Weeks 23-24: The Check Swing

Ray (in bowler hat, with sweet 'stache) celebrates rambunctiously with Clemente's Bucs after another championship season. 

Well, gang, another season of FBLG is in the books. The transition to ESPN wasn't as smooth as we had hoped, but we'll address that as we progress through the offseason. We'll be seeking your thoughts and suggestions as we work to improve the technology-assisted tracking system. Today's blog will address the end-of-season standings and the final two weeks of games. Keep an eye on this blog for follow-up analysis from the Commissioners' Office, once Rich mops up all of the tears he shed during his team's disappointing season.

Final standings

George Costanza's hitting advice backfired for
Bodysuit Man in the championship round.

1. Clemente's Bucs (4578.8 points, playoff and points champion)
2. Bodysuit Man (4466.9 points)
3. Lawyers Guns and Money (4417.2 points)
4. The Rookies (4272.5 points)
5. Pitch! You Blockhead (4228.4 points)
6. Quirkin’ For a Livin’ (4184.9 points)
7. Arbitration Losers (4100.3 points)
8. Fresh Fish (4028.8 points)
9. Project Mayhem (3939.3 points)
10. The Misfits (3894.7 points)

Championship battle

Bodysuit Man and Clemente's Bucs were FLBG's top teams throughout the season, and we anticipated this being a dogfight till the end. Instead, it was a real dog. CB jumped out to a huge lead early, and BM never closed the gap. The addition of J.D. Martinez (55) proved to be the difference for CB in the playoffs, and the title round was no different. The Bucs outhomered Costanza 22-10 and collected 60 RBIs; BM had only 26. Dee Gordon (42), Rhys Hoskins (41.5) and Justin Bour (31.5) piled up the points as the CB offense fired on all cylinders. Having Clayton Kershaw (39) and Stephen Strasburg (26) healthy made a big difference, too. For BM, Zack Davies (5) picked the wrong time to be terrible and the hitting just wasn't potent enough. There were plenty of walks (40) and singles (46), but those aren't game-changers.

The rest

If you compare the points standings before and after the FBLG playoffs, you'll notice that only the top two teams changed positions. Does that mean the postseason was meaningless for the rest of us? Yeah, probably.

It's Rich's favorite
Domer, A.J. Pollock.

LGM defeated the Fresh Fish to claim third place in the playoffs, with A.J. Pollock (47.5) actually playing like the stud he was two years ago. Predictably, Marcell Ozuna (38) and Joey Votto (30) were awesome. Matt Harvey (-2.7) somehow found his way onto the roster long enough to make a mess. Yu Darvish (29.3) didn't allow a run in 12.1 innings, finally pitching like the guy he's paid to be. For the Fish, Travis d'Arnaud (22) homered four times but scored only five runs (LOL, Mets). Anthony Rizzo (37) was the leading scorer, and Thurston High School legend Dan Straily (31) was the top pitcher.

Arbitration Losers topped a sluggish PYB thanks to the efforts of Paul Goldschmidt (40.5), Ryan Braun (38.5), Jose Reyes (37.5) and D.J. LeMahieu (32). Julio Teheran (36) pitched well but picked up only one win because the Braves are lame. PYB's pitchers didn't pitch much or particularly well, scoring only 81.3 points across the two weeks. Much respect to Robbie Ray (26.3) and Jacob deGrom (30), though, for fanning 34 batters in 24.1 innings. Brandon Phillips (30.5) was PYB's top batter, which usually isn't a good sign.

Dud of the Week(s) A.J. Ramos looks for the nearest exit
in the New York Mets' locker room.

Quirkin' For a Livin' managed to knock off The Rookies, and here's the shocking part: The commissioners' patchwork pitching staff outperformed the Rookies' arms. Of course, most of that was the edge in the closer battle, with Brad Hand (22.3) being good and A.J. Ramos (0) being a Met. Jon Gray (50) was phenomenal, and Cody Bellinger (46.5) heated back up. Oh, there you are, Trea Turner (34). For The Rookies, Jose Quintana (51.7) and Max Scherzer (40) carried the load. Domingo Santana (44) looked great at the plate to lead the offense. Unfortunately, Jose Pirela (-1) did nothing but get caught stealing and Eduardo Nunez (DNP) filled the traditional Martin Prado role.

Project Mayhem and The Misfits were playing for ... what, pride, maybe? Or because they had to? Regardless, these guys squared off for the sixth consecutive week, and the final matchup had a score of 293.3-292.2, with PM coming out ahead. Kris Bryant (50.5), the pride of Las Vegas, did a little bit of everything. Ryan Zimmerman (27.5) reached the 30-homer/100-RBI plateau just to piss off Rich. Aaron Nola (40) and Rich Hill (35) combined to go 4-0. For The Misfits, Giancarlo Stanton (39.5) continued to blast baseballs to the stratosphere. The pitching wasn't anything to get excited about, though; the staff went 3-4 and Madison Bumgarner (24.7) was the low-output leading scorer.