Man's League Blog: Week 19 v. Claymate Ryan

Much like choosing the right DJ for a wedding reception, this final stretch will make or break my season. I'm facing the other main contenders, and Claymate Ryan's team is the one most similar to mine. He went with the reliever strategy, punting wins and saves, and giving him a chance to build a better offense. So far he has reaped the rewards, and is near the top of the league leaders in a bunch of categories.

To start the week, I was excited to get Roy Oswalt back. I shouldn't have been. His two starts featured a grand total of 11 IP, 21 hits and walks, and 11 ER. Nice outings from Aaron Laffey, Tommy Hunter, Derek Lowe, and Hiroki Kuroda were essentially wasted by The Wizard's inflated numbers. Add that Kuroda took a line drive off the head, putting his future in jeopardy, and the season-ending shoulder surgery for Erik Bedard, and the week feels a little like this. The twist at the end? Ryan's all-reliever staff scored six wins to beat my five while I got more saves than his four closers. So yeah, saves were the only pitching category I won.

My offense took a while to come around. Their line on Sunday was fast and furious: 10 R, 5 HR, 16 RBI, .413. This was enough to claim the power categories but fall short on average and runs. For these failings, I shall blame Cristian Guzman, who flashed back to 2005 by hitting under .200 for the week. Luckily for me, he got an operation to correct his vision after that season and his career has trended upward since. Jessica's vision has not been corrected. And in the oh-by-the-way category, Claymate speedster Michael Bourn snagged five bags to doom me in steals.

The total damage came to a 3-7 loss, but there's no rest forthcoming. Bedwetter Brent, whose squad sits at a formidable 106-74-10, is next in line for the Five-Ways. My previous contest with Brent gave me my best result of the season, a 9-1 win when neither of our rotations were faring particularly well. Chances are really good that this time it will be much closer. Brent's crew hasn't lost since the middle of July, so not only are they the favorite by record, they're also the hotter team at the moment. Fingers crossed...