Whale's Tale

Greetings my Baseball Brethren! Jan hopes this is not another mid-life crisis, but recently I have become very appreciative of the blessings in my life. I hate to sound sappy but being a part of this incredible Hot Stove League for nearly 30 years is towards the top of my blessings list! I believe life is a journey and I want to thank each and every one of you for being a part of this amazing shared experience that is way bigger than baseball! I appreciate reading your Bullpens and note there are some very gifted writers amongst us. Tough acts to follow…..

Congratulations to Mitch and Ted for schooling the rest of us in the fantasy baseball world. I still think Yahoo is the ultimate baseball knowledge neutralizer, but you two have been heads and tails above the field virtually the entire year.

Mitch won this thing on draft day. Albert Pujols, Ryan Braun, Hunter Pence, Matt Cain, Mat Latos, Aramis Ramirez, Melky Cabrera, Max Scherzer and Chris Sale on the same team. Game, set match….. I bet 3 or 4 of these players will be 1^st rounders in 2013 and they should all be drafted by the end of round 3.

Points through Sunday, 9/2:

			Points Back
1)	Da Bums	10640	---
2)	Wahoos	10338	301
3)	Chiefs	9954	685
4)	Monarchs	9952	687
5)	Cubs	9811	828
6)	Redbirds	9768	871
7)	Blues	9580	1059
8)	Skipjacks	9549	1090
9)	Tigers	9347	1293
10)	Bombers	9295	1345
11)	Tribe	8981	1658
12)	Senators	8881	1759
13)	BEARS	8805	1834

Scott must have completed his summer travels in the last few weeks and he is now focusing on baseball with a resulting climb in the standings. A little too late for 1^st or 2^nd but I like your chances for the 3^rd money spot. Screech has battled through more than a few injuries and could make a run at Scott for 3^rd. For the rest of us, there is always next year….

Below find the Top 25 Hitters, through Sunday, 9/2, along with owners and draft round selection. Da Bums, Wahoos, Monarchs and Bombers lead with 4 each, followed by the Chiefs with 3. The Skipjacks have 2 and the Cubs, Redbirds, Blues and Bears each have 1. The Tigers, Tribe and Senators are not represented. I included Melky Cabrera as a Bum since Mitch has not volunteered to relinquish these points obtained by a blatant cheater.

1)	Miguel Cabrera	626	Chiefs	1.1
2)	Ryan Braun	605	Da Bums	2
3)	Mike Trout	584	Redbirds	FA
4)	Edwin Encarnacion	576	Wahoos	17
5)	Andrew McCutchen	571	Bombers	4
6)	Josh Hamilton	562	Wahoos	3
7)	Matt Holliday	542	Monarchs	3
8)	Prince Fielder	541	Bombers	1
9)	Robinson Cano	539	Skipjacks	1
10)	David Wright	533	Cubs	4
11)	Josh Willingham	520	Wahoos	14
12)	Chase Headley	517	Skipjacks	20
13)	Adrian Beltre	509	Chiefs	4
14)	Albert Pujols	505	Da Bums	1.2
15)	Carlos Gonzalez	505	Chiefs	2
16)	Aramis Ramirez	499	Da Bums	7
17)	Aaron Hill	488	Blues	20
18)	Billy Butler	482	Monarchs	6
19)	Adam Dunn	481	Bombers	11
20)	Ian Kinsler	479	Monarchs	2
21)	Buster Posey	475	BEARS	3
22)	Curtis Granderson	473	Bombers	2
23)	Jay Bruce	470	Monarchs	4
24)	Melky Cabrera	470	Da Bums	9
25)	Corey Hart	467	Wahoos	8

Below find the Top 25 Pitchers, through Sunday, 9/2, along with owners and draft round selection. Da Bums, Blues, Tribe and BEARS lead the way with 3 each. The Wahoos, Monarchs, Skipjacks, Tigers, Bombers and Senators each have 2. The Redbirds have 1 top 25 pitcher and the Chiefs and Cubs are shut out. Johnny has the only top 25 relief pitcher with Aroldis Chapman. The Senators own the top 2 overall pitchers in Dickey and Verlander and the BEARS have 2 top 5 pitchers. Very impressive Dave and Denny! However, on the basis of your dogfight for the cellar, it would appear that top pitching does not translate into higher positions in the standings…..

1)	R.A. Dickey	698	Senators	28
2)	Justin Verlander	688	Senators	1.13
3)	Feliz Hernandez	677	BEARS	2
4)	David Price	651	Blues	4
5)	Clayton Kershaw	648	BEARS	1.11
6)	Johnny Cueto	613	Tigers	14
7)	Matt Cain	611	DaBums	5
8)	Stephen Strasburg	601	Skipjacks	5
9)	Cole Hamels	598	Tribe	3
10)	Gio Gonzalez	587	Bombers	10
11)	Madison Bumgarner	586	Tribe	5
12)	Kyle Lohse	567	Wahoos	25
13)	Chris Sale	558	DaBums	15
14)	Jered Weaver	546	Wahoos	3(Senators)
15)	Max Scherzer	542	DaBums	10
16)	Yovani Gallardo	538	Monarchs	5
17)	Hiroki Kuroda	532	Blues	14
18)	Jake Peavy	523	Monarchs	28
19)	Aroldis Chapman	505	Skipjacks	22
20)	Ryan Vogelsong	504	Blues	29
21)	Zack Greinke	500	Tribe	4
22)	A.J. Burnett	498	Bombers	28
23)	Wade Miley	493	BEARS	FA
24)	James Shields	489	Redbirds	5
25)	CC Sabathia	489	Tigers	3

Screech, I loved your recent Bullpen, but I feel compelled to submit the following update. 2008 was not the first year of using the Yahoo scoring format. For unknown reasons, the 2007 season has been wiped clean from our HSL website, however it was actually the second year of Yahoo scoring and the year end standings are posted below:

1)	Cubs	12823
2)	Highlanders	11947
3)	Bears	11753
4)	Chiefs	11649
5)	Wahoos	11523
6)	Monarchs	11499
7)	Redbirds	11154
8)	Skipjacks	10923
9)	Tigers	10735
11)	Blues	10447
12)	Bombers	10439
13)	Senators	8498

Simply stated, my greatest year on earth! If any of you would like any additional information about the 2007 season, please call me and I can provide you with a wealth of information!

Denny won in 2006, which was the first year of using the Yahoo scoring format. The final standings from the 2006 season: Bears; Wahoos; Reds; Chiefs; Cubs; Tigers; Redbirds; Skipjacks; Bombers; Senators; Blues & Tribe.

There are still several exciting battles to be fought prior to this year’s final standings. Best of luck to all in the stretch run!