NYY 3, PHI 1

Something of a nailbiter, but Good AJ took the mound and Tex went long.  All even at one game apiece, as the teams board the trains for Philly tonight.

Not a ton of points to spread around, but I for one like the distribution:

NYY: 3

Jeter, D: 2
Teixeira, M: 4

Burnett, AJ: 16

-----
No change in the money, but I got a lot closer to it for once, thanks to Allan James:

Kim: 230.33
Ben: 220.66
Maria 2: 203.67
 
Aaron: 199.33
Sarah: 196.66
Warren: 195.67
Lauren: 191.67

Matt: 171.67
Maria 1: 170.33

Tim: 169.67
Stephen: 166.67

-----

Until Halloween night, friends.

PHI 6, NYY 1

As a Yankee fan, I could have done without that shit last night.  As a Cliff Lee picker, however, I've got nooooo complaints.  And as a pool runner, I like that it's getting interesting...

Your points:

PHI: 5

Jeter, D: 4

Howard, R: 4
Rollins, J: 1
Utley, C: 8 (!)

Sabathia, CC: 13

Lee, C: 22 (in case anyone besides me and Maria cares: 9 innings, plus 3 pts. for the CG, and 10 Ks)
-----

Kim put some distance between herself and Ben, and Maria 2 elbowed her way into the money thanks to Utley's plate heroics.

Kim: 228.33
Ben 1: 215.66
Maria 2: 196.67
 
Warren: 192.67
Aaron: 192.33

Lauren: 186.67

Sarah: 173.66
Matt: 171.67
Maria 1: 171.33

Tim: 166.67
Stephen: 161.67
-----
Pedro v. AJ tonight at 8 PM.  I basically need my boy Allan James to throw a no-no while Mark Teixeira gets like ten home runs, or I'm done here.  No problem!

NYY 5, LAA 2

Glad I was wrong about that; New York wins it in 6.  Great news for some poolies, but for others, it's likely the end of the line.

More on that in a moment.  First, your points.

NYY: 13

Rodriguez, A: 2
Teixeira, M: 2

Kazmir, S: 0.67
Pettitte, A: 12.33
Weaver, J: 1.33

-----

Below, the standings going into the World Series.  No change to the top three, although Ben 1 closed the gap significantly on Kim.

Kim: 202.33
Ben 1: 198.66
Warren: 174.67

LAA 7, NYY 6

...Huh.

Some unexpected point pick-ups along the way in a nail-biter of a game that saw Weaver on in relief for 3 -- and Teixeira on the board for a key 3 as well.

I get a bad feeling about the series going back to New York.  I have no evidence in support of this, but I commented on Tuesday that if the Yankees leave the door open wide enough that it goes back to the Bronx, they'll lose.  I'm not happy about it, but I'm going to stand by it.  Comments welcome.

Meanwhile, your points:

LAA: 3

Jeter, D: 1
Rodriguez, A: 2
Teixeira, M: a long-overdue 3

Burnett, AJ: 9, in spite of himself
Weaver, J: 3

-----

You won't see much difference between this ranking and last night's, although I managed to gain an inch of ground.  Warren's points have been corrected, so those of you with your own shadow spreadsheets should check my work if you feel the need.  (...Ben.)

Kim: 189.33
Ben 1: 171.33
Warren: 159.67

Aaron: 159.33
Maria 2: 155.67
Lauren: 152.67

Matt: 149.67
Maria 1: 142.33

Tim: 138.67
Sarah: 136.66
Stephen: 131.67

LJ: 116.67

Ben 2: 107

John: 97.67

Jill: 88.33
Tom: 88

Joe: 76.33

-----

See you back here over the weekend; provisionally, it's Saunders vs. Pettitte at 8:07 ET in the Bronx.

PHI 10, LAD 4

Philadelphia wins the National League pennant; Dodger-pickers lose their picks, but it's only a handful.  Looks like we'll head into the World Series without anyone completely pickless...not that it's going to matter much for a few of you.

Points:

PHI: 15

Rollins, J: 1

Hamels, C: 7.33

-----

Can anyone catch Kim?  I don't think it's impossible.  But I don't think it's Ben One who'll do the catching.  And please welcome Warren to the cone of money:

Kim: 188.33
Ben 1: 168.33
Warren: 157.67

Aaron: 156.33
Maria 2: 152.67
Lauren: 151.67

Matt: 146.67

Maria 1: 139.33
Tim: 136.67
Stephen: 130.67

Sarah: 124.66

LJ: 115.67

Ben 2: 101

John: 94.67

Tom: 88

Jill: 76.33

Joe: 68.33

Game 5 of the ALCS at 7:57 ET tonight, Burnett v. Lackey.  If the Yanks win, we'll have a better idea of who's realistically still in this thing.

NYY 10, LAA 1

Right when Tex pickers could start to feel a little bit encouraged with his lone base...A-Rod goes and puts up 7 TB.  I picked that guy two years straight, he did fuck-all, now he's spraying bases all over the pool.

Also a big night for the big man, Carsten Charles -- who did the handful of us who didn't pick him a small favor by not picking up the CG.  Heh.

Sabathia and Rodriguez combined to create some reshuffling of the standings, as it's now Warren within smelling distance of the money.

Your points:

NYY: 5

Jeter, D: 2
Rodriguez, A: 7
Teixeira, M: 1

Kazmir, S: 7
Sabathia, CC: 13

-----

Ben One: 168.33
Kim: 166
Lauren: 151.67

140s: Warren
Mid-130s: Maria 2, Tim, and Aaron
Low 130s: Matt and Stephen

120s: Sarah and Maria 1
110s: LJ
90s: John

80s: Tom and Ben 2
Having many other fine qualities: Jill and Joe

Unless a grizzly bear with a grudge against Ryan Howard is released onto the field tomorrow night, the likelihood that any of us can catch Kim is getting pretty dang slim.  Padilla vs. Hamels tomorrow night at 8:07 ET; it's do or die for the Dodgers...and for a couple of poolians.

LAA 5, NYY 4 (11); PHI 5, LAD 4

Yeesh.  Crazy night at the ballparks, Teixeira continues to be an albatross, and Torre's bullpen "management" bites back...again.

Points!

LAA: 5

Jeter, D: 4
Rodriguez, A: 4

Pettitte, A: 8.33
Weaver, J: 9

PHI: 3

Howard, R: 4
Rollins, J: 3
Utley, C: 1

Wolf, R: 7.33

-----

Kim: 146
Ben Uno: 141.33
Lauren: 131.67
Maria Uno: 123.33
Maria Dos, Matt: 118.67
Sarah: 118.66
Warren: 117.67
Aaron: 115
Tim: 111.67
Stephen: 110.67
LJ: 95.67
Ben Dos: 85
Tom: 76
John: 75.67
Jill: 70.33
Joe: 67.33

PHI 11, LAD 0

...Ouch.  Good night for the Philly phans in the pool, though.  Your points:

PHI: 5

Howard, R: 3
Rollins, J: 2
Utley, C: 2

Lee, C: 18

-----

Thanks to the "Pitchers On Ice" stylings of Burnett and Lee, I'm making a run at the money.  The top three remains the same --

Kim: 135
Ben One: 125
Lauren: 123.67

-- and Kim's lead is getting larger.  (Just a reminder: Kim and Ben One still have all their picks; Lauren is one of two poolies who is only one pick short.  Everyone else is down two picks or more at this point.)  But Ben One is the lone Pettitte picker, and stands to retake the lead tonight as Grandpa Andy takes the mound against Jered Weaver, a.k.a. Joe's Last Hope.

That's the best; here's the rest:

Fighting it out in the 110s: Sarah, the Marias, Aaron, and Warren
Mid-100s: Tim and Matt
90s: Stephen and LJ
That 70s Show: Ben Two, John, Tom, and Jill
Say it ain't so: Joe

Play begins at 4:13 ET (...seriously?) with the Bombers in Anaheim; then it's Dodgers at Phillies at 8:07.  Three of the four pitchers in play, Teixeira pickers waiting patiently.

NYY 4, LAA 3 (13)

You kind of have to laugh at the St. Derek coverage, or you'll cry...but that flubbety-flap error was legitimately hilarious. 

Still, DJ put 4 on the board last night; Teixeira is the Ortiz of '09 in the pool and is doing bubkes.

Your points:

NYY: 5

Jeter, D: 4
Rodriguez, A: 4

Burnett, AJ: 10.33

-----

Your top three remains the same:

Kim: 127
Ben One: 125
Lauren: 120.67

Otherwise, not much change, but Tim and Warren clawed their way up a bit further.

Clustered together at 105-107: Maria Two, Tim, Aaron, Warren

High 90s: Stephen, Matt

Low 90s: LJ, Sarah

80s: Maria One

Low to mid 70s: John, Ben Two, Jill

Also playing: Tom, Joe

Everyone in the bottom half of the standings picked either Jason Bay, Albert Pujols, or Mark Teixeira.  If Tex doesn't figure his shit out on the plane, this could be over pretty soon for a bunch of poolies.

The Dodgers visit the Phils tonight at 8:07 ET with Kuroda and Lee pitching, a.k.a. "Maria One and Sarah's Assault On Fifth Place."  Snerk.

LAD 2, PHI 1; NYY 4, LAA 1

Thrills and chills during last night's action...mostly chills in New York, but Carsten Charles thrilled his pickers with 15 points.

Last night's numbers:

LAD: 3

Howard, R: 5
Utley, C: 1

NYY: 3

Jeter, D: 2
Rodriguez, A: 1
Teixeira, M: 1

Sabathia, CC: 15

-----

Big points values aside, it's hard to know how much a Sabathia pick really helps at this point, since more than half the pool is holding him.  But Lauren clawed her way back into the money last night thanks to her hitters and the Dodger win.

The complete standings:

Kim: 118
Ben One: 112
Lauren: 111.67

Maria Two: 102.67
Aaron: 102

Matt: 98.67
Tim: 97.67
Warren: 96.67
Stephen: 90.34

Maria One: 87.33
LJ: 82.67

Sarah: 75.33
Ben Two: 72
John: 70.67

Tom: 64

Joe: 58.33
Jill: 55

It's a day of rest for the NL; Angels at Yanks starts at 7:57 PM ET with Saunders and Burnett taking the hill.  I can't speak for Jill, but I'm pretty sure she joins me in hoping AJ throws a 14-inning no-hit complete game, or we're both dunzo.

PHI 8, LAD 6

Your points:

PHI: 3

Howard, R: 2
Rollins, J: 1

Hamels, C: 9.33

-----

We've got a new leader.  Your current money-finishers:

Kim: 93
Ben Prime: 88
Maria Prime: 87.33

Followed by Lauren, Aaron, and Maria II (low 80s); Matt, Tim, and Warren (high 70s); Sarah, Ben II, and Stephen (low 70s); and LJ, Tom, Joe, John, and Jill in the low 60s or below.

It's worth noting that only Kim and Ben Prime have all their original picks still in play.

Yanks/Angels return tomorrow night with Sabathia on the hill (weather permitting), but it does seem at this point like it's the other pitching picks that will make the critical difference as to who stays in the hunt and who falls too far behind.

Phils at Dodgers at 4:07 PM ET; Halos at Bombers at 7:57 (...shut up, FOX).

PHI 5, COL 4

A heroic 8th-inning effort by the Rockies goes for naught as Philadelphia wins the series 3-1.  Only Tim and I lose picks here, but we managed to rack up some points tonight, too.

I think this is the first pool season in which, after the divisional serieses have ended, nobody is eliminated.

Your points:

PHI: 9

Howard, R:2
Rollins, J: 3
Tulowitzki, T: 2
Utley, C: 1

Jimenez, U: 14
Lee, C: 12.33

-----


The standings as of the end of the LDSes:

88: Ben 1
83.33: Maria 1
81.67: Lauren
79.67: Maria 2
78.67: Tim, Kim
74.67: Warren
73.67: Matt
71.33: Sarah
70.67: Aaron
70.34: Stephen
68: Ben 2
62.67: LJ
54.33: Joe
54: Tom
51.67: John
51: Jill


The NLCS begins on Thursday, time TBD.  See you back here on the 15th.

PHI 6, COL 5

Like I said, not much movement with these points, although Maria Dos -- our lone Utleyan -- jumped right back in it with last night's results.

PHI: 3

Howard, R: 1
Rollins, J: 1
Utley, C: 6

-----

And now, your full standings.

88: Ben One
79.67: Lauren
70.34: Stephen
69.67: Maria Two
67.67: Kim
65.67: Warren
62.67: Tim, LJ, Matt
61.67: Aaron
59: Maria One, Ben Two, Sarah
54.33: Joe
52: Tom
51.67: John
51: Jill

Tonight's game starts at 6:07 with the Phillies leading the series 2-1.  An LDS win for them is good for the pool, but bad for me (and Tim); we'll see what happens, but we've got a bunch of picks in play tonight -- look forward to at least a mild reshuffle of your leaders. 

LCSes scheduled to start Thursday.

NYY 4, MIN 1: Looks good on ya, Pavano

...Dick.

Anyway!  There's a new sheriff in town at last.  His name is Ben One.  How long his reign lasts depends on the NLDS results, but until then, your points:

NYY: 11

Jeter, D: 2
Mauer, J: 1
Rodriguez, A: 6 (!)

Pettitte, A: 13.33

-----

Complete standings tomorrow morning after the dust settles on tonight's game, but the current top three looks like this:

88: Ben One
78.67: Lauren
70.34: Stephen

In the low 60s: Kim, Tim, Warren, LJ, and Maria Dos
High 50s: Sarah, Aaron, Matt, and Ben Two
Low 50s: everyone else

Unless Tulo goes on a HR binge, we likely won't see a ton of movement overnight, but you never know what J. Roll might do.  Again, full standings then, provided no Phillies or Rockies freeze to death.  (No, no points will be awarded for that eventuality.)

LAA 7, BOS ah HAAAA HA HA HA HA HA HAAAAA! (6)

...HA HA HA HA HA HA!

...Ha!

(Hate Papelbon.  HATE.)

The sweep of Boston by the Angels, while not exactly what I expected, 1) is awesome, since it came at the expense of a pitcher I loathe, and 2) did not really affect the pool all that much.  Only one picker, Joe, had the team, and only Matt and I had Boston hitters; it's more of a loss on the pitching side, but again, not a huge one. 

But the few, the proud, the believers in Los Angeles baseball look pretty good right now.  Full standings after tonight's games, but Lauren is still in the lead, followed by Matt, Stephen, the Bens, and Joe (who...should probably not get used to the thinner air up at the top of the standings.  No offense, friend).

LAD 5, STL 1

...Daaaaaang.  That is some weak sauce, St. Louis!  Not that many poolies picked the team...but tons of poolies picked Card pitching and/or Pujols.  A good 40% of the pitching picks just got knocked out.

But the clairvoyant Dodger-pickers snagged 11 points (3 for the win, 6 for the LDS win, 2 for the sweep), and Joe is screaming up the standings all of a sudden.

Your points:

LAD: 11

Pujols, A: 2

-----
Reshuffled standings, in which Lauren is now fending off assaults from Stephen and Ben Prime as well as Joe:

65.67: Lauren
57.34: Stephen
55.67: Ben Uno
54.33: Joe
50.67: Kim
49.67: LJ, Maria Dos
48: Sadie
47.67: Aaron, Matt
45.67: Tim, Warren
45: Ben Dos
43: Maria Uno
40.67: John
40: Jill
34: Tom

Halos vs. Beanos tomorrow at noon, then Yanks at Twins at 7 PM (eat 45 bees, Carl Pavano), Phils at Rockies at 10.

PHI at COL postponed due to snow

...Heh.  Dodgers/Redbirds scheduled to proceed barring a hail of frogs.  The snow game is rescheduled for Sunday night.

NYY 4, MIN 3; LAA 4, BOS 1

A lot of points picked up during the 11-inning Yanks/Twins heart-breaker; meanwhile, only Joe gets any real traction from the Halos' win late-night.

Your points:

NYY: 5

Jeter, D: 2
Mauer, J: 2
Rodriguez, A: 5
Teixeira, M: 5

(Note: I'm using MLB.com's definition of total bases, which does not seem to include BB.  Hope everyone's okay with that, as everyone's affected pretty much equally.)

Burnett, AJ: 12

LAA: 3

Weaver, J: 14.33

-----

54.67: Lauren
50.67: Kim
49.67: Maria Dos
48: Sarah
47.67: Aaron, LJ, Matt
45.67: Tim
44.67: Ben Prime
44.34: Stephen
43.67: Warren
43: Ben Dos, Maria Prime
41.33: Joe
40: Jill
38.67: John
32: Tom

Tom still stands to make a charge -- Kazmir hasn't taken the hill yet -- but he and the other STL pickers had better hope The Gateway To The West gets on the board today, and that Pujols has a good night.  Otherwise, we're all buying Lauren's lunch.

NL gets back on the horse tonight with LAD/STL at 6:07 and PHI/COL at 9:37; AL is off.

COL 5, PHI 4; LAD 3, STL 2; LAA 5, BOS 0

...Huh.  Okay.

Points:

COL: 3

Howard, R: 3
Rollins, J: 1
Utley, C: 1

Hamels, C: 10

-----

LAD: 3

Holliday, M: 4
Pujols, A: 1

Wainwright, A: 15

-----

LAA: 5

Bay, J: 1

Lester, J: 11

-----

The current standings:

Lauren: 47.67
Matt: 44.67
Kim: 43.67

LJ: 40.67
Maria 2: 39.67
Maria Prime: 38
Aaron: 37.67
Stephen: 37.34
Tim: 35.67
Ben 2: 35
Warren: 33.67
Ben Prime: 32.67
John: 28.67
Tom: 27
Sarah: 26
Joe: 22
Jill: 18


Without everyone's pitchers on the board yet, it's still pretty open -- but with the Dodgers now up 2-0 in the series, the pool could up and drown a bunch of us pretty quickly.  Especially if Tex doesn't start hitting.

NL is off tomorrow; ALDS resumes with MIN/NYY at 6:07 PM.

NYY 7, MIN 2; LAD 5, STL 3

Everybody's on the board after our first day of play.  First, your points.

NYY: 5

Jeter, D: 5
Mauer, J: 3
Rodriguez, A: 2

Sabathia, CC: 14.67

LAD: 3

Holliday, M: 1

Carpenter, C: 8
Wolf, R: 5.67

------

I'll wait to post detailed standings until BOS and LAA have played; until then, we won't really know much of anything.  At the moment, though, Stephen is out in front by a hair thanks to Wolf, with Tim and Warren tied for second and Maria Prime, Kim, and Lauren just behind.  Then there's a big hugger-mugger in the center, and Tom, Joe, and Ben 2 are bringing up the rear.

What do the trailers have in common?  None of their starting pitchers have taken the hill yet...and they all picked El Hombre as one of their sluggers.

We do it again at 2:37 PM ET.  I welcome comments, trash-talk, and arithmetic checks; see you in the comments.

PHI 5, COL 1

Here we go!  Points for:

PHI: 3
Rollins, J: 1
Utley, C: 1
Howard, R: 3
Lee, C: 17 (9 IP, 3 for the CG, 5 SO...and narrowly missed garnering PHI pickers additional points for a blowout)

Tulowitzki, T: 2
Jimenez, U: 9

Maria Uno out to an early lead and more than half the pool already on the board in some form.  Back after tonight's games.

The Rules/Points: 2009

TEAM POINTS

each game won = 3 pts.
games won by blow-out (5 runs or more) = 2 pt.
games won in extra innings = 2 pt.

division series = 6 pts.
championship series = 10 pts.
World Series = 15 pts.

sweep/division = 2 pts.
sweep/championship = 5 pts.
sweep/World Series = 8 pts.


PLAYER POINTS/TOTAL BASES

single, walk, HBP/other = 1 pt.
double = 2 pts.
triple = 3 pts.
home run = 4 pts.


(note: it's probably not totally kosher to count BB and HBP et al. as a full point, but if I have to dick around too extensively with halves when I already have to deal with thirds on the pitcher side, I will go mad -- and everyone benefits the same from it, basically, so let's just agree not to care too much)


PITCHER POINTS

each K = 1 pt.
each inning = 1 pt. (yes, thirds of innings will be counted)
throws a complete game = 3 pts.
throws a no-no/perfect game = 10 pts.

The Picks

Sorry for the jenk formatting; I've got a kabillion things going on today and the games start in like two seconds.

If you see any mistakes, please let me know ASAP.  2009 rules update and some points will go up later this afternoon.  

Once again, no duplicate picks that I can see.  Carsten Charles is already putting up big numbers here in the pool as far and away the most popular pick.

Good luck, everyone!  Questions or edits, post them here or email me.
 
Sarah D. Bunting
NYY COL
Teixeira, M
Bay, J
Burnett, AJ
Lee, C

Aaron Cameron
NYY PHI
Teixeira, M
Holliday, M
Sabathia, CC
Hamels, C

Matt Green
LAA PHI
Bay, J
Howard, R
Sabathia, CC
Wainwright, A

LJ Lindhurst
NYY STL
Jeter, D
Pujols, A
Sabathia, CC
Wainwright, A

Tim O'Reilly
NYY COL
Rodriguez, A
Tulowitzki, T
Sabathia, CC
Jimenez, U

John Ramos
NYY STL
Teixeira, M
Pujols, A
Sabathia, CC
Carpenter, C

Kim Reed
NYY PHI
Jeter, D
Howard, R
Sabathia, CC
Hamels, C

Joe Reid
BOS LAD
Teixeira, M
Pujols, A
Weaver, J
Wainwright, A

Ben Richardson 1
NYY LAD
Rodriguez, A
Jeter, D
Sabathia, CC
Pettitte, A

Ben Richardson 2
LAA PHI
Teixeira, M
Pujols, A
Lester, J
Wainwright, A

Tom Rogers
NYY STL
Howard, R
Pujols, A
Kazmir, S
Wainwright, A

Lauren Shotwell
NYY LAD
Jeter, D
Howard, R
Sabathia, CC
Lester, J

Jill Stempel
NYY STL
Teixeira, M
Holliday, M
Burnett, AJ
Carpenter, C

Stephen Thompson
NYY LAD
Jeter, D
Pujols, A
Sabathia, CC
Wolf, R

Warren Tormey
NYY PHI
Rodriguez, A
Pujols, A
Sabathia, CC
Carpenter, C

Maria Wonsetler 1
LAA PHI
Mauer, J
Rollins, J
Carpenter, C
Lee, C

Maria Wonsetler 2
NYY PHI
Teixeira, M
Utley, C
Sabathia, CC
Wainwright, A

Finally: T(win)s!

Welcome back, poolians...and at last we have our postseason matchups!  Picks are due at noon ET tomorrow (Wednesday 7 October); we're underway only 2 hours later.

Questions, please let me know.  Otherwise, money on the table.