Week #2

Two weeks have been played, and the Stingrays continue to lead the pack with their second consecutive 6-0 week. Week #2 was another relatively low scoring week, as the Creeping Death squad steal the final spot in the top 8 with 122 points. It has become apparent after just two weeks that there are two very distinct conferences in the league. The C/D Division conference continues to lead the way with 11 of the 16 bonus wins, as well as a decided advantage in points scored. We will refer to this conference as "Major League". The A/B Division conference has two teams averaging below the century mark, and if not for the league leading 'Rays, it would really pale in comparison to it's rival conference. We will refer to this conference as "AA Ball" until they prove their worth. The Stingrays have petitioned the league office for mid-season realignment, as they fear their team may fall asleep in the not so distant future.

The score reporting was solid again this week, with the lone exception of one team, who is still basking in the glory of an NBA Championship. Time to get 100% compliance this week with scores on time.

The message board is starting to heat up, despite the loss of the center of attention. Maze has decided to focus on winning a championship so his fan club can finally get their $9.99 worth from their membership dues. Did Sturken pay by check or cash? :-)

Stop by the message board, it can be a great added feature to league.

Now, on to the results from week two:

Oysters 4    Vipers 1
The Oysters bounce back from a rough week one, posting the league high score as they put a strangle hold on the Vipers all week. Biggio sets the new league high with his 28 point game on Monday. The record will stand despite eyewitness reports from section 146 at Coors Field that the cycle was a gift from the lazy LF. Biggio could only muster up 4 points over the weekend, so the series high award is still up for grabs. Giambi finally got sick of hearing the boos from JR/Corey (as well as 50,000 PO'd Yankees fans) and posted a solid 23 point week. The Oysters are a distant second in the A Division, but hey it is only week #2! Rogan's team posts the league low for the week, and should be thankful for the one win as they still only managed to score 14 in the Saturday win. Helton couldn't find the magic at Coors Field over the weekend, and Abreu missed a few games which certainly didn't help. Good news for Coach Rogan, his team is in the B Division, the lesser of the two "AA Ball" divisions, and just one solid week away from the division lead at the pace the B Division is going.

X-Men 4    Destroyers 1
Al's X-Men bounce back as expected, and post the 4th high score of the week and take 4 from the lowly Destroyers. The X-Men's middle infielders were sparkling this week, as Valentin posted 27 and Spivey led the team with 29. The X-Men take over the B Division lead, a place Al is comfortable with and plans to stay for quite some time. There actually was a Coach Lovell sighting this week, as he called on Friday to give his scores, this after Steve & Al had already confirmed them on Thursday. Good to see Mike and Al are on the same page, maybe Al will have to meet up with Coach Mike at the next Girl Scout meeting to get him on the right track. :-) Steve gets a little better performance from his team, but the results were nearly the same. A 1-9 start is not what the Destroyers had in mind, but Steve is hoping that the team gets going this week, as the B Division looks wide open for the taking with a few solid weeks. Aurillia remains day to day for the Destroyers, but hasn't seen the field in almost a week. That about sums up the disappointment in the early season for Coach Steve.

Barracudas 3    Contributors 2
Bert/Pam/Ron (aka BPR) get the weekend sweep over the Contributors but fail to crack the top 8. The 'Cudas get solid 20 point weeks from Chucky and Burks, but wonder how a starting player for the Rockies could post -4 at Coors Field for an entire weekend series? BPR have hopes that the A Division doesn't turn out to be a Stingrays cakewalk, and the 'Cudas are just waiting for reality to set in for the 'Rays. Coach McSwain continues to work his black magic, but unfortunately he hexed his team yet again. John/Frank's team find yet another way to slip out of the top 8 (by 2 points this week) and let a winning week go by the wayside. The Contributors got a solid week from Higgy, but a bad weekend for Sweeney led to the 3 losses F-Su.

Stingrays 5    Blackjacks 0
Break up the 'Rays!!!!! Merv/Mike get the back-to-back sweeps in the young season, as the Stingrays have another 6 win week. The 'Rays were led by Vizquel's 21 and Floyd's 20 as the Myers boyz continue to set the pace for the league. Coach Bill's Blackjacks endure the week long thumping, but still hold out hope that when the team starts playing well, they will be right up there in the AA Ball conference. The outfield looks great on paper, but it didn't perform well enough to get even a single win during the week.

Cobras 3    Redbirds 2
The Maze/Sturken show gets it second good review, as the Cobras make a Sunday rally and win the deciding game against the Redbirds. The Cobras get a league high 45 point game on Sunday to make up the necessary points to win total. $-Rod leads the way with 32 points, showing he was worthy of the first pick. Not that there was any doubt about that, but why the Oysters ever decided to pass on the sure fire #1 Fantasy player is something to be talked about on the message board. (HINT HINT!) Larry/Tim get a solid effort from their team, good enough for the 5th high in the league, but they couldn't hold onto the total points lead the had established over the weekend. Delgado leads all fantasy players this year with 60 points, and Sammy had a Sammy type of week with 23. The Redbirds are in 2nd place in the D Division, but know that in the ever so tough Major League conference, a bad week could drop them down in a hurry.

Creeping Death 3    Hummers 2
The Commish & partner Mr. Tom Brady follow up their banner week #1 with a 3-2 win and the final spot in the top 8 for the bonus win. The snickering has already begun as the Death Squad has just the 5th best scoring average in the Major League conference, but the highest total points with 10. Hmmmm, who says it doesn't pay to know the schedule maker! :-) The Death were led by Hunter's 25 and look to finally have a decent scoring week to hush those critics out there. The Hummers coaching brass was mighty disappointed with the effort this week from the team. A second to last finish in team points cost the owners $10 for the week, it has yet to be decided who pays the extra penny when splitting the loss 3 ways. Barry had a solid week with 24, but put the fear of God into Jeff & Scottx2 as he limped off the field Sunday. No fear Hummers faithful, Barry Bonds is no Ken Griffey.... or is it the other way around? The Hummers are at .500, good enough for last place in the D Division. They are more than willing to switch conferences with the Stingrays if things get to boring for Merv/Mike.

Victory 4    Wiseguys 1
Coach Alford's team has a solid week led by the Greatest First Round Pick EVER, Alfonso Soriano and his 30 point week. Sorry, I have to suck it sometimes, and last week I questioned the selection, but he certainly proved me wrong this week. Not to be outdone, OF Cameron also had a 30 point week for the Victory, as Brian's team now sits a top the D Division in the ever so tough Major League conference. (Do you get the point yet about the conferences???). Now if Brian can just get the whole score reporting thing down, it could be another long and prosperous fantasy season. The Wiseguys have a decent week, but can only get the one win and miss the top 8 by 4 points. Chris/George get another solid week from Edmonds, and Alomar finally wakes up with a 15 point game Sunday to help the Wiseguys get their only win of the week.

Clippers 3    Connection 2
Mike/Harry rebound from their 0-5 first week, to get the 3-2 win and another top 8 finish. The Clippers were led by Manny's 28 points, and the Cubs pitching had a solid 36 point week. The Clips' have the 3rd best scoring average in the Major League conference, so they look to be a team that will be in the hunt for quite some time. Scott/Chris have a disappointing week with just 2 wins and missing the top 8 by 2 points, but considering all the injuries so far for the Connection, the defending champs are not quite ready to pass the trophy along yet. Pujols looks like a stud again for the team, and the Division match up this week should provide the team with the chance to make up some ground.

Week #2 Awards:

Player of the Week:    Delgado, Redbirds    35 Points
Carlos follows up last week's 25 point performance, with the league high 35 point week this time around. Delgado now leads all players with 60 points.

Pitching Staff of the Week:    Cubs, Clippers     36 Points 
The Cubs lead the way this week, and help the Clippers knock off the defending champs. Imaging if stud rookie Mark Prior makes it to Wrigley before the year is out, things could get real interesting for the Clippers.

Surprise of the Week:    Todd Hollandsworth, Vipers
The Rockies other Todd gets this award this week. 1 for 9 with 5 K's at home in the thin air, is not what the Barracudas were hoping for.

Quote of the Week:    Coach Phillips, Blackjacks
"Hey Merv and Mike, Thanks for kicking my butt". That seems to be the reoccurring theme this year so far. At least he said thank you!

Just one last reminder (until we get 100% compliance)...... lineups are due by 9pm Sunday, M-Th scores by 9pm Saturday, and the entire week's scores are due by 9pm on Monday. Please try and continue to get the scores confirmed with your opponent and send me one agreed upon boxscore.

Good luck to everyone in week #3....... I am outta here!

The Commish


PREVIOUS EDITIONS OF THE COMMISH'S CORNER:


CLICK ON LINK TO VIEW THAT WEEK'S REPORT

COMMISH'S CORNER WEEK #1