July 7-10

July 07, 2023, 04:53:06 PM

State of the KML:

For most of the season it felt like a bad series could move you up or down in the standings significantly. And while that's still very true, at least there is starting to be some stability at the top.

Landlubbers (47-34):
Our defending champs sit on top of the standings. Although in this series they went 1-3 against the best in the Frick (Bums and Brewers). Although their one win was a 9-0 shutout. They are lead at the plate by Thompson (.312/.366/.540) and while Riley is only hitting .248/.289/.468 with 17 HR. On the mound Mahle (.2.28 ERA) and Javier (2.76 ERA) lead the team in part time usage. But the true strength of the team is in the bullpen. Overton (1.27 ERA over 35.1 innings), King (1.59 ERA over 39.2 innings), Pressly (1.87 ERA with 17 saves over 33.2 innings).

Sea Wolves (44-37) 3GB:
A loss to the Anglerfish, followed by taking 2 of 3 from the Dogs (including an 8-4 win in 11 courtesy of a grand slam). This is a team centered around their two stars. Trout (.319/.371/.737 with 29 HR) has obviously delivered, but there is room for improvement with Judge (.231/.317/.505) even though he does have 25 HR. Burns leads the rotation, going 9-3 with a 2.61 ERA and is among the league leaders in strikeouts.

Hammers (43-38) 4GB:
Similar to the Landlubbers, this was a tough slate. A loss to the Thunder and then lost 2 of 3 to the Argos. The one win was a 14-5 beatdown where Team HGH scored 9 in the 1st! Goldschimdt is a legit MP candidate, going .372/451/.654 with 20 HR. The pitching staff is solid if not outstanding which is reflected in the -3 run differential. Could a trade be made before the deadline to bolster their chances?

Tubemen (42-39) 5GB:
Hey - a winning streak. It's only 2 games (and 3 of 4 in this set) but for the KML that's something! Their run differential is 1, so every game is close. Castro leads the offense in batting average (.298) but the true heart and soul of the team is Machado (.288/.338/.547 with 16 HR). Schwarber and Rizzo both have double digit HR's, but they are batting .166 and .160 respectively. Yuck. Castillo is a deserving ASG nominee based on his peripherals, but he's 4-8. Is that right? Get him some run support!

Rougarou (42-39) 5GB:
A win over the Miners before losing the series 2-1 to the Koi. Everyone in the KML goes 5-5 or 6-4 it seems in their last 10. If anyone puts together a winning streak they are going to run away with this. Trust me, I'm not knocking it. It's very compelling and speaks to the depth in the division! Anyway - the Rougarou have a murders row of Correa/Lowe/Alvarez/Semien - none of them are batting below .270 and they have a combined 72 HR. Verlander is unreal (11-4, 1.78 ERA), but they have some PTL issues with the back half of the rotation.

Rattlers (41-40) 6GB:
1-3 in this set (a win over the Auk, and a series loss to the Fish). Marte and Rojas do a really good job setting the tables with average, on-base%, and speed, but Vladdy Daddy in my opinion isn't taking advantage (yet). Guerrero has room to improve at .271/.334/.419 which is well below his MVP season from a year ago. You would also expect some improvement from Rodon (7-6, 4.03 ERA) so this is a team to watch if some guys start performing.

ACL's (39-42) 8 GB:
A 3 game losing streak (curtesy of a sweep by the Sweets) took this team from .500 to 3 games under. I don't know what to think about these guys. Lindor, Betts, Carpenter, Soto all have at least 17 HR. Lindor looks like he turned back the clock with a .300/.365/.541 season. But then Soto has a .203/.311/.405 season. Urias is 8-1 with 1.96 ERA while Smyly (3-9, 5.72 ERA) and Eovaldi (4-7, 6.21 ERA) balance that back out. My gut tells me there is simply too much talent on the roster to be under .500

Kraken (37-44) 10GB:
The Kraken are on a 6 game losing streak (curtesy of sweeps by Brewers and Thunder). Beintendi has been as good as advertised (.320/.383/.368) but only Heim has double digit HR. Cortes,, Syndergaard, Quintana all have an ERA under 3.00 so the rotation is fine. Chris Martin I'm guessing gets some side-eye in the locker room though. At face value things look ok (2.73 ERA, 13 saves) but he's also 1-10. Those 10 losses make him tied for 2nd in the league. He's the only non-starter on the leaderboard!

Robots (27-54) 20GB:
3 losses in a row (Koi and 2 to Auk) before winning the final game of the Auk series. Rutschman is a star to build around (.300/.412/.502) and Drury is prety good (.243/.286/.473 with 16 HR). Iron man Velasquez has appeared in 43 games so far, basically every other day, with a 2.83 ERA.

Madmen (25-56) 22GB:
Acuna is hitting .190/.252/.339 (I hear rumors he'll do much better next year).
But to answer the question why the Madmen are where they are at in the standings I present to the court Exhibit A - Madison Bumgarner. @Brendtmc favorite player has started 16 games. He's lost 13 of them. He's 1-13 with a 8.53 ERA. I rest my case your honor.