Week 13 Preview: The Race for the Wooden Spoon

Now that we've passed the halfway point in the season it's time to not only look at the pennant races, but also the battle for the Wooden Spoon. Two teams familiar with the award that is annually given to the league's last place team, are trying to avoid becoming the first franchise to receive it twice.

The Vicious Fishes, the 2011 Wooden Spoon recipient, are in last place again. Rookie manager Nikhil Dinesh is learning on the job. The team hasn't won a series since Week 4. The bullpen is a mess. The starters aren't much better. Yet, the Fishes are mere percentage points behind the 15th place team, Home Run 101.

Home Run 101 was the 2010 Wooden Spoon recipient. They have also fallen on hard times, failing to win a series over the past six weeks. The offense is anemic, as the team is last in runs scored, home runs, OBP, and second to last in RBI. Manager Bailey Penzotti is desperate for a big bat.

Another team not out of the woods in this "race" is Bacon. The starting pitchers have struggled. The team is in the lower half of the league's standings in ERA, WHIP, and Quality Starts. Manager Eric Brown is hoping rookie Trevor Bauer can rectify the situation when he makes his first Major League start this week.

The race is on.

The Mirrors have won two of the three meetings including a 7-5 victory in Week 2 last year but they are sputtering heading into Week 13. The team has just one series win over the last month and its West Division lead is now down to 6.5-games over the Lower Haighters. The Cys, on the other hand, are one of the hottest teams in the league. They've won five of their past six series and are now just six games behind Bomba and have the third best winning percentage in the league. The key to the resurgence has been Brandon Belt, who has four homers and 12 RBI in his last 37 at bats. The Mirrors will ride the arm of red-hot Justin Masterson, who hasn't given up a run in his last 16 innings, and newly acquired power-hitting third baseman Pedro Alvarez, who has five homers in his last 12 games. The Mirrors hope catcher J.P. Arencibia heats up at the plate in this series. He's just 6 for 32 over his last 10 games with a .188 OBP. Likewise, Kendrys Morales has hit a cold spell for the Cys, going 5 for 34 over his last 11 games with a .147 OBP. Final Prediction: A-Rod's Mirrors 6, The Cys 6.

Twinkle Toes has won two of the three meetings but the Bulls won 8-2-2 in Week 13 last year. The Toes had won three consecutive series until last week's 4-8 loss to the Cys. They now sit third in the East Division, 13.5-games behind the Slammers. The Bulls remain at the top of the North Division standings but their lead has been trimmed to 3-games by Give it a Yankee. They lost their fourth consecutive series last week, falling 9-3 to the Slammers. The Bulls have a lengthy injury list and now have problems in the bullpen with a struggling Santiago Casilla and an injured Frank Francisco. The Toes enter the series with a first baseman who has been demoted to the minor leagues. Buster Posey and Madison Bumgarner have carried the Toes the past two weeks. Posey is 13 for 41 with three homers over his last 11 games while Bumgarner has allowed just six earned runs over his last 21.2 innings while striking out 22 batters. The Bulls will rely on the hot bat of Colby Rasmus and some free agent magic from journeyman pitcher Jason Marquis, who was added to the roster for this series. Rasmus has five home runs in his last 12 games while Marquis has three consecutive quality starts, allowing just four earned runs over his last 20.1 innings. Final Prediction: Twinkle Toes 8, The Bulls 4.

The Lower Haighters have never lost to Give it a Yankee in their three meetings. Last year's series was close, a 6-5-1 victory, in Week 8. Give it a Yankee enters Week 13 having won two of its last three series and has moved to within three games of the Bulls in the North Division. The Lower Haighters have won five of their last six series, including a 7-5 victory over High Cheese last week. They now sit second in the West Division, 6-games behind A-Rod's Mirrors. A trio of hitters has led Give it a Yankee back into the pennant race. Brandon Phillips, David Wright, and Nick Swisher have combined for six home runs, 28 RBI, and 19 runs scored over the past two weeks. The team will also have rookie pitcher Drew Smyly back in the lineup after he missed several starts with a blister on his finger. It's not clear whether Josh Beckett will be ready to return from the DL to make his start this week. There's a familiar name pushing the Lower Haighters up the standings - Ryan Braun. Last year's NL MVP has five home runs, 12 RBI and two stolen bases in his last 12 games. The team now needs young slugger Giancarlo Stanton to step up. He has just seven hits in his last 45 at bats. Final Prediction: Give it a Yankee 6, Lower Haighters 6.

Los Coche Bomba has never lost to the Vicious Fishes in their previous two meetings. Last year, they won 7-4-1 in Week 8. Bomba still has the league's best winning percentage but is now feeling some heat in the South Division pennant race. The lead is down to 6-games over the Cys, who have won five of their past six series. Meanwhile, Bomba has won just twice in the past month. Last year's Wooden Spoon recipient, the Fishes, are last again. They haven't won a series since Week 4 and have lost four consecutive, compiling a dismal 14-28 record during that time. They are 14.5-games out of first in the weak West Division. The reason for the slide has been poor pitching. Dan Haren and Carlos Zambrano have combined to give up 17 earned runs in their last 18.1 innings. The 'pen isn't much better, with Dale Thayer and Rafael Betancourt allowing seven earned runs over their last 10 appearances. The one bright spot has been Jason Hammel, who hasn't allowed a run in his last two starts. Bomba enters the series with three hot bats - Jimmy Rollins, Robinson Cano, and Andrew McCutchen. They have 10 home runs between them over the last two weeks. Final Prediction: Los Coche Bomba 6, Vicious Fishes 4.

These teams will be meeting for the third time with the Menehunes looking for their first series victory over the Jersey Boys. Last year, the Jersey Boys won 8-3-1 in Week 16. The Jersey Boys saw their three-week winning streak come to an end last week but they took the league's best team, Bomba, to the wall before succumbing, 5-7. The Menehunes won for the first time in five weeks, beating Bacon at Mile 11, 6-5-1. Both teams are in the middle of a pitched battle for the league's final playoff spot. The formula for success for the Jersey Boys is simple, ride the pitching of R.A. Dickey and Justin Verlander and the hot bats of Aaron Hill and Brett Lawrie. Dickey and Verlander have combined for five quality starts over their last six appearances while Hill and Lawrie have six home runs and 17 RBI in the last two weeks. The Menehunes will hope the magic spell they placed on Max Scherzer continues to work. The erratic hurler has three straight quality starts, striking out 27 batters in his last 20 innings pitched. Shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera is hot at the plate, belting four home runs in the last two weeks. Final Prediction: Marin Menehunes 7, Jersey Boys 5.

High Cheese has won one of the two meetings with last year's Week 6 matchup ending in a 6-6 draw. Home Run 101 is trying to break a six-week winless streak. The team has been competitive, forging a tie with two of the best teams in the league - Bomba and the Machine - the past two weeks. Is this the week they finally get a win? High Cheese has just one series victory over the last seven weeks and has fallen into the South Division cellar. The team is desperate for a series win to get back into playoff contention. For Home Run 101, the bullpen needs to rebound if the team is going to be successful. Brian Fuentes has given up five runs in his last two appearances, Randy Choate has give up five runs in his last 3.1 innings, and Cory Wade has allowed three runs in 2.2 innings. High Cheese needs some production at catcher. Ryan Doumit and Kurt Suzuki have struck out a combined 26 times in the last two weeks while driving in just two runs. Final Prediction: High Cheese 7, Home Run 101 5.

The Slammers have never beaten Bacon in three previous meetings, including a 5-7 loss in Week 17 last year, but this represents a golden opportunity as these teams head in different directions. The Slammers have won six of their past seven series, including an impressive 9-3 win over the Bulls last week. Bacon, on the other hand, has lost two consecutive series and failed to capitalize on the vulnerability of the Bulls in the North Division. While the Bulls have lost four consecutive series, Bacon remains nine games behind, third in the division and 14th overall. Now they face a team that is both hitting and pitching well. Matt Holliday and Carlos Beltran have pounded out 22 RBI in the last two weeks for the Slammers. James McDonald and Zack Greinke have struck out 28 batters in their last 29 innings and closer Tyler Clippard hasn't been scored upon in his last five appearances, earning four saves. Bacon will count on the dynamic Mike Trout to lead the way. Trout has scored 10 runs and stolen eight bases in his last 12 games. If they are going to pull off the upset, Bacon needs Dan Uggla and Ryan Zimmerman to hit. They are a combined 12 for 90 over their last 12 games with just two RBI. Final Prediction: Scully's Slammers 10, Bacon at Mile 11 2.

These teams have played three times with the Machine winning twice and the other ending in a draw. They last met in Week 4 last year when the Machine stomped HUMA 8-4. After losing three series and falling into the South Division cellar, HUMA has rallied. It hasn't lost in three weeks and is coming off a 6-6 tie with the West Division-leading Mirrors. The Machine is following a similar trajectory, losing three consecutive series before beating Give it a Yankee and drawing with Home Run 101 last week. The Machine is second in the East Division but is 9.5-game behind the Slammers and can't afford to lose more ground. HUMA has lost touch with Bomba in the South Division, trailing by 20 games, but is in the middle of a heated race for the league's final playoff berth. HUMA could be missing the exciting Jose Altuve in this series. He left Sunday's game with a strained hamstring. They are also hoping to find Josh Hamilton's missing bat. He has just six hits in his last nine games and has only three RBI. The Machine needs Ricky Nolasco and Daniel Hudson to step up. They haven't had a quality start in their last four outings, with Nolasco's ERA in his last two starts sitting at a staggering 11.57. Final Prediction: The Machine 7, HUMA 5.