Week 18: The Check Swing

It's a good time to be a Braves fan. Now imagine being a Braves fan who's first in the FBLG rankings. 

After 18 long weeks, the FBLG playoffs are finally here! That means 8 teams have a chance to win our coveted (not really) postseason crown. But we're also still competing for the overall points championship, so don't give up on your teams just yet.

First-round playoff matchups

4 Yari's Autonomics v. 1 The Rookies
3 Fresh Fish v. 2 Hassey's Girl
4 Project Mayhem v. 1 Arbitration Losers
3 When the Ledee Breaks v. 2 Clemente's Bucs
Consolation: The Misfits v. Lumber Co. Lumber

Do yourself a favor and watch some Aristides Aquino
highlights. You won't be disappointed. 

The week in review

1. The Rookies (3642.2 points, 11-7, last week 2): Henry marched into the playoffs with the biggest point total of the week and reclaimed the top spot in the rankings. Ozzie Albies (43) had 16 hits, 9 of which went for extra bases, to power the Rookies' potent offense. Rookie (ahem) sensation Aristides Aquino blasted 5 homers and drove in 9 runs. Eduardo Escobar (18), Hunter Renfroe (17), Cody Bellinger (15) and Nolan Arenado (14.5) had good weeks, too. Zack Wheeler (18) and Max Fried (17.3) picked up wins as the pitching staff had a solid week, too. The Rookies appear poised to go deep in the postseason.

2. Clemente's Bucs (3619, 10-8, last week 1): Ray's team had a perfectly fine week, but perfectly fine wasn't nearly good enough for the Bucs to beat The Rookies. Dinelson Lamet (34) went nuts in a pair of starts, and Stephen Strasburg (10) was OK in a no-decision. But Kenley Jansen (6) still looks shaky, and Mike Leake (-2.3) and Trevor Williams (3) didn't do anything to earn Ray's trust moving forward. Jeff McNeil (23) was the Bucs' best offensive player and appears to be way too good for Flushing. Trea Turner (18.5), Charlie Blackmon (18) and Josh Donaldson (16) contributed, as well.

A Met and a Beaver? No wonder Rich loves
Michael Conforto.

3. When the Ledee Breaks (3533.3, 10-8, last week 4): Matt's Fightin' Zeppelins marched into the playoffs on a high note, beating the Autonomics and leapfrogging them in the rankings. Ronald Acuña Jr. (45.5) had a monster week, hitting 6 homers and 7 singles, stealing 3 bases, driving in 10 and scoring 12 times. He also claimed the top spot on our list of batting leaders. Juan Soto (27.5) and Michael Conforto (25.5) each hit 3 bombs, and Brian Anderson (15) popped 2 of his own. Jose Quintana (18) and Steven Matz (16.7) picked up wins, and Joey Lucchesi (11.3) pitched well in a no-decision.

4. Yari's Autonomics (3531.8, 8-10, last week 3): What kind of week was it for Adam? Well, Mike Soroka (20) didn't get enough help to earn a decision in a pair of strong outings, and the rest of the pitching staff stunk. Zack Greinke (8) had one of the ugliest wins of the season, and Sean Doolittle (4.7) is pitching like the rest of the Nationals' relievers. Neither Cole Hamels (1) nor Dallas Keuchel (-3.3) made it through 4 innings, and Keuchel was given his walking papers. Anthony Rendon (24.5) and Yasiel Puig (24.5) led the offense, but now Puig is serving his suspension from the Rumble at Riverfront (or whatever the Reds' ballpark is called these days). Jean Segura (6) made 4 errors, and Kolten Wong (5) remains less useful in fantasy baseball than he is in real baseball.

Nicholas Castellanos is helping the commissioners in ways
Jesus Aguilar and Matt Carpenter can only dream of.

5. Hassey's Girl (3523.7, 11-7, last week 5): The commissioners' bats have come alive just in time for the postseason. Christian Yelich (10) missed most of the week with back problems, but Nicholas Castellanos (35) hit 4 homers, 4 doubles and 4 singles to pick up the slack. Fernando Tatis Jr. (22) had a solid week despite making 3 errors, and Pistol Pete Alonso (21) keeps swinging for the fences. German Marquez (23) did his usual thing — pitch a lot of innings, strike a lot of guys out and give up a lot of runs. Aaron Nola (2) was surprisingly bad, but Zac Gallen (16) picked up a win for his new team. New addition Carlos Martinez (6.3) blew a save and took a loss in his Hassey debut; welcome to the club, buddy!

6. Arbitration Losers (3427.7, 11-7, last week 6): Tim's team beat LCL to claim the Mariano Rivera Division's top seed for the postseason. Buster Posey (8) and Manny Machado (6) were just along for the ride, as Javier Baez (24.5) and Bryan Reynolds (23.5) propelled the offense. Eugenio Suarez (22) hit 4 solo homers, and Adam Eaton (19.5) made things happen without getting an extra-base hit. Jeff Samardzija (20) and Madison Bumgarner (15) — oh, did Tim stockpile Giants pitchers again? — guided the pitching staff with a win apiece. Meanwhile, Kirby Yates (6) only pitched once because the Padres have forgotten what a save opportunity is.

Corey Dickerson looks pretty good in a Phillies uniform.

7. Fresh Fish (3374.5, 10-8, last week 8): Rick's team might be low in the rankings, but this is a club to be feared in the playoffs. Luis Castillo (34.7) and Jacob deGrom (30) made the most of their double-start weeks, striking out 36 hitters in 25.2 innings while going 2-0. Clayton Kershaw (20) is easily the best No. 3 starter in FBLG, and don't forget about Chris Paddack (8) over there. Kris Bryant (25.5) paced the Fish hitters, and wild man Keston Hiura (17.5) hit 3 homers and committed 2 more errors. Corey Dickerson (20) seems to be enjoying Philadelphia — at the expense of the injured Jay Bruce, who failed to scored a point.

8. Project Mayhem (3336, 9-9, last week 7): No one really stepped up for Bill in a loss to the commissioners, and the pitchers suffered from some bad luck. Walker Buehler (14) and Chris Archer (13) were outstanding but fell victim to the no-decision bug that's been going around. Anibal Sanchez (18) picked up a win in a pair of starts, but Kyle Hendricks (4) allowed 9 runs in 9 shaky innings. Joc Pederson (17.5) was the leading hitter — with a pretty underwhelming point total for that to be the case. Ian Happ (16) hit 2 of Mayhem's 4 homers, which tells much of the story of PM's offense for the week. Don't think we didn't notice that Bill dusted off antique Evan Longoria (2), who's basically a skinnier, less entertaining Pablo Sandoval these days.

PTSD alert for Rich.

9. Lumber Co Lumber (3238, 7-11, last week 9): John's team started the year so well but faded as the weeks passed, and as a result LCL won't be a part of the FBLG playoffs. Jon Lester (7) and Diego Agrazal (-2) combined to allow 17 runs in 14 innings. That'd even be bad for the Orioles. Josh Hader (14) picked up LCL's only win as the staff went 1-3 in Week 18. The hitting was pretty good, though. Freddie Freeman (34.5) and Bryce Harper (25) each went deep 3 times, and Tucker Barnhart (15.5) did so twice. Brian Dozier put up a big, fat zero — making Dodgers fans shudder with leftover trauma from 2018. Jake Lamb (3.5) barely did enough to earn a participation trophy, which is about what he's capable of these days.

10. The Misfits (2906.3, 3-15, last week 10): We here at the commissioners' office don't (usually) publicly question management decisions by our fellow owners, but we're scratching our heads about The Misfits' treatment of Trevor Bauer. He's the second-most-valuable pitcher in FBLG when you include his AL point totals, yet he was riding the pine in Week 18 — as the empty shell of Michael Wacha (-2.3) struggled to record outs. Jack Flaherty (17) was excellent, but like so many others, he took a no-decision. The Misfits hit only 4 homers, and half of them came from weekly point leader Justin Turner (22.5). A.J Pollock (2.5) is kinda sorta hurt, as usual, and Adam Jones (4) was a no-show.

Batting leaders after Week 18

1. Ronald Acuña Jr. (WLB) 418.5
2. Freddie Freeman (LCL) 417
3. Cody Bellinger (R) 413
4. Christian Yelich (HG) 412
5. Ketel Marte (PM) 383

Pitching leaders after Week 18

1. Stephen Strasburg (CB) 325.3
2. Trevor Bauer (M) 323.3
3. Max Scherzer (YA) 317.3
4. Luis Castillo (FF) 314.7
5. Jacob deGrom (FF) 307