Captain's (B)log: H2HWS Week 18

We're coming to the crunch. One week until the trading deadline, so now is the time to make that last minute deal to solidify your team's chances of making the final cut. An extra arm in the bullpen? Or how about that bench hitter eligible at several positions? In these final few weeks of the regular season, every at bat could be crucial - and having that Monday-Thursday guy that you can slot in when others have no game can make all the difference...especially in close games like mine this week, where two of the hitting categories ended tied, and another was won by 1...

Week 18 Results

• London Knights 6-4 North York Blues
• New Hampshire Goats 3-7 Lower Saxony Tigers
• Barcelona Reds 2-10 Felixstowe Fury
• LA Thrashers 5-7 Peitudas
• Manzen Marlins 1-9 Psydney Psychos
• Brisbane Bikkies 6-6 Hamburger Blaufinken
• Northampton Squirrels 3-7 Edinburgh Dukes

Standings

Significant Moves

Another trade went through this week, again involving those Thrashers, and again, subsequent events suggest they may have come out on top! LA sent Chris Young (OF) and Zimmerman to Northampton in exchange for John Lackey; a move which clearly strengthens an already strong pitching staff. Northampton, on the other hand, get an OF who has failed to live up to pre-season hype and an oft-injured 3B who could have been claimed off waivers last week! With Zimmerman having missed 3 straight games after being hit on the wrist on Thursday, Northampton have since sent him back to Free Agency. An unfortunate event which happened after the trade had been accepted, but one has to wonder if this trade will do anything to reignite their fading playoff hopes.

Elsewhere, yours truly finally cut bait on Ian Snell (having held on to him far too long, really). He's a pitcher who, I think, has a lot going for him, but it just hasn't happened this year. To replace him, I picked up Pedro - no guarantees there, either, but he looked OK in his last start...and gets to face the Padres this week!

Other players finding new teams this week include Brett Myers (Psydney), Guardado (Brisbane), Adam Jones (North York) and Shoppach (Northampton), whilst CJ Wilson, Milledge, Arroyo & Kuroda found their services were no longer required.

Waffle

Yet another exciting, down-to-the-wire match-up for the London Knights, and yet another Sunday comeback saw them take the victory. Going into Sunday's games, the Knights had a significant lead in both AVG & OPS, which was not translated into the counting stats, as they trailed in R and HR, whilst being tied in RBI & SB. However, Sunday HRs from Tex, Roberts & MCab contributed to a 10-3-8 line, giving the Knights victory in R & RBI, ties in HR & SB, and a 6-4 win overall. After what can only be described as a mediocre start to the season, culminating in an 11-1 thrashing by the Thrashers, the Knights have won 11 of 12 since, and are comfortably sitting in 2nd place overall.

The Thrashers suffered a little hiccup this week, as Peitudas ended their dismal recent run by recording a surprise 7-5 victory. Peitudas took 5 of the 6 hitting cats and also, incredibly, both ERA & WHIP - two of LA's most reliable categories this season. Despite the win, Peitudas are still a long way from the playoffs, and LA still hold a comfortable 11 game lead.

Biggest game of the week was probably 8th-placed Psydney against 6th-placed Manzen...and Psydney's 9-1 victory vaulted them into a playoff position! Manzen slip to 7th, half a game ahead of Edinburgh, who also slipped a place despite a nice 7-3 win over Northampton. These three teams are neck and neck for the 6th and final playoff spot.

Just ahead of them, Lower Saxony helped their cause with a fine 7-3 victory over 3rd-placed New Hampshire. Brisbane & Hamburger are hanging on to slim hopes of the playoffs - but their 6-6 tie has done neither of them much good. And Barcelona's week off the bottom was just that - as they slumped to a 10-2 defeat by Felixstowe.

And so to Week 19, the week I've been looking forward to ever since that 11-1 humiliation! The Knights against the Thrashers is a great opportunity for a wee bit of revenge...and with the teams currently at #1 and #2 in the standings, could it be a forerunner of the final to come? Time will tell...

Another big game sees 3rd placed New Hampshire take on 5th placed North York - both will want to bounce back from narrow defeats. The all-Aussie tie is a crucial game for both teams - having got into 6th spot, Psydney will want to stay there...but Brisbane need the win to keep their hopes alive. Edinburgh will look to take the England-Scotland tie against Felixstowe to move above Psydney or Manzen, should either of them slip up this week...