Week 4 Report: The Dogs of Dirt Bring the Hurt

BEML Batter of the Week™: Evan Longoria, Dirty Dogs (10-for-24, .417, 7 R, 3 HR, 5 BI, 2 SB)

BEML Pitcher of the Week™: Josh Johnson, George Kents (2 Ws, 15 IP, 20 Ks, 1.80 ERA, 0.73 WHIP)

TWIB (“This Week In BEML”): The Dirty Dogs held their ground in Week 4, leading the league in BA (.311) and Steals (9) and maintaining their lead (61 to 56 over the Snowmen). Longoria ripped it up (see above), and Alfonso Soriano wants you to understand he’s not as washed up as you think (.400/4/10 in Week 4). Meanwhile, while ace King Felix struggled (5.59 ERA/1.94 WHIP over 11.3 IP), his boys Ubaldo Jimenez (W, 6 IP, 0 ER, 6 Ks) and James Shields (W, 7 IP, 1 ER, 12 Ks) picked up his slack.

A productive week for the Dirty Dogs…Alfonso Soriano…

Not The Fresh Prince of Bel Air’s Alfonso Ribeiro.

The Dogs have several teams on their heels in what is shaping up as a very competitive BEML season. The Snowmen had a big week, picking up 5.5 points to surpass a fading Seymour Gardens squad and climb to second place. The Snowmen did their business on the mound, posting a 1.83 ERA with 76 Ks and 7 Wins, all league bests for the week. Justin Verlander looked more like his old self with 14 Ks in 14 IP and a 0.64 ERA, and the surprising Jon Garland posted two wins and 13 Ks in 13 IP (0.69 ERA). Konerko! (He blasted 4 HRs and leads the BEML with 10 now).

Seymour Gardens dropped 6.5 points to 6th place (53 points) with poor hitting (.233) and a miserable WHIP (1.59). Joel Pineiro got punked (3.3 IP, 9 ER, 24.30 ERA)…Chipper went 1-for-20 (.050) and was benched, and Curtis Granderson hit the DL…

The Bears picked up three points and are five points out…a major reason for their early success is the return of Francisco Liriano to dominance (2 Ws, 15 IP, 19 Ks, 1.80 ERA in Week 4)…

The Craydawgs gained four points and are six points in back of the Dogs after leading the league again in HRs (18), RBI (54), and Runs (55)…Robinson Cano hit .440 with 4 HRs and 7 BI (.387/9/21/2 on the year), and Andre Ethier was lethal, hitting .385 with 4 HRs and 10 BI this week (.365/9/26/0 for the season)…Jon Lester was electric in his first start for the Dawgs, with 11 Ks in 7 scoreless innings…

The Cudas gained nine points with more pitching than you can shake a stick at (2.57 ERA and league-leading 0.95 WHIP on the week)…they are in 5th place, 6.5 points out…Greinke! He put on another clinic, with 11 Ks in 15 IP and a 0.60 ERA; he has a 2.27 ERA over 39.7 IP but has yet to post a win…H-Ram heated up with 4 HRs this week (.316/5/14/2 on the year)…

The annual “Catch the Barracuda™” Night at the Fish Tank went horribly awry when the Cudas’ owner was unexpectedly Tasered®.

Elsewhere around the BEML…7th place George Kents (10.5 points back) had just 7 HRs, none from Pujols (though he did hit .476 for the week)…Project Mayhem‘s Johan Santana posted a 9.31 ERA over two starts…Wolfpack put up a 6.44 ERA this week as Ben Sheets coughed up 17 runs in 7.3 IP (20.86 ERA)…also, just 6 HRs for the Pack on the week, including two from David Wright (now .274/5/19/7 on the year).

Trade Action

Seymour Gardens worked a trade recently to acquire aging third baseman Chipper Jones, swapping aging closer Billy Wagner to the Snowmen; the trade filled holes for each side.

Meanwhile, and not to be outdone by April rival Gardens, the Dirty Dogs sent a missive to the league that they were seeking raw power. The Craydawgs delivered, sending 1B Kendry Morales (along with SP Brett Myers) in return for SP Jon Lester (along with Kerry Wood). Kendry endeared himself to the rest of the Dirty Dogs by hitting a three-run homer in his first game for the Filthy Ones.

Did you know? Kendry Morales escaped from Cuba. His dream of playing in the BEML, and in particular, the Dirty Dogs, has since been realized.