For the Money

BABI races are coming to a close, and it appears that there is actually only one race left of any interest.

First place became a foregone conclusion five weeks ago when Geo decided not to go for it. Then it looked like he was going to blow second as Hobo came charging up to actually pass him for a while. But they’ve settled back, and it looks like despite an excellent try, it’s going to be third for Noel and Hank.

The Cartel fell all the way down to sixth place for a while, and even looked like they might challenge someone for seventh, but they’ve rallied and look like they’re a lock for fourth. The Leaguers and the Falkuhns have each held fourth for a little while, but it now looks like they’ll finish in fifth and the coveted sixth position.

So the only race left to go is between the Pecklers (42.0) and Any 9 (41.5) for the last spot in the money (7th) and the #2 minor league pick that goes with it. We’ve been trading the position for a couple of weeks, as the Lickers have collapsed worse than the Cardinals, and the Bums briefly came up from the depths to challenge, but have fallen back with little upside.

We’re excited to be playing for seventh. We made some dump deals, and we’re playing with half an offense, but we spent money picking up Torres to give us a shot at one extra save point. And that’s the point that might settle this titanic race. We’re one save behind the Falkuhns, with Torres (who blew one Wednesday night) and the St. Louis two headed monster (Wainright/Looper) giving us a chance at it. It would be interesting if the outcome of the race was determined on Monday in St. Louis against the Giants playing that makeup game that no one imagined would be necessary a week ago.

Any 9 has an easy ERA point as they are behind the Lickers but are virtually tied. They actually lost that point yesterday when Batista and Nolasco got hammered yesterday. Any 9 is tied with the Lickers in saves, a race which could go either way. Any 9 has Howry, who appears to be closing for the Cubs, while the Lickers have Wagner and Dempster, who aren’t getting many save opportunities.

All of the other categories appear safe. The Pecklers are 4 steals behind the Lickers and are led by Kaz Matsui, Eric Byrnes and Josh Barfield. Matsui actually has 7 steals for us since we picked him up at the end of August. He’s also hitting .341 for us with a homer and 17 RBI’s. He could be a keeper at $5 next year as a middle infielder in Colorado. But passing the Lickers isn’t likely.

Meanwhile, Any 9 is only one win ahead of the Pounders. The Pounders have virtually no starters left, but they’ve got a couple of outings to go, so who knows? It’s another reason to root for Noah Lowry against the Dodgers this weekend.

Looks like it’s coming down to that save point. It’s nice to think that it was worth it to spend that money last week on Torres, particularly when we have a chance to beat Kenny 9. That’s how you play fantasy baseball…right down to the last day.

Which is more than I can say for the Giants.