses: tie - John Danks, Matt Garza, Joel Hanrahan, J.J. Putz, 1
-Saves: Hanrahan, 3
-Strikeouts: James Shields, 12
-Holds: none recorded
-Earned Run Average*: tie - Dan Haren, Jered Weaver, 0.00
-Walks plus Hits Per Inning Pitched*: Haren, 0.71
-Strikeout-to-Walk Ratio*: Shields, 12.00

*minimum 5.0 innings pitched

...and the Week 4 Cy Young Award goes to:


JERED WEAVER! My new favorite human being continued to be the single best player in the game so far this season. Although you can see that he didn't lead any of the non-ERA catagories above, his complete game, ten-strikeout shutout certainly made the point. The Zephyrs currently have many problems. Pitching is not one of them and Jered continues to be the pride and joy of this (fake) baseball team.

Seattle Zephyrs Recaps: Week 3, 5-11 Loss

Well, this week wasn't pretty. The middle of the Zephyrs' lineup was kept nicely in check, with Carlos Gonzalez letting everyone down by posting a single measly hit over the course of the whole seven days. This team is counting on CarGo to get on base, drive in runs and swipe some bases along the way and, so far, he's been doing none of those things. Injuries also took Victor Martinez and Logan Morrison out of the lineup, adding to the offensive void.

Not all is lost, however. The Zephyrs were surprisingly able to pick up Geovany Soto to replace Martinez. The Cubs catcher surely has to snap out of his recent slump in the near future. Grady Sizemore was also acquired this week, replacing the dramatically under-performing Brett Gardner. Outfielder Corey Hart is due to return from the disabled list, hopefully adding a bit more pop to the lineup. Finally, pitching pickups Michael Pineda and James Shields proved to be wonderful moves. After a couple weeks of pitch-and-ditching, the Zephyrs have finally settled into a semi-stable rotation of Weaver, Haren, Danks, Shields and Pineda.

Alright, off to the stat leaders...

Offense
-Runs: Jose Reyes (NYM), 5
-Hits: Adrian Gonzalez (BOS), 10
-Home Runs: tie - Casey McGehee (MIL), Colby Rasmus (STL), Grady Sizemore (CLE), 1
-Runs Batted In: Casey McGehee (MIL), 6
-Stolen Bases: tie - Dustin Pedroia (BOS), Jose Reyes (NYM), 2
-Walks: Dustin Pedroia (BOS), 9
-Batting Average*: tie - Casey McGehee (MIL), Jose Reyes (NYM), .320
-On-base Percentage plus Slugging*: Casey McGehee (MIL), .974

*minimum 15 at-bats

...and the Week 3 Offensive MVP Award goes to:


CASEY MCGEHEE! After a slow start, the Zephyrs' third baseman finally had a good week, getting timely hits, a fair share of walks and driving in some runs. The team certainly isn't looking to Casey to carry everything, but weekly contributions like this are what makes good teams great. Ideally, other hitters should be shouldering the MVP-type burdens, but the relative suckitude from our hitters this week does not diminish McGehee's accomplishments.

Pitching
-Wins: tie - Justin Masterson (CLE), Michael Pineda (SEA), James Shields (TB), Jered Weaver (LAA), 1
-Losses: John Danks (CWS), 2
-Saves: J.J. Putz (ARI), 2
-Strikeouts: John Danks (CWS), 13
-Holds: none recorded
-Earned Run Average*: tie - Michael Pineda (SEA), James Shields (TB), 0.00
-Walks plus Hits Per Inning Pitched*: tie - James Shields (TB), Jered Weaver (LAA), 0.67
-Strikeout-to-Walk Ratio*: Jered Weaver (LAA), infinite (8 Ks, no BBs)

*minimum 5.0 innings pitched

...and the Week 3 Cy Young Award goes to:


JAMES SHIELDS! This was a close call, since both James and Jered Weaver threw complete game wins this week. Ultimately, I decided that Shields' shutout was better than Weaver's one-run start, despite giving up two walks. Either way, this team has some incredible pitchers on its roster.

Seattle Zephyrs Recaps: Week 2, 10-4 Win

The week's last pitch has been thrown and the Seattle Zephyrs have racked up another tally in the win column. Despite some truly depressing offensive performances from certain members of the lineup, my team both out-hit and out-pitched this week's opponent, #winning.

This week saw the departures of early Zephyrs hero Torii Hunter, as well as utility man Neil Walker. Key additions for this coming week include Logan Morrison, Michael Pineda and setup man Joaquin Benoit. Maybe next week, I'll actually have some holds to speak of.

Offense
-Runs: Colby Rasmus (STL), 10
-Hits: Colby Rasmus (STL), 13
-Home Runs: tie - Torii Hunter (LAA), Carlos Gonzalez (COL), Nick Markakis (BAL), Dustin Pedroia (BOS), Colby Rasmus (STL), Jose Reyes (NYM), Neil Walker (PIT), 1
-Runs Batted In: Carlos Gonzalez (COL), 8
-Stolen Bases: Jose Reyes (NYM), 3
-Walks: tie - Adrian Gonzalez (BOS), Dustin Pedroia (BOS), 4
-Batting Average*: Colby Rasmus (STL), .371
-On-base Percentage plus Slugging*: Colby Rasmus (STL), 1.046

*minimum 15 at-bats

...and the Week 2 Offensive MVP Award goes to:


COLBY RASMUS! In case you couldn't tell from the stats above, Colby absolutely carried this team the entire week long. Oddly, after working eight walks during the season's first ten days, he only got one during the past seven. However, ripping the cover off the ball works just as well.

Pitching
-Wins: Dan Haren (LAA), 2
-Losses: tie - Bronson Arroyo (CIN), Jeff Francis (KC), Ian Kennedy (ARI), 1
-Saves: Heath Bell (SD), 2
-Strikeouts: Dan Haren (LAA), 14
-Holds: none recorded
-Earned Run Average*: John Danks (CWS), 1.12
-Walks plus Hits Per Inning Pitched*: Jered Weaver (LAA), 0.57
-Stikeout-to-Walk Ratio*: Dan Haren (LAA), 7.00

*minimum 5.0 innings pitched

...and the Week 2 Cy Young Award goes to:


DAN HAREN! The underrated right-hander continues to be dominant, supporting his fellow Angels ace (and Seattle Zephyrs teammate) Jered Weaver to create one of the most lethal one-two pitching combos in baseball. His two starts this week helped balance out some misfires from my other starters.

Seattle Zephyrs Recaps: Week 1, 12-3 Win

This blog has become an ongoing experiment for me and the latest thing I'm trying is writing about my fantasy baseball team, the Seattle Zephyrs (named as such because my poor city needs at least one team winning while the Mariners flounder). I'm not yet quite sure what form this will take, but stay tuned to find out. Week 1 is now in the books and with Jonathan Papelbon's final pitch tonight, my 12-3 victory over team I Like Ike has become official. For reference, here's the team I drafted over a week ago:

Catcher: Victor Martinez (of the Detroit Tigers)
First Base: Adrian Gonzalez (of the Boston Red Sox)
Second Base: Dustin Pedroia (of the Boston Red Sox)
Third Base: Casey McGehee (of the Milwaukee Brewers)
Shortstop: Jose Reyes (of the New York Mets), Starlin Castro (of the Chicago Cubs)
Outfield: Carlos Gonzalez (of the Colorado Rockies), Corey Hart (of the Milwaukee Brewers), Colby Rasmus (of the St. Louis Cardinals), Brett Gardner (of the New York Yankees), Torii Hunter (of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim)
Starting Pitching: Jered Weaver (of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim), Dan Haren (of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim), John Danks (of the Chicago White Sox), Madison Bumgarner (of the San Francisco Giants), Brian Matusz (of the Baltimore Orioles)
Relief Pitching: Heath Bell (of the San Diego Padres), J.J. Putz (of the Arizona Diamondbacks), Joel Hanrahan (of the Pittsburgh Pirates)

Since draft day, second baseman Neil Walker (of the Pittsburgh Pirates) has been added, Matusz and Bumgarner have been cut, Hart has been placed on disabled list and pitchers Jordan Zimmermann (of the Washington Nationals), Ivan Nova (of the New York Yankees) and Kyle Drabek (of the Toronto Blue Jays) have cycled through. Reliever Jordan Walden (of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim) has also been added.

Ok. Enough introductions. Here are this week's statistical leaders:

Offense
-Runs: Carlos Gonzalez (COL), 7
-Hits: tie - Dustin Pedroia (BOS), Jose Reyes (NYM), 14
-Home Runs: tie - Victor Martinez (DET), Torii Hunter (LAA), 2
-Runs Batted In: Victor Martinez (DET), 7
-Stolen Bases: Jose Reyes (NYM), 3
-Walks: Colby Rasmus (STL), 8
-Batting Average: Dustin Pedroia (BOS), .400
-On-base Percentage plus Slugging: Dustin Pedroia (BOS), 1.019

...and the Week 1 Offensive MVP Award goes to:


DUSTIN PEDROIA! Three consecutive three-hit games against the Yankees this weekend catapulted Dustin into a star role on the team, helping me carry most offensive categories.

Pitching
-Wins: Jered Weaver (LAA), 3
-Losses: tie - John Danks (CWS), Jordan Zimmermann (WSH), Madison Bumgarner (SF), 1
-Saves: Joel Hanrahan (PIT), 4
-Strikeouts: Jered Weaver (LAA), 27
-Holds: none recorded
-Earned Run Average*: Jered Weaver (LAA), 0.87
-Walks and Hits Per Innings Pitched*: Dan Haren (LAA), 0.64
-Strikeout-to-Walk Ratio*: Dan Haren (LAA), infinite (13 Ks, no BBs)

*I'm limiting ERA, WHIP and K/BB to only starting pitchers.

...and the Week 1 Cy Young Award goes to:


JERED WEAVER! His monstrous, 15-strikeout game this afternoon totally altered the state of my pitching stats and helped me weather the storm of Josh Beckett's impressive outing tonight. Jered, you may be ugly, but you're one awesome pitcher.