Programming note:

Soooooo the MLB season ends on September 30th. I'm leaving for 2 weeks in Vegas for the WSOP on September 29th (!!!)

This means that the end of season questions will be delayed until the week of October 18th at the earliest.

...I'll be sure to stop by JMurder's office in case I accidentally get married or something while I'm out there

Stop by before. I'll make you a cool prenup based on one we did for a well-known MLB player.

I’ll prolly be out there at some point . I smell a meet up

Live stream reveal from Vegas!

Looks like I owe y'all a reveal!

Again, apologies. Blame Covid-19, which is on the rise everywhere, including my hospital. When it strains hospital resources like this, they offer positively stupid bonuses and incentives to get people to work extra.

So I'm currently in the middle of a seven-12's-and-an-8 stretch in 9 calendar days.

With every butt I wipe, I think about how awesome Vegas is gonna be!

And on that note, this is not a political post... it's a public health announcement. If you aren't vaccinated yet, go get the shot.

We're seeing lots more people getting sick, including young and healthy people, and they're all unvaccinated. I've heard it happens, but I have yet to personally see a fully vaccinated person test positive, or be admitted to the hospital. I've been vaccinated from since it became available to me, been in contact with dozens of confirmed positive patients, and yet to show any symptoms. For that reason alone, you should all get vaccinated if you're not.

And one last thing from your friendly neighborhood ER nurse: I really hope you all wear seat belts. It can get very messy if you don't, just trust me on that.

So without further ado,

Who's here? It's time for the Question 14 Reveal!

For this question, we have 22 correct answers, and 5 incorrect answers.

We'll start by reviewing the incorrects first.

Our most popular incorrect was played by 2 players. The soon-to-be Cleveland Guardians have employed something of a committee approach this season, and their main closer James Karinchak only has 11 saves.

JMurder3
wesrwood

The remaining incorrects are would-be ace hunters, so let's start with yours truly. I guess I was reading the wrong fantasy previews, because I thought Giovanny Gallegos would get the role for the Cardinals. It turns out it was UNGUESSED CORRECT ANSWER Alex Reyes all along, with Gallegos serving as the 8th inning role. Gallegos did vulture 1 save this season so far, and has been mostly effective when he's been in there.

TJ Eckleburg12

Another would-be ace comes from a team that has gone through a few different closers. Ryan Pressly has held the job for most of the year, but only made it to 18 saves by the deadline.

loosekanen

Our final incorrect is also among the most painful. Aroldis Chapman has 20 saves as I write this, but 2 of them came after the deadline for this question, making him incorrect.

SeeTheMirage

Here are the 6 correct answers that weren't guessed by the contestants!

These stats are through Sunday's games:

Mark Melancon, 30 saves
Alex Reyes, 23
Craig Kimbrel, 23
Kenley Jansen, 22
Matt Barnes, 21
Jake McGee, 20

This question's SHEEP answer was played by a whopping 8 participants. Liam Hendriks has held the role all season, and pitched very well for the first place White Sox. He had 24 saves through Sunday, number 1 on the ESPN player rater among relief pitchers in my league.

Bighurt52235
Couch Cushions
farmslicer7
GeoffRas22
mrbaseball
that_pope
txdome
Your Mom

Our next most popular correct answer was played by 5 contestants. Josh Hader still has that unhittable fastball and filthy slider combo. He's got 21 saves, with a 15.8 K/9 this season.

Booker Wolfbox
ec_outlaw
nails
royalblue
TheGramuel

Up next is Edwin Diaz, played by 4 players. He's either really good or really bad, but lately he's been good for the first place New York Mets... with 21 saves through Sunday, and 2 more vs my Braves this week (grrrrr)

LFC_USA
Precept24
Schlitz mmmm
thebigeasy59

Our next correct, played by 3 players, is the closer for the Washington Nationals, Brad Hand. He missed some time earlier this year, but has been dominant when he's been in there, with 20 saves on the dot through Sunday.

redirkulous
rickroll
Vilica

Question 14 closes with a 2-pointer. I picked up Raisel Iglesias as a throw-in for a trade when his ERA was up over 6 and there was danger of him losing the role for the Halos. But he's settled in, and kept the closer role all season, with 21 saves on the year.

DrunkIrish05
Nittery

With a SHEEP score of 8, plus 5 different correct answers submitted, incorrects will receive a score of 13 for this question.

Here are the scores after 14 questions!

Name	Total	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	Q5	Q6	Q7	Q8	Q9	Q10	Q11	Q12	Q13	Q14
rickroll	64	1	3	6	8	1	1	3	4	5	7	7	11	4	3
redirkulous	67	11	2	1	8	12	1	3	3	1	3	7	2	10	3
royalblue	71	2	11	7	8	1	3	3	2	11	6	1	1	10	5
Booker Wolfbox	74	1	2	6	6	3	15	12	1	1	6	7	5	4	5
Bighurt52235	79	1	3	2	8	12	15	12	3	5	3	3	2	2	8
Couch Cushions	85	1	2	6	8	12	1	3	2	11	3	7	11	10	8
farmslicer7	87	10	11	7	6	1	6	1	3	5	7	10	11	1	8
JMurder3	89	13	3	7	1	2	6	2	3	11	6	10	11	1	13
txdome	89	10	5	6	8	3	3	12	4	5	3	1	11	10	8
LFC_USA	89	10	11	7	8	2	1	12	4	11	6	3	5	5	4
Schlitz mmmm	92	10	1	1	8	12	1	12	2	11	12	3	11	4	4
DrunkIrish05	93	13	3	2	8	2	15	12	3	2	6	10	5	10	2
Your Mom	94	13	2	1	8	2	3	3	3	11	12	7	11	10	8
TJ Eckleburg12	95	1	11	6	8	12	15	1	3	1	6	7	1	10	13
loosekanen	100	2	3	10	6	12	15	3	3	11	12	3	2	5	13
Nittery	101	10	3	6	8	12	1	1	13	5	12	7	11	10	2
nails	104	10	5	10	8	2	6	12	13	2	12	7	2	10	5
mrbaseball	105	10	11	6	6	12	6	2	3	11	12	3	11	4	8
SeeTheMirage	106	13	11	10	6	2	6	12	4	2	7	10	5	5	13
TheGramuel	106	13	11	7	8	12	2	1	1	11	7	7	11	10	5
thebigeasy59	106	10	11	6	8	2	15	1	13	11	7	7	1	10	4
that_pope	107	1	11	10	6	3	15	12	2	11	3	10	5	10	8
Vilica	111	2	5	10	8	2	2	12	13	11	12	10	11	10	3
wesrwood	112	11	5	7	8	1	15	1	13	11	7	7	11	2	13
Precept24	112	11	5	6	8	12	6	12	13	11	1	7	11	5	4
ec_outlaw	113	10	11	6	8	12	15	12	1	2	3	7	11	10	5
GeoffRas22	128	2	11	10	8	12	15	12	13	11	7	3	11	5	8

And the sidebet leaderboard:

Sidebet	Total	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	Q5	Q6	Q7	Q8	Q9	Q10	Q11	Q12	Q13	Q14
rickroll	64	1	3	6	8	1	1	3	4	5	7	7	11	4	3
royalblue	69	2	11	7	8	1	3	3	2	11	6	1	1	10	3
Bighurt52235	79	1	3	2	8	12	15	12	3	5	3	3	2	2	8
farmslicer7	87	10	11	7	6	1	6	1	3	5	7	10	11	1	8
txdome	89	10	5	6	8	3	3	12	4	5	3	1	11	10	8
LFC_USA	89	10	11	7	8	2	1	12	4	11	6	3	5	5	4
Your Mom	94	13	2	1	8	2	3	3	3	11	12	7	11	10	8
loosekanen	100	2	3	10	6	12	15	3	3	11	12	3	2	5	13
SeeTheMirage	106	13	11	10	6	2	6	12	4	2	7	10	5	5	13
TheGramuel	106	13	11	7	8	12	2	1	1	11	7	7	11	10	5
that_pope	107	1	11	10	6	3	15	12	2	11	3	10	5	10	8
wesrwood	112	11	5	7	8	1	15	1	13	11	7	7	11	2	13
Precept24	112	11	5	6	8	12	6	12	13	11	1	7	11	5	4
ec_outlaw	113	10	11	6	8	12	15	12	1	2	3	7	11	10	5

That's all for this week!

We'll see y'all the 2nd week in August, where we'll look at team's hitters that are good at drawing walks!

I have never heard of some of those names before. It may be time for me to start bootlegging some MLBnetwork chat shows.

Why didn't ec_outlaw pick Soria?

I don't have time to do the Question 15 Reveal this morning, but I wanted to look up the numbers through the deadline to see who's correct.

As of now, through Sunday's deadline, the top 8 teams for drawing walks, and correct answers, are:

1. New York Yankees
2. Los Angeles Dodgers
3. San Diego Padres
4. San Francisco Giants
5. Milwaukee Brewers
6. Tampa Bay Rays
7. Chicago White Sox
8. Houston Astros

I'll do the full reveal sometime tomorrow morning, see y'all then!

Yep, I picked the team in 9th, awesome.

Same