Results
AZ SnakePit 5, 7-2 Offsuiters 4
AZ did just enough to keep their playoff spot, posting their first victory in five weeks. They did it with hitting, taking all five categories there, despite Delgado's 8 runs and 7 RBIs. 7-2 did much better in pitching, behind Oswalt's win and 16 K's; AZ had an ERA of nearly eight, but Hoffman's two saves were enough to split that category, and give them overall victory.
Man of the Match: Sizemore (Az) - 8 R, 3 HR, 5 RBI, .333
DFA'ders 3, BBTNG 5
DFA needed a win to have any chance of the playoffs, but fourth-place BBTNG destroyed that by hammering 13 homers, four of them from Pujols. This was close, however: runs and saves were tied, and BBTNG took BA by only .002. Uggla's seven runs led DFA, while Snell had a win and 11 saves for BBTNG. However, they suffered a blow to their playoff hopes: closer Gonzalez hit the DL, so is unavailable for this week.
Man of the Match: Ramirez (BBTNG) - 8 R, 7 RBI, 3 SB, .500
Uk Dbacks 5, KarateMonkeyDeathCar 4
UK completed the season without a single change to their roster from Day 1, and snatched victory behind a powerhouse performance from Howard. That led them to an almost clean-sweep of hitting, with SB's being tied at one. Karate came back in pitching, with a win and 16 K's for Escobar, and a W/11 K's for Hernandez, but Wickman's three saves gave that to UK, and they held on to take the game.
Man of the Match: Howard (UK) - 11 R, 6 HR, 12 RBI, .571
JByrnesIsMyHomie 3, The Fighting Amish 6
In an upset, Amish beat leaders Byrnes, who would not have wanted their second, and worst, defeat of the year to come immediately before the playoffs. Byrnes had the hitting, batting .335 for the week, but while Beltran had ten runs for Amish, it was their pitching that mattered, posting six wins and a 2.30 ERA, with a WHIP below one. They overhauled Seals as a result, and are rewarded with a week off.
Man of the Match: Olsen (Amish) - 2 W, 11 K, 0.60 ERA
Browncoats 4, GregSchulteOverdrive 4
Browncoats finished in last place, but ended with a good performance against playoff-bound Greg, where both teams hit over .300 and had a WHIP below 1.00. Wright had 15 RBIs for Greg and Thomas 3 HR and 8 RBIs, as they dominated hitting, but Borowski's win and two saves for Brown ensure that both categories ended tied. Abreu led Brown with a .381 average for the week.
Man of the Match: Millwood (Brown) - 2 W, 18 K, 0.65 WHIP
The Loose Seals 4, BigLebowski 4
While Seals had the inside track on a first-round bye, their failure to beat Big cost them that chance. They had the edge in hitting, though RBI and SB ended even; however, Big took the last three categories to claim a tie. Clemens (Brown) and Schmidt (Loose) had nine K's apiece, but wins and saves were both in short supply, the teams managing only 3 W and 2 Sv between them.
Man of the Match: Rodriguez (Loose) - 6 R, 5 HR, 11 RBI, .375
?Chalino Sanchez! 6, Random Fandom 3
Sanchez finished their regular season with a win, and were rewarded with a spot in the consolation tournament as a result. They swept hitting, though were helped by Random batting just .184 and scoring only 15 runs all week. On the pitching side, however, they piled up a monstrous 61 K's, led by 17 for Myers; Torres picked up what was only Random's second save all season.
Man of the Match: Peavy (Chalino) - W, 14 K, 0.44 WHIP
Standings
W-L-T GB
*1. JByrnesIsMyHomie 144-58-18 -
*2. The Fighting Amish 122-79-19 21.5
*3. The Loose Seals 120-78-22 22
*4. BBTNG 114-93-13 32.5
*5. GregSchulteOverdrive 107-95-18 37
*6. AZ SnakePit 103-101-16 42
7. DFA'ders 98-107-15 47.5
8. Random Fandom 96-109-15 49.5
9. 7-2 Offsuiters 92-107-21 50.5
10. Uk Dbacks 90-110-20 53
11. BigLebowski 85-119-16 60
12. ?Chalino Sanchez! 86-122-12 61
13. KarateMonkeyDeathCar 85-121-14 61
14. Browncoats 78-121-21 64.5
* = playoff spot
Week 23 Matchups
Championship Tournament
AZ SnakePit (seeded #6) vs. The Loose Seals (3)
GregSchulteOverdrive (5) vs. BBTNG (4)
[JByrnesIsMyHomie (1) and The Fighting Amish (2) = bye]
Consolation Tournament
Uk Dbacks (10) vs. BigLebowski (11)
7-2 Offsuiters (9) vs. ?Chalino Sanchez (12)
[DFA'ders (7) and Random Fandom (8) = bye]
AZ face Seals: when the two met in Week 11, Seals came out ahead, but only 5-4. However, the loss of David Ortiz forced AZ to make some late changes: Garciaparra moves to first, with Rolen playing 3B, and Durham coming in at second. Seals are at almost full strength, with three men having 100+ RBIs, and Harang's 13 wins leading their pitching. Greg meet BBTNG in the other first-round game, and will be hoping to avoid a repeat of their previous encounter, won 7-3 by BBTNG. In a shock move, they have benched Schilling, preferring Trachsel's two starts for the Mets to Curt's one for the struggling Red Sox, and go with McCann as catcher, replacing Michael Barrett. As noted, BBTNG have their closer down, so will struggle for saves in this contest. But they're otherwise at full strength, and the tandem of Pujols & Dunn have 81 homers between them.