|
Gentlemen:
It looks like the 2005 Cup is a lock for
the Skipjacks. With a mere two weeks to play, the Jax have
a seemingly insurmountable lead of 252 points, 8991.5 to 8739.5 over the
Redbirds. While stranger things have happened, it does not appear
that the Redbirds will be able to muster the necessary offense to
close this gap.
Here are the standings through 24 weeks of
play:
WEEK 24 STANDINGS
|
Upper
Division |
|
1. |
Skipjacks |
8991.5 |
|
2. |
Redbirds |
8739.5 |
|
3. |
Senators |
8433.5 |
|
4. |
Chiefs |
8331.5 |
|
5. |
Reds |
8279.0 |
|
6. |
Tigers |
8159.0 |
|
Lower
Division |
|
7. |
Bombers |
8113.0 |
|
8. |
Wahoos |
8105.5 |
|
9. |
Irates |
7985.0 |
|
10. |
Tribe |
7869.5 |
|
11. |
Blues |
7771.5 |
|
12. |
Cubs* |
7741.5 |
The late-blooming Tribe led all teams during
Week 24 with 455.0 points, well ahead of the second-place Chiefs’
total of 385.5. In response to the challenge to avoid back-to-back
cellar-place finishes, the Tribe players have stepped up to the
plate, literally, and bull-rushed their way past the flagging Blues
and Cubs*. Here are the Week 24 point totals for the entire
league:
|
WEEK 24 POINT TOTALS |
|
1. |
Tribe |
455.0 |
|
2. |
Chiefs |
380.5 |
|
3. |
Tigers |
376.5 |
|
4. |
Skipjacks |
356.0 |
|
5. |
Cubs* |
350.0 |
|
6. |
Bombers |
340.5 |
|
7. |
Reds |
337.0 |
|
8. |
Wahoos |
334.5 |
|
9. |
Senators |
321.5 |
|
10. |
Redbirds |
313.5 |
|
11. |
Irates |
312.0 |
|
12. |
Blues |
289.0 |
INDIVIDUAL
LEADERS
|
HITTERS |
|
1. |
Derrek Lee |
730.0 |
|
|
2. |
Alex Rodriguez |
708.0 |
|
|
3. |
Albert Pujols |
702.0 |
|
|
4. |
Pappy |
677.0 |
|
|
5. |
Mark Teixeira |
663.0 |
|
|
6. |
Miguel Cabrera |
642.0 |
|
|
7. |
Michael Young |
640.0 |
|
|
8. |
Andruw Jones |
634.0 |
|
|
9. |
Jason Bay |
628.0 |
|
|
10. |
Brian Roberts |
618.0 |
|
|
11. |
Alfonso Soriano |
612.0 |
|
|
(T) |
Manny Ramirez |
612.0 |
|
|
13. |
Miguel Tejada |
603.0 |
|
|
14. |
Bobby Abreu |
600.0 |
|
|
15. |
Jeff Kent |
590.0 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
PITCHERS |
|
1. |
Chris Carpenter |
650.0 |
|
|
2. |
Pedro Martinez |
564.0 |
|
|
3. |
Roger Clemens |
562.0 |
|
|
4. |
Dontrelle Willis |
552.0 |
|
|
5. |
Johan Santana |
533.0 |
|
|
6. |
Andy Pettitte |
529.0 |
|
|
7. |
Mariano Rivera |
528.0 |
|
|
8. |
Chad Cordero |
525.0 |
|
|
9. |
John Smoltz |
503.0 |
|
|
10. |
Roy Oswalt |
497.0 |
|
|
11. |
Carlos Zambrano |
489.0 |
|
|
12. |
Joe Nathan |
483.0 |
|
|
13. |
Billy Wagner |
470.0 |
|
|
(T) |
Jake Peavy |
470.0 |
|
|
15. |
Bartolo Colon |
467.0 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
BULLPEN FODDER
|
** |
While Itchie and Tirebiter are assured of the top two
spots in the ’05 race, the third money spot is still up for grabs, with
the Senators trying to hold off the ever-tenacious Chiefs
and Reds. In addition to this skirmish, the battle for the final
upper division berth rages on, with the Tigers, the Bombers
and the Wahoos all doing their darnedest to avoid the indignity of
a lower division finish. |
|
|
|
|
** |
Another storyline of the season is U-Bob’s last-ditch
effort to surge past his Lincolnite partner in crime, SloPay, for whatever
bragging rights might be associated with a ninth place finish. While
SloPay’s charges hold a 116-point lead with two weeks to play, the
momentum is clearly on the side of the Tribe, and if I were a
betting man, which I rarely am, I would be pushing my chips out on the
Tribe square on the craps table.
As between the Blues and the Cubs* in
their mano-a-mano struggle to avoid an ignominious last place finish, it’s
up for grabs. While the Blues hold a razor-thin 30-point lead with
two weeks to play, Stretch’s boys are clearly mired in a late-season
swoon. It’s a bit of a stretch to think that Stretch might be able to
turn it around to avoid the basement, but anything’s possible. |
|
|
|
|
** |
It’s been a slow week on the newsfront, so we will
sign off for now and wish everyone the best of luck for the final two
weeks of the season. |
Skipper
|
