FBLG 2016 Final News and Notes

May your offseason be bat-flippingly awesome.

Thank you all once again for a fantastic 2016 season. With just 167 points separating 1st and 6th place and just 381 points separating 1st and 9th, this was the most competitive FBLG season in history.

Hundley Eyes led all pitching staffs with 1839 combined points (starters and closers). Fresh Fish had 1816 and Lawyers, Guns & Money came in third at 1698.

The top offense this year belonged to Arbitration Losers with 2890 points. Next was Retire 21 at 2866, The Lumbar Yard at 2843 and Pitch You Blockhead at 2822.

We don't want to imply that pitching wins championships, but the three top pitching staffs finished 1, 2, and 4 in overall points. The top hitting teams finished 5th, 8th, 3rd and 9th.

Next year's draft order:

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

Please contact the commissioners if you don't plan to play next year. We've already heard from some of you who will be back, and we're glad to hear it. This group has made for an extremely fun and competitive league the past couple years.

We'd also love to hear any feedback about rules changes that have been implemented the past couple years (catcher points for caught stealing, extra bench spot/UFA, September DL moves, etc.) We have no rule changes planned for next season, so feedback on what we've done and any suggestions you have are welcome.

With that, the commishes sign off for the winter. Plan to hear from us around Super Bowl time as we start to ramp up for next year's draft.

FBLG 2016 Position Leaders

The best part about Jonathan Villar's breakout season is that he no longer will be known mostly for this slide.

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. Retire 21 463 (17.81 per week)
2. Goldschmidt Happens 457 (17.58)
3. The Lumbar Yard 443 (17.04)
4. Arbitration Losers 435 (16.73)
5. Pitch You Blockhead 427 (16.42)
6. Fresh Fish 362 (13.92)
7. Rookies 343 (13.19)
8. Misfits 341 (13.12)
9. Lawyers, Guns & Money 268 (10.31)
10. Hundley Eyes 217 (8.35)

Analysis: Freddie Freeman set the world on fire in the second half of the season to propel Ray to the narrow win here. Paul Goldschmidt had what seemed like a down year to finish second, so apparently he's just that damn good.  Anthony Rizzo (LY) and Joey Votto (AL) were their usual awesome selves, with Votto's second half ranking among the best in the history of baseball. Wil Myers was the big surprise at the position, staying healthy and putting together a monster year to finish fifth (fifth behind four guys who should get MVP votes, no shame in that). And from a 14th-round pick, too. After that, there was a big drop, with Adrian Gonzalez (FF) leading the second tier. His days as a dominant force may be over, but Gonzo plays every day and puts up points. Brandon Belt was a disappointment for the Misfits, and Hundley Eyes went through half the league trying to find someone who could play first after Ryan Zimmerman fell apart. The full list: Zimmerman, Lucas Duda, Ben Paulsen, Mark Reynolds, Matt Adams, James Loney and Josh Bell. All to get 8 points per week.

Second base

1. The Lumbar Yard 445 (17.12)
2. Arbitration Losers 413 (15.88)
3. Pitch You Blockhead 359 (13.81)
4. Hundley Eyes 342 (13.15)
5. Retire 21 326 (12.54)
6. Rookies 319 (12.27)
7. Misfits 298 (11.46)
8. Lawyers, Guns & Money 294 (11.31)
9. Goldschmidt Happens 287 (11.04)
10. Fresh Fish 264 (10.15).

Analysis: From last year's analysis: "This position promises to be a crapshoot for the 2016 draft." (Gives self a high-five.) Daniel Murphy (LY) was drafted in the 8th round and may well win the MVP award after leading the league in slugging and OPS. His 47 doubles, 5 triples, 25 homers and 104 RBIs were all career highs. And, as much as it pains us to admit it, DJ LaMahieu (AL) has become a legit force. The NL's leading hitter this year (.348) had 51 extra-base hits and 141 singles. After the top two, there was a decent drop to third-place PYB, which benefited from Jean Segura's bounceback season. Ben Zobrist (HE) and Josh Harrison (R21) were solid contributors all season. At the bottom of the list, Howie Kendrick (FF) had some long cold spells for Rick, Bill struggled to find anyone to play second all year, settling on Cesar Hernandez (GH) and his infinite mediocrity. And Dee Gordon (LGM) went and got himself suspended for Matt, then played at about a B-minus level after coming back in August. 

Shortstop

1. Hundley Eyes 441 (16.96)
2. The Lumbar Yard 409 (15.73)
3. Rookies 360 (13.85)
4. Arbitration Losers 350 (13.46)
5. Pitch You Blockhead 293 (11.27)
6. Lawyers, Guns & Money 286 (11.00)
7. Misfits 281 (10.81)
8. Retire 21 278 (10.69)
9. Goldschmidt Happens 272 (10.46)
10. Fresh Fish 206 (7.92)

Analysis: The commishes used a Colorado shortstop to place atop the shortstop standings for the second year in a row. Last year, Troy Tulowitzki's disappointing season led to 339 points, so shortstop across the league took a huge leap this year. Trevor Story was on his way to the  Rookie of the Year conversation before injuring himself in August, and the commishes pulled a trade for Jean Segura to finish off the monster season at the position. Corey Seager (LY), who will surely win the ROY, was great all year for Adam. Jonathan Villar (R) was one of the season's great surprises, finishing with 38 doubles, 19 homers and a league-high 62 steals. 29 errors, too, but nobody's perfect. Rookie Aledmys Diaz (M) was great when healthy for Reid. As far as the Fresh Fish, the less said about Adeiny Hechavarria, the better. 

Third base

1. Pitch You Blockhead 491 (18.88)
2. Misfits 384 (14.77)
3. Retire 21 364 (14.00)
4. Fresh Fish 362 (13.92)
5. Lawyers, Guns & Money 361 (13.88)
6. Hundley Eyes 328 (12.62)
7. Goldschmidt Happens 302 (11.62)
8. Arbitration Losers 283 (10.88)
9. The Lumbar Yard 277 (10.65)
10. Rookies 260 (10.00)

Analysis: Nolan Arenado and Pitch You Blockhead remain a match made in heaven. Arenado, still only 25 years old, was the top-scoring hitter in the league and lapped the competition at third base. Last year, he led the league with 42 homers and 130 RBIs for Scott's team. This year: he led the league again with 41 and 133. Meanwhile, he's played all but 7 possible games over the last two seasons and is a Gold Glove third baseman. He's in the mix as the top pick in the 2017 draft. Justin Turner's (M) huge second half propelled Reid to the No. 2 spot here, with the combo of Matt Carpenter and Kris Bryant (R21) taking Ray to third place. Martin Prado (FF) was a nice surprise for Rick in the fourth spot. Matt Duffy (AL) struggled, then was traded, then got hurt for Tim, Jake Lamb was a nice find but too late for Adam, and Eugenio Suarez homered (21) and erred (23) his way to the 10 spot.

Catcher

1. Fresh Fish 377 (14.50)
2. Lawyers, Guns & Money 346 (13.31)
3. Arbitration Losers 341 (13.12)
4. Pitch You Blockhead 337 (12.96)
5. Retire 21 304 (11.69)
6. Hundley Eyes 270 (10.38)
7. The Lumbar Yard 225 (8.65)
8. Rookies 192 (7.38)
9. Goldschmidt Happens 188 (7.23)
10. Misfits 170 (6.54)

Analysis: Jonathan Lucroy (FF) started slow, then blew up before being traded to Texas and hitting well down the stretch to give Rick the win here. Buster Posey (LGM) played some first base for Matt, too, hurting his ranking here. He was good-but-not-amazing at the plate this season.  Yadier Molina (AL) was shockingly good, cracking 38 doubles and hitting over .300 after a couple down seasons. And Wilson Ramos (PYB) went from late-round pick to star before his season ended a few weeks early with a torn ACL. Adam, Henry, Bill and Reid struggled all year to find consistency at catcher, going through names like Tucker Barnhart, Miguel Montero, Francisco Cervelli, Cameron Rupp and Nick Hundley, mostly in vain.

Outfield

1. Rookies 1203 (46.27)
2. Lawyers, Guns & Money 1144 (44.00)
3. Retire 21 1131 (43.50)
4. Arbitration Losers 1076 (41.38)
5. Hundley Eyes 1072 (41.23)
6. Fresh Fish 1059 (40.73)
7. Goldschmidt Happens 1056 (40.62)
8. The Lumbar Yard 1044 (40.15)
9. Misfits 1023 (39.35)
10. Pitch You Blockhead 884 (34.00)

Analysis: For the second consecutive season, Giancarlo Stanton (LGM) was drafted highly, then didn't contribute much as his FBLG team put forward a strong outfield anyway. Last year, Reid drafted Stanton and finished first in outfield points despite Stanton's injury; this year it was Matt finishing second despite just 200 points from his top pick. Huge seasons from Carlos Gonzalez and scrapheap find Adam Duvall were the key reasons. But even they couldn't take down Henry's monster outfield of Matt Kemp, Christian Yelich and Starling Marte. When healthy, this was a dominant outfield combo. (The commishes were recently discussing it, and it's possible Matt Kemp has the greatest difference of fantasy baseball value to real world baseball value of anyone. And that's coming from people who really like Matt Kemp.) Dexter Fowler, Kris Bryant and Andrew McCutchen (R21) propelled Ray into third place here. At the other end, Reid's outfield of David Peralta, Randal Grichuk and Gregory Polanco (M) looked amazing after the draft, but Peralta barely played with an injury, Grichuk spent time in the minors and Polanco couldn't stay healthy or hit lefties. But that wasn't as bad as Scott, who started the season with Yasiel Puig (struggled, sent to minors), Michael Conforto (struggled, sent to minors) and Domingo Santana (fouled ball off face). Scott got some nice play from Angel Pagan, Alex Dickerson and Jon Jay, but not enough to avoid the basement. Maybe it's time to rename the team Outfield You Blockhead.

Starting pitching

1. Hundley Eyes 1608 (61.85)
2. Misfits 1534 (59.00)
3. Fresh Fish 1519 (58.42)
4. Lawyers, Guns & Money 1457 (56.04)
5. Rookies 1401 (53.88)
6. Arbitration Losers 1277 (49.12)
7. The Lumbar Yard 1274 (49.00
8. Pitch You Blockhead 1174 (45.15)
9. Retire 21 1130 (43.46)
10. Goldschmidt Happens 1042 (40.08)

Analysis: The commishes started their draft with aces Jose Fernandez (RIP) and Noah Syndergaard, and the strategy paid dividends as both finished in the top six among starting pitcher points and led the staff to the win here. Pitching coach Deka supplemented the aces with strong contributors Kenta Maeda, Jerad Eickhoff and Jon Gray, who all stayed healthy and pitched well. The Misfits used a similar drafting strategy, nabbing Max Scherzer and Jon Lester in the first three rounds (sandwiched around poor Matt Harvey), with the two aces putting up nearly 1000 points between them. Scott Kazmir and Matt Moore also contributed along with Harvey. Rick took Clayton Kershaw (FF) first overall, then added Johnny Cueto to keep things afloat while Kershaw was injured. Ageless/Weightless Wonder Bartolo Colon and Jason Hammel (before his annual second-half collapse) supplemented the aces. Despite drafting only one starter in the first nine rounds, Matt put together a solid rotation led by Carlos Martinez, Kyle Hendricks and John Lackey to finish fourth. As for the bottom of the pitching standings... well, one way to assure yourself of a great draft pick next season is to finish near the bottom of these standings. Bill's rotation of Gerrit Cole, Raisel Iglesias, Michael Wacha and Wei-Yin Chen looked decent enough after the draft, but all four were hurt, two came back as relievers and two didn't come back at all. Yikes. The most positive thing that can be said is Junior Guerra was an out-of-nowhere nice surprise. Ray's rotation suffered similarly, with Francisco Liriano and Mike Leake being average-at-best, Steven Matz having rotten luck before getting hurt, and Julio Teheran pitching well for a terrible team. Free agent finds Drew Pomeranz and Tyler Anderson kept it from being worse for Retire 21. And the Blockheads had a shot at a double-ace rotation, but Jacob deGrom couldn't stay healthy and Jeff Samardzija was inconsistent (and ugly, but that's neither here nor there). Anthony DeSclafani pitched well, but when he and Christian Friedrich were Scott's best options, that was a bad sign.

Relief pitching

1. The Lumbar Yard 304 (11.69)
2. Fresh Fish 297 (11.42)
3. Rookies 264 (10.15)
4. Goldschmidt Happens 246 (9.46)
5. Lawyers, Guns & Money 241 (9.27)
6. Misfits 238 (9.15)
7. Hundley Eyes 231 (8.88)
8. Arbitration Losers 198 (7.62)
9. Retire 21 194 (7.46)
10. Pitch You Blockhead 132 (5.08)

Analysis: What a strange year at this position. Virtual sure things Kenley Jansen (LY), Jeurys Familia (FF) and Mark Melancon (R) led the way, pitching wire-to-wire for their contented owners. And then there was everyone else. Bill (GH) started the year with Arodys Vizcaino, went to Jeremy Jeffress who was great before being traded into a setup role, then finished with Tyler Thornburg. Yes, an owner whose closers were all Braves or Brewers finished fourth in closer points. Matt went with AJ Ramos (LGM) most of the year and he was excellent when the Marlins let him be the closer. Reid's closer Hector Rondon (M) lost his job to Aroldis Chapman (HE), so Hundley Eyes traded their other closer Seung-Hwan Oh to the Misfits and everyone was mostly happy. But that was only after HE drafted should-have-been-sure-thing Trevor Rosenthal in the 10th round and he imploded to the tune of a 4.46 ERA and 6.5 walks per 9 innings. And those numbers are after he pitched OK in mopup duty down the stretch. They were worse at one point! The Arbitration Losers drafted Jonathan Papelbon, who lost his job then REALLY lost his job, Retire 21's Santiago Casilla was terrible and then lost his job... and yet, Pitch You Blockhead takes the prize here. Scott started the year with Brad Ziegler, who was decent before being traded out of a closing role. Scott then went to hot-starter Jeanmar Gomez, who was fine for a while. And then he wasn't. Over the last five weeks of the season, Gomez scored -4, 14, -1, -3 and -6 for the week, meaning that Scott had 132 points from his closers after week 21, and STILL had 132 points from his closers after week 26. 2016 was the year of Closer Russian Roulette, and some owners didn't make it through unscathed.

Average finish by position

The Lumbar Yard: 4.75

Arbitration Losers: 4.875

Hundley Eyes: 5 

Lawyers, Guns & Money: 5.125

Fresh Fish: 5.25

Rookies: 5.375

Retire 21: 5.375

Pitch You Blockhead: 5.75

Misfits; 6.375
Goldschmidt Happens: 7.125

FBLG 2016 Individual Leaders

Even taking Coors Field into consideration, Nolan Arenado has to be on the short list of MLB's best players.

Hitters

1. Nolan Arenado (PYB) 491
2. Freddie Freeman (R21) 463
3. Paul Goldschmidt (GH) 457
4. Charlie Blackmon (GH) 454
5. Anthony Rizzo (LY) 443
6. Daniel Murphy (LY) 436
7. Joey Votto (AL) 435
8. Matt Kemp (R) 433
9. Wil Myers (PYB) 427
10. Kris Bryant (R21) 427
11. Jean Segura (PYB/HE) 418
12. DJ LeMahieu (AL) 413
13. Corey Seager (LY) 409
14. Christian Yelich (R) 405

Anonymous Nationals reliever (front) congratulates Max Scherzer on leading all FBLG players in points.

Starting pitchers

1. Max Scherzer (M) 545
2. Madison Bumgarner (AL) 496
3. Jose Fernandez (HE) 454
4. Jon Lester (M) 447
5. Johnny Cueto (FF) 437
6. Jake Arrieta (R) 427
7. Noah Syndergaard (HE) 414
8. Carlos Martinez (LGM) 372
9. Clayton Kershaw (FF) 353
10. Kyle Hendricks (LGM) 343

Kenley Jansen led FBLG relievers in points, but where will he be pitching in 2017?

Relief pitchers

1. Kenley Jansen (LY) 304
2. Jeurys Famlia (FF) 296
3. Mark Melancon (R) 264
4. AJ Ramos (LGM) 228

Playoffs, Week 8: The Check Swing

We salute Vin Scully, the voice of baseball for multiple generations. 

Another FBLG season is in the books, gang. Thanks to all of you for making this yet another memorable campaign. Stay tuned for additional blog entries addressing payouts, statistics and other notes. 

1. Hundley Eyes (4,509 points, last week 1): The Eyes have it — the commissioners pulled away at the end to claim the points title. This team made countless lineup changes to keep the offense humming, and the pitching staff was remarkably healthy and consistent. Jose Fernandez, Noah Syndergaard, Kenta Maeda and Jerad Eickhoff stayed on the active roster from start to finish. 

2. Fresh Fish (4,445 points, last week 2): The Fish faded a bit down the stretch, but it's easy to see why the Fish were so good. Building a team around Clayton Kershaw, Johnny Cueto and Jonathan Lucroy was a recipe for success for Rick. In keeping with their pattern, expect the Fish to finish in last place in 2017. 

3. The Lumbar Yard (4,421 points, last week 3): The pitching staff was often wobbly, and Bryce Harper was disappointing, but the Yard made a statement with a potent offense. Anthony Rizzo, Corey Seager, Daniel Murphy and Trea Turner were monsters for Adam. Maybe if Joe Ross had stayed healthy, or if Adam Wainwright had been his usual self, or if Hyun-Jin Ryu had been able to pitch more than once...

4. Lawyers, Guns & Money (4,398 points, last week 4): The Fightin' Zevons went with the offense-first draft strategy, and it didn't quite pay off for Matt. Dee Gordon got suspended, Giancarlo Stanton got hurt (again) and Buster Posey was good but not great. And it turns out the rotation of Carlos Martinez, Kyle Hendricks and John Lackey was one of FBLG's best. 

5. Arbitration Losers (4,365 points, last week 6): Didn't it feel like Tim's team was always on the brink of breaking out and contending for the title? Madison Bumgarner, Joey Votto and D.J. LeMahieu were outstanding, but the rotation depth just wasn't there. Zack Greinke pitched like ... well, a Diamondback. 

6. Rookies (4,342 points, last week 5): Injuries really prevented Henry's team from surging up the rankings. Maybe if Starling Marte and Stephen Strasburg could have contributed all season, things would have turned out differently. Still, Jake Arrieta, Matt Kemp and Christian Yelich surpassed the 400-point barrier for the year. 

A year after slashing .293/.359.439, Jason Heyward
slashed .229/.304/.321. That's less than enough to be
our first Dud of the Year. Congratulations, Jason!

7. Misfits (4,275 points, last week 7): Reid's team was built using the triple-ace strategy, and Max Scherzer and Jon Lester made it look brilliant. But Matt Harvey broke down, and top hitter David Peralta was injured and unimpressive when healthy. Gregory Polanco was phenomenal at times but wasn't able to carry the lineup. 

8. Retire 21 (4,190 points, last week 8): The defending champion started slowly and never recovered. Freddie Freeman and Kris Bryant were offensive powerhouses, but the Sons of Clemente didn't have the arms to compete with the teams at the top — especially with Steven Matz getting hurt and Francisco Liriano forgetting where the strike zone is.  

9. Pitch You Blockhead (4,128 points, last week 9): Nolan Arenado and Wil Myers kept Scott's team in contention for a while, but PYB faded as injuries set in. Jacob deGrom wasn't able to be an ace for 30-some starts, and there wasn't any consistency at closer. Plus, there were a whole lot of Padres on the roster, and that's usually not helpful. 

10. Goldschmidt Happens (3,850 points, last week 10): As expected, Charlie Blackmon and Paul Goldschmidt were incredible. But the pitching staff, which was supposed to be anchored by Gerrit Cole, was a weak spot all season. And Jason Heyward was pretty awful.

Playoffs, Week 8: Sunday's Roundup

Julio Teheran helped ensure
a Tiger-free postseason.

Studs: Julio Teheran (R21) singled twice, struck out 12 and got the win in 7 shutout innings against the Tigers, who were fighting for a playoff spot. Charlie Blackmon (GH) went 4 for 5 with a homer, 2 doubles and 2 RBIs. Matt Moore (M) singled, scored, struck out 6 and allowed 1 run in an 8-inning win. Max Scherzer (M) got knocked around a bit, allowing 5 runs and fanning 7 in a 5-inning win. The victory was his 20th of the season. He did his part at the plate with a pair of 2-run singles. 

Duds: Kenta Maeda (HE) allowed 5 runs and struck out 3 in a 2.2-inning loss. Jean Segura (HE) went 0 for 3 and was caught stealing. 

Consolation final scores

Rookies 173, Retire 21 133

Other scores

Fresh Fish 119

Misfits 191

Lawyers, Guns & Money 188

Pitch You Blockhead 118

Goldschmidt Happens 130

Arbitration Losers 203

The Lumbar Yard 160

Hundley Eyes 176

Playoffs, Week 8: Saturday's Roundup

Is Joey Votto the best hitter in baseball? It's sure seemed that way in the second half. 

Studs: Joey Votto (AL) went 3 for 5 with 2 doubles, 3 RBIs and a run. Jean Segura (HE) tripled, doubled, stole a base and scored 3 runs. 

Dud: Justin Turner (M) went 0 for 4 with an error. 

Consolation final scores

Rookies 150, Retire 21 89

Other scores

Fresh Fish 109

Misfits 139

Lawyers, Guns & Money 170

Pitch You Blockhead 104

Goldschmidt Happens 104

Arbitration Losers 182

The Lumbar Yard 135

Hundley Eyes 159