Week 1 Wrap-Up
Same As It Ever Was For Mile High

By Jon Bielecki - KFS Press

    Week 1 in KFS Baseball always has a special feeling to it. Some superstars struggle, while no-name players play on record setting paces. It gives owners first impressions of their draft, good or bad, and is usually the first instance of the injury bug decimating lineups. 2005 saw some interesting trends around the league, as rivals new and old squared off to start the season.

    Mile High (463 1/3) vs. New Haven (342 5/6)
    Result: MHI 7-2
    Hitter: Jeff Kent, NHV (41)
    Pitcher: Brad Lidge, MHI (52 1/6)
    Goat: Jorge Posada, Rafael Furcal, Sammy Sosa, NHV (7)

    In a rematch of last season's Package Series, the Mile High Mackerel again prevailed over the New Haven Traffic Cones. The Mackerel made a statement by putting up a league high 463 1/3 points against the Cones. Mackerel GM Jon Bielecki got production from nearly all of his offense as 9 players scored at least 20 points, led by Derrek Lee with 30. Brad Lidge paced the Mackerel pitching staff with 52 1/6 points, but got support from new acquisition Mark Buehrle (35 1/2). New Haven's production was a little less uniform as only three offensive players scored 20 or more points. After a rocky first start, John Smoltz had an impressive 15 strikeout performance, which bodes well for GM Jeff Stanley.

    Chavez Ravine (379 5/6) vs. Woosta (290 1/3)
    Result: CRV 7-2
    Hitter: David Ortiz, WOO (30)
    Pitcher: Josh Beckett, CRV (66 1/2)
    Goat: Braden Looper, WOO (-5)

    Who saw this one coming? In the surprise of the week, the Chavez Ravine Squatters, the whipping boys the rest of the league, beat up on the Woosta Pimp Roostas. Josh Beckett set the league record for weekly pitching and led the Squatters to perhaps the biggest win in the franchise's history. Meanwhile, the Pimp Roostas struggled to get anything going as 6 players scored 10 or less points. Still, Woosta GM Rich Gallup was able to make something good out of the situation as he was able to convince co-worker Bob Colayco that winning was not fun, and to trade him Josh Beckett. Colayco complied and once again Gallup finds himself on the winning end of a questionable trade.

    Marshall St. (389 2/3) vs. Baltimore (374 1/6)
    Result: MAR 5-4
    Hitter: Troy Glaus, MAR (41)
    Pitcher: Carlos Zambrano, MAR (38)
    Goat: Troy Percival, BAL (4)

    In the closest score of the week, the Marshall St. Menace were able to squeak out a win against the Baltimore Devil Jays. After critics panned the draft of Marshall St. GM Jon Watterson, the Menace responded by scoring a solid, if unimpressive victory over DosBot's Devil Jays. The Jays had problems with their pitching staff, with only 1 player scoring more than 18 points. Baltimore has to be happy with its offensive output, though, seeing 9 players score at least 20 points. Marhsall St. won because it got production from nearly everyone on the roster, with only 3 players scoring in single-digits.

    Speedway (431 1/6) vs. Chicago (369 1/3)
    Result: SPE 6-3
    Hitter: Pat Burrell, SPE (46)
    Pitcher: Pedro Martinez, SPE (58)
    Goat: Moises Alou, CHI (0)

    Chicago Tiger Army GM Steve Adler's first season in Chicago did not start the way he had planned. The Tiger Army was thoroughly outplayed on both sides of the diamond in Week 1 and may have more question marks than any other team after the season's first week. With an overflowing DL, Adler's going to have his work cut out for him at least for the next couple of week. Meanwhile, it's all roses for Ryan Friedman's Speedway Starwipes. The biggest surprise of the young season is Starwipe outfielder Pat Burrell who had 3 HR and 15 RBI in the first week. The Wipes also got encouraging performances from Pedro Martinez, Richard Hidalgo, and Dan Kolb, all of whom presented a certain amount of risk to Friedman on draft day.