FBLG 2015 Position Leaders

What picture to use for this post? Why, Pedro Alvarez trying to play defense, of course!

Which FBLG teams got the most from each position this year? Here's how it breaks down. The players discussed in the analysis didn't necessarily score all the points at that spot for the team but were at least the main contributors.

First base

1. Soler Eclipse 478 (18.38 per week)
2. Chateau Marmol 426 (16.38)
3. Retire 21 404 (15.54)
4. Arbitration Losers 372 (14.31)
5. Already Zaun 367 (14.12)
6. Rookies 328 (12.62)
7. Fresh Fish 324 (12.46)
8. Misfits 312 (12.35)
9. The Bryce is Right 318 (12.23)
10. Pitch You Blockhead 274 (10.54)

Analysis: To the surprise of no one, Paul Goldschmidt (SE) and Anthony Rizzo (CM) led the charge here. Joey Votto's (R21) amazing second half propelled him into third place. Injuries led to disappointing years from Lucas Duda (Bryce) and Freddie Freeman (FF). Being crappy led to a disappointing year from Pedro Alvarez (Misfits, Bryce), who it must be noted finished with 27 homers and 23 errors as a first baseman. TWENTY-THREE ERRORS.

Second base

1. Retire 21 431 (16.58)
2. The Bryce is Right 365 (14.04)
3. Rookies 356 (13.69)
4. Fresh Fish 354 (13.62)
5. Arbitration Losers 327 (12.58)
6. Chateau Marmol 320 (12.31)
7. Misfits 285 (10.96)
8. Already Zaun 285 (10.96)
9. Pitch You Blockhead 283 (10.88)
10. Soler Eclipse 230 (8.85)

Analysis: Anyone who guessed that Dee Gordon (R21), Matt Duffy (Bryce) and D. J. LeMahieu (Rookies) would lead the way here is some sort of deranged genius. (Like Joe Maddon.) Meanwhile, established players like Kolten Wong (PYB), Neil Walker (CM, AZ), Daniel Murphy (Misfits) and Howie Kendrick (AL) struggled or were injured or both. Brandon Phillips (FF) had a nice bounce-back year. This position promises to be a crapshoot for the 2016 draft.

Shortstop

1. Already Zaun 339 (13.04)
2. Retire 21 313 (12.04)
3. Arbitration Losers 310 (11.92)
4. Rookies 297 (11.42)
5. Chateau Marmol 287 (11.04)
6. Soler Eclipse 268 (10.31)
7. Fresh Fish 259 (9.96)
8. The Bryce is Right 253 (9.73)
9. Misfits 252 (9.69)
10. Pitch You Blockhead 251 (9.65)

Analysis: You'd think the AZ owners would be thrilled to lead at this spot, but they expected more from first-round pick Troy Tulowitzki, especially given that he was healthy enough to play 130 games. Jung-ho Kang (R21) was a revelation in his first year in the majors, while Freddy Galvis (Rookies) and Brandon Crawford (CM) gave their teams an unexpected boost. Youngsters Wilmer Flores (PYB) and Chris Owings (Bryce) disappointed.

Third base

1. Pitch You Blockhead 459 (17.65)
2. Already Zaun 393 (15.12)
3. Chateau Marmol 378 (14.54)
4. The Bryce is Right 374 (14.38)
5. Fresh Fish 374 (14.38)
6. Rookies 300 (11.54)
7. Retire 21 296 (11.38)
8. Arbitration Losers 276 (10.62)
9. Misfits 270 (10.38)
10. Soler Eclipse 208 (8.00)

Analysis: Welcome to superstardom, Nolan Arenado (PYB)! 42 bombs and 42 doubles made him one of the league's best hitters. Matt Carpenter (AZ) hit more homers this year (28) than he had in his career entering the season (25) and also led the league with 44 doubles. Kris Bryant (CM) showed why he would have been a top pick this year had he been eligible. On the other end of the spectrum, injuries slowed Anthony Rendon (AL) and David Wright (FF), but at least Rick got an out-of-nowhere star turn from Yunel Escobar.

Catcher

1. Arbitration Losers 405 (15.58)
2. Soler Eclipse 322 (12.38)
3. Retire 21 309 (11.88)
4. Pitch You Blockhead 293 (11.27)
5. Rookies 277 (10.65)
6. Fresh Fish 272 (10.46)
7. The Bryce is Right 250 (9.62)
8. Already Zaun 242 (9.31)
9. Chateau Marmol 221 (8.50)
10. Misfits 212 (8.15)

Analysis: Buster Posey (AL) was his usual stellar self, driving in nearly 100 runs and posting a 135 OPS+ to run away with the points crown at this spot. Derek Norris (SE) got off to a torrid start but crashed late, still managing 50 extra-base hits, 62 RBIs and throwing out an amazing 44 runners (out of 126 attempts which, wow) to take the second slot. The Nick Hundley/Travis d'Arnaud combo platter overachieved for Retire 21, while injuries/struggles hampered Devin Mesoraco (Misfits), Yasmani Grandal (CM) and Wilson Ramos (Bryce).

Outfield

1. Misfits 1231 (47.35)
2. The Bryce is Right 1156 (44.46)
3. Retire 21 1122 (43.15)
4. Chateau Marmol 1111 (42.73)
5. Rookies 1084 (41.69)
6. Already Zaun 1063 (40.88)
7. Arbitration Losers 1037 (39.88)
8. Soler Eclipse 961 (36.96)
9. Fresh Fish 951 (36.58)
10. Pitch You Blockhead 884 (34.00)

Analysis: The Misfits' amazing outfield play is even more impressive when you consider Reid's top pick (Giancarlo Stanton) missed a huge chunk of the season after racking up 27 homers in 74 games. A quietly great season by Matt Kemp combined with strong performances from Curtis Granderson and late-season pickup Yoenis Cespedes kept the Misfits from missing a beat. Bill used his top two picks on outfielders, getting one huge hit (Bryce Harper) and one huge miss (Yasiel Puig). That's what you get for not naming your team after the volatile Cuban. A pair of young Pirates (Starling Marte and Gregory Polanco) sandwiched around the good Upton brother to lead Retire 21's outfield. Pitch You Blockhead dealt with injuries to top pick Carlos Gomez and Nori Aoki, a huge slump by Joc Pederson and major struggles by former slugger Mark Trumbo. Ditto Soler Eclipse, which saw Matt Holliday and Jorge Soler miss major time with injuries and Nick Markakis forget how to hit the ball out of the park. (3 homers in 612 at-bats? Who are you, Ben Revere?) Already Zaun actually led in outfielder points around the all-star break, but lost Wil Myers and Hunter Pence for most of the second half and dealt with Ryan Braun's limp wrist for much of the season.

Starting pitching

1. Already Zaun 1667 (64.12)
2. Pitch You Blockhead 1644 (63.23)
3. Retire 21 1580 (60.77)
4. Arbitration Losers 1452 (55.85)
5. Soler Eclipse 1389 (53.42)
6. Misfits 1371 (52.73)
7. Chateau Marmol 1326 (51.00)
8. Rookies 1198 (46.08)
9. The Bryce is Right 1169 (44.96
10. Fresh Fish 1097 (42.19)

Analysis: AZ pitching coach Deka spun his usual gem, nabbing ace Jake Arrieta in the fourth round and supplementing him with young Cardinal aces Michael Wacha and Carlos Martinez, in addition to the maddeningly inconsistent Tyson Ross. All told, the Zaunies pitching kept the team together while the offense went in fits and starts. PYB built a similarly awesome staff anchored by Zach Greinke and aided by James Shields, A.J. Burnett, Jason Hammel and Lance Lynn, And Retire 21 was anchored by Clayton Kershaw (noticing a trend developing here) and young phenom Jacob deGrom, with a cameo appearance by Jose Fernandez and contributions from Aaron Harang and Charlie Morton. The Arbitration Losers drafted weirdo left-handers (redundancy) Madison Bumgarner and Jon Lester with their first two picks and added Noah Syndergaard midseason. In most years, that would get you in the top three here, which shows just how great Kershaw, Greinke and Arrieta were. At the other end of the spectrum, Rick drafted Johnny Cueto and Stephen Strasburg early, only to watch them both struggle and/or get hurt. Dan Haren and Ryan Vogelsong weren't much help and Henderson Alvarez (as with most of Rick's players) spent a chunk of time on the DL. Bill had young ace Gerrit Cole but couldn't ever build any depth around him, meaning that 37 percent of The Bryce is Right's starting pitching points came from one guy. And the Rookies picked the wrong season to build a rotation around Jordan Zimmermann, Ian Kennedy, Shelby Miller and Gio Gonzalez.

Relief pitching

1. The Bryce is Right 280 (10.77)
2. Already Zaun 279 (10.73)
3. Soler Eclipse 278 (10.69)
4. Arbitration Losers 277 (10.65)
5. Misfits 267 (10.27)
6. Pitch You Blockhead 260 (10.00)
7. Retire 21 235 (9.04)
8. Rookies 235 (9.04)
9. Fresh Fish 216 (8.31)
10. Chateau Marmol 143 (5.50)

Analysis: This is truly incredible: one point apiece separating slots 1 through 4 on this list. Mark Melancon (Bryce), Aroldis Chapman (SE), Trevor Rosenthal (AL), Kenley Jansen (Misfits) and Craig Kimbrel (PYB) aren't surprising to see atop this list. The sleeper here is Jeurys Familia (AZ) at No. 2. The Zaunies added Familia after first drafting Joaquin Benoit the day before the Padres traded for Kimbrel (oops), then adding Jennry Mejia the day before he got hurt warming up on Opening Day (double oops) and then got suspended for 80 games (triple oops) and then for a year (quadruple oops) for generally being an idiot. In stepped Familia for both the Mets and AZ, racking up 43 saves and 86 strikeouts. At the bottom of the list we find poor Chateau Marmol, which drafted Steve Cishek just before he forgot to get anyone out, then added Jonathan "El Choke-O" Papelbon, who was fine but didn't get many chances in Philly and then took the last week of the season off to, uh, go fishing. 5 points per week from a reliever is literally one inning, one strikeout and one save per week. Rumors are already swirling that Matt will draft a closer in the 2nd round next year.

Average finish by position

1. Retire 21: 3.625
2. Already Zaun: 4.125
3. Arbitration Losers: 4.5
4. The Bryce is Right: 5.25
5. Soler Eclipse: 5.625
6. Rookies: 5.625
7. Chateau Marmol: 5.75
8. Pitch You Blockhead: 6.5
9. Misfits: 6.875
10. Fresh Fish: 7.125

FBLG 2015 Season Leaders

These two Diamondbacks were the FBLG's leading hitters this season.

Batting

1. Paul Goldschmidt (SE) 478
2. A.J. Pollock (CM) 474
3. Nolan Arenado (PYB) 459
4. Bryce Harper (Bryce) 458
5. Anthony Rizzo (CM) 426
6. Andrew McCutchen (Rookies) 416
7. Dee Gordon (R21) 408
8. Buster Posey (AL) 406
9. Joey Votto (R21) 404
10. Matt Kemp (Misfits) 401

It was a pitching year for the ages in the National League, and it was a good idea to own one of these three.

Starting pitching

1. Clayton Kershaw (R21) 551
2. Jake Arrieta (AZ) 539
3. Zack Greinke (PYB) 495
4. Max Scherzer (CM) 494
5. Madison Bumgarner (AL) 485
6. Gerrit Cole (Bryce) 424
7. Jacob deGrom (R21) 395
8. James Shields (PYB) 375
9. Francisco Liriano (SE) 362
10. Jon Lester (AL) 358

From an undrafted setup man to the league's second-leading closer, it was quite a season for Jeurys "Happy" Familia.

Relief pitching

1. Mark Melancon (Bryce) 280
2. Jeurys Familia (AZ) 279
3. Aroldis Chapman (SE) 278
4. Trevor Rosenthal (AL) 277
5. Craig Kimbrel (PYB) 260

2015 Season Wrapup

Not sure why Ray's face is so grumpy on this trophy, but whatever.

Another congratulations to Ray and Retire 21, sweeping the head-to-head and overall points titles in his first year in the league. Just amazingly impressive.

Here's how the season finished:

1. Retire 21 (4690)
2. Already Zaun (4637)
3. Arbitration Losers (4465)
4. Pitch You Blockhead (4348)
5. Chateau Marmol (4262)
6. Misfits (4235)
7. The Bryce is Right (4165)
8. Soler Eclipse (4134)
9. Rookies (4075)
10. Fresh Fish (3797)

Head to head:

Champion: Retire 21

Second place: Arbitration Losers

Third place: Misfits

Fourth place: Soler Eclipse

Consolation champ: Pitch You Blockhead

Those of you who finished in the money will be contacted about what to do with your winnings.

2016 draft order:

1. Rick
2. Henry
3. Adam
4. Bill
5. Reid
6. Matt
7. Scott
8. Tim
9. Rich/Brian
10. Ray

Stay tuned for a few more posts with some numbers, and then the commissioners will bid you all adieu until next Spring.

The Check Swing: Week 26

Pirates players celebrate at the palatial Retire 21 estate. That's not Champagne; it's sparkling cider. The generic brand. 

Another great FBLG season has come to a close. It's an abbreviated Check Swing this week, but stay tuned for blog posts about scoring leaders and more from your beloved commissioners. 

1. Retire 21 (4,690 points, last week 2): Congratulations to Ray, who won the playoff title and the points championship in his rookie season. That's quite a feat, especially for someone who expressed displeasure with his drafting. 

2. Already Zaun (4,637 points, last week 1): Boy, did these guys pull a 1964 Phillies and fold down the stretch, or what? The points leaders most of the season, the Zaunies crapped the bed in the playoffs and didn't even win the consolation round. 

3. Arbitration Losers (4,465 points, last week 3): Tim finished third last season and repeated that performance in 2015. The team owners drafting in positions 1 through 7 should expect bribes so Madison Bumgarner can fall all the way to Tim at No. 8.

4. Pitch You Blockhead (4,348 points, last week 4): Too bad it's not a keeper league, Scott. Starting a team with Nolan Arenado and Zack Greinke would be pretty good in 2016.

5. Chateau Marmol (4,262 points, last week 6): Speaking of keepers, you can bet Matt would love to have Max Scherzer and 3/4 of the Cubs' infield back next season. Too bad his 212-point week cost him one spot in the 2016 draft.

6. Misfits (4,235 points, last week 7): Reid also move up one spot in the draft with a 194-point week of his own. Scoring that many points in the final week of the season is ridiculous! 

7. The Bryce is Right (4,165 points, last week 5): The Commissioners' Office is investigating claims of tanking by Bill's team, which moved up two spots in the draft by posting a 106-point dud in Week 26 thanks to a rotation that included Bettis-Ray-Koehler. 

8. Soler Eclipse (4,134 points, last week 8): Paul Goldschmidt and a great pitching staff weren't enough to get Adam's team higher than 8th in the points race. 

9. Rookies (4,075 points, last week 9): Henry built his team around Nationals pitchers and a McCutchen-Dickerson-Bruce outfield, but it didn't quite work out. 

10. Fresh Fish (3,797 points, last week 10): With the first pick in the 2016 FLBG draft, the Fresh Fish select ... not Johnny Cueto.

Week 26: Sunday roundup

Welcome to FBLG, the only place in the world where J.A. Happ can be called a Stud.

Studs: Shelby Miller (Rookies) got his first win in forever and struck out 7 in 8 shutout innings. Matt Wisler (Rookies) singled and got the win while striking out 3 in 8.2 shutout innings. Cole Hamels (Misfits) allowed 2 runs and struck out 8 in a complete-game win. J.A. Happ (Misfits) singled and got the win while striking out 7 in 6 shutout innings. A.J. Pollock (CM) homered, singled twice, scored twice and stole a base. Dee Gordon (R21) was a triple shy of a cycle and scored twice. 

Duds: None.

Consolation final scores

Pitch You Blockhead 138, Already Zaun 115

Other scores

Chateau Marmol 212

Fresh Fish 145 

Bryce is Right 106

Rookies 150

Retire 151

Arbitration Losers 116

Misfits 194

Soler Eclipse 105

Week 26: Saturday roundup

Good grief, Max Scherzer. 

Studs: Max Scherzer (CM) pitched one of the greatest games in baseball history, striking out 17 in a no-hitter against Mets. At one point, he struck out 9 hitters in a row. He also singled. Zack Greinke (PYB) allowed 1 run and struck out 8 in an 8-inning win. Was it enough for him to earn the Cy Young Award? In a double-header, Christian Yelich (CM) went 5 for 5 in the first game with a double, a run and an RBI, then followed it up by going 3 for 4 with a double, 2 runs and an RBI in the second game. A.J. Ramos (FF) picked up a pair of saves and fanned 5 in 2 innings. Kyle Hendricks (Misfits) got the win and struck out 8 and allowed only 1 hit in 6 shutout innings. Brandon Finnegan (AZ) struck out 6 and allowed 1 run in a 6-inning win. Noah Syndergaard (AL) struck out 10 and allowed 1 run in 7 innings. 

Duds: The Mets' hitters. All of them stunk.

Note: The Braves and Cardinals were rained out.

Consolation final scores

Pitch You Blockhead 131, Already Zaun 103

Other scores

Chateau Marmol 189

Fresh Fish 110 

Bryce is Right 85

Rookies 102

Retire 124

Arbitration Losers 107

Misfits 137

Soler Eclipse 91