Captain's (B)log: H2HWS Week 17

With only 5 weeks of the regular season to go, we saw some very significant results in the H2HWS this week, along with a slight widening of the gap between the top 6 and the field. On a personal note, the reason for my dislike of having too many bench hitters in H2H became all too apparent in my match-up with Lower Saxony Tigers, as one of us managed to leave a total of 5 HR on the bench this week. Who was it? And did it affect the result? Read on to find out!

Week 17 Results

• London Knights 7-5 Lower Saxony Tigers
• New Hampshire Goats 9-1 Felixstowe Fury
• Barcelona Reds 5-6 Edinburgh Dukes
• North York Blues 6-4 Peitudas
• LA Thrashers 8-1 Psydney Psychos
• Manzen Marlins 5-7 Hamburger Blaufinken
• Brisbane Bikkies 9-1 Northampton Squirrels

Standings

Significant Moves

A number of trades went down this week; a couple of them have already been talked about elsewhere, but for completeness, I'll repeat them here.

First off, LA Thrashers traded Ervin Santana & new closer Jonathan Broxton to Brisbane in return for a 3B upgrade in Evan Longoria and dual-eligibility pitcher Hong-Chih Kuo.

This was shortly followed by Psydney Psychos sending Dice-K & Morrow (who is rumoured to be on his way to the Minors for some work to prepare him for starting duties), and receiving Cole Hamels in return. An obvious upgrade for the Psychos, although Hamels' first start won't have been a pleasure to watch...

Finally, the London Knights were also active traders this week, sending Derek Lowe & Salomon Torres to Manzen Marlins in return for Joba Chamberlain. It looks to me like I have overpaid a little for the starting pitcher upgrade...but this trade allowed me to clear a roster spot for (hopefully) Harang's imminent return from the DL, and it means that I no longer have to worry about which of my 5 relievers to bench each day!

The Knights also used a waiver claim this week to pick up Alex Gordon after he was dropped by LA. He suits me nicely as my reserve hitter - a Mon/Thurs guy - and it means that I have a bit more flexibility than when I had 5 OF. Ethier was the guy to make way - despite his good recent run, his playing time is once again uncertain in that Dodger outfield. Edinburgh also made a claim this week, to pick up Zack Greinke after he was released by Manzen.

A few more big names hit waivers this week: Konerko (North York), Zimmerman & Myers (LA) being the biggest. All have now cleared waivers, so it will be interesting to see how long they remain free agents...replacing them on rosters were the likes of Adam LaRoche, RJ and Arroyo.

Waffle

The Knights and Tigers fought out a very close contest this week, with the lead changing on a daily basis. Going into Sunday's games, the Tigers held a narrow 6-5 lead - ahead in most hitting categories but behing in most pitching. But several were close, meaning Sunday's games would be crucial.

The Knights' hitters once again rose to the occasion on the Sunday, moving ahead in both RBI & AVG (and coming very close in OPS!) At the same time, the pitchers held strong, winning every category except Ks, resulting in a 7-5 victory for the defending champs. The Tigers will surely be lamenting leaving 5 HR on the bench over the course of the week, including 3 from Jeremy Hermida. If they had been included, they would have swept the hitting categories for a 7-5 win of their own...

Elsewhere, Psydney's recent revival was brought to a shuddering halt in an 8-1 defeat to the runaway leaders who are now a whopping 13 games clear. New Hampshire closed the gap on second place with a convincing win of their own, 9-1 over Felixstowe, who slump to the foot of the table. Above them (by virtue of a better performance this week) are Barcelona - their 6-5 loss to Edinburgh being enough to finally move out of position number 14.

Edinburgh moved back into 7th spot with that win, but the gap to 6th is now 6.5 games. It could have been much closer, as Manzen were facing a huge defeat midweek, but they fought back to lose the all-German tie with Hamburger by a mere 7-5. Another big margin midweek gave North York hope of moving into the top 3, but Peitudas fought back to a narrow 6-4 defeat; this is still their 6th straight defeat. But the biggest movers of the week were Brisbane, who jumped 3 spaces after crushing Northampton 9-1. They still need to win every match-up left to have a chance of the top 6, but at least they have shown their capability of doing it!

Week 17 is gone; week 18 has arrived; and this is a great opportunity for teams just outside the playoffs to make ground, as the teams from 2nd to 5th are all facing off, as London take on North York and New Hampshire meet Lower Saxony. It's a crucial week for Psydney in 8th; if they beat 6th-placed Manzen, it will do them a power of good. Also looking to capitalise will be Edinburgh, playing Northampton, and Brisbane, taking on Hamburger. At the top, LA look to increase their lead still further as they face Peitudas, whilst at the bottom, Felixstowe & Barcelona fight it out to avoid the wooden spoon...