Ian Wins It All!

Ian's amazing 11-1 run culminated finally in a Needham Fantasy Baseball championship. The title promises a bright future for the young fantasy baseball manager. Congratulations, Ian!

Here's how the final World Series Challenge broke down:

Ian
Pitcher: Neftali Feliz (TEX). Predicted ERA: 0.00. Actual ERA: 4.91.
Hitter: Josh Hamilton (TEX). Predicted AVG: .310. Actual AVG: .241.

Alex
Pitcher: Chris Carpenter (STL). Predicted ERA: 2.34. Actual ERA: 2.84.
Hitter: Albert Pujols (STL). Predicted AVG: .327. Actual AVG: .240.


Tom
Pitcher: CJ Wilson (TEX). Predicted ERA: 2.60. Actual ERA: 2.92.
Hitter: Nelson Cruz (TEX). Predicted AVG: .320. Actual AVG: .200.

This series, as it turned out, was very difficult to predict, and nobody picked up any additional wins, leaving Ian in command of the field as the season wrapped up.

Excellent work on the part of all managers and assistant managers. We'll do it again next year, and I promise I'll start it earlier and be more on the ball. Thanks to all who participated!

World Series Challenge!

Choose one hitter and one pitcher from either the Texas Rangers or the St. Louis Cardinals.

Predict your hitter's AVG and your pitcher's ERA before the start of the World Series on Wednesday, Oct. 19.

You earn three wins if you predict both your hitter's AVG for the series within .010 and your pitcher's ERA for the series within .10. You earn two if you predict either your hitter's AVG or your pitcher's ERA. You earn one win if your prediction of your hitter's AVG is within .020 or your prediction of your pitcher's ERA is within .20.

With one win separating the top two teams in the league--Ian and Alex--the championship could very well be determined by this final challenge.

Send me your players and predictions by first pitch Wednesday night to qualify.

Good luck!

Alex, Ian Collect Wins in Pitcher's Duel

Alex added two wins with seven of nine correct responses and Ian answered all nine correctly to add three wins to his total.

Alex improves to 10-1 and Ian now moves alone into first place with an 11-1 record.

There are three wins still up for grabs, though. Stay tuned for the World Series Challenge!

Pitcher's Duel!

Your team can earn up to three wins with the correct answers to all nine innings below! Due by midnight, Monday, September 26. Good luck!



Answer the first three innings correctly and collect one win for your team.

First Inning: At Milwaukee on September 9, Roy Halladay gave up 1 earned run in 8 innings. What was his ERA for the game?

Second Inning:  Last week, CC Sabathia gave up 4 earned runs in 5 2/3 innings. Cole Hamels gave up 8 earned runs in 12 innings. Which pitcher had the better ERA?

Third Inning:  In 2009, Mariano Rivera gave up 13 earned runs in 66 1/3 innings. In 2010, he gave up 12 earned runs in 60 innings. In which year did he have the better ERA?


Answer the next three innings correctly and collect a second win for your team.

Fourth Inning:  Jonathan Papelbon has struck out 5 batters in 2 innings this week. If he had pitched 8 innings this week, how many batters do you think he would strike out?

Fifth Inning:  Jon Lester threw a total of 40 pitches in the first two innings. Terry Francona will not let his pitch count get above 110 pitches. If Lester continues to throw pitches at this same rate, will he come out to pitch the 7th inning? How do you know?

Sixth Inning:  Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers throws a curve ball that is only 80% as fast as his typical fastball. If his typical fastball is 90 MPH, how fast is his curve ball?


Answer the last three innings correctly and collect a third win for your team.

Seventh Inning:  Cliff Lee has 232 strikeouts in 31 games so far this season. If he pitches 2 more games this season, how many strikeouts do you expect he will finish the season with?

Eighth Inning:  Neftali Feliz of the Texas Rangers can get his fastball up around 102 MPH. About how long does it take for a 102 MPH fastball to travel the 60' 6" from the pitching rubber to home plate?

Ninth Inning:  Giants closer Brian Wilson's beard grows about 2" a year. It takes his fastball about 0.45 seconds to travel from the mound to home plate. About how many inches does his beard grow while his fastball travels from the mound to home plate?

Week Seven Statistics

Ian v. Alex
Tom v. Kyle
Manny v. Noah

Math will be due Monday, September 26 at midnight.

Week Six Scores

Alex 7
Manny 4
Box Score

Ian 9
Kyle 1
Box Score

Tom 7
Noah 3
Box Score

Week Seven Match-Ups

Ian v. Alex
Tom v. Kyle
Manny v. Noah