Friends in fastballs,

We're doing these MLB Updates monthly, and here's how our second month went down.

IN THIS POST:

• What you need to know for July
• What happened in our pools in June
• Stats and trends
• June's best comments

What you need to know for June:

• Survivor #2 started June 20th. It's ALSO double elim.
• Friends can still join our "MLB Playoff Pick'em" and get ready for October. Every referral counts, so let the people know!
• Pick'em Interval 3 starts NOW (Weeks 9-12).
• We update pool results each night during the weekend series, and Wins Battle at the end of each month.

NOW, what did we learn in our second month?

The Miami Marlins are not good. With a record of 30-54 and currently 5th in the NL East, it's an indisputable fact that the Marlins are not a good baseball team. But are they, frustratingly, good when we pick against them?

Over the course of the last two weekends in May they have beaten the top picks in Survivor #1, Pick'em, and Survivor #2. These Marlins aren't to be mocked.

Will this cause a change in our picking behavior or will we trust the large sample size and continue to target them as a team to pick against? Only time will tell.

Onward!

RESULTS THROUGH WEEK 8

SURVIVOR #1

• Damage done: 121 down this month (276 down total). Unlike our first month, we haven't had any catastrophic weeks. We hemorrhaged about 40 survivors a week in June.
• 201 --> 168 --> 124 --> 80 survivors still going. 24 have no losses, and 56 have 1 loss.
• Best Squad: Better than the A's & MLB Moxie Marauders both have 24 wins. Double digit teams still have multiple survivors alive and a chance to claim the title.

SURVIVOR #2

• Damage done: 55 eliminated so far. Our second Survivor pool started in Week 7 and is double elimination. Last week was our first possible week of eliminations and 55 were knocked out.
• 319 --> 264 survivors still going. 118 have no losses, and 156 have 1 loss. 
• Best Squad: 21 Squads have 6 wins. Again, it's only been 2 weeks, so it's early, really early.

WEEKLY PICK'EM

• Aggregate winning % so far: 59.5%. The last week of June was our worst of the month. If not for it, we'd be over 60%.
• Best week in June: @jkaraica at 14-1. No perfect weeks this month, which is much more typical than the 2 last month.
• Overall Leader: @BrandName. The last few weeks @BrandName & @Gammon88 have been dueling for control of first.
• Interval 2 CHAMP: @CFreeman3. We had a clear winner for this Interval, but in 2nd we had a 5 way tie between @Bakerruff9002, @VegasDen, @Admking, @1mjjk, & @ Pesky! 
• Best Squad: MLB Moxie Marauders (235 wins). They've got a 2 win lead but 8 teams still remain with 5 of the top spot. 

"ALL 30" ONE-AND-DONE

• W/L record: 1721-684 (71.6%).
• Club that's killed us: Marlins. Not for losing games, but for, as mentioned above, winning them. They have handed out 90 OAD losses the last 2 weeks.
• Overall leader: 16 people sit at 8-0. Will we have any perfect records left after July?
• Best Squad: There are 5 Squads tied with 23 wins. MLB Dynasty, Hit Streakers, Smash heads, Triple Crown Tribe, & Get Beaned are currently in the lead.

WINS BATTLE

• Best record so far: @igglehead & @Fredbird00 at 14-1. This is "as if the season ended today", so it's a projection. There's still about 100 games to go, so we could waffle and flip flop a lot over the SZN.
• Most picked club: Brewers (264 picks). Brewers are currently 11 up in the loss column, so we may have nailed this one.
• Closest matchup: Mets (164 picks) vs. Reds (140 picks). The Mets have a 4 game lead in the loss column, but have been hot as of late. Could there be a chance to pull away?
• Best Squad: Smash heads, Better than the A's, & Minnesota Twins (37 wins). Please note Minnesota Twins is the name of the Squad, we unfortunately didn't come to a partnership with Commish's favorite club this year. 

STATS & TRENDS

Please pour out a BLL for @Pitt4life21!

So far this season, the Baltimore Orioles have been arguably our best Survivor team. They've been picked 125 times in Survivor #1, producing 124 wins. Yes, that's an incredible 124-1 record.

The lone loss? Week 7 to the Astros, where @Pitt4life21 was the only unfortunate Oriole picker (so far).

However, @Pitt4life21 still has a chance to win it all, as that's been their only loss in Survivor.

In Survivor #1 there ARE still a handful of undefeated teams: KC, Houston, Minnesota, and yes, the White Sox. Of those perfect ball clubs, the Royals have received the most picks, 51 on the year. The White Sox have been taken a mighty three times.

The last weekend of June featured "The Toilet Bowl" and we plugged our noses and dove in!

It's always a privilege when the two worst teams face off. So how did we deal with the White Sox and the Rockies matching up? Well we'll have to use them at some point for the All 30 OAD and a lot of us figured why not now?

We made the White Sox our top pick for All 30 OAD and had the Rockies as our 3rd overall pick. In Pick'em we were pretty divided on the series, Chicago (57%)-Colorado (43%), so there wasn't a strong consensus on who was the best of the worst.

In the end, the White Sox won the series and 18.6% of OAD breathed a sigh of relief for having notched a win on a low tier team.

The Tigers have been bad on the field (38-46), but a sneaky good team when picked.

As far as things go in Pick'em, our top teams by win percentage are the Astros (89%), Orioles, (88%), and then the Tigers (81%). However, when it comes to Survivor #1, we've been hesitant to use them.

Out of the eight weeks of the Survivor #1, they've only been picked in four weeks, and have won their series two times. It doesn't sound impressive, but our record picking them is 46-9. Maybe we should let the Tiger out of its cage.

JUNE'S BEST COMMENTS

WEEK 5

@AdamAnt (Cardinals, S1): "Let's get outta here before we get our asses kicked twice in one night."
Commish says: Using a quote from For The Love of the Game, were Kevin Costner pitches for the Tigers, for a pick in a series between the Cards and Nats has me a bit confused. I won't lie.

@YikesVikes (BOS, OAD): "So the Red Sox wear red socks, but the White Sox don't wear white socks. The White Sox not wearing white socks is literally the stupidest thing in all of pro sports uniforms. It's like the Reds wearing all blue or if the Blue Jays had a robin for a logo. That's why the Red Sox make sense to me this week against those no White Sox. "
Commish says: You say this is the stupidest thing in all of pro sports, but I'd like to bring up the following points. 1. When did they decide the MLB teams would be Sox and not Socks? 2. The White Sox ownership once thought to have their team play a doubleheader in shorts, so they've made worse choices.

@Shaggybrak (MLB Pick'em): "A 1099 job is pretty inconsistent but Fallout 4 has added some pretty sweet upgrades - being under employed isn’t so bad after all. I’m like a modern day starting pitcher. I work about once every 5 days or so. I go about 4 and third hours deep into a shift before I’m tired and need a nap. I’m smelly and fat too! … … … Bartolo’s still a starter right?"
Commish says: I'm now imagining a team brining Bartolo back as a 1099 employed pitcher were he gets paid by the inning. Is that legal? Who here is an expert in the MLB CBA??

@PCH (MLB Pick'em): "Does it matter if my eyes are open or not when I make these picks? Oh, the variability!!"
Commish says: We have had eyes closed, coin flips, let the kids pick, even dogs rolling balls down stairs. I need someone to get really creative with the way they make their picks! Give us a whole new method of randomness someone!!

@Mr_Darwin (STL, OAD): "My buddy saw a Cardinal this morning while we were on the phone... it's gotta be a sign"
Commish says: I guess this is better than eyes closed or a coin flip?? People just picking teams based on what object they most recently saw.

@Jmkahn (SD, OAD): "But, like, what even is a Padre?"
Commish says: Something tells me you are not a Catholic from southern California.

WEEK 6

@joedad6452 (MLB Pick'em): "picking Baseball is tough, why the hell did I join this pool? Go Padres :)"
Commish says: Please explain to @Jmkahn what a Padre is!

@NotthatDanSnyder (Diamondbacks, S1): "Riding the 'who plays the White Sox' wave until I die!"
Commish says: This is better strategy than "That Dan Snyder" ever came up with when he was an NFL owner.

@jrcondon (MLB Pick'em): "Couple possible World Series match-ups this weekend: KC v LAD and Phillies (though they've only played 6 teams w a record above .500) v Baltimore Couple of not World Series match-ups this weekend: my White Sox (on a 42-120 pace) v D'Backs and LAA (on a 62-100 pace) v SF Baseball is the Best"
Commish says: So for your favorite teams on your profile you have listed your White Sox, the Marquette Eagles, and the Diamondbacks. Are they not your team too? Was this a mistake? How did you end up liking both the White Sox and D'Backs? There feels like a story here! Please share!

@WuYorkYankees (MLB Pick'em): "Feel like I went 15 for 15"
Commish says: If you win it all in Pick'em, I think you should use your winnings to hire Alicia Keys, then the two of you perform Empire State of Mind together with her singing Wu York in place of New York.

@AdamAnt (MIN, OAD): "If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball"
Commish says: Truer words have never been spoken. RIP Rip Torn!

WEEK 7

@Shaggybrak (MLB Pick'em): "If I hold these picks sideways they look my dental xrays"
Commish says: I would say I think you need to see a dentist, based on this comment, but if you're getting X-Rays I'm guessing you are. It still sounds like it's not working out for you, so maybe a better dentist?

@hikee44 (Tigers, S2): "The White Sox can't possibly screw me over again, right?"
Commish says: I enjoy that we consider the White Sox actually winning games as them "screwing people over".

@Jmkahn (MLB Pick'em): "It's officially O.A.R. szn. Alert the people."
Commish says: O.A.R. like the college rock band? Do you know all the words to Crazy Game of Poker? That song is like 10 minutes long, so if so I would be extremely impressed, but also concerned for your well being.

@AU_Dave (MLB Pick'em): "Hey @starczar, time to up your game if you’re going to defend your crown! "
Commish says: It is true that @statczar is not living up to his Pick'em performance from last year. But apparently he got promoted to @starczar.

@PCH (MLB Pick'em): "If you can’t pick-em, join ‘em."
Commish says: …but umm you did pick them. Literally. 15 times in this pool alone!

@YikesVikes (MLB Pick'em): "Is the all star gaming coming soon? I need a new half to this season!"
Commish says: How about a new Interval every month??

WEEK 8

@Mr_Darwin (Phillies, S1): "Filth, Filth, Filth-a-delphia"
Commish says: Not sure why, but something tells me @Mr_Darwin is not the biggest fan of the city of Philadelphia.

@Shaggybrak (MLB Pick'em): "Last year I was a contender - but now the cycle of life rears its horrible head like a king cobra striking a fat pigeon. I’m trying to find my inner Rikki-Tikki-Tavi but I’m afraid the best I can hope for this year is a gentle Baloo the Bear. "
Commish says: After reading this comment you might be shocked to discover this is not the frequent SZN commenter with Shaggy in their username that advertises an extreme love of doobies. Though based on this comment, it might be a shared love.

@AU_Dave (Phillies, S2): "I would like to pick the Braves in their 1 game “series” against the Chi Sox , but for some reason it’s not an option. So, I will pick the Phillies. As a Braves fan I hope they get swept, but at least I can take solace in a survivor win, if they win. Go Fish! And Yo Commish, this game ain’t simple. I’m at the beach and need another beer, so I’ll explain later. "
Commish says: You better be drinking BLL on that beach! Also the hedge of happiness was in full effect here, and you're still around to pick another week. SO the Phillies losing and your pick being incorrect didn't hurt that bad, right? RIGHT?

@AdamAnt (STL, OAD): "As a Cubs fan, it always hurts to pick the Cards to win anything"
Commish says: This has me wondering. Have we ever had anyone compete in any of our All 30 OAD pools and only made 29 picks out of spite because they couldn't stand to pick a rival team.

@hikee44 (Mariners, S2): "The Mariner's are 27-12 at home. That should work."
Commish says: Commish's Note: It did not :(

@YikesVikes (MLB Pick'em): "I don't think I have never made a comment but I don't have one."
Commish says: As that one hit wonder Howie Day sang, "Even the best fall down sometimes."

@Sportsfan90 (MLB Pick'em): "Hoping for a perfect week "
Commish says: WHY WOULD YOU EVER HOPE FOR ANYTHING LESS??

Yours in stealing home,
The Commish