Mike, Shea enjoying the week off

For the top two seeds, it's been a relaxing week as they wait and prepare for their semifinal opponents.

Mike and Shea each earned a bye, giving them a chance to set their pitching rotations in advance and need only one win to make it to the prestigious championship game.


Mike, the top seed, will face either Jack or Chris. He is 5-5 vs. both managers overall, but a combined 4-0 this season, including the Week 22 win over Jack to clinch the division and bye.

"We don't have a rooting interest for our semifinal opponent," Mike said. "We worry about ourselves, and will be ready for whoever advances to our matchup."

So how is Mike keeping the players busy during this time? Seven days off is plenty of time for them to hit up the clubs, booze it up and find some trouble.

"We had a long season, with a tough final stretch, and these guys definitely could use a few days off," Mike said. "This is the time to heal all the minor bumps and bruises. We are a tight knit group, pretty much running with the team we drafted, our chemistry is great. We will keep the boys loose with some workouts, and have them ready to roll come Sept. 12."

Shea, meanwhile, faces either Bob or Joe after getting the No. 2 seed despite losing to Rick of all teams in the final week. Still, Chris' loss to Ken allowed Shea to sneak out the division title - his first in his career.

"It feels great to win the division!" Shea exclaimed. "Things started off rocky with the draft miscue but a trade and key pickups turned this team into a contender. I'm proud of our effort down the stretch and am glad a couple bounces went our way in the final couple weeks."

Bob apparently isn't even worried about Shea, as the Cole Miners publicly called out Mike - a team he wouldn't see until the finals. But Shea hasn't seemed intimidated, and he's been chirping away on the matchup smack talk. He is 2-7-1 all-time vs. Bob (1-1 this year) and 3-7 all-time vs. Joe (1-1 this year). So who would he rather face?

"It makes sense to root for Joe. His team has been awful and he only has 3 moves left," Shea said. "However, I want the champ! Bob was talking smack three weeks ago and it's time someone shut him up! Bring on the Bob!!"