Bunting's Postseason Pool

Final points and standings

2011-10-29T09:53:00.000-07:00

Sheehan/Bell: 232.33
Aaron 2: 197
Bunting: 195.67
Jill Love: 195.33

...Like I said: brutal. Kinsler was the difference there, and he did the literal minimum required to elbow Jill out of the money. Ouch.

Ben: 172.67
Aaron 1: 167
John: 142
Joe: 122.33

With 28 total entries, that's $196 for the first-place finishers, $56 for Aaron 2, and a modest $28 for yours truly. I'll be spending mine on a squirrel hat. Juuuuust kidding.

What have we learned? Well, we've learned that it's obviously a stroke of against-the-grain genius to pick St. Louis in the BPP (2006, 2011), unless it's a stupidly horrible idea (all the other years), and when it's a stupidly horrible idea, it's all Pujols's fault, unless he's awesome. Repeat that five times fast.

We've learned that previous champs do pretty well (Aaron and I have both won before; Ben and John stayed on the board until the end, at least; Broomfield/Romine racked up a respectable 164) -- but don't repeat (6 years, 6 different winners).

Broomfield made some suggestions last year for tweaking the picking/points process, which I'll spend the long, dark night of the boring soul known as "the off season" mulling over. As always, please feel free to check my arithmetic and point out any errors -- and as always, thanks so much for playing. It makes the postseason even more exciting.

I'll see you all back here in 2012, if not sooner.

STL 6, TEX 2

2011-10-29T09:33:00.000-07:00

On the narrow point, this is not a surprising result given Game 6. Taking a larger view, this is not what anyone would have predicted this postseason.

Well, except Sheehan/Bell. Heh. Congrats, guys -- and Cards, and Cards fans.

Points now; final standings and wrap-up shortly.

STL: 18 (3 for the W, 15 for the Series win)

Hamilton, J: 2
Kinsler, I: 2
Young, M: 2

Carpenter, C: 9 (6 IP + 5 K - 2 BB)
Wilson, CJ: 3.33 (1.1 IP + 2 K - 0 BB for once)

These points gave our lone STL picker(s) a decisive lead and win...but Kinsler's 2 TB meant that a past leader missed the money by only a few tenths of a point. Brutal.

Back in a sec. Use the time to check my math, please.

STL 10, TEX 9

2011-10-28T14:19:00.000-07:00

That...is why we watch baseball. A. May. Zing. Texas alone had three blown saves; utter madness. Loved it. And I have to spend Game 7 basically watching it go down on Twitter at a work event, ARGH.

Everyone picked up points somewhere, pretty much, as follows:

STL: 5 (3 for the W, 2 for the extra innings)

Beltre, A: 4
Hamilton, J: 6
Kinsler, I: 3
Pujols, A: 2
Young, M: 3

No change in the standings, but Sheehan/Bell widened their lead, and Jill Love needs to pray that Kinsler is confined to a single or she might fall out of the money, even with a Texas win tonight.

And even a Texas win does not necessarily knock Sheehan/Bell out of the lead. Their pitcher is going tonight (short rest, granted, but still); everyone else has CJ, who isn't starting. Pujols could warm back up again. Jill has no hitters left; Aaron and Bunting have the same slate left. It's down to the wire!

And then it's four dark months of baseball-less purgatory, but let's think about that later. For now, the relevant parties:

Sheehan/Bell: 205.33
Jill Love: 192
Aaron 2: 191.67
Bunting: 190.34

And everyone else at least 20 points off the pace and therefore functionally out of it.

Cash on the table, tonight, 8 PM. See you back here tomorrow for payouts! (And if you see any math mistakes, now is the time to point them out.)

TEX 4, STL 2

2011-10-25T05:23:00.000-07:00

Incessant IBB-ing of Pujols seemed to neuter the Cardinals, but not our leader, holding Carpenter and maintaining the lead.

TEX: 3

Beltre, A: 4
Hamilton, J: 1
Young, M: 2

Carpenter, C: 9 (7 IP + 4 K - 2 BB)
Wilson, CJ: 3.33 (5.1 IP + 3 K - 5 BB)

Still Sheehan/Bell in the lead with 198.33; Jill Love hanging in with 192; Aaron 2 with 188.67. Bunting also unable to close the gap thanks to Kinsler's recent absence, 187.34; Ben and Aaron 1 trying to make a horse race out of it with Beltre, 163.67 and 155 respectively; John, 133.67; Joe, 119.

Tonight's a night off before the Series returns to St. Louis on Wednesday night, 8 ET. Lewis v. Garcia, Texas up 3-2.

TEX 4, STL 0

2011-10-23T20:29:00.000-07:00

A gem by the disgustached Holland; the Rangers even the series at 2 each.

Points:

TEX: 3

Hamilton, J: 2
Kinsler, I: 1

No change in the standings, but I've put totals after the jump.

Sheehan/Bell: 189.33
Jill Love: 185.67
Aaron 2: 182.34
Bunting: 181.01
Ben: 156.67
Aaron 1: 147
John: 125.34
Joe: 112.67

I don't know if we have listed starters for tomorrow, but the game, as always, is at 8 ET.

STL 16, TEX 7

2011-10-23T06:20:00.000-07:00

...BOOM.

El Hombre. What can you even say. I couldn't decide whether I felt pained at watching Texas's pitching get slapped around like a little brother, or privileged to see Pujols do what he does. I went with the latter, because: that guy! Even the ESPN radio guys, who have seen a little bit of baseball in their lives, were like, "...That guy!"

And that's not even getting into his total bases, which we will do presently with the points -- which I strained an oblique lifting, by the way.

STL: 5 (Blowout City and Albert's the mayor)

Beltre, A: 5
swingin' from the arms, it's Hamilton, J: 1
swingin' from the restless ghost of George Herman Jr., it's Pujols, A: 14
Young, M looking like a piker with: 6

So, yeah. DID I MENTION THE FOURTEEN TOTAL BASES OMG.

Don't get up; Sheehan/Bell will elbow my ass out of the money and mention it themselves, after the jump.

Thanks to Kinsler doing not much at the plate for the first time all postseason, and oh yeah Pujols basically hitting off a tee, we have a new leader, and that leader has a preeeeeetty healthy lead all of a sudden:

Sheehan/Bell: 189.33
Jill Love: 182.67
Aaron 2: 178.34
Bunting: 177.01
Ben: 152.67
Aaron 1: 142
John: 122.34
Joe: 109. 67

...El Hombre. What can you even say.

We do it again at 8 PM, Jackson vs. Holland. I have given up predicting anything. I will say that Kinsler needs to pull a Pujols pronto or I'm not getting a thin dime.

TEX 2, STL 1

2011-10-20T20:22:00.000-07:00

No change in the leaders after Texas claws back to win. Aaron and I closed the gap on Jill Love a bit, though, and opened it a bit on Sheehan/Bell.

Jill Love 182.67
Aaron 2 178.34
Bunting 177.01
Shee/Bell 170.33
Ben 147.67
Aaron 1 136
John 116.34
Joe 109.67

The action goes back to Arlington, 8 PM ET on Saturday. See you then!

STL 3, TEX 2

2011-10-19T20:27:00.000-07:00

CJ did better than he looked, but the BBs killed him...and, to an extent, us.

STL: 3

Beltre, A: 3
Kinsler, I: 2

Wilson, CJ: 3.67 (5.2 IP + 4 K - 6 BB)
Carpenter, C: 9 (6 IP + 4K - 1 BB)

Jill Love still holding the lead with 179.67, followed by Aaron 2 with 173.34 and Bunting at 172.01.
Sheehan/Bell coming on with 170.33
the two-hitters-left club: Ben 141.67, Aaron 1 132
John 112.34
Joe 106.67

Lewis v. Garcia tomorrow at 8 ET, weather permitting. See you then!

The Classic...and who's left

2011-10-16T21:26:00.000-07:00

Funny how the NL Central always finds a way to bunge up this pool. Either the Cubs somehow get into the postseason, everyone picks them, and they get swept; or the Cards look strong, everybody picks Pujols, and he hits two flares to short center and THEY get swept; or the Cards look like also-rans and nobody picks them and they go to the Series. Bastards.

Anyway. Following Milwaukee's unexpected departure, we lost the following picks:

MIL

Braun, R
Fielder, P

Gallardo, Y
Greinke, Z
Marcum, S

And a bunch of poolites lost their entire slates...including a couple of people currently in the money. I considered leaving those folks in for a game or two, just to see how it goes, but unless Ian Kinsler is beaten to death with CJ Wilson's arm, it's just not going to be possible for anyone with no picks left to win anything. So, if your slate got blanked, you will no longer appear in the updates.

Leaving us:

pick twins Reid 1 and Green
Green
Tim
BSD
Keith
Costa
Pepper

Congrats on getting this far, and I hope we'll see you next year.

For the few, the proud, the pickers of CJ Wilson still standing, rest up -- we'll see you back here Wednesday for the first game of the World Series in St. Louis.

Oh, dear: STL 12, MIL 6

2011-10-16T21:12:00.000-07:00

Jeez. Well, okay. Congrats to the Cards, who are just rolling right now, it seems like. Condolences to the Brewers...and to most of the rest of the pool, summarily benched by the series loss.

The points, although really I could just email these to Mr. Bell for all that it affects anyone else. Heh.

STL: 15 (3 for the win, another 2 for the blowout, and 10 for the pennant win)

Pujols, A: 5

Marcum, S: 1 (1 IP + 1 K - 1 BB)

It's probably telling that neither Braun nor Fielder got a base tonight.

Your full standings after the jump.

No change in the money...yet.

Jill Love: 176
Aaron 2: 167.67
Reid 1 and Green: 167.33
Bunting: 166.34
Broomfield/Romine: 164
Sheehan/Bell: 158.33
Tim: 155
BSD: 147
Ben: 136.67
Aaron 1: 129
Keith: 118.66
John: 108.67
Costa: 103.33
Reid 2: 103
Pepper: 93.33

Stay tuned for the World Series preview/housecleaning entry.

TEX 15, DET 5

2011-10-16T05:56:00.000-07:00

I mentioned on Twitter last night that I wanted someone's dad to invoke the mercy rule. The Texas offense, and specifically the Cruz portion, is impressive, but there comes a point where it's just sad. Kudos to Detroit for trying to hang in there until the middle innings...and to Tejas on a second straight AL pennant. It's a damn good team; I think it's going to go the distance this year.

But a few poolians...aren't. While you enjoy that brutal segue, the points:

TEX: 15 (3 for the W, 2 for the drubbing, 10 for the CS series victory)

Beltre, A: 3
Cabrera, M ain't going out like that: 8
Hamilton, J's incorrect beard: 1
Kinsler, I: 2
the jangling carcass of Martinez, V: 3
a love letter to John from Young, M: 8

No pitcher points. And we bid farewell to

Cabrera, M
Martinez, V
and Cy Young heir apparent Verlander, J

Meet the new boss, NOT the same as the old boss, after the jump!

Jumping out to a lead on her lonesome, it's Jill Love with 176, followed by Aaron 2 with 167.67; Reid 1 and Green still showing for right now, just a whisker behind at 167.33.

Bunting 2: 166.34
Broomfield/Romine: 164
Tim: 155
BSD: 147
Shee/Bell: 138.33
Ben: 136.67
Aaron 1: 129
Maria: 126.33
Keith: 118.66
John, somewhat unaccustomed to this bright light outside the cellar: 108.67
Bunting 1: 106.33
Costa: 103.33
Reid 2: 103
D. Peps: 92.33

Detroit's ouster didn't knock out as many slates as I'd thought off the top of my head, but the following slates have lost all their picks and will no longer show up in the updates:

Maria 2
Bunting 1

NCLS showdown tonight at 8:05 ET! Any arithmetic biffs, you know what to do.

STL 7, MIL 1

2011-10-15T11:22:00.000-07:00

The NLCS goes back to Milwaukee with the Cardinals leading the series 3-2. For all we've heard about the Brewers' domination at home, a short series is...a short series. Could go either way at this point, I'm thinking.

Not much movement, except for our lone STL backer. The points:

STL: 5 (the blowout)

Braun, R: 2
Pujols, A: 1

Greinke, Z: 3.67 (5.2 IP - 2 BB and 0 K...sigh)

The standings after the jump.

Not much new.

Reid 1 and Green: 159.33
Broom/Rom: 156
Jill Love: 153
Aaron 2: 150.67
Bunting 2: 149.34
Tim: 147
BSD: 144
Shee/Bell: 138.33

110s: Keith, Maria, Ben, Aaron 1
100s: Costa
90s: Bunting 1, Pepper
80s: Reid 2, John

Tigers/Rangers at 8 ET!

MIL 4, STL 2

2011-10-13T21:15:00.000-07:00

Milwaukee evens it up; over here, the leaders hold the line. We'll see how things look after Greinke's start tomorrow night, but for now, points and standings!

MIL: 3

Braun, R: 2
Fielder, P: 2
Pujols, A: 1

Leaders remain the same:
Reid 1 and Green: 157.33
Jill Love: 153
Broomfield/Romine: 150.33
Aaron 2: 148.67
Bunting 2: 143.67
Tim: 143.33
BSD: 140.33
Sheehan/Bell, still coming on: 132.33
Maria: 118.33
Ben: 116.67
Keith: 116.66
Aaron 1: 110
Costa: 103.33
Bunting 1: 98.33
Pepper: 92.33
Reid 2: 88
John: 85.67

The ALCS gets the day off tomorrow -- and we receive a blessed reprieve from Tim "Bill Wakefield" McCarver -- but MIL/STL resumes at 8 PM ET.

DET 7, TEX 5

2011-10-13T18:24:00.000-07:00

Los Tigres stay alive! Points a-swarming! A change in the leaders!

DET: 3

Cabrera, M: 2
Hamilton, J: 3
Kinsler, I: 2
Martinez, V: 3
Young, M: 3

Verlander, J: 12.33 (7.1 IP + 8 K - 3 BB)
Wilson, CJ despite kind of sucking up the joint: 9 (6 IP + 5 K - 2 BB)

The lead still belongs to Reid 1 and Green with 152. 33 -- but now they're followed by:
Jill Love, thanks to holding both today's pitching picks: 148
Broomfield Romine: 145.33

Also in the 140s: Aaron 2
130s: Bunting 2, Tim, BSD, Shee/Bell
110s: Maria, Ben, Keith, Aaron 1
100s: Costa
90s: Bunting 1
present: Reid 2, Pepper, John

What do the current leaders all have in common? MIL, Cabrera, and Verlander. Go figure.

As I write this, the Crew just tied it up in the 4th. Regardless of that game's outcome, we likely won't see much change in the leaders, but I'll see you back here afterwards.

STL 4, MIL 3

2011-10-12T22:14:00.000-07:00

The anticipated pointfest failed to materialize, as neither starter looked sharp and the Milwaukee bats didn't do their usual thing -- and St. Louis takes a series lead.

STL: 3

Braun, R: 1
Pujols, A: 3

Carpenter, C: 5 (5 IP + 3 K - 3 BB)
Gallardo, Y: 2 (5 IP + 2 K - 5 BB)

Standings after the jump...

No real change.

Reid 1 and Green: 135
Aaron 2: 132.67
Broomfield/Romine: 128
Bunting 2: 127.67
Jill Love: 124.67
Tim: 121
BSD: 117
Sheehan/Bell: 116
Ben: 114.67
Keith: 111.66
Aaron: 107
Maria: 101
Costa: 89
Pepper: 87.33
Bunting 1: 81
Reid 2: 79
John: 73.67

It could get reeeeeally interesting tomorrow afternoon, though -- with Texas up 3-1, MLB.com lists the probables as Verlander and Wilson. I'm betting Detroit goes down; Verlander's gassed, and I don't think the DET offense can make enough headway against Texas pitching.

Feel free to disagree, or correct my math, in the comments. See you back here tomorrow night.

Groundhog Game: TEX 7, DET 3 (11)

2011-10-12T21:55:00.000-07:00

I had to change the channel after Tim McCarver mangled the word "treacherous" (and...all the other words), but I didn't need to watch to know that I regret not picking Nelson Cruz for the second year in a row. Your points:

TEX: 5 (3 for the W, 2 for the free baseball...didn't forget this time, woo!)

Cabrera, M: 2
Hamilton, J: 2
Kinsler, I: 2
Martinez, V: 1
Young, M: 1

No change in the leaders -- still Reid 1 and Green at the top, followed by Aaron 2 and Broomfield/Romine. Check back in a few for the post-NLCS-game update.

Shut up

2011-10-11T21:20:00.001-07:00

Shut up, Tim McCarver. Shut up, Mitch Williams. Shut up Larry Bowa shut up Tim Kurkjian shut up Joe Buck. Just. Shut. Up.

DET 5, TEX 2

2011-10-11T21:14:00.000-07:00

The NL didn't play today; I kind of can't believe the pearl-clutching commentary about how, thanks to the can St. Louis opened on Milwaukee last night, the series IS OVER if Milwaukee loses on Wednesday. This, after the same commentators basically called it for MIL in 5. I agree that the Crew has some pitching issues, and this is nothing against the Cardinals; I just can never believe how willing the sports commentariat is to freak the eff out over the results of one game.

Anyway, on to the actual action from tonight, in which 1) the FOX commentary, as usual, made the idiocy I just mentioned seem downright sane and bearable, and 2) Detroit gets right back in it with a strong performance from Fister and the hitters -- and our lineup reshuffles back to its former state. ...Well, provided I did the math correctly, and THAT hardly seems likely, does it! Har har! I am an overtired moron! ...Okay then. Points.

DET: 3

Cabrera, M: 6
Hamilton, J: 3
Kinsler, I: 2
Martinez, V: 4

Current standings after the jump!

Reid 1 and Green: 132
Broomfield/Romine: 125
Aaron 2: 122.67
Bunting 2: 119.67
Tim: 119
Jill Love: 117.67
BSD: 116
Keith: 108.66
Ben: 105.67
Sheehan/Bell: 105
Aaron 1: 100
Maria: 99
Costa: 89
Pepper: 87.33
Bunting 1: 79
Reid 2: 74
John: 67.67

Big day Wednesday: TEX/DET reconvene at 4:19 PM ET, followed by the marquee NLCS match-up at 8...Gallardo v. Carpenter, i.e. "Aaron 2's chance to crush us all like bugs."

Correction!

2011-10-11T14:50:00.000-07:00

I forgot to award points for the fact that Texas won in extra innings last night. Sorry! An extra two points for all TEX pickers...and those two points mean that I just crawled into the money, replacing Broomfield/Romine in third. Don't worry; it won't last. Updated standings after tonight's game.

I apologize for all the math biffs this year. Catch anything else I missed? Email or comment. Thanks.

STL 12, MIL 3

2011-10-10T21:56:00.000-07:00

Okay, Busch squirrel -- nice hex! Crazy pointage all over the shop, and not just for the estimable M. Bell, either, as St. Louis evens the series 1-1.

The damage:

STL: 5

Braun, R: 3
Fielder, P: 6
Pujols, A: 10 (!)

Marcum, S: 4 (4 IP + 1 K - 1 BB)

The leaders stayed steady, but we've got a couple peeps threatening, after the jump.

Reid 1 and Green: 123
Aaron 2: 118.67
Broomfield/Romine: 116
Bunting 2: 115.67
Tim 1: 111
Jill Love: 110.67
BSD: 109
Keith: 108.66
Sheehan/Bell: 102
Ben 2: 100.67
Aaron 1: 98
Maria 2: 91
Costa 2: 89
Pepper: 87.33
Reid 2: 72
Bunting 1: 70
John: 65.67

ALCS Game 3 tomorrow (Tuesday) night at 8:05 ET. Detroit needs to make a statement that isn't "we aren't hitting."

TEX 7, DET 3

2011-10-10T20:59:00.000-07:00

I liked Detroit's chances; Detroit's lineup doesn't seem to want to cooperate.

Your points:

TEX: 3

Beltre, A: 5
Cabrera, M: 2
Hamilton, J: 3
Young, M: 1

No pitcher points here, and no change to the leaders. Stand by for the NLCS results -- or to get your face stepped on big-time by Sheehan/Bell.

MIL 9, STL 6

2011-10-09T17:21:00.000-07:00

updated 10/10 9:30 AM to correct Aaron 2's total; no change to leaders/standings

Not the pitchers' duel we went out on in the PHI/STL series, for sure -- but we got a lot of points going, which is cool. And they are as follows:

MIL: 3

Braun, R: 6
Fielder, P: 4
Pujols, A: 1

Greinke, Z: 10 (6 IP + 6 K - 2 BB)

Slight change to the leaders; Reid 1 and Green holding the top spot with 118, followed by Aaron 2 with 112. 67 and Broomfield/Romine with 111.

The expected separation between have(all their picks left)s and have-nots has begun to manifest, as prior leaders who lost teams/players drop down the standings.

Also in the 100s: Bunting 2, Keith, Tim 1, BSD
90s: Jill Love, Ben 2
80s: Maria 2, Sheehan/Bell, Aaron 1, Costa 2
70s: Pepper
60s: Reid 2, Bunting 1, John

Today's ALCS game got cancelled due to weather, but it's set to roll tomorrow at 4:19 ET (...whatever), followed by STL/MIL at 8:05 PM. See you then!

TEX 3, DET 2

2011-10-09T05:51:00.000-07:00

What's with rain refusing to allow Verlander starts to continue? Didn't see the game, but get the sense from the box score that it might have been overmanaged for a Game 1. Any road, the points:

TEX: 3

Beltre, A: 1
Cabrera, M: 1
Kinsler, I: 1

Verlander, J: 7
Wilson, CJ: 5.67 (lotta walks)

Heading into NLCS Game 1, Reid 1 and Green still in the lead, followed by Aaron 2 and Keith.
90s: Ben 2, Jill Love, Broom/Rom, and Bunting 2
80s: Maria 2, Aaron 1, Sheehan/Bell, Tim 1, BSD
70s: Costa 2, Pepper
60s: Reid 2, Bunting 1, John

The fun resumes at 4 PM ET today, Garcia v. Greinke in Milwaukee.

LDS wrap-up

2011-10-08T10:47:00.000-07:00

Alllll righty! First, our current scores (verified by Broomfield LLP):

Reid 1 and Matt: 101
Keith: 96.66
Aaron 2: 94
Ben 2: 87.67
Broomfield/Romine: 84
Aaron 1: 83
Tom: 82
Bunting 2, Maria 2: 81
Warren 2: 80.66
Maria 1: 80
Sheehan/Bell, BSD, Lauren: 79
Tim 1: 78
Broomfield, Jill Love: 76
Ben 1: 75
Costa 2: 72
Pepper: 70.33
Jill Hate: 69.33
Reid 2: 61
Bunting 1: 60
Costa 1: 59.66
Warren 1: 55.34
Tim 2: 53.66
John: 53

Of course, those standings will shuffle around as of this evening...and we have a number of entrants with no picks remaining. It doesn't usually happen so early in the proceedings unless the Cubs are involved (heh), but the point does come every year when we have to bid farewell to some poolies, so if all your picks got punted as of last night, you are hereby thanked for your yeoman service, but your name will no longer appear in the updates.

Friends, please pour one out for
Tom
the Warrens
Maria 1
Lauren
Broomfield, ironically
Ben 1
Jill Hate
Costa 1
Tim 2

Everyone who's out, my condolences -- and thanks for joining the '11 pool. I hope I'll see you again next year. (Or in the comments for the rest of the postseason.) Everyone who's still in it, the ALCS starts at 8:30 ET tonight with two pitching picks on the hill -- good luck!

STL 1, PHI 0

2011-10-08T07:16:00.000-07:00

...Wow. Not only would I not have predicted Philadelphia's exit this early, but I would not have predicted it at the hands of Tony "Overmanager" La Russa. And what a way to go -- via a great pitching duel. Fantastic baseball.

Not...so great for the pool, though, obviously. A number of picks are complete toast. On the plus side, Philly hitter picks had made a weak enough showing that some people may not be too affected by their departure.

To the pointmobile, let's go!

STL: 9

Utley, C: 1
Victorino, S: 3

Carpenter, C: 15
Halladay, R: 14

Aaaaaaaaand leaving us:

PHI
Howard, R
Pence, H
Utley, C
Victorino, S
Halladay, R
Hamels, C
Lee, C

Full standings in a sec!

MIL 3, ARI 2 (10)

2011-10-08T06:46:00.000-07:00

Congrats, Brewers -- you got the NLCS; you won't have to face the Phillies (...I know, I know. More on that later); and you snagged a passel of points for your pickers thanks to the extra-innings heroics.

Points:

MIL: 11 (3 for the W, 2 for the free baseball, 6 for the division)

Braun, R: 3
Upton, J: 4

Gallardo, Y: 9
Kennedy, I: 9

Leaders and leavers after the jump...

A quick look at the money before I start sorting through the carnage of the St. Louis upset: Keith, Aaron 2, and Ben 2 in the lead, with Reid 1 and Matt just behind.

Leaving the picks:
ARI
Upton, J
Kennedy, I

Stay tuned for a STL/PHI wrap-up, a.k.a. "The Triumph of the Shee/Bell," plus full standings.

DET 3, NYY 2 and Excel meltdown

2011-10-06T22:47:00.000-07:00

...Uch. While trying a new sorting technique, I managed to unsort the entire pool and had to backtrack. I think I've got it all straightened out, but Broomfield has found a few mistakes already, so if you think the points are wrong/misattributed, speak up.

In the meantime, A-Rod looks to be wearing the goat horns again as the Yankees fall to the Tigers. Not saying it's fair; just saying it may be what we see in the tabs tomorrow. I didn't pick the Yankees to win, but I thought their odds got really good when they survived Game 4.

It probably doesn't matter much -- I don't think either of these teams can beat Texas in a 7-game series -- but it does knock a bunch of picks out.

Tonight's points:

DET: 9 (3 for the win + 6 for the division crown)

Cano, R: 5
Granderson, C: 1
Martinez, V: 1
Swisher, N: 1
Teixeira, M: 2

Nova, I: 5
Sabathia, CC: 3.33

Departures and leaders after the break.

Departing our company: NYY, Cano, Granderson, Swisher, Teixeira, Nova, and Sabathia.

Keith's NYY picks went out with a bang, but they...went out, so his time at the top is running out. But as we go into the NLDS finales tomorrow night:

Keith: 73.66
Reid 1 and Matt: 73
Costa 2: 72
rounding out the 70s: Aaron 2, Broomfield/Romine
high 60s: Ben 2, Aaron 1, BSD, Tim 1, Bunting 2, Maria 1
mid 60s: Warren 2, Lauren, Tom, Jill Love, Maria 2
low 60s: Broomfield, Ben 1, Reid 2, Bunting 1
50s: Costa 1, Pepper, Shee/Bell, Jill Hate, Tim 2, John
40s: Warren 1

Apologies for any errors; keep me posted. [updated 10/7 8 AM]

Two Game 5s tomorrow! Love it!

ARI 10, MIL 6

2011-10-05T22:27:00.000-07:00

Updated 10/6/11 5:11 PM with correct math/standings...sorry, and thanks for catching the screw-up, Broomie. Anyone else catches me doing "arithmetic," send an email.

You know, this series looked the most eminently sweepable to me. ...Well, maybe Philadelphia/St. Louis looked more sweepable, but I just didn't think Arizona could contain the MIL hitting attack, like, at all. To a certain extent, that's been true (see: Arizona's failure to pick up blowout points this evening), but the series is even at two each.

The primary pool effect, of course, is to carry Milwaukee a few more rounds so that those picks get more points. But we do have a new leader this evening. Ladies and germs, the return of former champ Ben to the money!

But ze lead, she ees waffer-theen.

Aaron 2: 71
Ben 2: 69.67
Aaron 1: 69
Costa 2: 67
Keith: 65.33
Jill Love: 65
Reid 1 and Matt: 64
Warren 2: 61.33
Broom/Rom and Maria 1: 61
Lauren, Ben 1, Reid 2, and Tom: 60
O'Reilly 1 and BSD: 58
Bunting 2: 57
Costa 1: 55.33
Maria 2: 55
John: 53
Dave Pepper: 51
O'Reilly 2: 49.33
Broomfield: 49
Jill Hate and Bunting 1: 48
Warren 1: 46.34
Sheehan/Bell: 46

Despite the elimination of Tampa, the pack remains pretty tight. That should change tomorrow night when the Tigers go to the Bronx for all the marbles.

STL 5, PHI 3

2011-10-05T18:12:00.000-07:00

...Cool. St. Louis ties the series at 2 apiece. This isn't a super-shocking turn of events -- getting to Oswalt is not that difficult this season -- but here's the interesting part: MLB lists the probables for Friday as Carpenter and TBA. Not that I like the other options much better if I'm LaRussa, but starting C. Carps on short rest hasn't worked out very well so far. And who does Manuel go with? Does it matter?

...Man, I love this time of year. I wish sports radio would shut up about football. (And...everything else.)

Points:

STL: 3

Pence, H: 1
Utley, C: 4

No change in the leaders. See you back here after the nightcap.

NYY 10, DET 1; ARI 8, MIL 1

2011-10-05T12:32:00.000-07:00

Can't say I saw these results coming...although AJ does seem to know how to turn it on when he absolutely has to. But the handcuffing of the Milwaukee offense was a surprise.

In any case, your points:

NYY: 5

Cano, R: 1
Granderson, C: 2
Martinez, V: 4
Swisher, N: 1
Teixeira, M: 1

ARI: 5

Fielder, P: 1

Marcum, S: 4.67

Standings/notes after the jump.

I won't get into a ton of detail here since tonight's games start in just a couple of hours; sorry for the delay, but I've spent the last two days at all-day training in midtown. As a result, I haven't had much time to update here -- and I get the feeling my math may have gotten bunged up, so as usual, please check my work to make sure it matches up with yours/reality.

The leaders: Aaron 1 with 69, Aaron 2 with 67, Ben 2 with 66.67.

Also in the 60s: Costa 2, Keith, Jill Love, Reid 1, Matt, Maria 1, and Tom
High 50s: Broomfield/Romine, Lauren, Ben 1, Reid 2, Warren 2
Mid 50s: Tim 1, BSD, Costa 1, Bunting 2, Maria 2, Ramos
40s: Broomfield, Pepper, Tim 2, Jill Hate, Bunting 1, Sheehan/Bell, and Warren 1

I'll post fuller standings after tonight's games, probably tomorrow morning. If anything looks kooky then, or in the meantime, leave a comment or email, but you may want to wait until one of the NLDSes ends so some dust can settle.

PHI 3, STL 2

2011-10-04T18:51:00.000-07:00

I "watched" most of the game on MLB.com in a conference room. Stupid employment. It didn't change the standings much, but as the lone Hamels picker, I felt pretty good about it -- and the lone Pujols picker should feel pretty good too.

Points:

PHI: 3

Pujols, A: 7
Utley, C: 1
Victorino, S: 1

Hamels, C: 11 (6 IP + 8 K - 3 BB)

Standings after the jump!

Everything's coming up Aaron.

69: Aaron 1
67: Aaron 2
62: Reid 1, Jill Love, Matt
61.67: Ben 2
59: Broom/Rom
58: Costa 2
57.33: Keith
57: Reid 2
55: O'Reilly 1, Bunting 2, the Wonsetlers
54: Tom
53: Lauren, John
52: Ben 1
51: Mike
50.33: Warren 2
48.33: Costa 1
47: Bunting 1
43: Sheehan/Bell
42.33: Jill Hate, O'Reilly 2
41: Broomfield
37.34: Warren 1
37.33: D. Peps

TEX 4, TB 3

2011-10-04T18:36:00.000-07:00

I'm sad to see the Rays go -- but gone they have. Beltre pickers, meanwhile? Not sad AT ALL, and I don't blame them. Your points for the afternoon game:

TEX: 9 (3 for the win + 6 for the division series)

Beltre, A: 12
Kinsler, I: 4

Departing the points race:
TB
Longoria, E
Price, D

I'll update the points shortly with the PHI/STL game, but for the moment, it's Aarons aweigh -- Aaron 2 with 67; Aaron 1 with 66; and Jill Love, Matt, and Joe tied with 62.

DET 5, NYY 4

2011-10-04T05:05:00.000-07:00

I'm away from my desk all day today, so I probably can't update as fully as I'd like until tonight. That said, the NYY/DET game last night was something of a nail-biter...and thanks to some wildness on the part of Captain Crunch, the Sabathia pickers didn't do as well as they might have liked.

Points:

DET: 3

Granderson, C: 3

Sabathia, CC: 2.33 (5.1 IP + 3 K - 6 BB)
Verlander, J: 16 (8 IP + 11 K - 3 BB)

Joe Reid 1 and Matt now tied for the lead with 62, followed by Broomfield/Romine with 59 and Keith with 57.33. Tim 1 and Joe Costa 2 just off the pace.

The games begin at 2 PM ET today.

TEX 4, TB 3

2011-10-03T18:16:00.000-07:00

Should Maddon have left Price in? Could that have bought his line-up some time? I don't know what difference it would have made. I'll give the Rays credit for staying in it, though.

Points!

TEX: 3

Beltre, A: 1
Hamilton, J: 1
Kinsler, I: 2

Price, D: 8.67 (6.2 IP + 3 K - 1 BB)

Slight shuffle of the leaders -- Keith clinging to a lead with 55, Aaron 2 54, Maria 1 with 52, and Lauren and Tom just off the pace at 50. But don't get too used to those stats, with two popular picks dueling in Detroit...

STL 5, PHI 4

2011-10-02T22:00:00.000-07:00

St. Louis, surprisingly, comes back to 5-4 and holds the lead -- but it's Lee pickers, as usual, who gain the biggest ground:

STL: 3

Howard, R: 1
Pence, H: 1
Pujols, A: 2

Carpenter: 2 (3 IP cancelled out by 3 BB; 2 K)
Lee: 13 (6 IP + 9 K - 2 BB)

Standings after the jump!

Keith still in the lead with 55, Maria 1 with 52, and Lauren and Tom tied at 50.
49: Aaron 2
46: Ben 1
43: Joe Reid 1, Matt Green
41: Warren 2
40: Broomfield/Romine, Aaron 1, Joe Costa 1
39.33: Jill Hate
39: the Joes 2
38: John
37: Sarah 2, Tim 2
36: Tim 1
35: Broomfield, Pepper
34: Jill Love
32: BSD, Maria 2
30.67: Ben 2
24.67: Warren 2
17: Sheehan/Bell, Sarah 1

I'm sure everyone will be relieved to see that the natural order of things has been restored, with one of my slates now in last place.

Three starters up tomorrow when action resumes at 5 PM, TEX at TB, followed by a Sabathia/Verlander rematch at 8:30 PM in Detroit. If either of those two goes any distance into the game at all, we could see a serious reshuffle of the leaderboard...

MIL 9, ARI 4

2011-10-02T20:00:00.000-07:00

Arizona isn't looking like they can hold up against MIL's offensive attack. We'll see what happens at Chase Field, but for now, big points for MIL pickers:

MIL: 5

Braun, R: 7
Fielder, P: 1
Upton, J: 4

Greinke, Z: 12

Money leaders are now Keith, Aaron 2, Sheriff Joe One, and Greensy.

DET 5, NYY 3

2011-10-02T19:43:00.000-07:00

Cabrera rewards his pickers and Detroit stays alive. The points:

DET: 3

Cabrera, M: 6
Cano, R: 1
Granderson, C: 4
Martinez, V: 1
Swisher, N: 4

Keith, Aaron 2, and Warren 2 in the lead currently.

NYY 9, DET 3

2011-10-02T05:42:00.000-07:00

Tigers and Yanks dodge the raindrops for an NYY blowout in the nightcap. Remembering that Verlander and Sabathia pickers already had their points assigned, here's the points for this game:

NYY: 5

Cano, R: 8
Granderson, C: 1
Martinez, V: 1
Swisher, N: 1
Teixeira, M: 2

Nova, I: 7.33 (seems like it should have been more, but...4 BB)

Again, if any of these stats look funny, please email or comment. Mistakes happen; just read last year's archives. My source is MLB.com if the numbers look right but you just want to look things up yourself.

Current standings after the jump.

Another fairly full slate today with only the ALDS West off. Until we get going at 3 PM with DET/NYY, your standings:

Keith -- 42
Aaron 2 -- 39
Jill Hate -- 38.33
Warren 2 and Maria -- 37
Tom -- 36
Lauren -- 35
Ben 2 -- 30.67
Ben 1, J. Broom, and D. Peps -- 28
Aaron 1 -- 27
Costa 2, Ramos -- 24
Sarah 2, Maria 2, Costa 1 -- 23
Reid 1, Gang Green, Jill Love -- 22
Reid 2 -- 21
Warren 1 -- 20.67
Tim 2 -- 19
The Notorious B.S.D. -- 10
Tim 1 -- 9
Shee/Bell, Broo/Rom, Sarah 1 -- 7

What do all the trailing picks (i.e., under 20) have in common? They all picked Verlander, and their other starter hasn't gone yet. (Several of them picked Cabrera, and he hasn't showed up yet either.) But we're about to see how it shakes out for real, with Carpenter, Lee, and Greinke all taking the hill this PM. Buckle up!

DET/NYY: 3 PM
ARI/MIL can't get no respect at 5 PM
STL/PHI is the marquee, 8:30 PM

And OH CRAP I forgot to update my fantasy-football team. Have fun, sports fans!

TEX 8, TB 6

2011-10-01T20:05:00.000-07:00

That series is now tied 1-1, with points as follows:

TEX: 3

Hamilton, J: 1
Kinsler, I: 3
Longoria, E: 4
Young, M: 2

No pitcher points here. Aaron 2, Warren 2, and Ben 2 in the money currently.

PHI 11, STL 6: Everybody on the board

2011-10-01T18:07:00.000-07:00

I missed most of the game proper. On the plus side, my parents picked a restaurant that had the game on the TV. On the minus side...mute. Boo. The Cards tried to mount a top-of-the-ninth comeback, but fell short, and the Phils got the blowout.

But all poolies are now on the board, with lots of points to go around in the sunset game:

PHI: 5 (3 W + 2 blowout)

Howard, R: 4
Pence, H: 2
Pujols, A not screwing his pickers totally for once: 1
Utley, C: 5 (where'd that come from?)
Victorino, S: 3

Halladay, R: 15 (8 IP + 8 K - 1 BB)

Aaron 2, Warren 2, and Keith currently in the money, with Ben 2, Jill Hate, and the Mariae not far off the pace.

MIL 4, ARI 1

2011-10-01T15:09:00.000-07:00

All righty! NLDS underway with a win for MIL. Just very quickly, your points and your temporary leaders before the evening games get going...

MIL: 3

Braun, R: 4
Fielder, P: 6
Upton, J: 1

Gallardo, Y: 16 (8 IP + 9 K - 1 BB)
Kennedy, I: 8.67

The current leaderboard: Aaron 2, Keith, and Ben 2. Sure to change after tonight's action.

corrected 10/2/11 with accurate final score -- thanks, Keith

DET 1, NYY 1 (ppd)

2011-09-30T21:56:00.000-07:00

Okay, so: according to MLB.com, Detroit-New York Game 1 resumes tomorrow night at the time previously reserved for Game 2 -- and tonight's starters, Verlander and Sabathia, will not return. Sooooo, obviously nobody gets game points, because nobody won, but pickers who had Verlander and/or Sabathia will take their innings/points, as follows:

Verlander: ooh, 0 (1 IP + 1 K - 2 BB)
Sabathia: 6

No TB points eligible.

Standings at the end of a weird Day 1:
Aaron 2, Sarah 2, John, Joe Reid 2, and Jill Love -- 10
Joe Costa 1 -- 8
Warren 1 -- 7
Keith, Warren 2, Tim 2, Dave -- 6
Aaron 1 -- 3
Sheehan/Bell -- 2

Tomorrow's slate, after the jump.

ARI @ MIL Game 1, 2 PM
STL @ PHI Game 1, 5 PM
TB @ TEX Game 2, 7 PM
DET @ NYY Game 1 (remainder), 8:30 PM

For more info on starters, scheduling, and where I'm getting my TB/points totals, hit up MLB.com.

TB 9, TEX 0

2011-09-30T17:26:00.000-07:00

...Hmm. All righty, then.

Well, despite spitting the bit, CJ Wilson picked up a few points for his backers; TB's momentum continues; and Warren looks like a genius.

After the evening show, your points:

TB: 5 (win + blowout)
Hamilton, J: 3
Longoria, E: 2
Wilson, CJ: 10 (5 IP + 6 K - 1 BB)

The Aarons, Sarah 2, Joe C., John, Joe R 2, Jill Amor, Warren 1, and Shee/Bell all on the board in roughly that order. DET/NYY in 10.

High hoooooopes: ALDS

2011-09-30T08:35:00.000-07:00

The AL fun begins today at 5:07 PM in Tejas, where Tampa sends the rookie Moore to the mound against CJ Wilson. At 8:37 PM, Detroit tries to bring the pain to the Yankees in the Bronx -- Verlander v. Sabathia -- and most of the pool diving right in. All times eastern; all games on TBS; ESPN.com has a solid sked right here.

Tomorrow is a complete effing barrage of baseball -- or, as I like to call it, "Sarah prom" -- starting at 2:07 PM with D-backs/Brew Crew; Cards v. Doc Halladay at 5:07; Big Game James at 7:07 (that game is on TNT, and evidently there's a "Holland" of some sort?); and at 8:37, hee! Fister versus Nova in New York.

Looking for an overview/preview for the serieseseses? Hardball Talk is quite good.

Looking to tipple with your fellow poolies? Jill, Ben, and I welcome all, big and small, at Cody's -- Court and Dean Sts., beautiful Brooklyn NY. If you can't attend in person, we look forward to your smug/despairing texts and comments.

The Picks

2011-09-29T18:03:00.000-07:00

Voila -- les picks! I misspoke in my email; we did have duplicates last year, and we have a couple of dupe slates this year as well. We'll see whether that makes any difference, because it usually doesn't matter.

Most popular team pick: PHI, for the second year in a row. Miguel Cabrera is the most popular player pick, interestingly. (Even more interestingly: a couple of people finally wised up and picked the Flyin' Hawaiian, who usually ends up racking up total bases in the postseason while the pool stands by all "God-DAMMIT why didn't we pick that guy." Which...probably means he'll bust out this year. Heh.)

Doc Halladay and Cliff Lee tied for top pitcher pick. Hope you were sitting down for that one. Heh.

Full list of picks is below. Please email/comment on any mistakes you see, and watch this space for scheduling and updates. (And for a different, less microscopic font. Sorry! This is a problem every year.)

Also! Pool kickoff/beerfest at Cody's on Court St. in Brooklyn, tomorrow night. Come! Drink! Heckle!

Jeremy Broomfield NYY PHI Granderson, C Teixeira, M Halladay, R Lee, C

Broomfield/Romine DET MIL Cabrera, M Braun, R Verlander, J Greinke, Z

Sarah Bunting 1 DET PHI Cabrera, M Pence, H Verlander, J Hamels, C

Sarah Bunting 2 TEX MIL Kinsler, I Braun, R Wilson, CJ Greinke, Z

Aaron Cameron 1 TEX PHI Hamilton, J Beltre, A Halladay, R Lee, C

Aaron Cameron 2 TEX MIL Kinsler, I Braun, R Wilson, CJ Gallardo, Y

Joe Costa 1 NYY PHI Granderson, C Longoria, E Sabathia, CC Lee, C

Joe Costa 2 NYY PHI Cano, R Fielder, P Verlander, J Lee, C

BSD DET MIL Martinez, V Fielder, P Verlander, J Greinke, Z

Matt Green DET MIL Cabrera, M Braun, R Verlander, J Halladay, R

Keith Johnson NYY MIL Cano, R Braun, R Sabathia, CC Gallardo, Y

Tim O'Reilly 1 DET MIL Cabrera, M Fielder, P Verlander, J Greinke, Z

Tim O'Reilly 2 NYY PHI Swisher, N Pence, H Sabathia, CC Lee, C

Dave Pepper NYY MIL Cano, R Fielder, P Sabathia, CC Marcum, S

John Ramos TEX PHI Young, M Howard, R Wilson, CJ Lee, C

Joe Reid 1 DET MIL Cabrera, M Braun, R Verlander, J Halladay, R

Joe Reid 2 TEX PHI Granderson, C Pence, H Wilson, CJ Lee, C

Ben Richardson 1 NYY PHI Granderson, C Pence, H Halladay, R Lee, C

Ben Richardson 2 TEX ARI Kinsler, I Beltre, A Kennedy, I Gallardo, Y

Tom Rogers NYY PHI Cano, R Victorino, S Halladay, R Lee, C

Sheehan/Bell DET STL Longoria, E Pujols, A Verlander, J Carpenter, C

Lauren Shotwell NYY PHI Cano, R Pence, H Halladay, R Lee, C

Jill Stempel Love TEX MIL Cabrera, M Fielder, P Verlander, J Wilson, CJ

Jill Stempel Hate NYY PHI Teixeira, M Howard, R Nova, I Halladay, R

Warren Tormey 1 TB ARI Longoria, E Upton, J Price, D Kennedy, I

Warren Tormey 2 NYY PHI Granderson, C Utley, C Sabathia, CC Halladay, R

Maria Wonsetler 1 NYY PHI Cano, R Howard, R Halladay, R Lee, C

Maria Wonsetler 2 DET PHI Cabrera, M Victorino, S Verlander, J Halladay, R

...Just kidding!

2011-09-28T21:16:00.001-07:00

Tampa wins (and Boston loses) the AL wild card in spectacular fashion. (Can you believe there are people who think baseball is boring?)

So it's

NYY v. DET
TEX v. TB

Proceed. Well, unless you just had 15 strokes like I did. I'll be over here, drinking gin in an effort to calm down...thins the blood, don'tcha know.

Nail-biting

2011-09-28T20:52:00.000-07:00

11:47 EDT on Day 162 of the 2011 season, folks. We still don't have ALDS locked down, but here's our NLDS match-ups:

PHI v. STL
MIL v. ARI

We may not know who's playing whom in the AL for another day, but it looks like NYY v. DET is for sure, and TEX v. either TB or BOS. Feel free to turn picks in if you feel sure right now; if an extension is necessary, I'll let you know.

Postmortem

2010-11-02T07:21:00.000-07:00

It's funny how the story of the Series evolved. It started as "the Rangers aren't hitting," then we saw a backlash of "let's give the Giants some credit," then it was "the Giants are a great team...but the Rangers aren't hitting or playing good D, and Ron Washington's managing is substandard."

I'll be interested to see how it keeps evolving now that we can look at the whole thing. In any case, the Giants totally deserve the crown and it's nice to see that team back on top after such a long time. The Rangers still made history for the franchise this year, which is nice to see too.

Funny year for the pool, too, but I had fun, and I hope to see you all back here next year.

Full final standings after the jump; any errors, please let me know. I'll send money out today!

John Ramos		256.67
Joe Reid		246
Samantha Bunting I		234.67
Aaron Cameron		218
Jill Stempel Love Train		185.67
Broomfield/Romine		183.67
Maria Wonsetler II		178
Tom Rogers		174
Tim O'Reilly		168
Maria Wonsetler I		159.67
Angela Hamilton		159
Dave Pepper		156
Warren Tormey		156
Lauren Shotwell		155
Ben Richardson II		135.67
Jeremy Broomfield		134.67
Hilary Kyle		129.67
Keith Johnson		129.67
Ben Richardson I		119.67
Jill Stempel Hate Slate		113.34
Samantha Bunting II		109.67
Matt Green		96.67
Sarah D. Bunting II		76
Sarah D. Bunting I		49.01

Congratulations, San Francisco (and John)!: SF 3, TEX 1

2010-11-01T19:47:00.000-07:00

A half-century championship drought ends for the city by the Bay as the Giants take the Series in five.

Points went as follows:

SF - 18

Cruz, N - 4
Posey, B - 2
Uribe, J - 1

Lee, C - 13
Lincecum, T - 18

-----

Full postmortem and complete standings tomorrow, but John held off the SF onslaught to take the 2010 BPP crown:

John - 256.67
Joe - 246
Samantha - 234.67

Congrats also to Joe on his worst-to-second rally. Heh.

If my math isn't matching up with yours, let me know via email or in the comments. Again, I'll post full standings tomorrow in case you want to check.

Only 14 weeks 'til pitchers and catchers report!

SF 4, TEX 0

2010-10-31T20:49:00.000-07:00

Texas blanked again, this time by Bumgarner. I wonder if, after the Series is over, the commentary is going to focus on Vlad's ineptitude in the field a few games back, and how that felt like a bellwether. I'm not saying it's the case; I'm just wondering if that will become a lightning rod. The Rangers have not seemed comfortable in this series, and that's the most glaring example.

Anyway...points.

SF - 3

Cruz, N - 1
Posey, B - 4

-----

Your current standings:

John - 243.67
Joe - 210
Samantha - 197.67
Aaron - 196
Jill - 147.67
Maria - 146.67
Sarah - 49.01

Sam climbs back into the money thanks to the SF victory, and Jill is now in fifth place after some heroics by Buster Posey. It really isn't possible for anyone to catch John, but we could see some interesting shuffling/scuffling for the second- and third-place money.

Lincecum and Lee back to the mound tomorrow night; first pitch at 7:57 PM ET (shut up, FOX).

TEX 4, SF 2

2010-10-31T20:40:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the late posting here -- busy weekend, just catching up now.

Points for the Saturday game now; full standings in the entry for the just-completed Sunday-night game, mere moments away.

TEX - 3

Cruz, N - 2
Hamilton, J - 4
Posey, B - 1

-----

Aaron back in the money, for now, but we'll see how it looks after I total up tonight's points.

SF 9, TEX 0

2010-10-28T21:30:00.000-07:00

Did I jinx the Rangers by mentioning their solid pitching? Something jinxed them, at any rate, as we get another ugly score but no hitting from Texas this time.

Points:

SF - 5

Hamilton, J - 1
Posey, B - 1
Uribe, J - 1

Cain, M - 9.67

-----

Not a ton of change, but Sam joins the money thanks to young Uribe.

John - 236.67
Joe - 207
Sam - 194.67
Aaron - 193
Maria - 146.67
Jill - 139.67
Sarah - within a hundred of the nearest competitor at last! 49.01

The fun resumes on Saturday at 6:30 PM ET in Texas -- see you back here then!

SF 11, TEX 7

2010-10-28T05:56:00.000-07:00

Great pitching match-up! Except the "great" part. And mostly the "pitching" part.

Texas clawed back close enough to nix the blowout points for San Francisco, though, and while both the starters looked capital-R ragged, each managed to pull some points for their pickers, to wit:

SF - 3

Cruz, N - 2
Posey, B - 1
Uribe, J - 4

Lee, C - 11.67
Lincecum, T - 8.67

-----

No change in the standings, but Sam has inched closer to the money.

John - 235.67
The Sheriff - 202
Aaron - 193
Sam - 188.67
Maria - 146.67
Jill - 133.67
Sarah - ha.ha

As far as pool points go, it's pretty much up to the hitters now unless/until we see the aces again. It's CJ Wilson against my life-support pick, Matt Cain, tonight at 8 PM ET.

Final full standings pre-Classic

2010-10-24T09:09:00.000-07:00

As we head into the World Series -- FYI, the Classic begins at 7:57 PM ET on Wednesday in San Francisco with Lee and Lincecum as your probables -- it's time to look at the BPP's full standings for the last time.

Going into the final fight:

John - 224
Joe - 190.33
Broomfield/Romine - 183.67
Aaron - 182.33
Maria II - 178
Tom - 174
Sam I - 173
Tim - 168
Angela - 159
Dave and Warren - 156
Lauren - 155
Ben II - 135.67
Maria I - 135
Jeremy - 134.67
Hilary and Keith - 129.67
Jill Love - 121
Ben I - 119.67
Jill Hate - 113.34
Sam II - 109.67
Matt - 96.67
Sarah II - 76
Sarah I - 39.34

There is one pooler in the current money who has no picks left, and I could leave Broomfield/Romine in the standings for a few days to see how it shakes out, but unless Tim Lincecum gets shot in the pitching arm, there isn't much point, so, to keep things simple, I'll work it like this. Everybody who no longer has picks is out. Everybody who still has a pick, no matter how long a shot, is still in. Just to try to keep things a bit more interesting (mostly by making jokes at my own expense some more).

Maria, Jill, and I have no realistic shot at catching the leaders, but as Jon Miller says, that's why you play the games.

Alas, we must now say goodbye to most of the pool, including our defending champ and one past champ as well. Broomfield/Romine, Maria II, Tom, Tim, Angela, Dave, Warren, Lauren, the Bens, Jeremy, Hilary, Keith, Jill Goofus, Sam II, Matt, and my own craptastic II slate: thank you so much for playing, and I hope we'll see you all in 2011. (And here during the Series for some commentary, if you'd like.)

Any points mistakes you find, please bring them to my attention, and again, I'm sorry it worked out this way...but some years, it's like that. (Some years, it's worse. See: any year the Cubs get bounced out of the NLDS in 3 games and take two thirds of the pool with them.)

SF 3, PHI 2

2010-10-24T08:39:00.000-07:00

I had to follow the game via refreshed Blackberry updates at a rock show. Just as the Nightmare River Band went into their last song, I hit refresh one last time and came upon "SF 3 PHI 2 FINAL." Make of that whatever poesy (or Posey) you will, as the Phillies exit the stage and take the bulk of the pool with them. Congrats to the Giants, but in here, it's a bit sad; my condolences to the Phillie pickers (which is basically everyone). It was a solid play, but it didn't work out.

Pool Silver Slugger for the NLCS is Jayson Werth, somewhat by default, and our Cy Young is The Freak, who managed to pick up some pointage last night in relief to edge out Oswalt. LVPs include Ibanez and Utley (the latter is apparently injured, but not admitting the extent). Howard was a popular punching bag on sports radio, but according to our metrics, he was not that unproductive, just struck out a lot. Which...Howard does that.

And the Memorial Shane Victorino Lost Opportunity Award is presented to...well, Shane Victorino is a tempting candidate, but I'm giving it to Cody Ross.

The points!

SF - 13

Howard, R - 3
Ibanez, R - 3
Uribe, J - 5
Utley, C - 2

Lincecum, T - 1.33
Oswalt, R - 11
-----

The departed, and quick standings, after the jump.

Leaving us:

PHI

Howard, R
Ibanez, R
Ruiz, C
Utley, C
Werth, J

Halladay, R
Hamels, C
Oswalt, R

-----

I misspoke: it's more like 90% of the picks got knocked out, by volume. The teams, the most popular pitching AND hitting picks...mayhem.

I'll put up a post shortly with the full standings, and an explanation of who's in and how I'll track things going forward. In the meantime, the short version:

John - 224
The Sheriff - 190.33
Broomfield/Romine - 183.67
Aaron - 182.33
[various former leaders, now defunct]
Samantha I - 173
Jill Still Alive - 121
Sarah I still has Matt Cain; recognize! - 39.34 (hee.)

Obviously this is past champ Broom/Rom's last taste of glory, as Aaron has picks left and they do not, but I'll get into all that in my next post.

TEX 6, NYY 1

2010-10-23T05:36:00.000-07:00

It's not a good day for Yankee fans -- or for a handful of now-pickless poolies -- but this is about what we might have expected. If more than a handful of Yankees had hit, they might have pulled it out, but they were having a downish year and couldn't lean on their starters very hard, and Texas is a very good team. It's a nice moment for that franchise, too; congrats to its fans.

Pool ALCS MVPs include Cano for the Silver Slugger, and BPP Cy Young the Notorious L.E.E., who racked up more points in one start than the next guy, Sabathia, did in two.

The pool's LVP technically is Tex, who put nothing up before getting hurt; if we don't count him, it's a tie between Rodriguez and Swisher, but they actually did okay and were showing signs of heating up in the last couple of games (of course, Rodriguez 1) will get blamed for everything, including AJ Burnett somehow, and 2) at least did Rangers fans the favor of making the last out to bring everything full circle).

Last but not least, the pool's Memorial Shane Victorino Lost Opportunity Award goes to, I believe, Granderson.

The points:

TEX - 15 (win 3 + blowout 2 + championship-series victory 10)

Cruz, N - 4
Hamilton, J - 1
Rodriguez, A - 2

Hughes, P - 7.67

The departed:

Cano, R
Jeter, D
Rodriguez, A
Swisher, N
Teixeira, M

Hughes, P
Sabathia, CC

Standings after the jump, but the leader isn't going to shock anyone...

A more detailed listing after tonight's game, but here's the broad strokes.

John - 221
Aaron - 181
Maria II - 178
Sheriff Joe, Tom, Broomfield Romine Ltd. - 170s
Tim - 160s
Angela, Dave, Warren, Lauren - 150s
Sam I, Jeremy, Maria I, Ben II - 130s
Hilary, Keith - 120s
Ben - 110s
Sam II, the Jills - 100s
Matt, the Sarahs - less than that

The time comes every year when I formally eliminate various poolians from the proceedings -- insert joke here about having in-formally eliminated myself in, like, August -- and though a handful of us already have no picks left and no serious shot, we'll have to wait until the NLCS concludes to see who's still in contention. As the pool-runner, I'm torn, because a San Francisco win kills off like 80% of the pool -- but at the same time, it's the only shot anyone else has first-place money.

Sanchez vs. Oswalt at 8 PM for most of the marbles.

PHI 4, SF 2

2010-10-21T20:50:00.000-07:00

Interesting game. Neither starter had his A-plus stuff, but more breaks went Halladay's way and SF stopped hitting (again). The Phillies and their pickers stay alive.

Points:

PHI - 3

Ibanez, R - 2
Utley, C - 1
Werth, J - 4

Halladay, R - 11
Lincecum, T - 14

-----

John's still holding a healthy lead, but the other rankings change after almost every game...will the difference come down to Werth getting off the schneid?

John - 205
Maria II - 178
Aaron - 177
170s - Joe, Tom, Broomfield/Romine
160s-150s - Tim, Angela, Dave, Warren, Lauren
130s - Samantha I, Jeremy, Maria I, Ben II
120s-110s - Hilary, Keith, Ben I
100s - Samantha II, the Jills
vale of tears - Matt, the Sarahs

-----

The AL is back tomorrow night at 8 PM ET, Hughes vs. Lewis. See you then!

SF 6, PHI 5

2010-10-21T08:06:00.000-07:00

I didn't watch this game, and based on the weirdness I see in the box score, I'm kind of pissed about that now. And how does Uribe keep getting RBI without picking up any total bases? Bee-zarre.

Your points:

SF - 3

Howard, R - 2
Posey, B - 6
Ruiz, C - 1
Utley, C - 1
Werth, J - 2

Oswalt, R - 0.67 (...?)
-----

Mini-shuffle among the leaders; full standings after the jump.

190 - John
160 - Tom and Maria II
156 - Aaron
155.67 - Broomfield/Romine
151 - the Sheriff
148 - Tim
145 - Ang Ham
130s - Dave, Warren, and Lauren
120s - Maria I and Sam I
110s - Ben II, Jeremy, Hilary, Keith, and Ben I
100s - Sam II
90s - the Jills
present, technically - Matt and the Sarahs

---

Super-key night for the pool tonight as Frisco looks to win the pennant; Halladay and Lincecum are scheduled to start, which indicates a pointfest for various poolies...but it might be the last pointfest for some. First pitch at 7:57 -- buckle up!

NYY 7, TEX 2

2010-10-21T07:47:00.000-07:00

Not a surprise -- with their backs up against the wall and the adrenaline from the loss of Teixeira, the Yanks brought their bats out. A strong outing by CC reshuffles the leaderboard somewhat as well.

The pointage:

NYY - 5

Cano, R - 4
Cruz, N - 2
Hamilton, J - 1
Jeter, D - 1
Rodriguez, A - 2
Swisher, N - 4

Sabathia, CC - 13

-----

For that brief moment before I enter the NL points, it's still John in the lead with 189, but now Tom's making his play at 159, and Maria II elbows her way into the discussion with 158; Broom/Rom and Aaron lurk nearby.

Full update/standings in a few minutes.

TEX 10, NYY 3

2010-10-19T22:01:00.000-07:00

Well, it wasn't entirely AJ's fault, but whomever you want to blame, that was an ass-whupping. Again. It's pretty cool to watch Texas killing it, and San Fran is keeping things interesting enough pool-wise that John may not actually stroll off with our loot before November.

And John didn't hog ALL the points tonight...

TEX - 5

Cano, R - 5
Cruz, N - 4
Hamilton, J - 8
Jeter, D - 5

Okay, he hogged most of them. But The Sheriff boots Tim out of the money thanks to Robbie; more standings after the jump.

John - 188
Broomfield/Romine - 145
Joe - 144
Tim - 139
Tom - 137
Maria II - 136
Aaron - 134
Maria I - 128
Angela - 127
Lauren - 120
Dave and Warren - 118
Sam I - 117
Ben II - 116.67
Jeremy - 114.67
Hilary and Keith - 111.67
Jill Hate - 94.67
Ben I - 88
Sam II - 87.67
Jill Love - 83.67
Matt - 82.67
Sarah II - 63.33
Sarah I - 39.34 (which, sadly, is like a 30% improvement since yesterday...think about it)

Don't lose hope; John is catchable. But if CC doesn't lock it down against Texas tomorrow, it's going to get very tough, and if SF doesn't go to the Series, it's going to get impossible.

ALCS/Yanks fight for life at 4 PM ET; the voluptuous horror of Blanton v. Bumgarner at 8.

SF 3, PHI 0

2010-10-19T18:53:00.000-07:00

Hamels takes the loss, but picks up more points than winner Cain; not much movement on the hitter side.

Not a ton of movement on the standings side, either, but Maria I is doing that thing she does every year where she climbs up the standings with a knife in her teeth -- and Tim is back in the money.

Points:

SF - 3

Howard, R - 1
Ruiz, C - 1

Cain, M - 12
Hamels, C - 14

-----

John still in the lead, followed by Broomfield/Romine; Sheriff Joe and Tim tied for third. Full standings after TEX/NYY finishes up.

TEX 8, NYY 0

2010-10-18T20:56:00.000-07:00

And the solution to this is...AJ? Yeesh.

(CUT TO: John, doing the Snoopy dance.)

Points!

TEX - 5

Cruz, N - 1
Hamilton, J - 6

Lee, C - 21

-----
The top three stay the same, but with the addition of a formidable gap between first and second places. To paraphrase one of my dad's favorite expressions, if you ain't John, the view never changes. But Maria I is lurking...

174 - John
140 - Broomfield/Romine
136 - Sheriff Reid
131 - Tom and Maria II
130 - Aaron
124 - Tim
118 - Dave and Warren
117 - Angela
115.67 - Ben II
115 - Lauren
114.67 - Jeremy
114 - Maria I and Samantha I
111.67 - Hilary and Keith
94.67 - Jill Sour
87.67 - Samantha II
83 - Ben I
82.67 - Matt
80.67 - Jill Sweet
no hablan beisbol - Sarahs I and II

NLCS action starts at 4:19 PM ET tomorrow (now and forever: shut up, FOX), Hamels v. Cain, followed by a nightcap to which I do not look forward -- Hunter v. Burnett at 8:07 ET (shut up, TBS). It's tempting to guess that Girardi will wig and send CC to the mound instead, and certainly various poolies would benefit from such a decision, but who knows, maybe Allan James learned a knuckleball last week.

PHI 6, SF 1

2010-10-17T22:05:00.000-07:00

Philly pickers get the blowout points, but Philly hitter pickers didn't gain much ground -- just the 3 for Howard. Oswalt hurled a fresh face into the top three, though...

Your points:

PHI - 5

Howard, R - 3

Oswalt, R - 17

-----

142 - John
140 - Broomfield/Romine
136 - Sheriff Joe
120s/130s - Tom, Maria II, Aaron, and Tim
110s - Dave, Warren, Angela, Ben II, Lauren, Jeremy, Sam I, Hilary, and Keith
80s/90s - Jill Hate, Maria I, Sam II, Ben I, Matt, Jill Love
present -- Sarahs I and II

Cliff Lee heads to the mound tomorrow night for Texas, so these standings will likely see a small shuffle; full listing after tomorrow night's game, which starts at 8:07 ET (shut up, FOX).

SF 4, PHI 3

2010-10-16T20:35:00.000-07:00

The Sheriff is back!

An anticlimactic night on the hill for the two starters, but the aces hung in there and picked up good pointage for their pickers -- not least Joe, who had a team win, a good day for Cano, and both starters on the hill to take a narrow lead.

The points:

SF - 3

Howard, R - 2
Posey, B - 2
Ruiz, C - 4
Uribe, J - 1
Utley, C - 1
Werth, J - 5

Halladay, R - 14
Lincecum, T - 15

Full standings post-jump.

136 - Joe
134 - John
126 - Tom and Maria II
124 - Aaron
118 - Broomfield/Romine
116 - Tim
113 - Dave and Warren
112 - Angela
110 - Lauren
109.67 - Jeremy
107.67 - Ben II
106.67 - Hilary and Keith
92 - Sam I
88 - Maria I
87.67 - Sam II
83 - Ben I
80.67 - Jill Gallant
77.67 - Matt
72.67 - Jill Goofus
"Oh, you're still here?" - Sarahs I and II

Guys: if you add my slates together, I would still only be in, like, 15th place. If my slates were a team, they would be the St. Louis Browns. Disastrous. (And kind of hilarious.)

Tomorrow's game starts at 8 ET, Sanchez v. Oswalt -- an excellent flanking opportunity for Broomfield/Romine. Any numerical errors, let me know. Otherwise, see you tomorrow.

TEX 7, NYY 2

2010-10-16T19:41:00.000-07:00

Yeah, I saw the 5-0 score and had a flashback too. Didn't happen; Texas holds on for the win, and the ALCS heads back to New York.

Points:

TEX - 5

Cano, R - 6
Cruz, N - 4
Jeter, D - 1
Rodriguez, A - 1
Swisher, N - 2

Hughes, P - 7 (accessorized with a gaudy 15.75 ERA on the day..."thanks," Hughesy)

No change in the leaders, but Angela is suddenly sniffing around the money thanks to Messrs. Jeter and Cano. Full standings after SF/PHI.

NYY 6, TEX 5

2010-10-16T08:20:00.000-07:00

As a game, that was painful to watch on both sides last night, Ron Washington's spinning-plates style of bullpen management most of all. As a pool opp, it was kind of fun; a lot of hitters picked up points.

NYY - 3

Cano, R - 6
Cruz, N - 1
Hamilton, J - 4
Jeter, D - 4
Rodriguez, A - 1

Sabathia, CC - 7

-----

As expected, the standings see a reshuffle now that TB is out of contention -- but John's still our leader despite last night's TEX loss. New lineup after the jump.

John - 113
Aaron - 105
Tom - 102

Maria II - a hair off the pace at 101

Joe, Broomfield/Romine, Dave, and Warren - high 90s

Tim, Hilary, Keith, Ben II, Angela, and Jeremy -- low to mid 90s

Lauren, Sam II, and Maria Prime - high 80s

Sam I and Jill Hate - 70s

Ben I, Matt, and Jill Love - 60s

Sarahs I and II - present

-----

New York and Texas go again at 4 PM, Hughes taking the mound against Lewis. Can't recall the rationale for moving Hughes up in the rotation; maybe he gave up fewer HR in Arlington than at home?

And the NL returns at 8 PM with the marquee matchup, Lincecum v. Halladay. I look forward to a pointfest!

TEX 5, TB 1

2010-10-12T21:16:00.000-07:00

As I IM'd John during the top of the 9th, "Ohhhhhh SHIT."

To the surprise of most, Tampa is out, and the pool loses a fair number of picks. To the surprise of few, Lee pickers are riding high.

Your points:

TEX - 9

Cruz, N - 4

Lee, C - 23
Price, D - 12

-----

Now departing from Pickville:
TB
Crawford, C
Longoria, E
Price, D
Shields, J

Full standings/holiday-shopping advice for John after the jump.

109 - John
94 - Aaron
92 - Joe and Tim
91.67 - Hilary, Keith, Ben II
90.67 - Jeremy
88 - Broomfield/Romine
87 - Maria I
86 - Tom, Dave, Warren
85 - Maria II
77.67 - Samantha II
76 - Lauren
74 - Angela
73 - Samantha I
71.67 - Jill Goofus
63.67 - Matt
61.67 - Jill Gallant
54.33 - Sarah II
52 - Ben I
27.34 - Sarah I

Price pickers got a last bump from their man, who pitched creditably but is now gone, and as the LCSes get rolling, it's the poolies with both their pitching picks left who have the most realistic shot at the money. But you never know...if Girardi brings Tex in to pitch Game 4 (which, given the other options, isn't the worst idea I've heard) and he throws a perfecto, I'm right back in this thing.

(I'm not. If you had me in the Crappiest Pick Slate side pool, you can go ahead and settle up.)

Remarks/edits, let me know. Feel free to discuss, predict, mourn, or stick voodoo pins in Burnett in the comments.

SF 3, ATL 2

2010-10-11T20:33:00.000-07:00

Sorry to see it end that way for Bobby Cox, who did the best he could with a lot of injuries. I'm glad he got thrown out one last time, at least.

Atlanta's elimination affects nobody except me -- and me not much, as my lone ATL pick only tonight got on the board with a couple of points -- but we'll see a little movement from the handful of SF pickers.

Tonight's points:

SF - 9

Heyward, J - 2
Posey, B - 1

-----

The new standings, provided I haven't Barbied them again:

92 - Joe and Tim
90 - Aaron
88 - Broomfield/Romine
mid-80s - T. Rogs, D. Peps, W. Torms, Maria Dos
mid-70s - Hilary, Keith, Ben II, Jeremy, John, Lauren, Angela, Sam I
60s - Sam II, Maria I, Matt, Jill Love
50s - Jill Hate, Sarah II, Ben I
[sigh] - Sarah I

TEX @ TB tomorrow at 8 PM ET.

Updated Standings

2010-10-11T15:36:00.000-07:00

...Okay, updated standings below. I'd like to tell you that this is the definitive corrected version, but I've said that like five times today...and another game starts in an hour anyway, so: fingers crossed!

And hey, at least you know I'm not benefiting from these duh-rithmetic errors in any way.

92 - Tim
90 - Aaron
88 - Broom/Rom
86 - Dave, Warren, Tom
85 - Maria II
83 - Joe
79.67 - Hilary, Keith, Ben II
78.67 - Jeremy
77 - John
76 - Lauren
74 - Angela
65.67 - Sam II
64 - Sam I, Maria I
63.67 - Matt
59.67 - Jill Grrr
52.33 - Sarah II
52 - Ben I
51.67 - Jill Yay
27.34 - Mrs. Mathypants

SF/ATL at 7:30.

Please hold...

2010-10-11T06:45:00.000-07:00

I'm having some spreadsheet issues -- I apologize for the ever-changing, never-quite-correct standings in the last day or so. I'll get that sorted out before tonight's game. In the meantime, I always welcome questions about my arithmetic, and as far as I know (sigh...sorry again), these are the current point totals:

92 - Tim
90 - Aaron
88 - Broomfield/Romine
mid-80s - Dave, Warren, Maria Dos, Joe, Tom
70s - Hilary, Keith, Ben Deux, Jeremy, John, Lauren, Angela
60s - Sams I and II, Matt, Maria Uno
50s - the Jills, Sarah II, Ben Une
also playing - Sarah I

SF 3, ATL 2; PHI 2, CIN 0

2010-10-10T21:33:00.000-07:00

Not that many people picked Cincinnati, but man, what a bust for Votto pickers. Only Jim Thome and Jason Heyward have performed as poorly on the hitting side. And you'll never guess who picked all those dudes. ...Hey, I just work here. Heh.

Another series ends, Philadelphia proceeds to the NLCS, and the two Hamels pickers leap forward in the standings. To the points!

SF - 3

Posey, B - 2

-----

PHI - 11 (3 for the win, 6 for the series, 2 for the sweep)

Howard, R - 2
Ruiz, C - 3
Utley, C - 4

Hamels, C - 21 (9 each for innings and Ks plus 3 for the complete game)

And these picks have gone bye-bye:

CIN
Votto, J

The new and (for some) improved standings after the jump.

90 - Aaron
88 - Broomfield/Romine
86 - Dave and Warren
85 - Maria Dos
83 - Joe and Tom
79.67 - Hilary, Keith, and Ben Deux
78.67 - Jeremy
77 - John
76 - Lauren
74 - Angela
72 - Tim
65.67 - Sam II
64 - Sam
63.67 - Matt
62 - Maria I
59.67 - Jill of Hating
52.33 - Sarah II
52 - Ben Une
51.67 - Jill of Loving
27.34 - Sarah "The Square Root of Negative" I

Things calm down somewhat now, as two series have ended and the others will alternate days. Tomorrow's game doesn't have a ton of pool exposure, but San Francisco could move on to the LCS and rattle the standings a bit. 7:30 PM ET is first pitch.

Exultation, exasperation, errata: go forth and comment.

Edited early Monday AM to correct points and standings (some Oswalt points went astray...sorry, folks! This is why I welcome you to check my math). Should be in order now.

TB 5, TEX 2

2010-10-10T14:04:00.001-07:00

Texas avoids a blowout with a couple runs, but doesn't appear to have anticipated that Tampa would get off the mat in so decisive a fashion.

Many of our pickers did, though, so a bunch of folks pick up points, and we have another lead change thanks to a big day at the plate for Longo The Mulleted Boy.

TB - 3

Cruz, N - 4
Longoria, E - 8

Full standings later, but the current money looks like this:

Joe - 80
Aaron - 79
Maria Dos - 74

NYY 6, MIN 1

2010-10-09T21:26:00.000-07:00

Did anyone else have any clue that the Yankees would flatten the Twins like that? I mean, it's not a huge shock that they won, but that the Twins just could not get anything going against them was a surprise -- that the second and third Yankee starters held up so well.

Then again, not a ton of people picked the Yankees, either; they don't have the support they had last year. But those who did pick them made out like bandits tonight. And we have a completely different leaderboard!

Your points:

NYY - 13 (3 for the win, 2 for the blowout, 6 for the division, 2 for the series sweep)

Cano, R - 4
Jeter, D - 2
Mauer, J - 1
Rodriguez, A - 1
Swisher, N - 6
Teixeira, M - 1

Hughes, P - 13

Standings and eliminated picks after the jump.

And now we bid goodbye to the following picks:
MIN
Mauer, J
Thome, J
Liriano, F

But let's say hello to our new pool overlords! Money finishers in bold, but as Joe can tell you, bold is fleeting...

75 - Aaron
74 - Maria II
72 - Tom
71 - D. Peps and W. Torms
69 - Joe
64 - John
63 - Broomfield/Romine
62.67 - Samantha "Assault On Precinct 8th Place" Bunting II
61.67 - Hilary and Keith
60 - Angela

58 - Tim and Lauren
56.67 - Jeremy
55.67 - Ben II
52.67 - Matty G
52 - Ben I
50 - Samantha I
49.33 - Sarah II
46.67 - Jill Love
41.67 - Jill Hate
27.34 - Sarah I
26 - Maria I

A few changes there, as you can see, although I remain a cellar-dweller. That one slate of mine is pretty much toast, but nobody else should lose hope. (Welllll...maybe Jill Love and Matt. Sorry, friends.)

Tomorrow, all three remaining match-ups are in play. As of this writing, TB @ TEX 1 PM ET; SF @ ATL 4:30 PM; PHI @ CIN 7 PM. This may move around depending on whether it matters that Twins/Yanks didn't go to a Game 4, but I doubt it; that game was scheduled for 8 PM.

Don't know if anyone's going to watch the games themselves -- NFL, after all -- but I'll have updates periodically.

TB 6, TEX 3

2010-10-09T19:11:00.000-07:00

Tampa gets back in it just in time; TB and Crawford pickers gain some ground, and the lead changes hands again.

Your points, while we wait for the Yankees to end a Minnesota series that, frankly, has become a little uncomfortable to watch, not least Denard Span's "defense." Not that we pick for that, but fuck's sake, guy -- pick ONE route that works.

TB - 3

Crawford, C - 5
Cruz, N - 4

-----

Sheriff Reid back on top with 65, but trailed by John by only a point at 64, Aaron still in the money at 62, and Hilary and Keith microns behind at 61.67.

Nobody I just mentioned is holding NYY except Aaron.

See you back here after MIN @ NYY with more points and the full standings.

PHI 7, CIN 4; ATL 5, SF 4 (11)

2010-10-09T06:45:00.000-07:00

Oo-fah. You leave the house, you think everything's under control. You come home, one NL pick has biffed it again, and another NL team has picked up five points nobody is eligible for because nobody picked them, thanks in part to...Kyle FARNSWORTH?!

Nice little moment for Rick Ankiel, though. Redemption.

And now, your points:

PHI - 3

Howard, R - 1
Ibanez, R - 2
Utley, C - 2
Votto, J - 1
Werth, J - 2

Oswalt, R - 10

-----

Posey, B - 1
Uribe, J - 1

Cain, M - 12.67

Standings after the jump; in the money is in bold. Short form: John shot the Sheriff.

64 - John
62 - Joe
58 - Aaron
57 - Maria Dos, D. Peps, and Warren
56 - Broomfield/Romine
55 - Tom
53.67 - Hilary, Keith, and Jeremy
52.67 - Ben Deux
51.67 - Matt
51 - Ang Ham and Lauren
50 - Samantha I
46.67 - Jill Love
45 - Tim
35.67 - Samantha II
33.67 - Jill Hate
27.34 - Sarah Prime
25 - Maria Uno
21 - Ben Une
19.33 - Sarah Square

Two games tonight -- TB @ TEX at 5 ET, followed by MIN @ NYY at 8:30 -- and both visitors face elimination after losing their home games. A Texas sweep would be...well, let's say more "interesting" for the pool than a Yankee sweep (i.e., we may have to switch to betting on how John will spend his money), but also seems less likely. Some of the last pitcher picks head to the hill tonight as well, so Ben I and I could clamber out of the cellar. We'll see.

SF 1, ATL 0

2010-10-07T21:38:00.000-07:00

There's a new sheriff in town: Mr. Joe Reid. Not by much (and probably not for long), but he's top dog for now thanks to The Freak shuffling up our standings a bit. And I must say, although my picks are -- what's the term? Ah, yes: "quite bad," and not destined to improve much, this has been an amazingly entertaining postseason so far.

First, the points:

SF - 3

Posey, B - 3

Lincecum, T - 26

So, that happened. Standings after the jump.

At the close of Day 2:

62 - Sheriff Joe Reid
60 - John
53 - Aaron
52 - Tom, Maria Dos, D. Peps, and Warren
48.67 - Hilary, Keith, Ben Deux, and Jeremy
48 - Ang Ham
47.67 - Matt
46 - Lauren
44.67 - Jill Love
41 - Broom/Rom
39 - Tim
35.67 - Sam II
34 - Sam I
22 - Maria Uno
21 - Ben Une
19.33 - Sarah II
18.67 - Jill Hate
13.67 - Sarah I

Rankings will continue to fluctuate over the next few days as the last starter picks get on the board. We will also likely see at least one elimination over the weekend, so, you know. The usual disarray. Until the LCSes, it's like that.

AL is off tomorrow; NL action kicks off with CIN @ PHI at 6 PM, then ATL @ SF at 9:30.

Edited 10/8/10, 6:30 PM: Somehow I shorted Sam I 3 points somewhere; I've fixed it. No change to the standings. As you were. (Thanks, Broom.)

NYY 5, MIN 2

2010-10-07T18:30:00.000-07:00

The Twinkies looked lackluster/psyched out enough out there that I'm actually a little bit surprised the score isn't more lopsided. That said, few things in baseball are more satisfying to me than a defeat of that hypochondriac fuckknuckle Pavano and his mus-douche. Haaaaa-AAAAAATE.

Ahem. So, points!

NYY - 3

Cano, R; Jeter, D; Mauer, J; Rodriguez, A; Teixeira, M; Thome, J - 1
Swisher, N - 2

See you back here when the dust settles on Lowe v. Lincecum out west.

TEX 6, TB 0

2010-10-07T15:08:00.000-07:00

Narratively, I like how well Texas is doing; it's nice to see. Pool-wise, if Tampa doesn't start hitting like right now, at the airport, it's going to get ugly.

Your points:

TEX - 5 (3 for the win, 2 for the margin)

Cruz, N - 3
Hamilton, J - 1

James "Panty" Shields - 6.33

Aside from John opening out his lead to over 10 points, not much movement in the standings, as Aaron and I were the only other poolies to pick up points.

First pitch of NYY @ MIN is in a few minutes, which may not give us much movement either, as nobody is holding either of the starters. It's tonight's ALDS that should really shake things up. Stay tuned.

NYY 6, MIN 4

2010-10-06T21:59:00.000-07:00

Not much to say about the last game, except that, while I personally benefited from that Teixeira HR, it seemed to suck all the oxygen out of the Minnesota crowd, which then seemed to suck all the life out of the hitters. Buck up, little campers: it's two runs.

Also, Golson totally caught that, not that it mattered, really.

Points!

NYY - 3

Cano, R - 1
Jeter, D - 1
Mauer, J - 1
Rodriguez, A - 1
Swisher, N - 1
Teixeira, M - 6

Liriano, F - 12.67
Sabathia, CC - 11

Standings after the jump, but if you're in a hurry: John's winning. For now.

54 - John
48.67 - Hilary, Keith, Ben Deux, Jeremy
48 - Tom, Maria II, Dave, Warren
46.67 - Matt
46 - Ang Ham
45 - Lauren
37 - Broomfield/Romine
36 - Tim
32 - Joe R
30.67 - Sam II
21 - Maria I, Aaron
18.67 - Jill Hate
16 - Ben Une
12.67 - Sarah Prime, Jill Love
9 - Sarah Squared
2 - Sam I

What does it all mean? Jokes about the Bunting household's Baseball Prognosticatron 4000 blowing a fuse aside: not much. At this point in 2009, the eventual winner was nowhere near the money, so don't get discouraged. You can't tell anything until pitching picks start getting eliminated.

Tomorrow's sked: TEX @ TB, 2:30 PM ("No Game" James); NYY @ MIN, 6 PM (Pettitte vs. Pavano's skeezy 'stache) (HATE THAT GUY); ATL @ SF, 9:30 PM (you know, for kids!). All times ET. Cincy/Philly off till Friday.

Corrections, frustrations, buyer's remorse: comment or email.

PHI 4, CIN 0

2010-10-06T18:18:00.000-07:00

And then that other thing happened. Couldn't have happened for a better guy (I sense Jill will disagree).

Your points:

PHI - 3

Ibanez, R - 2

Halladay, R - 30 (9 innings + 3 for CG + 10 for no-no + 8 Ks)

No change in the lead as we wait for the NYY/MIN results; John's in the lead with Ben Deux, Hilary, Keith, and Jeremy not far behind. Most of the rest of you are in a cluster in the 30s. Ben Une, Jill Love, and both my slates still haven't scored.

Full points update after the late game.

TEX 5, TB 1

2010-10-06T13:59:00.000-07:00

Huh. Okay. Your points:

TEX - 3

Crawford, C - 1
Cruz, N - 4
Hamilton, J - 1
Longoria, E - 1

Lee, C - 17
Price, D - 14.67

Price pickers snag a bunch of points despite a meh performance from their man; Aaron looks like a genius for picking Nelson Cruz. Something of a surprise, but it's early yet.

John sets the pace with 21, Maria I trailing at 17, a hugger-mugger of 15.67s (Sam II, Hilary, Keith, Ben II, Jeremy, and Jill's Hate Slate), Aaron with that spicy 4, and Joe with 1.

Nobody else on the board. CIN at PHI in 8 minutes.

Reminder: How The Points Work

2010-10-06T12:51:00.000-07:00

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.

(NB: I'm using MLB.com for TB; they do not appear to count BB/HBP/PB as bases, and therefore neither will I.)

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.

Aaaaaaand go

2010-10-06T10:36:00.000-07:00

In just a few minutes, we begin. The BPP celebrates its 100th post with a review of today's sked:

TEX at TB, 1:37 PM ET
CIN at PHI, 5 PM ET
NYY at MIN, 8:30 PM ET

All on TBS -- now with 100% less Chip Caray! Sweet!

Look for our first scoring update at around happy hour.

Good luck, everyone.

The Picks

2010-10-05T19:10:00.000-07:00

Below, the picks. For the first time, we have duplicate slates, so if those slates win, their pickers will have to divide the money evenly between them.

Philadelphia is by far the most popular pick, team- and player-wise, with Doc Halladay leading the way and Chase Utley not far behind. Atlanta, meanwhile, got exactly one pick, and I don't feel very good about it, either.

Full list of picks after the jump. If you see any mistakes, please email or comment ASAP so I can update my sheets before the games start.

Aaron Cameron / PHI / NYY / Werth, J / Cruz, N / Lincecum, T / Sabathia, CC

Angela Hamilton / PHI / TB / Jeter, D / Cano, R / Halladay, R / Sabathia, CC

Ben Richardson I / CIN / NYY / Cano, R / Rodriguez, A / Hughes, P / Sabathia, CC

Ben Richardson II / PHI / TB / Howard, R / Longoria, E / Halladay, R / Price, D

Broomfield Romine / PHI / NYY / Utley, C / Cano, R / Halladay, R / Oswalt, R

Dave Pepper / PHI / NYY / Utley, C / Rodriguez, A / Halladay, R / Sabathia, CC

Hilary Kyle / PHI / TB / Utley, C / Crawford, C / Halladay, R / Price, D

Jeremy Broomfield / PHI / TB / Werth, J / Longoria, E / Halladay, R / Price, D

Jill Stempel Hate Slate / PHI / TB / Utley, C / Crawford, C / Oswalt, R / Price, D

Jill Stempel Love Train / SF / MIN / Votto, J / Posey, B / Lincecum, T / Liriano, F

Joe Reid / SF / TB / Cano, R / Longoria, E / Lincecum, T / Halladay, R

John Ramos / PHI / TEX / Howard, R / Hamilton, J / Halladay, R / Lee, C

Keith Johnson / PHI / TB / Utley, C / Crawford, C / Halladay, R / Price, D

Lauren Shotwell / PHI / TB / Utley, C / Cano, R / Halladay, R / Sabathia, CC

Maria Wonsetler I / PHI / MIN / Utley, C / Mauer, J / Hamels, C / Lee, C

Maria Wonsetler II / PHI / NYY / Werth, J / Cano, R / Halladay, R / Sabathia, CC

Matt Green / PHI / MIN / Votto, J / Mauer, J / Halladay, R / Liriano, R

Samantha Bunting I / PHI / SF / Ibanez, R / Uribe, J / Oswalt, R / Lincecum, T

Samantha Bunting II / NYY / TB / Swisher, N / Crawford, C / Sabathia, CC / Price, D

Sarah D. Bunting I / CIN / MIN / Votto, J / Thome, J / Cain, M / Liriano, F

Sarah D. Bunting II / NYY / TB / Heyward, J / Teixeira, M / Hughes, P / Shields, J

Tim O'Reilly / PHI / NYY / Werth, J / Howard, R / Halladay, R / Hamels, C

Tom Rogers / PHI / NYY / Ruiz, C / Cano, R / Halladay, R / Sabathia, CC

Warren Tormey / PHI / NYY / Utley, C / Rodriguez, A / Halladay, R / Sabathia, CC

Last-Minute No Help At All

2010-10-05T12:47:00.000-07:00

Deadspin's "Hater's Guide to the MLB Playoffs," which I laughed at for 20 minutes, especially the Nick Punto bit. You'll know what I mean. Enjoy.

Last-Minute Odds Help

2010-10-05T12:24:00.000-07:00

If you put any stock in what Vegas thinks, here's a breakdown of the line for the DSes. Of course, in this pool, you also want to have picks other people don't.

Pick deadline is in about 5 hours; money madness begins at 1:37 PM ET tomorrow.

Postseason schedule finally set

2010-10-03T17:31:00.000-07:00

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=Amj.bS725df44FrPJhhjTCcRvLYF?slug=ys-playoffschedule

The short version:

AL is Rangers v. Rays and Twins v. Yankees
NL is Giants v. Braves and Phillies v. Reds

More on who has home-field and when each game is set for at the link above. I'll look for your picks by Tuesday at 8 PM ET.

Pre-Game: Eligible Teams

2010-09-29T12:53:00.000-07:00

Hey folks. Looks like the AL teams are set, less the scrabbling over home field:

MIN
NYY
TB
TEX

And of course, on the NL side,

CIN
PHI

More updates as we get closer to curtain time. Remember, picks are due next Tuesday at 8 PM ET.

NYY 7, PHI 3: The-e-e-e-e-e Yankees win!

2009-11-05T08:37:00.000-08:00

A 27th World Championship for the Bombers; a last-minute Pettitte-fueled grab of the big money by Ben. Probably the first time a pool has come down to the wire that way, too.

A good year for the pool, overall -- thanks primarily, in my opinion, to the absence of the Cubs and their tendency to fubar everyone's better sabremetric judgment. I welcome your LVP nominations in the comments (...Markinson Texno). The point system could use a few more tweaks, too, so send me your suggestions if you'd like. You've got eleven months to mull it over.

And now, your points:

NYY: 18

Jeter, D: 4
Rodriguez, A: 1
Teixeira, M: 1

Howard, R: 4

Pettitte, A: 8.67

-----

And the final standings:

Ben: 298
Kim: 293.33
Maria 2: 260.34

Warren, jinxed out of the $$ by Sarah (sorry, friend): 246.34
Lauren: 240.34

Aaron: 239.33
Sarah: 237.66

Tim: 217.34
Stephen: 211.34

Matt: 192.34

Maria 1: 189.33

-----

That's it for us this year, guys, but the comments stay open all year, and you can always email me with thoughts and questions. Thanks again for playing; winnings will go out today.

PHI 8, NYY 6

2009-11-03T14:03:00.001-08:00

...Oh, hi, Bad AJ. "Thanks" a "lot."

Your points:

PHI: 3

Jeter, D: 1
Rodriguez, A: 4
Teixeira, M: 2

Rollins, J: 2
Utley, C: 8

Burnett, AJ: 4

Lee, C: 10

-----

Kim: 267.33
Ben: 266.33
Maria 2: 241.34

Warren: 227.34
Aaron: 220.33

Sarah: 218.66
Lauren: 214.34

Tim: 198.34

Stephen: 189.34
Maria 1: 189.33
Matt: 188.34

-----

Ben drew a hair closer to Kim; Maria 2 put some distance between herself and the rest of the third-place pretenders thanks to Chase Utley; and thanks to a short, shite performance by one Allan James Burnett, I can forget it this year.

Game 6 in New York on Wednesday; the Phillies plan to send Pedro to the mound again, and while I don't know how well that's going to work out for them, it's...got to be better than sending Burnett was last night. Pettitte is the probable for New York; a strong performance that leads to a NYY series win is Ben's best shot at the big money.

NYY 7, PHI 4

2009-11-02T10:49:00.000-08:00

A good outcome for Yankee fans that was still painful to watch. I had Lidge in the pool last year and he did pretty well for me; I haven't enjoyed his decline this year, and last night's abrupt return to mean (with all credit to the Bomber hitters) was sad to see.

Points for almost everyone from various sources last night, and although the top two spots seem unassailable at this late date, the battle for third isn't over, as Maria 2's Utley pick once again allowed her to step over several other aspirants.

Your points:

NYY: 3

Jeter, D: 2
Rodriguez, A: 2

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

Sabathia, CC: 12.67

-----

Kim: 263.33
Ben: 261.33
Maria 2: 228.34

Warren: 220.34

Aaron: 215.33
Lauren: 213.34

Sarah: 202.66

Tim: 194.34

Stephen: 188.34
Matt: 185.34

Maria 1: 172.33

-----

Tonight's matchup is my last shot at finishing in the money, with both starters on the hill -- but they both have to go deep and strike guys out in double figures (won't happen, not for Burnett), AND Teixeira has to hit like 7 home runs (won't happen, dude's ice cold), AND the Yanks have to end the series because neither of them will go again since it's already Game 5 and I have zero shot without my starters (could happen; I think last night's results probably took a toll psychologically).

And it would also really help me out if the Captain would quit hitting like Rogers Hornsby, but I'm not really complaining. I'm just saying.

The only other question is whether Ben can wrest the top spot from Kim, which will probably require a Game 6 so that Pettitte can take another turn. Like I said, it's a fight for third for the rest of us, and if any of you have side action on that, I'd advise you to bet Warren. Then again, I bet Colorado, so clearly I don't know squat.

AJ vs. Cliff, 7:57 PM ET.

NYY 8, PHI 5

2009-11-01T13:16:00.000-08:00

Another strong performance by Pettitte -- who helped himself at the plate, and tickled our funny bones on the basepaths (step on it, old-timer, before Jeets runs you over) -- lets Ben close the gap on Kim significantly. And Aaron steps into the money!

Your points:

NYY: 3

Jeter, D: 1
Rodriguez, A: 4
(that camera: 1) (heh)

Rollins, J: 1

Pettitte, A: 13

Hamels, C: 7.33

-----

Kim: 244.66
Ben: 241.66
Aaron: 209.66

Maria 2: 206.67
Warren: 202.67

Sarah: 199.66
Lauren: 195.67

Tim: 176.67
Matt: 171.67
Maria 1: 171.33
Stephen: 170.67

-----

In a few short hours, Sabathia goes back to the mound against Joe Blanton. Is tonight the night that Carsten Charles's short-rest schedule boomerangs on him? Again, since almost everyone has him, it doesn't matter that much -- everyone's in for the same points. I would like tonight to be the night that Mark Teixeira remembers how to hit a baseball, but I am not holding out much hope for that.

The game, annoyingly, is at 8:20. Enjoy!

NYY 3, PHI 1

2009-10-29T20:40:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-29T07:49:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-25T22:12:00.000-07:00

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

Aaron: 174.33
Maria 2: 170.67

Lauren: 165.67

Tim: 153.67
Sarah: 151.66

Matt: 149.67
Stephen: 144.67
Maria 1: 142.33

LJ: 129.67
John: 112.67

Ben 2: 109
Jill: 103.33
Tom: 101.67

Joe: 77.66

-----

So...now's the uncomfortable part where we talk about who's not going to show up in the updates anymore. Everyone still has at least one pick in play, which is a first for the BPBP; ordinarily, this decision is made for me by the fact that at least a handful of you have lost all your guys by now.

That isn't the case this year, but unhappy facts remain to be faced, namely that, if you don't have more than 140 points at this juncture, you can't catch the leaders. Yes, you still have picks, but you share those picks with other poolies who have more points than you already, so you can't gain any ground.

Most of us bumbling around in the 150s won't gain much either, but thanks to a couple of unique picks that could change things up, the line is at 140. Yes, I know Stephen and Matt "shouldn't be" on the right side of it. They can't win, so don't let it trouble you unduly.

In any case, the following valorous poolians will now leave us:
LJ
John
Ben 1
Jill
Tom
Joe

Thanks so much for playing; I'm sorry it didn't work out. I'm sure Kim will spend your money wisely, RIGHT, KIM? [sob]

Moving on! The Classic starts Wednesday, Lee vs. Sabathia. See you then!

LAA 7, NYY 6

2009-10-22T21:07:00.000-07:00

...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

2009-10-22T09:20:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-20T23:47:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-19T21:59:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-19T05:58:00.000-07:00

...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.