Who's Hot, Who's Not: Stretch Run

Earlier in the day we looked at each schedule for teams still fighting for a playoff birth.  That is all well in good, but players decide the results, not the schedule makers.  Below are key players that have played extremely well, or extremely bad, since August 1st.

Kansas City Cobblers
Alburt Pujols has a .494 OPS over the last 28 games, that is unforgivable.  He must improve right now to give KC a legitimate shot to move on.

Luckily for KC the Flying Dutchman is on fire (.355 / .400 / .504) and JJ Putz is has an extinguisher out (0.46 ERA, 12 Sv in his last 17 appearances).

Critical Failures
Early draft pick and #2 starter Chris Sale has been a disappointment this season (4.48 ERA) but his performance recently has been atrocious:  34 IP, 51 H, 6.49 ERA.

Luckily the team has Barry Bonds to win some games.  The DH/LF may not be putting up career numbers this year, but anytime you combine a .400 on-base percentage with 28 RBI in 32 games you have a chance.

Newport Beach Cole Trains
Third base has been an issue all season for Newport, mainly due to the play of Paul Molitor.  On the season he's batting .229 / .282 / .288, but he's been even worse of late putting up a .427 OPS since August 1st.

Luckily, the Cole trains have Nels Potter as their #2 starter.  Potter is 8-2 in his last 10 games; his 3.02 ERA isn't world beating, but very good considering the division and a DH league.

Grumman Hellcats
With a 2.89 Team ERA since August 1, the Hellcat pitching staff is pulling more than their fare share of the weight, especially Dick Hall.  The stalwart reliever has a 1.66 ERA over his last 38 IP (17 games)

However, their recent record is 23-17, solid, but not stellar.   They need their star second basemen, Eddie Collins, to improve at the plate.  He's only put up a .295 OBP over his last 122 at bats.

Dayton Toppins
The two-headed monster at the top of this rotation is formidable and I would never want to face them in a short series.  Walter Johnson and Jesse Tannehill are a combined 12-1 with a 1.80 ERA over their last 121 innings pitched.  Also, lets recognize Babe Herman's .394 on-base percentage and .565 slugging over the same time period.

The bad news though, only one other regular has an OBP over .320 and as a team, the others are only getting on base 28% of the time.

Lakeview Zero's
Ty Cobb picked the right time to get hot and is hitting the best he has all season, right now.  The center fielder has an impressive slash line of .355 / .385 / .518 over the last 30 games.

Ther Zero's sport a 4-man rotation, so every starter has to hold their own.  Unfortunately, the 4th slot has been abysmal with Juan Marichal and Billy Pierce combining for this:  72 IP and a 4.90 ERA.  Marichal's peripherals have been decent so you can argue some bad luck, but Pierce needs to up his game and quick.

Inglorious Batters
The Batters were the best team in baseball as of July 1st (52-35) but have fared barely above .500 since then, and just 17-20 since August 1st.  Shoeless Joe has done his part of late, batting .365 / .379 / .570 in his last 121 at bats.

Unfortunately, Gabe White has not done his part.  The usually incredible southpaw reliever has blown 3 saves and let 60% of his inherited runners score recently.  His struggles add up to a 3-6 record and unlikely 4.21 ERA.