M.L. (Sweep Edition)

With the supply of eligible starting players rapidly dwindling -- and it's not even Black Monday yet! -- the Majority Leader primaries seem to be coming down to a few contenders, unlike last season's indecisive campaign. The latest home sweep saw Ryan Zimmerman show why he's fast becoming to the Nationals what Wolverine is the X-Men. Sure, Storm has about as much raw power as the entire planet earth, Cyclops has those killer looks, Gambit has the best moves in the Capcom games, and Rogue is just plain hot in her cold and distant way. But everyone knows it's Wolverine that keeps the kids coming back to the comic shop every week and that plants all the rest of our butts in the movie theaters every other summer, even if Hugh Jackman does have spindly little girly hands.

The Z-Man is just like that, except without the effeminate digits. His mutant superpower seems to be an adamantine impatience with the whole Rookie of the Year thing. "Screw that," Z-Man growls as he stubs out his cigar on the way up to the plate. "Give the rookie award to that Fielder kid. I'm hunting richer game. It's the 2008 MVP for me, buster." Confidence like that, backed by steadily improving results, makes the Z-Man more than a little scary and also won him delegates in the opening and closing frames of the San Fran sweep and the lead in the yearlong race.

In between, Riker proved that smart play can too beat the longball, and for delaying his tag-out until after Z-Man was plated he took home the intervening delegate.

Delegate Count: Zimmerman 8, Soriano 7, Riker 7, Chief 4, Pedro Armas 3, Schneider 2, Patterson 2, O'Connor 2, Ramono 2, Livo 2, Vidro 1, Church 1, Barbarian 1, Released: 4