Open Trading Period Trade Review - Part 1

COWHIDE receives:

Parker Bridwell LAA - P

A.J. Griffin Tex - P

MOOSE receives:

Johnny Cueto SF - P DL

Interesting. Not sure I wouldn’t prefer just DLing Cueto and sending Brian a few rounds for Bridwell, whose 3/3 in QS since being acquired. But Griffin is crap who occasionally gets away with disguising his mediocre offspeed repertoire for actual stuff. Even Bridwell is playing over his head, with a 4.83 xFIP and lucky .265 BABIP. The 5.6 K/9 and 1.9 BB/9 don’t instill much confidence. I realize Cueto hasn’t been great and is currently injured, but I don’t see the logic here.

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LOC receives:

Steven Souza Jr. TB - OF

Round 17

Round 18

S. NAPALM receives:

Ariel Miranda Sea - P

Round 9

Round 16

Considering the Padres got Wil Myers and the Nats got Trea Turner and Joe Ross in that December 2014 deal, there’s a lot of pressure of Souza to be much more valuable than the injury-prone occasional contributor he had become prior to the 2017 season.  For at least the 2017 season, the Rays look like the smart team in this trade as Souza is on pace to produce a 84/34/92/15/.356 year in his age 28 season.  This is huge, across-the-board production and would absolutely make him a keeper for 2018. That makes him well worth 10 rounds and probably five more.  But he must finish the season strong or he’s of no use to LOC in 2017 or 2018. If he stalls at his current numbers, the keeper outlook gets a lot more shady. At this point though, this was a quality addition to Chad’s squad, which needed a bit more speed and patience.

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LOC receives:

Danny Salazar Cle - P

MONTEZUMAS receives:

Robinson Canó Sea - 2B

This has to be the most intriguing dare trade of the season. Two contenders with differing needs do a straight up swap for two very different players.  Cano is a 34-year-old established star who has been kept every season for roughly the past decade. He’s on pace for 80/23/96/1/.331 and has struggled since the trade (still waiting his first HR in 19 games), but is likely to pick up the pace going forward and remain a keeper in 2018. Salazar, meanwhile, had an inconsistent start to the season as Montezuma’s top pick, striking out everybody but proving prone to fits of wildness and occasional blowups. Eventually he got demoted, injured, returned, then dominated the minors, and kept on rolling. He was electric in his five starts from July 22 – Aug 15, striking out 46 in 32 IP and letting up just 5 ER and 18 hits. Then came a 12-hit 6 ER game and a DL stint with a sore elbow, where he is currently residing.  Initial returns were looking mightily in favor of Chad, but Cano’s consistency could eventually win out. If Salazar is health though, there are few others who can sport that kind of stuff.

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KOG receives:

Dinelson Lamet SD - P

Yoán Moncada CWS - 2B,3B

Round 19

ONE NUT receives:

Ivan Nova Pit - P

Yoenis Céspedes NYM - OF

Round 11

This is the screwiest inadvertently potentially fair trade I have seen in this league. First, let’s establish Moncada’s value. Moncada is an odd mixture of Byron Buxton and Miguel Sano and not necessarily in a good way. The flaws are many at this point, as he has Kd nearly 40% of his 142 big league plate appearances and walked in a lovely 14% of them. Then 8% have been singles and 8% have been extrabase hits. And despite his incredible speed (111 sbs in 134 attempts in the minors), he’s 0 for 2 in the bigs. He will be 23 next May, but I expect him to still be in the minors. You don’t keep players in the minors, even if people threaten to keep them, they never do. Even as early picks, minor leaguers are risks – just ask Mr. Risk (Jason’s first four picks were Dahl, Price, Moncada, and Urias). A lot could change in the last month and he very well could stick in the bigs and even be productive. But that’s a big leap to give up what was essentially 20 rounds of players and picks (Cespedes =9, Nova =3, 19^th-11^th = 8). If I wanted to take the leap, I would’ve given up five for Moncada.

The screwy part of all this is Cespedes is out for the season and essentially an immovable dead spot, consuming the DL position unless Jason wants to drop him. I’m guessing that won’t happen since Cespedes will probably still be a keeper. Nova, meanwhile, has been in a downward spiral since before he was traded. In three starts since joining the Nuts, he’s delivered 16 K and a 7.42/1.82 and no QS in three starts. He could cut bait with Nova, but then he essentially eliminates his ability to gain any value out of this trade.

I liked most of what Dan did during his fire sale, but really hated this trade from a strategy standpoint.  That said, the negative value of Nova and Yoenis going forward will lessen the 8 round return Jason received and essentially make this an even deal. Go figure.

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MONTEZUMAS receives:

Ian Desmond Col - 1B,OF DL

Aroldis Chapman NYY - P

Round 19

Round 20

KOG receives:

Joc Pederson LAD - OF

Jonathan Villar Mil - 2B,3B,SS

Round 16

Round 18

What’s worse, dealing two keepers as throw-ins or refusing to give up hope until mid-August despite lots of data suggesting otherwise? I had such hope for Joc, but he’s never been the fulltime player the organization said they’d let him be. Villar was one of the most valuable players in our league last year given his onbase skills and position eligibility, but this year not so much. I digress.

Five rounds isn’t much for someone who is supposed to be the best closer in the game. He certainly has not been since the trade occurred though and Desmond has sat on the DL until this week. There is still potential to see a big return on those five rounds. The potential of a strong final month for Desmond and SS eligibility could ultimately make this a huge lopsided win for Montezumas, but that’s a longshot. If Desmond contributes and Chapman recovers, it should be a fair swap.

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KOG receives:

Ryon Healy Oak - 1B,3B

Aaron Hicks NYY - OF

David Robertson NYY - P

Ricky Nolasco LAA - P

Round 7

Round 9

COWHIDE receives:

Justin Turner LAD - 3B

Dellin Betances NYY - P

Taijuan Walker Ari - P

Round 21

Round 22

As much as I like Turner, this one is a bit lopsided in my mind. Dave gave up 27 rounds and both restricted picks to get what will likely amount to be no keepers in return. The centerpiece is Turner, who is 32, and –largely due to injuries—is on pace for 74/21/72/7/.419. At the time of the trade, his OBP was up past .450 I believe, which is huge value, but it was also not sustainable.  His production since joining LAD in 2014 equates to a full season line of 79/22/83/7/.361, which is damn good, but something short of a surefire keeper.  Walker has had a fine season, but isn’t a keeper either, more of an SP4-type. Betances is a very good RP, but there were a lot of those available. All this just limits the potential trade currency Dave will be able to recover. All told, I think Dave overshot by about 10 rounds, making it a big win for Dan.

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MONTEZUMAS receives:

Dee Gordon Mia - 2B

Zack Greinke Ari - P

Round 18

Round 19

S. NAPALM receives:

Ian Happ ChC - 2B,OF

José Berríos Min - P

Round 7

Round 12

Another big trade to start the open trading period. Considering only two first rounders were dealt last year, people came out ready to deal this year. Gibby gets the same picks that Dan received in the first blockbuster, but the pick differential was 10 rounds less and he gave up less players. While Gordon and Grienke are two surefire keepers for next year, Berrios and Happ will certainly warrant consideration themselves. After dominating AAA and big leaguers for the first three months of the season, Berrios has lost some of his consistency and is currently projected to finish with a 4.00/1.15 with 135 K in 145 IP. As a 23 year-old with as much pedigree as any other young SP, these are the types of seasons that often come before a dominant career. David Price’s 2009 age 23 season is a good example (4.42/1.35, 102 K in 128 IP). The numbers will require a bit of a leap of faith to keep, but the stuff is nasty and the control is on point – another key indicator. Meanwhile, predictably given the Cubs rotation of position playets, Happ hasn’t received the consistent playing time that he did when he was called up due to injuries. But he has stuck and will likely take over a fulltime role next year. When you consider his 162-game average of 82/35/88/13/.323 and factor in that he just turned 23 a couple weeks ago, it’s easy to project an even bigger breakout in 2018.

Montezumas gets the SP2 its needed all season and one of the few players that can dominate the SB category by themelves as the playoffs approach. However, if Montezumas fails to make the playoffs and ends up in 9^th, that could give Gibby the first pick in the draft nex t season. Big risk, but Grienke and Gordon are the types of difference makers that can flip a series easily.

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DONKEY receives:

Wade Davis ChC - P

Daniel Murphy Was - 1B,2B

Chris Taylor LAD - 2B,3B,SS,OF

Gerrit Cole Pit - P

Round 23

Round 24

KOG receives:

Elvis Andrus Tex - SS

Seung Hwan Oh StL - P

Ian Desmond Col - 1B,OF DL

Kyle Seager Sea - 3B

Round 7

Round 12

Chris Shannon has his eyes squarely on the prize and casts off some big names and 28 rounds, including his first rounder, for a big haul. Cole was a big get. His overall numbers aren’t overly impressive this season with a 3.99 ERA and only decent K rates, but he’s been a QS machine with 19 – good enough for fourth in the league. The ERA and QS implies a level of consistency that has been hard to come by this year. Daniel Murphy is also having another excellent year, contributing consistently to four categories from a key position. And Wade Davis is a big upgrade as the closer for one of the best teams.

It surprised me to see Chris supplant Andrus with Taylor since Andrus is having easily his best season yet and will be a keeper if his projected line of 100/19/83/28/338 holds true. It’s hard to argue with Taylor’s production though. He’s posted 18/5/14/3/.368 in 23 games for Chris and has ridiculous eligibility. Still not sure how he’s doing it considering his lack of pedigree and role player status for so long, but he too will warrant some keeper consideration if he keeps it up.

One of the keys to return for Dan is the return he received for Desmond, Oh, and Andrus, which amounted to another 9 rounds or so. Add in Seager’s stability as a keeper up until this season, and you’ve got a great return and a worthy blockbuster that kicked off the open trading period and should prove useful for both sides.

Pre-Open Trading Period Trade Reviews

LOC receives:

Paul DeJong StL - 2B,3B,SS

Round 20

MOOSE receives:

Matt Kemp Atl - OF DL

Round 14

               

I have to admit, I scoffed a bit at this deal after I saw it. He really just seemed like a flash in the pan type who would be forgotten shortly after people started to realize he was there. But he is 299 abs in, and I cannot in good conscious continue to ignore the production. His 162-game average amounts to 78/42/103/0/.328. That’s pretty freaking good from the SS position.  There’s all sorts of reasons to not expect that to happen, but there’s no reason to admonish Chad for getting 6 HR, 17 RBI and .355 in the 24 games he’s had him for a measly six rounds.

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THOR receives:

Dustin Pedroia Bos - 2B DL

Round 24

MOOSE receives:

Round 20

This one looked like a stroke of genius at the time as Thor got a red hot hitter with a history of run production and potential multi-category contributions. At four rounds, that’s remarkable. BUT… he got injured, recovered, and got injured again. Chris has seen 8 at bats. He didn’t give up much but he got very little.

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THOR receives:

Danny Duffy KC - P

Round 20

Round 22

S. NAPALM receives:

John Lackey ChC - P

Round 11

Round 18

The values of Gibby’s starters begin to line up:  Nelson for 14, Duffy for 13, Arrieta 10, Lynn for 7. It’s hard to peg down which might be a keeper, but if you consider them at the moment of the trade, the greatest likelihood was that none get kept and Gibby gets 44 rounds for four players.  Just like the other guys, Duffy has delivered for Shomphe, with 41 Ks in 26 IP and 3.96/1.18 (minor injury sent to DL recently, should miss the minimum). It’s a hefty price, but he probably represents the highest upside and was clearly the most compelling attainable asset.

While Gibby did a very good job selling off his pieces, you have to wonder where he’d be in the standings if these four players were still on his roster. It’s a tough call.

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S. NAPALM receives:

Amed Rosario NYM - SS

Pat Neshek Col - P

Vince Velasquez Phi - P DL

Round 11

DONKEY receives:

Raisel Iglesias Cin - P

Jake Arrieta ChC - P

Round 23

Gibby keeps selling useful chunks and grabs his highest pick yet for one of his biggest chips. For sure, this is not the Arrieta of 2015, but the modern version remains quite excellent.  He’s converted 5 of 6 starts to QS since the trade, Ked 38 in 38, and posted dominant 1.66/1.03 in the meantime. If this continues, this could be the best player-for-draft-pick value of the season. Aces don’t grow on trees and when Arrieta is on, there are few better. He has had stretches where you have no idea whether to start him or sit him because his performance is entirely based on health and delivery consistency. He’s 31 and  projects to fall short of the 200 K mark again, so keeperability is questionable. Rasiel is a very good reliever on a bad team, so it’s a decent upgrade and represents a couple rounds in the deal. When you factor that in, Arrieta for 10 is a steal.

On Napalm’s side, you have to mention Rosario because I know that was I target, but there’s very little reason to assign him much value in the deal. His walk rate was 5.4% in AAA and he has neither shown prolific speed or any sort of power to speak of. He’s got 4 jacks and 4 sbs in 26 games, which isn’t bad, but he’s K’ing nearly 30% of the time and walking 2%, resulting in a .271 OBP. He’s more of a potential real star than a potential fantasy star

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MONTEZUMAS receives:

Lance Lynn StL - P

Round 24 (traded from Brokeback Moundmen)

S. NAPALM receives:

Mike Montgomery ChC - P

Round 17

It’s really hard to value Lance Lynn. His WHIP is routinely below average and his underlying stats scream “AVERAGE” rather than SP2, but yet, his numbers often end up in the SP2-4 range. With the benefit of hindsight, we can Montezumas acquired 5 QS in 6 outings, with a lackluster 23 K in 36 IP and an inconsistent 3.75/1.33. Like I said, he’s not one that is easy to peg, but as he’s not being used as an SP2, he’s easily worth 7 rounds in the SP-starved market that was prior to the open trading period.

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S. NAPALM receives:

Matt Garza Mil - P

Stephen Piscotty StL - OF NA

Round 13

ANGRY receives:

Jay Bruce Cle - 1B,OF

Round 21

Kyle takes the next bite off the Napalm corpse, but gives up an awful low for a guy with notorious cold streaks, potential for sub.290 OBP, and who had slowed down a bit since his hot start. But the trade to CLE was a big boost to the counting stats and gives him even greater potential as a bigtime thumper going forward. He’s on pace for 96/42/113/1/.330 if he can keep it up. It’s hard to imagine those numbers not being worthy of keeping, but Bruce isn’t young and the areas he contributes are the same areas that many have excelled at. I think he probably could’ve gone for a little less due to past issues, but there is no argument as to whether he has been worth the price.  On a sidenote, what a slide for Piscotty, who went from 6^th overall pick this year to a castoff throw-in.

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MONTEZUMAS receives:

Roberto Osuna Tor - P

Jimmy Nelson Mil - P

Round 23

Round 24

S. NAPALM receives:

Dinelson Lamet SD - P

Matt Bush Tex - P

Round 14 (traded from Anal Hershiser)

Round 16

Gibby calls it a season despite sitting in sixth place. While it’s a difficult call, it sure makes for a more interesting runup to the trade deadline. Jimmy has had a dominant, unJimmy-like season. The only reason he’s available is this is not the Jimmy we’ve seen before. Jimmy likes to give up homers and routinely get lit up by Padres then dominate a Cubs lineup. Jimmy is different this year. Jimmy adjusted his repertoire and built confidence in his secondary stuff. Jimmy is on pace for 225 Ks and a 3.72/1.26. Jimmy looks like an ace. Given the lackluster pre-open trading market at the moment, Adam was happy to add Jimmy and call the vultures over to pick away at the ample corpse Gibby represented. With the top closer at the moment, 17 rounds seemed like a fair price to pay, but there is potential  keeper appeal that has solidified since the trade and could make this a big win for Adam.

Week 20 Real Rankings

NOTES

Should be a pretty suspenseful last week as teams start jockeying for position in the playoffs. No positions are truly settled and even the top ranking and 25% of the pot is up for grabs, with the cooled down Donkey Punchers going against a revitalized One Nut wonders.   Chris Shannon has a two game lead over The Angry Pirates and a six game lead over Livin On Correa, who just happen to play eachother.

If Donkey gets a big win and maintains first, AP and LOC will be fighting for second place and $100.

While they haven't clinched, Cowhide and Anal are locks for two of the positions - leaving four teams fighting for three spots. Thor has a 1.5 game lead over the Ring, Montezumas, One Nut clusterfuck in the 7-9 spots. One of those teams will not be going to the playoffs. One Nut and Ring both match up against playoff teams, but Montezumas plays a Stroman team that has played very well down the stretch. Small decisions will make or break teams.

In case you're wondering who the three hottest teams over the past four weeks were, well, they're none other than the three teams currently jockeying for the 7-9 spots. This has been quite the back and forth over the past few weeks.

One of the teams has been quite a bit better than the rest of the field, having placed 1st, 5th, 3rd, and 2nd the past four weeks yet only garnering a record of 22-18 over that time frame. NOT THAT THE TEAM IS FREAKING BITTER OR ANYTHING

1	Montezuma's Revenge	5.53
2	Ring of Fire	6.00
3	One Nut Wonders	6.03
4	Stroman my Cobb Odor	6.05
5	Donkey Punchers	6.58
6	Cowhide Joyride	6.80
7	The Angry Pirates	7.03
8	Livin' on a Correa	7.18
9	Thor's Hammered	7.25
10	Sexual Napalm	7.30
11	Anal Hershiser	7.43
12	Keep Off Groin	8.05
13	Brokeback Moundmen	9.40
14	Moose is Loose!	9.45

The loser of Montezumas/Ring/One Nut gets the first pick in the draft -- unless it's Montezumas, in which case Gibby could potentially have the first and second pick in next year's draft. In which case, we all lose because I'm going to whine all offseason.

Haven't done a top 25 over the past 30 for a while. A few very interesting names, including two players swapped one for one in a seemingly meaningless deadline deal (Hoskins for Castillo)

1	Giancarlo Stanton Mia - OF	Cowhide Joyride
2	Charlie Blackmon Col - OF	Stroman my Cobb Odor
3	Josh Donaldson Tor - 3B	One Nut Wonders
4	Eugenio Suárez Cin - 3B	The Angry Pirates
5	Joey Votto Cin - 1B	Ring of Fire
6	Mike Trout LAA - OF	Montezuma's Revenge
7	Byron Buxton Min - OF	Sexual Napalm
8	Corey Kluber Cle - P	Donkey Punchers
9	Brian Dozier Min - 2B	Montezuma's Revenge
10	Nelson Cruz Sea - OF	One Nut Wonders
11	Justin Upton Det - OF	Thor's Hammered
12	Justin Verlander Det - P	The Angry Pirates
13	Gary Sánchez NYY - C	Keep Off Groin
14	Manny Machado Bal - 3B,SS	Sexual Napalm
15	Gio González Was - P	Thor's Hammered
16	Paul Goldschmidt Ari - 1B	Ring of Fire
17	Anthony Rizzo ChC - 1B,2B	Brokeback Moundmen
18	Alex Bregman Hou - 3B,SS	Stroman my Cobb Odor
19	Rhys Hoskins Phi - 1B,OF	Brokeback Moundmen
20	Marcell Ozuna Mia - OF	Livin' on a Correa
21	Luis Castillo Cin - P	Montezuma's Revenge
22	Madison Bumgarner SF - P	The Angry Pirates
23	Curtis Granderson LAD - OF	Sexual Napalm
24	Andrew Benintendi Bos - OF	Thor's Hammered
25	Kris Bryant ChC - 1B,3B,OF	Ring of Fire

We have three teams that have used all of their transactions and two that are within a couple moves. Remarkably, the first place team has used practically as many as LOC and Montezumas did before the season started (14). Donkey is as deserving team to finish first as there may ever be.

I'll be interested to see how the league wants to handle the transaction limit in the offseason. There doesn't appear to be a correlation between success and active management. We've had successful teams employ both methods.  The limit is really designed to remove the ability to stream pitchers and even hitters. Maybe we want to allow it and give teams the option to pickup six pitchers on a Sunday with the goal of swinging Ks and QSs at the (potential) expense of rates? Maybe we want to do a simple expansion to 75, or maybe we want to keep it where it is. Right now, unfortunately, several teams are locked up, so if a player gets hurt and there is no backup - that team loses the position for the week. While the harm is worthwhile punishment for the team that exceeded the limit, the big injustice is lessening that team's ability to compete and potentially swaying matchups that could impact the playoffs.

Only Dagan, Shomphe, and Brian left to pay dues. Jeff has the $10 fine. Please pay by the end of the week so I can have everything ready for payouts at the end of the season.

Sorry for the trade review delays. There has been quite the confluence of events in the last few weeks, not least of which was the busiest week of the year at work, my wife's 50th birthday celebration, a long-scheduled vacation, and my sister's wedding, which I officiated. I'll have them done in the next couple days.

Week 19 Real Rankings

Week 18 Real Rankings

NOTES

Congratulations on your participation in the most eventful trade deadline in league history.  The action was nonstop Sunday night, with a total of 13 trades executed in the single day. In total, there were 27 trades during the open trading period -- also a new record. While it is mostly a biproduct of a process designed to control early selling, the open trading period has turned into one of the more exciting two weeks of the year.

With that, the Real Rankings are essentially useless! Really though, the performance of the team from week 3 is meaningless when trying to assess current teams. There were some massive changes to rosters and draftboard. While there appeared to be little interest in trading first rounders last year, four of them went to new owners this year, including Dan, who now has two.

One thing that is noteworthy is that even though there's some clear discrepencies between the Real Rankings and Actual Standings, the top 8 in the RR has the same constituents as the Actual. So that's something.

While the top teams jockey for position, it's time for the sellers to look back at all they've accomplished. Below is the updated draft scores, which changed at the very last minute as Moose send Khris Davis packing for a first rounder. It's interesting how many avenues there are to get toa great draft score. Napalm is evenly distributed in the first nine rounds while Watson's early work leaves him lacking in the first four rounds, but will be done drafting after the 14th as it currently stands. Mewanhile, Dan has three first rounders! Five teams with scores of 120+ is pretty crazy, though that will adjust with offseason trades.


There's 25% of the pot on the line for first place with three weeks and 30 "games" to go. Angry is sitting a game out of first, with Donkey sitting atop. Anal and LOC aren't far behind at 5 and 5.5 games, respectively.

Montezumas and Ring have an important matchup this week as they sit in 7th and 8th, respectively. Dagan is tied with Gibby, whose firesale has him about where he would like him. One Nut is surging though, with a big win over the Revenge and the third best real ranking over the last three. Jason is only two games away from Dagan/Gibby. Stroman is six games away, a very reasonable distance. The bottom line is at least of team out of Montezumas, Ring, One Nut, or Thor -- who were either a buy or non-seller -- will not be going to the playoffs. Potentially more if Stroman and Napalm can compete.

Still need money from Dave, Dan, Brian, Justin, Dagan, Shomphe - let's get this out of the way guys. I like to pay out as soon as possible once the playoffs end.

I'm trying to keep up with the trade reviews. Will try to have them wrapped up in the next few days.

And I reminder for teams that just sold off - you need to maintain a competitive roster throughout the remainder of the season. There is plenty of incentive for you to do this because your draft position improves based on how well you do. So keep it up.

Week 17 Real Rankings

NOTES

We're going to start off the notes this week with a bit more of a sense of urgency. I know a bunch of you will start tuning out after Sunday, so please pay if you haven't yet. I'll be contacting you individually if I don't hear soon: Kyle ($130), Dan ($115), Brian, Dagan, Dave, Shomphe, Justin ($100 each) all still owe. Paypal is adrok71@yahoo.com. Checks are fine too.

On that note, do not tune out. I will fine owners for missed lineups after the trading deadline. It disrupts the legitimacy of the league when you even miss one day, so stick with it or the fines will be coming. If it becomes a big problem, you won't be invited back.

And on that note, please help me police this. It is for the good of the league. Just send me a text or email and it will remain anonymous.

Donkey, Livin on Correa and Cowhide have used all of their protected picks and Montezumas has one left. That still leaves a bunch of playoff teams who have yet to use this valuable tool. It's already been a very exciting first week, so let's keep it up. 11 trades so in the first week!

With four weeks to go, the playoff picture is getting interesting. Look no further than the top 4 for the last four weeks to see what I'm talking about:

1	Donkey Punchers	5.85
2	One Nut Wonders	6.13
3	Stroman my Cobb Odor	6.25
4	Montezuma's Revenge	6.28
5	Anal Hershiser	6.73
6	Thor's Hammered	6.85
7	The Angry Pirates	6.88
8	Sexual Napalm	6.90
9	Cowhide Joyride	7.48
10	Ring of Fire	7.50
11	Keep Off Groin	7.75
12	Brokeback Moundmen	7.93
13	Livin' on a Correa	8.40
14	Moose is Loose!	9.38

Yes that is: (1) Donkey's dominance sliding a bit, (2) the once lowly One Nut taking an identity as a winner, (3) a nearly fully divested Stroman my Cobb crushing skulls, (4) the once mighty Livin on Correa near the rear, well behind the midseason plunger Brokeback, (5) multi-champion Ring of Fire, the one-time clear leader and thoroughly unlucky manager, coming back to the reality of the actual standings.

I tried to create some remaining scheduling difficulty ranks, but it was honestly very difficult to decide on the metric to judge teams by. Is the last four weeks to small of a sample? Is the winning % even a useful stat given the roster turnover? I settled on opponents average Real Ranking for past six weeks.

1	Donkey Punchers	7.61
2	Sexual Napalm	7.54
3	Brokeback Moundmen	7.53
4	Angry Pirates	7.52
5	Ring of Fire	7.26
6	Thors Hammered	7.20
6	Stroman my Cobb	7.20
8	Cowhide Joyride	7.05
9	Montezumas	7.00
10	Moose is Loose	6.89
11	Anal Hershiser	6.87
12	Livin on Correa	6.86
13	Keep Off Groin	6.82
14	One Nut	6.57

Donkey has a tough matchup with Cowhide (#5) before ending with Anal (#10), Moose (#14), and One Nut (#8).  Meanwhile, One Nut has to deal with the aforementioned Donkey (#1), Montezumas (#2), and Cowhide (#5) mixed in with perhaps some reprieve from Brokeback (#13).  Though given their past dustups, wouldn't be surprised to see Watson try to make Jason's life miserable that week.  So while it appears the rich get richer, poor Jason will have to continue his uphill battle.

Eight teams make the playoffs, which is more than half the league. But part of the reason we do that is to make things interesting this time of year - sell or buy or sit?

Another big thing to look out for is the fight for ninth and the first overall pick in next year's draft! We decided to select the draft order based on best standing among non-playoff teams in an effort to incentivize teams to continue to compete for wins, free agents, and waiver pickups.  A few wins can make the difference between you selecting Jacob DeGrom with the (real) first overall or Stephen Piscotty at six overall. Don't give up!