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Taking Stock at the All-Star Break
By David Diamond
Take a look at the standings in your roto league. Now, take a look at the roster of the owner who is in first place. Does he have on his team (a) Bret Boone, (b) Ichiro Suzuki, and/or (c) Albert Pujols? If the owner in your league has all three of these guys, then you can chalk up the season to dumb luck. He/she got lucky and picked players who have had unexpectedly great years. What can you do? On the other hand, if the owner in your league who is in first place doesnt have these guys, then youve got no excuse. You are just being out managed.
Two weeks ago, Carlos Beltran hit .478 over 23 at bats, with 5 home runs, 11 RBI, and 9 runs scored. Where was he? On my bench, of course, I chose to go with Brian Jordan, who hit .269/1/5/4. So, being a good manager and wanting to get the hot hand into my lineup, I put Beltran in, and took Jordan out. So, last week, Beltran hit .222 with zero homers, 2 RBI, and 2 runs scored, while in my lineup. Jordan, on the other hand, riding my bench, hit .440 with 3 homers, 9 RBI, and 5 runs. Oy! Sometimes you just cant win. My pitchers are all injured, so I have absolutely no choice about who should be in my active lineup because I have nobody on my bench who isnt on the disabled list or in the minors. My hitters, on the other hand, I have plenty of, and each week I have to make decisions about who should be in and who should be out. I inevitably choose incorrectly. Thats why Im in 6th place rather than 2nd. Want to blame someone for your poor performance in your roto league this year look the mirror.
And so, at the All-Star break, its a good time to take stock of your draft (and any trades you may have made this year) and see whether your problems are that you are a poor judge of talent or merely a poor manager.
The following players have excelled in the first half. This doesnt mean that you should run out and trade for them since second half performance doesnt necessarily equate to great second half performance. Ive given you my appraisal of whether I think its likely that theyll continue to excel. On the other hand, Ive also listed players who have had sub-par 1st halves, and my evaluation of whether you should go out and get them in anticipation of superior performance for the rest of the way. Of course, these are just my opinions. I thought Beltran would stay hot!
First Half Leaders
Using a simple formula for a 5-category roto league (runs + RBI + Home runs times 3 + Steals times 4 + batting average points above .275), here are the leading hitters over the first half:
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Player
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AB
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R
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H
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BA
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HR
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RBI
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SB
|
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Gonzalez, Luis
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330
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75
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117
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0.3545
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35
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86
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1
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349.5
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Walker, Larry
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297
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72
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102
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0.3434
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27
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83
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9
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340.4
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Berkman, Lance
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315
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72
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115
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0.3651
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25
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79
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4
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332.1
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Floyd, Cliff
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313
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73
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107
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0.3419
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21
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70
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12
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320.9
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Suzuki, Ichiro
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386
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76
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134
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0.3472
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5
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41
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28
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316.2
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Bonds, Barry
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259
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66
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79
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0.305
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39
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73
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7
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314
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Helton, Todd
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315
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80
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99
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0.3143
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26
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84
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4
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297.3
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Guerrero, Vladimir
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327
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63
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107
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0.3272
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21
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67
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12
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293.2
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Gonzalez, Juan
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308
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61
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107
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0.3474
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23
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83
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1
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289.4
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Sweeney, Mike
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342
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70
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114
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0.3333
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21
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65
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8
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288.3
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Alomar, Roberto
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310
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58
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111
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0.3581
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9
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52
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17
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288.1
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Ramirez, Manny
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328
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60
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110
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0.3354
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26
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84
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0
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282.4
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Klesko, Ryan
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313
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65
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93
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0.2971
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17
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75
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17
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281.1
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Abreu, Bobby
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315
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68
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89
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0.2825
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17
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62
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23
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280.5
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Sosa, Sammy
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298
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72
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93
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0.3121
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29
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83
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0
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279.1
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Rodriguez, Alex
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339
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74
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105
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0.3097
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25
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73
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5
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276.7
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Boone, Bret
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340
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65
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110
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0.3235
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22
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84
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2
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271.5
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Giles, Brian
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325
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64
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109
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0.3354
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21
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55
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6
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266.4
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Lawton, Matt
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317
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67
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103
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0.3249
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10
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50
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17
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264.9
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Alou, Moises
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287
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50
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104
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0.3624
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18
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65
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2
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264.4
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Jones, Chipper
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305
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67
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94
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0.3082
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25
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65
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5
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260.2
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Nevin, Phil
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297
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57
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92
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0.3098
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21
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72
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4
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242.8
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Cameron, Mike
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289
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59
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80
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0.2768
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15
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58
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18
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235.8
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Drew, J.D.
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218
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44
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72
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0.3303
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21
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49
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6
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235.3
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Williams, Bernie
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268
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58
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