Week 4 Roundup: Dr. RD Makes Unexpected Move, Skillz Still Comfortably In Lead

Though the end-of-the-week standings may not reflect it, Dr. Rosendowell made a move this week to pull, at least for a time, ahead of The Committee and into second place. A 16 point drop last night, however, has dropped them back to third, albeit with a 13 point cushion over The Octagon.

Team (points)
1. Skillz That Killz (184)
2. The Committee (169.5)
3. Dr. Rosendowell (153)
4. The Octagon (140)
5. ZAGS (137.5)
6. D.J. Dozier & Friends (131)
7. The Kurt Bevormos (125.5)
8. Operation Shutdown (118)
9. Mitro Nitro (118)
10. The Vipers (116)
11. We B-Low (84.5)
12. Old & Injured (83)

Player of the Week: Greg Maddux

Hawpe deserved strong consideration here with his 12 hits, 3 bombs and 22 total bags. Mench, of course, would have been the no-brainer pick had O'Flannel listened to the whispers last Friday night and stuck Mench in his lineup. He did not, however, and thus endeth the lesson. Speaking of pitchers, OP Shutdown's Pedro y Pedro Martinez also deserved consideration with his 2 Ws, 16 Ks and .64 WHIP, but, at the end of the day, none of Maddux's Ws or Ks came at the expense of the Padrinos and I thus like Maddux better than Pedro as a person.

Every-So-Often Beast Report: April 27, 2006

After yesterday's highly successful debut of the Daily Beast Report, it occurred to me that I may have committed myself to more work than I really wanted to commit to. In other words, not unlike how I regularly feel at my day job. So, while sitting at a Met production of La Nozze di Figaro last evening (go easy on me, the Padrinos had the night off, the tickets were free, and I thought it a good chance to earn points with the GF; not to mention that the soprano in the role of the Countess was absolutely sublime), I decided to replace the Daily Beast Report with the Every-So-Often Beast Report. It will have all the trappings of the Daily Beast Report, but without that onerous promise of "daily" entries. After all, it's not like this is a "blog" or something.

Some Beasts From Yesterday

1. Johan Santana (Operation Shutdown) - 8 IP, 10 K, W, 14 Hail Mary's induced from Geleaux for finally pitching well

2. Brad Hawpe (Vipers) - 3 H, 2B, HR, 7 TB

3. Travis Hafner (Vipers) - 4 BB, 3 R

4. Grady Sizemore (Dr. Rosendowell) - 2 H, 2B, 4 R

The Kevin Mench Award For Beasts Who Were Inexplicably Benched

Kris Benson (ZAGS) - 7 IP, 4 K, 3 TB, .86 WHIP, 1 large-breasted wife who still wants to be married to him

The Free Agent With The Mostest

Ben Broussard - 4 H, 2 HR, 8 RBI, 10 TB, 18 million instances of striking fear into the hearts of Red Sox Nation that their new prized pitcher, Josh Beckett, is not immune to getting absolutely throttled on occasion

Daily Beast Report: April 26, 2006

Welcome to a new feature of the blog: The Daily Beast Report. In this feature, we shine a spotlight on a few players who outdid themselves at the plate or on the mound from the previous day's action from around the league. We here at The Files are extremely excited about the feature and think you should be too.

Some Beasts From Yesterday

1. Rafael Soriano (Operation Shutdown) - 1.1 IP, 2 Ks, o Earned Runs, Hold

2. John Lackey (Skillz That Killz) - 8 IP, 8 K (a K per inning!), .75 WHIP, the Win (as if Skillz needed the help)

3. Vernon Wells (The Committee) - 3 hits, 2 bombs, 9 TB (somebody has to pick up the slack now that Chris Shelton has regressed to Shelton-like status)

4. Matt Wise (ZAGS) - 1 IP, 2 Ks, Hold


The Kevin Mench Award For Beasts Who Were Inexplicably Benched

This award goes to players who are not on a team's active roster for the week, but nonetheless are beasts. Today's award goes to two players on Skillz' roster who performed swimmingly despite riding the pine. (We note with plastered-smile irony here that Skillz gained 7 points yesterday despite benching these two beastly perfomers.)

1. Kevin Mench (Skillz) - 2 hits, Garand Salaam, 6th straight day with a bomb, all from Skillz' bench (hence the namesake for the award)

2. Bronson Arroyo (Skillz) - 8 IP, .30 WHIP, 8 K (a K per innning!), Dubya


The Free Agent With The Mostest

This award goes to a player not currently on the roster of any team in the league but, based on his performance from the day, perhaps should be. The innaugural recipient: David Ross, catcher, Cincinnati Reds. The former Bucco and Padrino took Ramon Ortiz yard in the top of the third and caught Arroyo's 8-inning gem. Not bad for a beast.

Week 2 Roundup: The Committee Jumps Ahead As Shelton Continues Hot Streak

Week 2 is done and done. Here is a quick rundown of the current standings.

Team (Points)
1. The Committee (178.5)
2. Skillz That Killz (162.5)
3. DJ Dozier & Friends (147.5)
4. ZAGS (142)
5. Dr. Rosendowell (134.5)
6. The Octagon (133)
7. Vipers (129)
8. The Kurt Bevormos (125.5)
9. Mitro Nitro (125.5)
10. Operation Shutdown (103)
11. Old & Injured (91.5)
12. El Capitan Moregan (87.5)

Player of the Week: Chris Shelton.

Why not? He was the without-a-doubt Player of the Week during the first week of the season. Though the competition was a little tighter this week (Dunn, Utley and Papi come to mind) we are still going to give the award to him this week in light of his continued bombs and unexpected foray into the 3B category. Just a great start.

Week 1 Roundup: Skillz Take Early Lead, Old & Injured Aptly Named

Week 1 in the fantasy league is in the books. Here are the standings as of the end of the first week of play:

Team (Points)
1. Skillz That Killz (181)
2. The Committee (169.5)
3. Zags (149)
4. Mitro Nitro (147)
5. Operation Shutdown (145.5)
6. The Octagon (136)
7. The Kurt Bevormos (126.5)
8. DJ Dozier & Friends (124)
9. Dr. Rosendowell (110.5)
10. The Vipers (101)
11. The Fighting Fallons (93.5)
12. Old & Injured (76.5)

Additionally, at Mareeco's suggestion, The Bevacqua Files has decided to select a "Player of the Week" each week of the season. This week's choice (also at the suggestion of Mareeco) is Chris Shelton. Shelton went out last week and lead all hitters in bombs (5), runs (7), hits (11) and total bases (28). Not too shabby for someone who is sure to let Mareeco down in the next few weeks.

Other notable happenings from the first week of the season:

- The Bevormos jumped out to an early lead after the first day based in large part on the hitting of Papi and the pitching of Peavy, then commenced a freefall the other 4 days. It did not help that Bevormo (me) benched Nady who is second in the league in total bases (15) and Brian McCann (14 TB).

- Travis Hafner is the only thing keeping Nolan Yudek (Vipers) from flying to every clubhouse across the country where his players are playing and personally injecting them with human growth hormone.

- Old & Injured, f/k/a Team Italy has 5 players on the DL: Nomar, Gagne, Mike MacDougal (???), Armando Benitez and Mark Prior. The only bright spot on Raul Prismante's squad so far has been Scott Rolen (6 hits, a bomb, 10 total bags). Contrary to earlier reports, there is no truth to the rumor that Pedro Cerrano put a hex on Prismante's squad for drinking Jobu's whiskey.

Allow Myself To Introduce ... ZAGS

This is the fourth of (hopefully) twelve introductory posts about each of the twelve teams in the league. It is also the first running feature of this blog and is therefore extremely exciting.

ZAGS

Owner: D'Artagnan Zagarofsky ("Zaggy")

Favorite Squad: New York Mets

A Squad He Likes In A Sport That Is Not Baseball: Need to find this out. Maybe the New York Rangers?

Interesting Factotum: I have seen Zaggy on four occasions in the past three years, each time for a fantasy sports draft. For that reason I do not have the arsenal of factota to dispense for him as I do for other owners in the league. Zaggy is a friend of O'Flannel's through his and O'Flannel's wife who, back in the day, set them up on a "man date," i.e. when your wife or girlfriend gets together with one of her friends and the two of them decide that since they get along, their respective boyfriends will also get along. As I believe I heard Zaggy tell it, it was the almost unheard of "man date" where you actually like the guy your forced to hang out with.

Not-So-Interesting Factotum: I think he may be an accountant.

Opening Week Lineup
C- Ramon "If I Block The Plate I May Get My Hair Mussed" Hernandez
1B - Lyle Overbay
2B - Jose "I Have A Fat Face On The Jumbotron At Shea" Vidro
3B - David "Simply A Beast" Wright
SS - Miguel "Vitamin B" Tejada
OF - Manny Ramirez
OF - Jeff Francoeur
OF - Barry "Too Many Ideas Come To Mind For A Derogatory Nickname" Bonds
U - Edgar Renteria

SP - Dontrelle "Thank God The WBC Is Over" Willis
SP - Tim Hudson
SP - Mark Mulder
SP - Chris "I K'd 7 In My Padres Debut But Hensley Effing Blew It" Young
SP - Ervin Santana

RP - Francisco Rodriguez
RP - Billy Wagner
RP - Danys "I Knew Gagne Was Done" Baez
RP - Kiko "I Am Inexplicably On A Fantasy Squad" Calero

Predicted Finish: 7

Zagarofsky has put together a strong team this year, not the least because his three keepers, Wright, Manny and Tejada, are arguably the best group of keepers of any team that had keepers. He also put together a solid draft, especially in building his pitching staff which contains solid starters and possibly the two best closers in the game with F-Rod and Wagner. And, with the announcement of Gagne's surgery, he has another closer in the bank with Baez. Potential holes exist, however, most glaringly with Renteria in the Util spot. Bonds is also a big question mark.

Odds He Will Hang A Championship Banner Next Season: 20 to 1

Allow Myself To Introduce ... DJ Dozier & Friends

This is the third of (hopefully) twelve introductory posts about each of the twelve teams in the league. It is also the first running feature of this blog and is therefore extremely exciting.

DJ Dozier & Friends

Owner: Gil McDavies

Favorite Squad: New York Mets

Favorite Squad In A Sport Other Than Baseball: UVA women's volleyball

Interesting Factotum: In law school, McDavies used to hustle at Golden Tee. I saw this live last fall on a Saturday afternoon in Manhattan. McDavies and I had met Reardon Rosenrosen for the Michigan - Notre Dame game at Croxley Ale House. Later, after throwing back pitchers and shots from noon until 5 pm, Reardon bailed on us and McDavies and I were left stranded on the Lower East Side without a dime to spare. Enter McDavies' Golden Tee prowess. For the next two hours, as Vince Young lead Texas to a victory over Ohio St., McDavies took on all challengers and won seven straight games, the last on a fall away 6o-foot putt while staring at his opponent who stood at the side of the machine watching the screen forlornly.

Not-So-Interesting Factotum: Bailed on the Mets - Nats game last night in order to "work."

Opening Day Starters
C- Kenji Johjima
1B - Chad Tracy
2B - Marcus "I'm Even Stranger Than My Brother ... And That's Pretty Strange" Giles
3B - Morgan "I'm Not As Good As My 2005 Numbers Indicate" Ensberg
SS - Jimmy "I Didn't Want To Hit In 40 Straight Games Anyway" Rollins
OF - Hideki "Barely Legal" Matsui
OF - Juan "Why Stop at Second For a Double When You Can Go To Third" Pierre
OF - Jim Edmonds
U - Jim "Peoria, Illinois-Beast" Thome

SP - Chris "There's No Way I Last The Season" Carpenter
SP - Rich Harden
SP - "King" Felix Hernandez
SP - Jon Lieber
SP - Matt Morris

RP - Mariano Rivera
RP - Huston Street
RP - Justin "Duked Her" Duchscherer
RP - Cliff Politte

Predicted Finish: 8

Dozier's pitching, if healthy, might be the best in the league, but he will be hard pressed to recover from a pre-season trade of A-Rod. Ensberg and Tracy will have to be beasts for him to finish any higher than 8th.

Odds He Will Hang A Championship Banner Next Season: 30 to 1

Allow Myself To Introduce ... The Committee

This is the second of (hopefully) twelve introductory posts about each of the twelve teams in the league. It is also the first running feature of this blog and is therefore extremely exciting.

The Committee (To Elect Sweet Lou Whittaker To The Hall Of Fame)

Owner: Tatt Mareeco

Favorite Squad: Detroit Tigers

Favorite Squad In a Sport Other Than Professional Baseball: Michigan football

Interesting Factotum: Mareeco once drank 9 beers in 9 innings at a Yankees-Tigers game at Yankee stadium. Rumor has it that Geleaux and I also drank 9 beers in 9 innings that night and that we called the event the "2nd Annual 9x9." Irregardless, at some point during the game Mareeco was beset with a deadly case of the hiccups. While riding the D train back to Manhattan Mareeco asked a young lady standing nearby if he could borrow her pen. She agreed and he proceeded to stick it into his mouth, bite down on it, and hold it there while he drank from a bottle of Sprite. The move successfully stifled his hiccups. Mareeco then tried to hand the saliva-covered pen back to the girl who, needless to say, refused the offer.

Not-So-Interesting Factotum: Mareeco has at least one item of Michigan Wolverine-emblazoned clothing on his person 311 days of the year.

Opening Week Lineup
C - Ivan "I Already Had My Best Game Of The Season" Rodriguez
1B - Derrek "I Can't Believe O'Flannel Kept Berkaman Over Me" Lee
2B - Brian Roberts
3B - Eric Chavez
SS - Jose Reyes
OF - Andruw Jones
OF - Vernon Wells
OF - Johnny Damon
U - Chris "Mareeco Has a Man-Crush On Me" Shelton

SP - Curt Schilling
SP - Livan Hernandez
SP - Brad Radke
SP - Carlos Silva
SP - Aaron "I Can't Believe I Was Drafted, Let Alone Starting" Harang

RP - Brad Lidge
RP - Klye Farnsworth
RP - Scot "One 'T'" Shields
RP - "Easy" Eddie Guardado

Predicted Finish: 6

The Committee has a good lineup, especially if Shelton continues to hit bombs and ends up somewhere in the vicinity of 30. The rest of the lineup is pretty established and, with the exception of Reyes and maybe Roberts, has little risk of not performing up to their average numbers over the past few seasons. Starting pitching is the critical factor for The Committee and he desperately needs Schilling to bounce back (as it appers he has) and for Radke and Silva to pitch better than their first outings (they likely will).

Odds He Will Hang A Championship Banner Next Season: 20 to 1

Allow Myself To Introduce ... Skillz That Killz

This is the first of (hopefully) twelve introductory posts about each of the twelve teams in the league. It is also the first running feature of this blog and is therefore extremely exciting.

Skillz That Killz

Owner: Tam O'Flannel

Favorite Baseball Squad: Red Sox

Another Squad He Likes in a Sport Other Than Baseball: Providence Friars' basketball

Interesting Factotum: After a Padres-Buccos game at PETCO last season, O'Flannel was making a beeline for the trolley when, as he attempted a 60 degree turn on wet concrete, he face planted on the trolley tracks. Geleaux and I were well ahead of O'Flannel at that point and did not see him fall but only heard another passerby yell out, "Yo! Man down!"

Uninteresting Factotum: He often brokers deals with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Opening Week Starters
C - A.J. "WWE" Pierzynski
1B - "Phat" Albert Pujols
2B - Ryan Freel
3B - Troy Glaus
SS - Michael "I Wish I Was On Bevormo's Squad" Young
OF - Lance "I Can't Believe O'Flannel Kept Me Over Derrek Lee" Berkman
OF - Carlos Lee
OF - Coco "Johnny Who?" Crisp
U - Jermaine Dye

SP - Dan Haren
SP - John Lackey
SP - Erik Bedard
SP - Jeremy Bonderman
SP - Jae Seo

RP - Derrick Turnbow
RP - Jon Papelbon
RP - Neil Cotts
RP - Bobby Jenks

Predicted Finish: 2

O'Flannel's squad is once again strong. Two years ago he won the league, and was close again last season. His core of Pujols, Young and Berkman is stellar, and, if early returns are accurate, Turnbow and Papelbon should be very effective out of the bullpen. He'll need some of his starters to throw well to win the whole shebang, but regardless, his hitting should keep him in the upper division all season. A key detail to watch is whether keeping Berkman instead of Derrek Lee will haunt him down the road, especially if Dye is out of the utility spot for an extended period.

Odds Of Hanging A Championship Banner Next Season: 6 to 1

That Just About Sums It Up

In honor of Opening Day 2006, I'll pass on a quote from Tom Verducci from the most recent SI that, in my opinion, sums up baseball's unique drama.

The 20 seconds between pitches with the bases loaded, two outs, down a run in the eighth are Agatha Christie chapters unto themselves.

To losers who do not appreciate baseball, this sentence might not go all the way toward converting them to baseball fans and opening their eyes to the sometimes subtle - other times electric - excitement of beisbol. But to those who do appreciate the intensity of the batter-pitcher duel, among other baseball plots and subplots, Verducci's line captures that intensity rather well.

Of course, Verducci could have gone a couple different ways with this sentence, and, in keeping with that notion, The Bevacqua Files were able to obtain a few early drafts of Verducci's article. Here are a few of Verducci's first attempts.

The time between pitches can be intense.

This was a very early draft that Verducci scribbled on his palm while trying not to pee his pants as Brian Giles worked a 3-2 count against Steve Trachsel last August. The at bat lasted 17 minutes.

The time between when a pitcher throws a pitch and then gets the ball back and throws another pitch, and the pitch is important, is good.

Verducci's second attempt, drawn with a Mont Blanc pen on a spiral bound notebook, college ruled, on the redeye from 'Frisco to Boston. Happy with that offering, Verducci used his third attempt to show off his poetic side.

Seconds pass ...
the pitcher waits.
Oh yes, there are outs.
I wait anticipatorily.

Reading that in a vaccuum you'd think Boom!, Verducci nailed it, file the story. Actually, so did Verducci, as this was in the first draft he sent to his editor at SI. Verducci was back at it the next day.

The average of 20 seconds between pitches at critical moments of the game, especially if your team is down a run and threatening to score, is like a very dramatic mystery within a mystery, and may have a surprise ending.

Verducci was getting closer. His next attempt, the penultimate, was a little off track, but shows how his mind was working.

Agatha Christie wrote Ten Little Indians.

Good book. I agree with you, Tom. But not sure why you got off track there.

Hey, you know what, it's the result that matters and I'm just glad you got to where you got.