Standings

Team	Points	Change
Fleurs du Mal	103	0
Robomark Pavelcops	90	7.5
Silly Nannies	86.5	-0.5
Chicks Dig the Long Ball	72	-11
Jolly Rogers	71	4.5
Try Not To Suck	67	-2
Catch 22	56.5	-7.5
Oprah Smash!	55.5	1.5
Ginger Thunder	55	-2
Strong Badia Homestarmy	51.5	-3.5
Midget Mafia	47.5	7
Boat Anchors	24.5	6

Transactions

FAAB

Sunday and Wednesday: https://bushleaguedigest.com/2021/06/05/faab-report-6/

Trades

Mark sends Adam Duvall to Matt for Mitch Garver

Garver went down shortly after this trade so it’s a bit spoiled; he was meant to fill in the hole at C on Mark’s team left by sending Austin Nola away in the next deal I’d imagine. Matt gets some OF pop out of this.

Gus sends Mitch Haniger to Mark for Yordan Alvarez and Austin Nola

Haniger is a Mark guy and he gets his man here. All 3 guys have a lot of injury risk tied to them, but Haniger easily has been the best of the bunch so far with his .261/39/14/38/0 line. Gus is taking the gamble that he got the best part of the season from Haniger and got the best true talent player in the deal with Alvarez. With the boatloads of injury risk, this one is going to come down to health in the end, though we should note that it’s been said already that Nola is going to be out longer than anticipated, perhaps even into July.

Team Reports

This write-up will be a little different from the usual as the point tracking is covering a 2 week period due to the holiday break. The blurbs will be a weird hybrid of 1 week and 2 weeks worth of stats. Back to normal next week.

Boat Anchors

Category	Points	Change
R	1	0
HR	1	0
RBI	2	0
SB	1	0
AVG	2	1
K	1	0
W	7.5	2.5
SV	6	1.5
ERA	1	0
WHIP	2	1
TOTAL	24.5	6

Ke’Byran Hayes is back! He’s wasted no time in his return, immediately slashing .389/.421/.722. That’s good, but it’s no Ryan Mountcastle (.458/.480/1.083). Mountcastle ripped 4 homers, which helped him to also stack up 10 RBI. His recent hot stretch has raised his rolling xwOBA over 100 points to .373, and we might be a seeing a reversal of fortunes for the young slugger. He’s been a better fantasy asset than real life player thus far. Not a lot of points movement on offense, save for a +1 in the average category.

There’s nice stuff happening on the pitching side, where we see 5 points roll in. Chuck’s 10 wins over the last 2 weeks are tied for 3rd best in the league, and it helped pull in 2.5 points in the category. His 9 saves were also tied for 3rd in the league, and, quelle surprise, there’s points there too! Where I come from, we call this ‘a good pitching week brought to you by Rod Blagojevich.’ Go away Rod stop trying to stay relevant. Chuck snagged 6 points overall, and a shout out is deserved for 2nd best team ERA improvement (-.256) and best WHIP improvement (-.053)

Catch22

Category	Points	Change
R	2	-1
HR	2	-1
RBI	3	-1
SB	4.5	-3
AVG	8	1
K	5	0
W	9	0.5
SV	5	-2
ERA	11	1
WHIP	7	-2
TOTAL	56.5	-7.5

Chicks Dig the Long Ball

Category	Points	Change
R	8.5	1
HR	10	-1
RBI	7	-3
SB	9	0
AVG	4	-2
K	12	3
W	5.5	0.5
SV	11	1
ERA	12	3
WHIP	11	5
TOTAL	90	7.5

Let’s not get ahead of ourselves here. You look at the -5 points on offense but see the 7.5 gain overall and you know its gonna be a wild pitching paragraph, but hold your horses. The bats were mostly cold, that’s true. Just Polanco and Devers managed to put up 5 RBI or more this past week, and over the last 2 weeks, the team-wide 74 RBI was 4th worst in the league. When you are defending a place at the top of the category that won’t cut it. Gus is hoping to cash in on hot streaks from two temporarily thumping Tigers in Schoop and Haase to help grab these points back.

Now the pitching. It’s a point bonanza. Gus dropped his ratios by .21 and .04 for ERA and WHIP respectively, good enough for 3rd and 2nd best in the league. He had the most strikeouts at 165, and second most saves at 10. Just looking at this past week, nobody on the pitching staff gave up more than 2 ER. I suppose it follows logic as he’s really loaded up on this side of the ball in terms of roster construction, as all 5 bench spots are occupied by pitchers, and there’s 7 (!!!!) RP on the roster. An astonishing 12.5 points in pitching cats canceled out the offense losses and secured a 7.5 overall boost, biggest riser, and 2nd place.

Fleurs Du Mal

Category	Points	Change
R	12	0
HR	11	1
RBI	12	0
SB	6	-1.5
AVG	12	0
K	11	-1
W	11	0
SV	12	0.5
ERA	8	0
WHIP	8	1
TOTAL	103	0

At one point we were looking at 110 here at the top, and while that has since dissipated, it’s amazing even on a temporary basis. Andy had the second most homers and RBI and didn’t exactly slouch in the other categories, but there were losses in SB. Dom Smith led the team in steals this past week with 2. Are you not entertained?! Nice performances from Altuve, Soto, and J Upton as each had 3 bombs and scads of runs and RBI.

Andy has taken back the Saves crown with the 11 he pulled in the past 2 weeks, tops in the league. There’s a lot of solid performances amongst the SP but nothing of the two start melt your face variety; Bieber went 7IP/2ER/7BR/7K/1W and that’s what you want your ace to be doing. Stroman should be mentioned at 12.2/3ER/15BR/13K/1W. You want fewer baserunners but that’s splitting hairs. After two weeks we are still overall above the century mark at 103, and it’s cruise control for the moment.

Ginger Thunder

Category	Points	Change
R	4.5	-1.5
HR	3	-1
RBI	4	1
SB	10	-0.5
AVG	3	-2
K	4	0
W	3	0
SV	4	-0.5
ERA	6	1
WHIP	10	0
TOTAL	51.5	-3.5

Gotta lead with the Dread Pirate, even though he’s no longer a Pirate and has lost the dreads. Cutch went .500/5/3/8/0 and reminded us of days of yore. I haven’t acknowledged Chris Taylor in this space yet and it needs to be done. After going .318/.400/.591 this week, he’s put together a season line of .275/44/7/31/6. He’s playing like a 2nd or 3rd rounder and Nate got him essentially for free. Outside of these high notes it wasn’t a banner offensive period as there were 4 points lost pretty evenly across 4 categories. As an Alec Bohm owner in another league, it’d be nice to see him pick things up from the yucktastic .209/.254/.301 line he is sporting right now.

Splitterman Gausman kept doing his thing this past week, going 7IP/0ER/2BR/10K/1W. Charlie Morton had a two step and did alright but importantly was able to bring in a Win in each start. The Alek Manoah show had a disappointing 2nd act (3.1IP/4ER) but I’m still here for act 3 and beyond. In a week where the majority of teams were lowering their ERA, Nate still managed to grab an ERA point while dropping the team ERA down a smidge (-.006). Overall we see a 3.5 point dip.

Jolly Rogers

R	6	1
HR	8	1
RBI	5	-1
SB	7.5	3.5
AVG	1	-1
K	8	0
W	1	-4
SV	8.5	-0.5
ERA	10	-1
WHIP	12	0
TOTAL	67	-2

It’s been a challenging two weeks for your favorite Bush League baseball blogger. The injuries have piled up, maxing out at one point with 8 guys having red ink next to their names. It’s time to address the elephant in the room as well: Kelenic has done basically nothing since being called up (sub .400 OPS) and needs to be sent down soon or risk having his development stunted. Too bad, so sad….the prospect wheel turns ever onward and plays with our hopes and dreams. On the plus side, my team was really fast these past two weeks and snagged 3.5 points in the category. A Jolly 13 SB was third best in the league.

A massive 4 point decrease in Wins rained on the pitching parade; my team collected only 2 over a 2 week period. Two wins in two weeks is an embarrassing number. Graveman and Neris suddenly going COVID isolated and silent led to some Save slippage too. Overall it’s a 2 point loss for my team.

Midget Mafia

Category	Points	Change
R	3	1
HR	4	2
RBI	1	0
SB	7.5	4.5
AVG	5	1
K	3	1
W	4	-3
SV	10	-1.5
ERA	5	1
WHIP	5	1
TOTAL	47.5	7

Aw yea, we’re back in the green now. After interrupting the points gained streak, Kevin roars back with a 7 point boost these past two weeks, driven largely by stolen bases. The Mafia nabbed 16 bags over this period, which was tops in the league, and yielded 4.5 points. We are left waiting now again for Mondesi however after he injured his hamstring, and this is just so frustrating and will make Kevin’s defense of these SB points that much harder. Cedric Mullins was a dynamo with a .542/7/3/4/1 line. The offense was cooking and hauled in 8.5 points.

Framber Valdez came back and was an instant sensation at 7IP/1ER/7BR/10K/1W. That’s gotta feel good after holding him all this time. Elsewhere though, Kevin’s team was also on the Wins schneid and dumped 3 points in the category even though his team collected 7 of them. Wins are stupid. Modest ratio gains helped offset that however, and things are still looking up for the team.

Oprahsmash!

Category	Points	Change
R	4.5	0.5
HR	5	0
RBI	6	1
SB	4.5	-1
AVG	6	3
K	2	-1
W	5.5	-3
SV	8.5	0.5
ERA	7	0
WHIP	6	-2
TOTAL	55	-2

Dang I was hoping to keep the 57 point streak alive for selfish writing reasons. No matter, we gotta talk about how Matt has dug himself out of the BA hole his team was in, and has risen up to 6 points in the category. Lindor was at last a batting average asset this past week, hitting .355. He joined other standouts in Realmuto, Albies, Benintendi, and Madrigal hitting near .350 or higher. Albies and Benintendi were also knocking guys in on the regular, with 10 and 11 RBI apiece. It was a good week on offense with the only flaw being a 1 point loss in SB, but still 3.5 points up is gratifying.

Oh, Matt too getting bloodied in Wins too huh. Come do shots with Kevin and me at the Quality Starts Cantina. Matt’s 6 wins these past 2 weeks was 2nd worst in the league, and meant a 3 point category drop. Tyler Mahle has recovered from his 7ER drubbing at the hands of the Giants and has given up only 2ER in his last 17.1 innings. Corbin Burnes had a two step and struck out 20 guys, jeez louise. He just keeps rocking in the free world. Two points down overall for Matt’s team.

Robomark Pavelcops

Category	Points	Change
R	10	2.5
HR	9	0
RBI	8.5	0
SB	2	0
AVG	10	2
K	10	-1
W	12	0
SV	7	1
ERA	9	-3
WHIP	9	-2
TOTAL	86.5	-0.5

Tyler O’Neill came back and picked up right where he left off, going .308/5/2/4/1. We did however lose Kyle Lewis for what looks like an extended absence. Mark has been plugging holes with a couple of interesting FA adds in Trammell and India, guys who have scuffled but are hitting their strides little by little. There were 5 guys on this team who scored 5 runs or more this past week, which help drive a 2.5 point gain in the category. Team wide, the Pavelcops scored 99 of them in 2 weeks, good for 2nd in the league. Mark was one of only 4 teams to improve their team BA over this time as well, and gets a nice 2 point bump is recognition of that.

Rough waters in the pitching ratios led to 5 points down, as there were a number of blow up like performances: Ed Rod (10IP/9ER), Alex Wood (3.2/7ER), and Cease (10IP/6ER). Cease however made nice with a dominant performance against Detroit 7IP/0ER/10K right after his clunker. All told, Mark’s ratios went up by .33 and .02 for ERA and WHIP, which was worst and 3rd worst in the league respectively. The offense saves the week though and it’s only 0.5 points down and a still strong 86.5 points score, leading to 3rd place.

Silly Nannies

R	7	-2
HR	12	0
RBI	10	-1
SB	11	-1
AVG	7	-2
K	7	0
W	10	0
SV	3	1
ERA	2	-4
WHIP	3	-2
TOTAL	72	-11

Nannies lit the world on fire in our last report, but have given a good chunk of those 16 points back in the past 2 weeks. Still, we’re net +4 so that’s a good thing despite the biggest faller week this go around. The best performance on offense came from Matt Olson, who was dialed in to the tune of .458/8/2/8/0. He’s big and strong, also sports a good mustache game. Some ground was given up in all categories except homers, as the offense was in a bit of a holding pattern with most guys collecting just small handfuls of stats in the 2 or 3 range, and not a lot of > .300 BA performances outside of Odubel Herrera to buoy the BA.

Pitching ratios got beat up thanks to Paddack (10.1IP/8ER) and Hendricks (12.1IP/6ER/17BR) among some RP oopsies as well. Chad Green got tagged for 4ER in 2.2. Look at Daniel Bard shake off controversy though! He went 4IP/7K/2SV. That’ll settle an upset bullpen in a hurry. Nannies also snagged Sims, who the Reds want to be the closer despite his early season struggles. Overall though, it’s an 11 point loss this week.

Strong Badia Homestarmy

Category	Points	Change
R	8.5	-1.5
HR	6	-2
RBI	8.5	1.5
SB	3	-2.5
AVG	11	0
K	6	0
W	7.5	6
SV	1	0
ERA	3	1
WHIP	1	-1
TOTAL	55.5	1.5

I’m thinkin RBIs. Elliott’s team was too, as the 85 over the past two weeks was tied for third best in the league, led by Sal Perez and Rendon each putting up 8 in the last 7 days. The 1.5 boost in RBI was a bright spot amidst losses in the other categories as only 4SB and 16HR rolled in elsewhere, 2nd worst in the league in both cases. New sheriff in town, Patrick Wisdom, has been brought in for damage control. “I don’t know who Elliott is but my name is Patrick I’m gonna keep hitting home runs, cool?” he said when asked for comment.

OH HERE’S WHERE ALL THE WINS WENT. FOUND EM. Elliott gets a stout 6 points in Wins as his team got a hilarious 13 over the past 2 weeks. Luis Garcia in particular has been dominant in a 2 step, going 13IP/2ER/11BR/14K/2W. He’s gotten a win in each of his last 5 starts, and has faced LAD, BOS, and TOR in that stretch. Reminder that he was a waiver add. Elliott gets 1.5 points overall thanks to the nice W boost.

Try Not to Suck

Category	Points	Change
R	11	0
HR	7	1
RBI	11	2.5
SB	12	1.5
AVG	9	-1
K	9	-1
W	2	0.5
SV	2	-1
ERA	4	1
WHIP	4	1
TOTAL	71	4.5

The Try Nots have been on a pretty good run, this is two scoring periods now where positive points have rolled in. Over the last 3 weeks we are looking at 10.5 points up after the 4.5 we are seeing here. The steady rise is thanks to excellence in RBI and SB. A pair of outfielders were really on fire and you should probably sit down for this. Austin Meadows went .333/7/3/12/1 and Acuna went .280/9/2/3/5. With just the counting stats that 16/5/15/6 from this pair, outstanding production. Don’t forget James McCann finding his power stroke, as he blasted 3 homers leading to 9RBI. This team was 1st in R, HR, RBI collected and 2nd in SB. Sheer dominance.

Pitching mostly held steady; the newsworthy stuff is John Means and Turnbull both going down with injury, Means with his shoulder and Turnbull with his forearm. Both showed no structural damage after further evaluation, so let’s hope they aren’t out long. Tony Gonsolin is about to be activated and will draw the Pirates in his first start, so that helps soothe the burn. A couple points in ratios grabbed nullified K and SV losses.

Weekly Awards

Benchest Mench

Jose Urquidy – 6IP/1ER/4BR/9K/1W – HEAP

A first start back from injury vs. the Red Sox is a tough one to roll the dice on. Urquidy dazzled in obscurity.

Weekly MVP

Going to skip this week as it’s weird with the 2 week evaluation period and more difficult to assign.

Best FAAB pick-up

Tarik Skubal – $2 – CDLB

Giving the nod to Skubal here in hopes he can hold on to these big K gains and make good on the prospect promise. So far so good.