Dice-K on DL

Solves my outfielder problem. Willingham gone. I picked up Bergmann from Washington. He's picked no-run ball his last three starts with lots of Ks. We'll have to see.

Lilly Traded Before the Game Ends

Bye-bye, loser.

Hello, Jose!

New Players, Tough Decisions

Shane Victorino makes his debut for the GB9 today, meaning I had to sit one of my regular outfielders. I think it will be Crawford, as he is going against a hot pitcher, but I hesitate because he's more likely than Brauny to pick up a steal, which I could use.

When Willingham comes off the DL, I am going to have to trade one of my outfielders. That will be interesting.

Lilly makes his second start for me. He gave up four runs last time, so he needs to have a stellar performance. Something along the lines of what Danks turned in last night, giving up one run on 6 hits, with 8 Ks.

Dice-K Okay?

It looks like Matsuzaka will be alright and pitch next week. Jose Contreres has had a good month and looks like he has pitched better than half my line up, but Danks and Lilly still have one start each before they are eligible for cutting (team rule -- all new pitchers get two starts before they get cut for performance reasons).

Of course, I can't cut Dice-K, so if he goes on the DL, I'd have to cut Willingham, which I don't want to do.

Woe

The week did not end well. 8-18-4.

Haven't had time to evaluate what went wrong. I think the team just kind of played blah. So did the Phillies I think, just slightly better blah all the way around.

A Word from GB9 Management

A-fucking-Rod.

Welcome Back, A-Rod

A two-run homer is a fine way to make your return, now all we need is some multi-hit games.

I caught back up to the Dippers, hitting .387 with 10 RBIs, 3 homers and six walks. Things are even in the hitting area.

And the pitching area. Cook and Lincecum had meh days, giving up 4 and 3 respectively. Second not-great outing for Cook, so he found himself dropped for Ted Lilly.

Not at all positive about the Lilly pick up. He's won his last five starts, has an ungodly number of Ks, doesn't walk to much, but still gives up a high number of runs. He'll get his two starts and we'll see how he's doing.

Trade Rumor

The Dallas Morning Tribune is reporting that the Honey Dipt Phillies have approached the gb9 front office with a proposal that would see catcher Mike Napoli sent to the HDP in exchange for a struggling Travis Hafner. Both players spend considerable time on their respective benches.

Reached for comment, gb9 Director of Personnel Javier Pérez de Cuéllar, refused to either confirm or deny the offer, but he did throw cold water on the idea. "We are always happy to talk with the Honey Dippers, both teams have been in this league for a long time, and I think there is a tremendous amount of respect between the two teams," he said. "In this case, however, I do not think this would be a trade that reflected the mutual respect we have for each other."

De Cuellar pointed out that Napoli, while struggling to find playing time, is statically the fourth best catcher in the league and the 132 player overall, whereas Hafner has struggled mightily and is hitting a less-than-impressive .228.

De Cuellar did recognize, however, that not only is Napoli backing up AJ Pierzynski, but the gb9 management is often frustrated by the fact that he frequently needs to rest on the same days as Pierzynski, further undermining his utility. "We are certainly open to the possibility of trading Mike, for his benefit as well as ours," De Cuellar said. "But we need pitching, not benched designated hitters."

Cold Bats

Not a good day hitting yesterday. The boys went .174. The only good news is that we hit 3 doubles, The bad news is that the Honey Dippers hit three homers.

Got two pitchers, Cook and Lincecum going head-to-head, which for me usually turns out to be a lose-lose. Cookies is in the hot seat, too. His last outing bit. Not that there's a whole lot out there right now.

A-Rob off the DL and back in the starting line-up. Theriot out, but we'll keep our collecvtive eye on him.

First Place

We moved into first place this week, thanks largely some solid pitching and the fact that the Penguin's Team didn't get the required innings. You'd think Braun's six homers would have been a big part of the story, but since we actually lost both homers and OPS, maybe not.

Not sure the lead will hold though. Solid opponent in Honey Dipt Phillies. Honey dippers/Sucker sippers/Big drippers/Sucker drippers. Stat comparison for last week shows us about even, with him having the edge in hitting and me taking pitching.

I get A-Rod back tomorrow, so I'll have to kick someone out of the starting lineup. Probably "Frenchie" Theriot, but I'll give it some thought, as he out-played Crawford last week, but it's hard to take the bat out of Crawford's hands. He runs so hot and cold. O-for-today doesn't help though.