Week Twenty-One

It's a strange feeling to write a blog that isn't really angry. And why should it be. My losing streak is over. I finally won a week. My second since the All-Star break. With this big 9-2-1 win, I jumped from the 6th seed, just barely hanging on, to the 4th seed and looking pretty. Not physically pretty, but in good shape in the league.

My team got huge weeks from Teixeira (12 hits, 3 HR, 11 RBI, 8 Runs), Wright (1 HR, 7 Runs, 7 RBI, 3 SB), Furcal (11 hits, 8 Runs), Matsui (11 hits, 1.117 OPS) and Ibanez (11 hits, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 5 Runs). Those more than offset the poor weeks from Rollins and new catcher Yorvit Torrealba. Torrealba was playing in place of Piazza, who I decided to bench. Piazza outproduced Torrealba's week in one 4 hit, 5 RBI game. So that decision, like many that I've made this season and that one I made about shaving my balls, left shit on my hands.

Wandy Rodriguez sits on my bench until he starts at home, where he has a sparkling 1.65 ERA. This week he had two starts in Houston vs. Washington and Pittsburgh - two teams with no real offense to speak of. I guess I should say Rodriguez "had" that sparkling home ERA, because he no longer does. In 10.1 innings Wandy allowed 13 hits, 7 walks and 11 earned runs. Not good. So if I've learned nothing else this week, it's that guys with a "Y" in their first name are no longer welcome on my team. (Except for Theriot, who makes up for his first name in his last name. Also in the fact that he actually plays well)

Thankfully, the rest of my staff bailed him (me) out. Smoltz, Shields and Escobar combined for 4 wins and 30.1 quality innings in 4 starts. I can't help but say I got lucky in the bullpen, where Joaquin Beniot went 3.2 scoreless innings and picked up 2 very important vulture wins. That's the kind of thing I usually bitch about in this very space, but not this week. Another week, another 2 scoreless innings from Chamberlain. I can't help but think that streak will end badly. Even Cordero chipped in 0.1 scoreless innings this week. Thanks buddy, don't wear yourself out.

I can't help think that this blog has too much of a happy tone. If it does, it's probably because I haven't written one like it in 5 weeks. This is usually the part of the blog where I talk about how Hafner needs to fucking man up and find his balls. I can't make myself do it this time. He had 6 hits this week and even though only 1 was for extra bases, I'll give him a pass. I know that's important to him because every Monday I'm sure he reads this blog instead of checking the standings. Or spending time with his family. Or thinking about that $50Million contract he just signed. On another positive note for Hafner, my wife saw him in the dugout on TV the other night and said "he doesn't look as ugly as usual there." So good for him.

Looking Ahead

Next week is the second to last week before the Playoffs. I have a tough assignment to play the second best team in the league. He has Utley, who I hear is coming back, but as of Sunday night, he's still on his bench, with Mark Ellis in his lineup. He also has Aramis Ramirez who always seems hot when I play him. Oh and last time we faced off, Eric Byrnes stole 7 bases in one week. That fucker. I'm hoping to draw even and not lose any ground. Torrealba is out, Piazza is back in and Blanton has a start at home vs. Detroit so he's in and Wandy is long fucking gone.

He has more starts than me, so I added Kevin Correia of the Giants. He's in Washington this week and qualifies as a reliever. He's been solid as a starter and I need to get lucky. I wonder if I've said that before. I wonder if it was just outside a strip club. Or waiting in a VD clinic. Or watching my wife click on the "History" tab of our Internet Explorer....