Our league leader, Paul, suffered a stunning upset as Alejandro’s team continued its inexorable rise up the standings. Sarah’s took two steps forward but then, mysteriously, one step back. And Coley completed a major trade with his fellow cellar-dwellar. But will it be enough to catch Paul? And can Paul hold off Alejandro? Will Sarah ever figure out this “fantasy baseball” thing and achieve her true destiny? Like sands through the hourglass……so are the games of our lives.

Sarah: I finished the week with an unsatisfying 7-5 win. Why was it unsatisfying? Well, my opponent, Sooze, played the entire week with two empty spots in her lineup. And I was winning 8-2 on Sunday morning. At this point, I’m just not sure what to do about my pitching. I try to be smart. I try not to play my guys in situations where they seem doomed to fail. Like the struggling Johnny Cueto, who I benched yesterday because I figured if any situation was going to be hell for a floundering rookie, it would be going against the Yankee lineup while pitching for the very first time in Yankee Stadium. Of course, Cueto finished with seven K’s, no walks, and one run over five innings, scattering four hits. (An hourlong rain delay then cut his day short.) And yet then you figure it’s okay to run a wily veteran like Pedro Martinez out there against the Rockies (although I admit, I had my doubts about the aging Pedro in Coors Field), and he gets slammed for six earned runs in four and a third. So as your fantasy baseball rookie, I admit it: I’m completely lost. Any and all suggestions are welcome. Until then, I’ll just be banging my head against this obliging wall. Hot: J.D. Drew, James Loney, Ian Kinsler, Andy Pettitte. Not: Jacoby Ellsbury (no steals this week, leading to a rare loss of that category by the Green Sox), Brian Wilson, Pedro Martinez, Vernon Wells, Carlos Guillen.

Paul: I ran into a buzzsaw and its name was Alejandro. It wasn’t even close. Completely embarrassing. He won Runs 45-30. Total Bases 143-93. RBIs 50-29. HRs 18-4. 18-4!!! 18-to-freaking-4. And half of my dingers were hit by Kevin Youkilis yesterday. So I had 2 going into the last day of the week. And I have many people to thank for my team’s offensive ineptitude. I’d like to thank Adam Dunn for getting me two whole total bases and nothing else this week, thus proving that you really do love baseball more than anyone. And here’s to Geovany Soto for that lovely .174 OBP. Chris B. Young, I couldn’t have done it without you or your 5TBs and .222 OBP. And Shane Victorino! Your craptastic week also deserves some recognition. (On a side note, there’s a very interesting race going on between Young and Victorino to determine who will be the guy most likely to produce ONLY in games where I sit him on the bench. Looking like a photo finish.) Lastly, an Honorable Mention goes out to Interleague Play. Without you, Jim Thome probably would have had more than 3ABs over the past three days. So give yourself a round of applause, you pointless scheduling catastrophe. Peace, God. Hot: C.C. Sabathia, Cliff Lee, Justin Duchscherer, George Sherrill, Jhonny Peralta. Not: Interleague Play, Geovany Soto, Adam Dunn, Shane Victorino, Chris B. Young, Huston Street, my pride.

Alejandro: It’s a week for individuals. So I’ll be poised in celebrating my solid victory over first-place ElDuquesInjuryReport (aka, Paul). Not that I’m a good winner, but everything has to have moderation. You might as well call me lucky because my team won even though the red-hot Chipper Jones went down with an injury, and both the White Sox and Marlins had rough weekends. Remember, it’s a week of individuals. Jermaine Dye was pretty much the ChiSox offense for the last few games, racking up 28 total bases, 13 RBI, 5 home runs, and 7 runs. His OPB? .440 thank you very much. The rest of the White Sox offense was a collection of timely hits and home runs from A.J. Pierzynksi and Alexei Ramirez (both on my team). As for the Marlins, a guy who is basically carbon copy of Hanley Ramirez broke out of his slump and… HIS NAME IS DAAAN UGGLA! Kid his hot! 22 total bases, 9 RBI, 4 home runs, 5 runs, and a very impressive .517 OBP. But again, I’ll be poised. I don’t completely doubt my team for this week, but I’m not expecting great things. Hot: Dan Uggla, Carlos Lee, Jermaine Dye, Billy Wanger, Kerry Wood, Gavin Floyd, Vicente Padilla. Not: Mark Hendrickson, Eric Chavez, Alexi Ramirez, Alex Gordon, Hunter Pence (bench-warmer).

Coley: My latest blockbuster trade involved me sending Jorge Posada, Carlos Pena and Jay Bruce to Sooze for Mark Teixeira and Jack Cust. Teixeira had a totally silent week this week. Until Sunday, that is, when he hit three homers. It wasn’t quite enough to put me over the top. I still lost to Box89RowKKSeat14 7-5, but it’s encouraging to think that Tex might be heating up, because when he gets going he can carry a team, fantasy or otherwise. Also, Vlad Guerrero looks like he’s finally broken out of his season long slump. But it’s hard to tell – everyone looks good when they’re hitting against Kyle Kendrick. Hot: Vlad Guerrero, Carl Crawford, Mark Teixeira, Greg Maddux, John Danks. Not: Carlos Delgado, Jack Cust, Dice-K, C.J. Wilson.

Standings (games behind)

1. Paul - ElDuquesInjuryReport ( - )
2. Scott - Utley’s Firm Quads ( 3 )
3. Alejandro - Center Field Stud ( 5.5 )
4. Doug - Swamp Dragons ( 6.5 )
5. Sarah - Somerville Green Sox ( 10 )
6. Kirk - Montefusco’s Revenge ( 19.5 )
7. Ania - Box89RowKKSeat14 ( 22.5 )
8. Bryan - Pirates in ‘08! ( 23 )
9. Larry - croutchyoldman ( 26.5 )
10. Coley - Crunkball All-Stars ( 28 )
11. Caitlin - caitlin grace ( 31.5 )
12. Sooze - freebase my balls ( 34 )

So this video of a ball girl making a climbing-up-the-wall catch in a triple A game between the Tacoma Rainers and the Fresno Grizzlies has made the rounds of all the social aggregators (reddit, digg) and the interwebs are circling the wagons on its potential virality. Why?

http://view.break.com/524970 - Watch more free videos

Well because it’s a Gatorade commercial.

Today, the Philadelphia Inquirer is polling its readers. The question: “If Curt Schilling’s career is over, should he be voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame when he becomes eligible?”

The results:

Yes. He has longevity, and he’s one of the all-time great big-game pitchers.
901 (51.6%)

No. He had his moments, but he doesn’t have enough wins.
846 (48.4%)

Total votes = 1747

I still haven’t made up my mind if Schilling is Hall worthy. Rest assured, it’s a topic we’ll delve into in great detail here at Umpbump. But for now I thought it was interesting to note that Philadelphia fans seem split on the issue.

UPDATE: Today, Jayson Stark debates the merits of Schilling’s Hall of Fame case with ESPN.com readers. It’s worth a read to get a sense of just how much many people dislike Schilling and how feverishly opposed they are to his candidacy, despite the fact that Stark makes a very compelling case in favor of Schilling.

I made an effort to watch all three White Sox - Cubs games this past weekend, thinking that we (ChiSox) would have a chance to keep those pesky Twins at bay – and of course, show our cross-town rivals a thing or two.

Like I said in the WTN for the Cubs, boy was I being prophetic. Nary a word of trash-talk comes out of my fingers and the Sox spiral into some kind of bizarre, home-run allowing, non-moving-RISP, dribbler-down-the-line-for-a-double-play-hitting team.

I hate to admit it, but series like these prove the White Sox are at the top because the other teams aren’t winning. Much like the Twins winning the division for a while early in the decade, Ozzie’s Sox have been good enough to stay on top, but that won’t be true for long, as those pesky Twins are inching ever-so closer. And don’t look now, but the Tigers might make a run for it in the AL Central.

During those annoying in-game interviews, Joe Morgan asked Ozzie for one wish; Ozzie’s response: My hitters to get hot.

The Sox offense sputtered all weekend, producing a couple of home runs and some run-scoring singles, but not enough to counter the slugfest that was the Cubs’ line up. Aramis Ramirez? Are you serious? In fact, the Sox had the lead in the first two games but the bullpen just couldn’t hold on. And last night, Ryan Dempster won his ninth home-game in a row.

I hated the Octavio Dotel signing before the season began, and I hate it even more now. He gave up two consecutive home runs on Friday that got the Cubs back in the game. With his two blown saves, 3.31 ERA (second-highest in the Sox pen), and three losses, it’s plenty to skew perception towards the negative.

It’s still early, and the Cubbies still have to play three more in the South Side next weekend, so we’ll just save the condolences for then.

Now for the linkage:

[Baseball Musings] The let-down in stats: The White Sox had allowed 54 home runs before the seires. They allowed nine during those three games.

[Baseball Think Factory] Asking your top RBI producer to bunt with two runners on and nobody out? Well that or hit into a double play.

[Newsday's Baseball Insider] Kevin Davidoff’s sticking to his preseason prediction and thinks the Mets are more likely than the Yankees to make the playoffs.

[The LoHud Yankees Blog] “Prepare yourself for the return of Sir Sidney Ponson.”

[Palm Beach Post] M.C. Hammer may have gotten Jack McKeon fired.