Didn't get a chance to read the latest columns from the past few weeks? No problem.
The previous 3 weeks will always be located above.
This week, let's take a look at how MRLB teams are performing in FPS terms. If we total all of the teams' FANTASY statistics (only the stats for the active players each week), the results look similar to the standings...
Remember, these numbers include only active players, so if Hideo Nomo threw a no-hitter while on your bench, obviously those statistics do not count in the above table. This table is a true gauge of each team because it only includes the starters. With a potent offense and some decent pitching, the North Siders are blowing away the competition right now. Vavster is 4th in FPS but 3rd in MRLB, so this indicates that he has the potential to slip a spot or two unless Slim Shady's lead is a result of a heavy lead in just one or two categories.
Eggs, the early frontrunner, has fallen into the middle of the pack and he finds himself just behind Redrum, mirroring the MRLB standings. There is a huge dropoff between 8th and 9th in the total FPS and, surprisingly, the Badass Cowboys are not last. Firewire holds claim to the basement position with, as Anne Robinson of Weakest Link fame would say, a pa-THET-ic total of 3,634 FPS. Firewire's total is over 25% less than the North Siders' 4,857 FPS. Plenty of time remains for Firewire's players to get hot and even overachieve, but with such a large deficit to make up, Firewire (and the Badass Cowboys, who are 5 points BEHIND Firewire in MRLB) need a season long slump with the top tier teams to coincide with any surge they might have.
With less than 100 games left in the season, no one is out of contention but it will take a small miracle for Firewire or the Badass Cowboys to find themselves atop the MRLB standings in September. Stranger things have happened though, so you just never know. In the meantime, I'll be thinking of the 1980 US Hockey team, the 1985 Villanova Wildcats, and Buster Douglas while I pray that Gary Sheffield hits 50 home runs after the All-Star Break and Luis Castillo steals 120 bases by season end. Good luck the rest of the way, and may all your shoulders be cortizone free.
