Congratulations Chad!

Congratulations to Chad and his Tomahawk Chops! In only his second season, Chad rebounded from a challenging draft board by making some key moves in the offseason that propelled him to a successful second year and his first High & Tight championship! Who would've thought moving on from a universally renowned young keepers like Carlos Correa, Carlos Martinez, and Cody Bellinger would be such a key move, but it got him Freddie Freeman, Noah Syndergaard, and Alex Bregman. The trade from Marcell Ozuna to get Ronald Acuna was equally ballsy and brilliant. 

Drafting guys like Ozzie Albies, Matt Olson, Charlie Morton, Josh Hader were key, while Mazara and Polanco were big contributors for periods. The trades to perfect the roster were perhaps the most important -- Ryu for two rounds, Wheeler for six, Verlander/Cruz for Vlad Jr and 12 rounds, Hicks for seven. Chad's commitment to always upgrading his roster made all the difference. Championships are hard work -- so congrats Chad! 

Payouts: 
Championship: Chad $622.50 
2nd Place: Chris $311.25 
Reg. Season Champ: Kyle $311.25 
Reg. Season Runner-Up: Chad $100 

For those who have not paid dues yet, please do so in the next week so I can pay these deserving winners. 

And thank you again for all your time and contributions to the league, Dan. You will be missed! We will also need to find a replacement for next season, so please keep an ear out this offseason. 

As far as the league goes, I think we're in a good place in terms of rules and structure, but please feel free to propose anything you think would help the league. Clearly we're all getting older and have less time to dedicate to this, but I hope, like me, you continue to see this as a worthwhile distraction that is fun and a great way to stay up to date with the game we all love. 

With that, the open offseason trading period has begun! I need draft picks! 

Adam

Week 21 & Final Real Rankings

NOTES

The playoffs have started! Reminder that ALL teams are limited to 3 pickups per week. This resets on Sundays at midnight throughout the playoffs.

Congratulations to Kyle Baker on his regular season championship! He will take home 25% of the pot and Chad will get $100 for coming in second place. Congratulations also to Brian for sneaking into the playoffs despite being an active seller at the deadline and deflecting a strong push from Watson to hold him back.

Though he did not make the playoffs, Dagan will have the first pick in next years draft, which isn't a bad consolation prize. Jed and Dave tied for the worst record, so I guess we'll split the difference for the worst record penalty.

For those who didn't make the playoffs, thanks for another great season. Open trading will begin immediately after the championship. Keep in mind we need at least one new owner, so get the word out if you know of anyone who would be a strong addition.

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Going into the playoffs, Chad and the Chops are easily the hottest team, averaging 4.2 RR the past four weeks. The upstart Moose, One Nut, Pirates, and Napalm are all lumped into a group in the 5.45-5.65 range. Meanwhile, KOG and Thor are above 7 and the plummeting Montezuma’s Revenge (8.2) are 10^th in RR over the past four weeks and going against the hot chops. But this is the playoffs and all it takes is a good week and a couple hot players to push teams to the championship.  Could the hottest team lost to the coldest team?  Could Moose’s Cinderella story continue with an upset over the regular season champ? Can Jason make a run at his 4^th championship in 7 years – and unprecedented 5^th total? Who will win the battle between the struggling KOG/Thor battle? It will be an exciting week!