Mastersball

Each week, your friends at Mastersball will post the results of the weekly LABR FAAB run, featuring the winning bid as well a the runner-up bids. There are three LABR leagues, a 12-team AL only, 13-team NL only and 15-team Mixed League. You can see the complete standings for each league by clicking on the appropriate heading, located just under each player photo.

Included with each league report will be commentary from a Mastersball staff member participating in that league. We invite you to ask questions and post comments at the bottom of the report.

All contingency bids for awarded players are included. Sometimes, this bid is tied to a player that the owner received, so at times the bid amount is larger than the winning bid. We are including it to provide as much information and context as possible with each report.

AMERICAN LEAGUE

PLAYERS AWARDED

UNAWARDED CONTINGENCY BIDS

Perry Van Hook's Commentary

Well the high bids were pretty much where I expected them to be

Of course the problem with many of these is that they could go the way of last week’s $22 player and be back in the minors like Yan Gomes. Too expensive a rental for me and thankfully my active lineup doesn’t have those holes. Jeff had Chris Parmelee to reserve, Vernon Wells, Ben Francisco and Brandon Allen to DL

I was again in the position of not being desperate for the lineup filling type of free agents available this Monday. That said I do like Quintin Berry of the Tigers and even though back in first place in stolen bases I would have bid more but for the uncertainty of what happens with him when Austin Jackson is activated from the DL late this week (or early next).Personally I think the Tigers should keep him up and use the speed but I can’t see Leyland benching Delmon Young even if he deserves it. I like Drew Sutton a lot and think his at bats would be useful at MI for a while but I already have Will Rhymes in that spot. Still I can play him for a week in UT before activating Ryan Sweeney from the DL which is where any of my bid guys would play. Cooper is the least interesting because of position as well as splitting time at first base at best for the Blue Jays. I didn’t bid for a pitcher this week with Nathan Adcock acquired last week having two nice starts (@ CLE, H OAK) this week.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

PLAYERS AWARDED

UNAWARDED CONTINGENCY BIDS

Lawr Michaels' Commentary

Simply speaking, the pickings in  NL LABR are beyond thin.

I know. I had Jonathan Herrera and Austin Kearns both go on the DL lthis week, and both of those guys were already FAAB replacements for Mark DeRosa and Emilio Bonifacio.

But, to give a better example, last week I wrote about the roller coaster ride of Brewer first sacker Travis Ishikawa. Ray Flowers owned him, then released, him, then I bought him, then released him, and last week Ray bought him back. This week Ray moved Travis to his reserve list and picked up Clint Barmes with the hopes that the sour hitting shortstop could do something. Anything. I must confess that I thought about purchasing Barmes myself, as his 137 at-bats suggests close to full time status, and in a deep league, at-bats and innings pitched are as much of what wins as getting the right break out year from the right player at the right time.

Still, Ray is braver than I, gambling that Barmes can lift his .175-2-7 line for the $5 price tag.

However, the big ticket item this week went to Full Moon and Rick Wolf and his mate Glenn Colton, who shelled out $13 clams for outfielder Tyler Moore and his .158-0-0 line over 19 at-bats (there are brave souls in LABR NL, you may have noticed). Rick and Glenn also ponied $7 up for James Russell, spending 20% of their total FAAB budget this week on crap shoots (like I said, the pickings are seriously slim).

After that the big man was Shawn Camp, who went for $6 to BBHQ and Doug Dennis, followed by the Barmes purchase.

As for me, I tried to spell Kearns and Herrera with Mike Fontenot and Ivan De Jesus, both for a couple of bucks, while I gambled on the hill with Jeremy Hefner at $3. With losing Brian Wilson ($16) and Corey Luebke ($15) out of my pitching staff already, along with Tim Stauffer's time on the DL, well, I have to display the same moxie as Ray, Rick and Glenn.

Obviously NL LABR is not for the faint-hearted.

MIXED LEAGUE

PLAYERS AWARDED

UNAWARDED CONTINGENCY BIDS

Todd Zola's Commentary

Well look who finally remembered to put in his bids this week  -- THIS GUY. All things considered, getting John Jaso to replace the injured Wilson Ramos is not too bad. I don't love Gregor Blanco but all he has to do is be better than Roger Bernadina. I snagged Tom Wilhelmsen as a temporary replacement for the deposed Grant Balfour but my favorite pickup is J.A. Happ.

Despite being lax about FAAB the past two weeks, I'm no dummy. I lurk at a site a bit down the dial, in the Rotojunkies' Bullpen -- AL LABR member Jason Collette's site-- well, one of them anyway. Let's just say when someone really smart, whose opinion you trust says something, I listen.

Another pickup I am following is going to be Drew Hutchison. A different really smart guy whose opinion I trust is high on the Blue Jay's rookie, which makes me feel a little better as his MLE translations, albeit in a small sample, are off the charts impressive.