The end of the regular season can be bitter sweet. Yes the pursuit of a championship is what it's all about but gone are the days of circling the calender for upcoming game against arch rivals and no longer is Smacktalk a true part of the games. The playoffs are more buttoned down and all business it's not the place for casual owners to succeed. Been busy with work, tough it's time to call off if necessary. No longer is "didn't have the time" a good enough reason to dismiss your team. Week 24 doesn't come if 23 doesn't end with a W. It's win now or the Consolation Tournament awaits, I liken the Consolation Bracket to the Aristocrat yes it may be sex but it's not a path I would prefer to take.
At the start of the week three spots remained and four teams were considered contenders. The longshots were the 41129ers who needed a double digit win at the minimum and a decisive loss by the BCFP. H&D squared off with the ORC in what would be an elimination game. And the BCFP and Barboursville Stars simply just needed to be average to obtain a playoff spot. It wasn't to be for the 41129ers as those damn Rubber Duckies once again played giant killers beating the 41129ers 6-5. As a person who has lost to the Duckies this season nothing is more frustrating than falling to a squad who hasn't put in any effort. Even had the 41129ers won 10-2 it wouldn't have been enough as the BCFP split their Civil War with GRC3 6-6 and the B'Ville Stars managed a 5-5 split with Los Vonderheides. For the final spot it was Hell and Damnation who managed a 6-6 split with the ORC to maintain their 6th place in the standings and one game edge over the Carp. Hell and Damnation had a good lead come Sunday's action but many of the categories were close. H&D was able to maintain their lead in Runs but a implosion by their pitching staff on Sunday allowed the Carp to cut it to 6-6. Heading into Sunday Night baseball H&D had a 11-10 lead in HR's. The Carp had Pat Burrell and Andres Torres left while H&D had only Theriot to rely on. Burrell and Torres failed to earn a tie and thus H&D clinched their first playoff berth. Just to show how little separation exist between H&D and the ORC, had ORC hit a HR and won the game 6-5 they would have had a Winning % of .508 compared to H&D's .507.
Game Recap
BCFP 6 vs. Argumentative 9irons 6. Back and forth matchup all week 3-3 split on both offense and pitching.
MVP- Hiroki Kuroda 2QS 15K 1.72 .77 8.62
Weekly Highs- Runs 53 BCFP, RBI 53 9irons, SB 12 9irons, K 81 9irons
Weekly Lows- QS 4 BCFP
BC Dingers 8 vs. Hendo Colonels 4. The Dingers get a win before a week of relaxation. The Colonels second half of misery continues 10 losses in 12 games.
MVP- Jonathan Sanchez 2QS 15K .60ERA .73WHIP 9.00
Weekly Highs- QS 7 Colonels
Weekly Lows- ERA 4.75 Dingers, QS 4 Dingers
Ohio River Carp 6 vs. Hell and Damnation 6. The matchup of the week had everything you could want in a fantasy matchup. It will be a long offseason for the Carp.
MVP- Brandon Lyon 4SV 4K 0.00ERA 1.00WHIP 9.00K/9
Weekly Highs- SV 10 H&D
Weekly Lows- SB 1 Carp, QS 4 Carp
Los Vonderheides 5 vs. Barboursville Stars 5. It didn't look pretty but both accomplished their goals heading into the game. The Stars wanted a playoff spot while the Vondies wanted no part of the cellar.
MVP- Curtis Granderson .308/3/5/7/1.088
Weekly Highs- NA
Weekly Lows- Runs 31 Vondies, HR 4 Vondies, AVG .197* Stars, OPS .625 Stars, SV 0 Stars and Vondies, K 28 Vondies, WHIP 1.55 Stars, K/9 5.64 Vondies, QS 4 Stars and Vondies.
Prestige Worldwide 10 vs. Tude Smackers 2. PW ends the season with back to back beatdowns off his two biggest rivals and could be the hottest team heading into the playoffs. The Smackers are finally able to close shop and look toward next season and other loopholes.
MVP- Felix Hernandez 2QS 17K 0.00ERA .73WHIP 10.20K/9
Weekly Highs- AVG .319 PW, OPS .901 PW, WHIP .87 PW, K/9 9.70, QS 7 PW, HR 13 Smackers
Weekly Lows- SB 1 Smackers
Rubber Duckies 6 vs. LeMaestros 41129ers 5. I am more saddened by Butch's failure to make the Playoff then my own failure two seasons ago. Butch has put so much into this season and I am confident this setback will make him not only a better Fantasy owner but a better man in the process. I will let the Duckies know their season is over.
MVP- Jair Jurrgens 1QS 15K 2.13ERA 1.42WHIP 10.66K/9
Weekly Highs- ERA 1.80 Duckies
Weekly Lows- RBI 30 41129ers, QS 4 Duckies
Pick Up of the Week
BC Dingers Hong-Chih Kuo. The year long implosion of Jonathan Broxton as Closer is over according to Torre. Kuo figures to be the favorite to close the majority of games.
Head Scratcher of the Week
It's week 22 so kind of hard to be critical of any move. All transactions were streaming related for the most part. Since I have to give the award out to someone how about a Co-Award to two owners I have hammered all season the 9irons and Stars. I don't see a scenario of any kind where you drop Jhoulys Chacin or Ian Kennedy for a pathetic overweight Livan Hernandez you deserved the 16+ ERA from him. For the Stars $40 for a MRP in Chapman seems a little excessive but your looking at a guy who spent 60 or more on a .230 hitter in Stanton so go figure.
64/60 at the NFBC
Once again we are at the top of the leaderboard at weeks end. We have moved back into the top 30 in the overall as well. Statistically we are looking really solid with good positioning and growth potential in all stats with the exception of Saves.
Playoff Preview
BC Dingers and Prestige Worldwide first Rd Bye
BCFP vs. Barboursville Stars. Meet two times in the regular season and split the series 1-1. The BCFP have a 13-11 advantage in terms of categories. BCFP needs it's offense to avoid it's recent struggles and get 4 stats. The Stars need it's pitching to be strong and win 4 stats.
Hell and Damnation vs. 9irons. Also faced off two times with a 1-1 split with the 9irons have a 14-9 edge. Both offenses have struggled at times while pitching has been the two of the leagues best. The edge in pitching will likely determine the winner.
POWER RANKING
1. BCFP 107.5 58O 49.5P
2. Prestige Worldwide 99.5 61O 38.5P
3. BC Dingers 93 59O 34P
4. Ohio River Carp 92.5 40.5O 52P
5. Argumentative 9irons 90.5 36O 54.5P
6. Hell and Damnation 89.5 40O 49.5P
7. Barboursville Stars 73 28O 45P
8. LeMaestro's 41129ers 67 37.5O 29.5P
9. Tude Smackers 65.5 29.5O 36P
10. Hendo Colonels 59.5 30O 29.5P
11. Rubber Duckies 51 33O 18P
12. Los Vonderheides 47.5 15.5O 32P
* Every year the Power Rankings get blasted in terms of it's relevance but as you can see it looks much like the final standings. Looks as though the Carp was this years big loser while the Stars are this years overachievers.
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