Divisions Updated

After a tortured and laborious process, which cannot be adequately explained here, the 2021 FBLG Divisions have been created.

Hank Aaron Division

• Henry
• John
• Ray
• Rich/Brian
• Tim

Tommy Lasorda Division

• Adam
• Bill
• Jack
• Matt
• Reid

2021 Preseason Updates

Champions.

That unhappy fan picture has sat atop this blog for 17 long, agonizing months. Since then, the Dodgers won the World Series, and basically nothing else good happened. 

But! Baseball is almost back. The FBLG draft is coming up at 2 p.m. Pacific on Sunday, March 28. And opening day - no fooling - is April 1.

A couple updates and reminders for everyone, because it has been a long, long time since we've partaken in FBLG.

• The rules remain the same. The only alteration this season is adding a fourth bench spot to help owners deal with what could be a COVID-y early season. 
• Head-to-head matchups run Monday-Sunday. Prizes remain based on both head-to-head record and overall points.
• ESPN handles positional eligibility. Now that Joe Maddon is out of the NL, we don't have to worry as much about Anthony Rizzo being eligible at 2B. I believe the position eligibility is based on either 20 games at a position the previous year, or 10 games at a position in 2021.
• In fact, ESPN handles nearly all the rules, and most are pretty obvious. There are two that we, the commissioners, monitor because they can't be hard-wired in to ESPN.
• Your relief pitcher position MUST be a pitcher who works primarily in relief. No matter how ESPN defines each pitcher. Commissioners reserve the right to insist you not - to use a football example - put Taysom Hill in as your tight end.
• Once a starting pitcher has pitched in a game during a week, HE CANNOT BE REPLACED IN YOUR LINEUP UNTIL THE NEXT WEEK. You only get to use 4 starters per week, make them count. 
• At all other positions, you may make changes as often as you like. Players lock in at the start of their games each day, so you have maximum flexibility.

The draft is a true snake draft. Each pick has a 2-minute time limit that is enforced by ESPN. Draft order:

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

The scoring rules remain the same. If anyone needs a refresher on scoring (rim shot), please email the commishes.

Think that's it for now. Lots of good information out there on ESPN, Rotoworld, Rotowire and other fantasy sites. We will try to have a few more depth chart and injury updates before the draft.

Happy St. Patrick's Day! See you all soon.

FBLG 2019 Season Wrapup

Who can argue with that?

Well.

Now that baseball season is officially over and some team I despise will win the World Series title once again, it seems to be time to take a final look back at the 2019 FBLG season. It might be too soon, I guess we'll see. (Spoiler alert)

Those of you who have financial transaction needs with the commissioners will be contacted via email.

We hope you'll all be back for FBLG 2020. If this is not the case, please email the commissioners ASAP so we can start working on a new owner.

Final scoreboard

1. Clemente's Bucs 4799.9
2. The Rookies 4787.2
3. Hassey's Girl 4655.4
4. Yari's Autonomics 4618.8
5. When the Ledee Breaks 4597.3
6. Arbitration Losers 4474.1
7. Fresh Fish 4428.8
8. Project Mayhem 4292.4
9. Lumber Co Lumber 4197.8
10. The Misfits 3810.4

Next year's draft order

1. Reid

2. John

3. Bill

4. Rick

5. Tim

6. Matt

7. Adam

8. Rich/Brian

9. Henry

10. Ray

Leading hitters

This is a regular season only blog. This is a regular season only blog.

1. Cody Bellinger (R) 542.5

2. Ronald Acuna Jr. (WLB) 530

3. Anthony Rendon (YA) 532

4. Freddie Freeman (LCL) 518.5

5. Juan Soto (WLB) 510

6. Christian Yelich (HG) 497

7. Nolan Arenado (R) 493

8. Ketel Marte (PM) 490.5

9. Ozzie Albies (R) 490

10. Bryce Harper (LCL) 485.5

11. Eduardo Escobar (R) 482

T12. Trevor Story (WLB) 478

T12. Charlie Blackmon (CB) 478

T12. Peter Alonso (HG) 478

15. Josh Bell (YA) 448

You bastards have no idea how hard this is for me.

Leading pitchers

1. Stephen Strasburg (CB) 455

2. Jacob deGrom (FF) 435

3. Patrick Corbin (R) 416

4. Zack Greinke (YA) 399.7

5. Jack Flaherty (M) 398.3

6. Luis Castillo (FF) 394.7

7. Max Scherzer (YA) 394.3

8. Walker Buehler (PM) 389.3

9. Aaron Nola (HG) 383.3

10. Clayton Kershaw (FF) 371.3

11. Robbie Ray (R) 361.3

12. Sonny Gray (AL) 355.3

13. Hyun-Jin Ryu (HG) 351.7

14. Madison Bumgarner (AL) 339.7

15. Zack Wheeler (R) 335.3

Overview

Woe be unto he who drafteth Jeff McNeil next year.
His Metsing is imminent.

1. Clemente's Bucs 

Unsurprisingly, our champion nailed the draft, starting with Trea Turner, Charlie Blackmon, Stephen Strasburg and Starling Marte. An 11th round Max Muncy and 14th round Jeff McNeil were huge pieces of the championship team as well. Strasburg led the NL in innings and wins and led FBLG in pitching points. Blackmon, Marte, Turner and Muncy all scored more than 400 points, and McNeil fell just short. It was just enough to overcome the offense of our second-place team.

2. The Rookies 

It seems doubtful we've ever seen a draft this good in FBLG... at least one that didn't win the title. After snagging Nolan Arenado and Cody Bellinger - who combined for more than 1,000 points - with his first two picks, Henry grabbed two top-15 pitchers (Patrick Corbin and Zack Wheeler), then snagged Ozzie Albies, Robbie Ray, Kyle Hendricks and Eduardo Escobar. Seven of his first eight picks are on one of the above lists. Amazing! That, uh, will not be true of our third-place team.

This is like a photo of a master chef making his signature dish.

3. Hassey's Girl 

After snagging Aaron Nola and Christian Yelich with the first two picks - hey good start, guys! - let's take a quick look at some other picks. Jameson Taillon (51 points before season-ending injury), Matt Carpenter (LOL), Jesus Aguilar (LOL), Travis Shaw (LOLOLOL), Chris Taylor, Gregory Polanco, David Robertson (5.7 points before season-ending injury), Matt Strahm, Austin Barnes and Scott Schebler. That is an EMBARRASSING list of garbage. Half that list spent time in Triple-A! Yada yada, they signed Fernando Tatis right before the season started, Hyun-Jin Ryu in the 13th round worked out well, and eventually an offense was scraped together that was sorta decent.

4. Yari's Autonomics 

Adam's Nationals-centric team is my very favorite thing to write about today, lemme tell you. Adam drafted Max Scherzer first and MVP candidate Anthony Rendon in the third round, snagging Zack Greinke, Jean Segura, Cole Hamels and Josh Bell as well. He signed wunderkind Peter Alonso before trading him, given his embarrassing wealth at first base. Scherzer wasn't quite "second overall pick" good this year but he, Greinke and Rendon fueled Adam's season.

"Monaghan! Get outta there!"

5. When the Ledee Breaks 

As is his custom, Matt didn't draft a pitcher until the 85th overall pick in the 9th round. Before that, he stocked up on a powerful bunch including Ronald Acuna, Trevor Story, Juan Soto, Michael Conforto, Mike Moustakas and Yasmani Grandal. As he predicted on draft day, his team hit a whole bunch o' dingers (236 to lead the league) but the pitching didn't do a whole lot (743 strikeouts, least in the league). We're all for Matt building his team like a slow-pitch softball team and pulling random strangers off the street to pitch. (At least that's what he tells the cops when they ask why he's pulling random strangers off the street.)

6. Arbitration Losers 

Tim had a pretty solid overall draft, but we're here to compliment him for finding one of the two closers who didn't suck this year: Kirby Yates, your favorite Hawaiian pitcher, was a helluva 13th-round pick. Somehow Javier Baez fell to the mid-second round, and Tim took him along with Manny Machado, Eugenio Suarez (49 homers!), and noted former fat man Kyle Schwarber to build a pretty solid offense. Once Yu Darvish figured things out, he and Madison Bumgarner formed a pretty decent top of the rotation as well. We are fervently refusing to give Adam Eaton in the 11th round any credit. 

THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT.

7. Fresh Fish 

Rick can blame the stupid Cubs for his downfall this year - neither second-round pick Anthony "Fat Tony" Rizzo or third-round Kris Bryant were as good as hoped, and that doomed Rick's season. The rest of us can blame the stupid Cubs for letting the Cardinals in the postseason. No wonder they fired Crazy Joe Maddon. Rick had probably the league's best rotation with Jacob deGrom, Clayton Kershaw, Luis Castillo and Sonny Gray, but his offense was disappointing. We're worried Rick is too influenced by Derek Jeter's whims... your team doesn't have to underachieve just because his does, man.

8. Project Mayhem 

Bill's draft was... rough. And I say that as someone who drafted Travis Shaw, so I know what I'm talking about. Lorenzo Cain (second round) was brutal, JT Realmuto wasn't third-round good, Miles Mikolas was not the No. 2 starter you dream about (he was a... different kind of No. 2, mostly), Chris Archer was bad, etc., etc. And yet. Bill got Paul DeJong in the 7th round, and he was great. He got Ketel Marte in the 9th and he outscored Bryce Harper. He even took the perfect platoon of Franmil Reyes and Joc Pederson late, and they combined for 73 bombs. Problem is, the pitching never stood a chance.

Live look at Robinson Cano and Brandon Nimmo.

9. Lumber Co Lumber 

Our newest owner drafted a closer before he drafted any starters, employing Matt's strategy of "what's even the point of a pitcher, anyway?" Problem is, among the first 8 hitters he took were Wil Myers, Robinson Cano and Brandon Nimmo. That is WAY too many Mets... it's shocking the number of IL days those guys had. Anyway, having 2019 Jon Lester as your ace is probably not a great idea, and as good as the offense was to start, it couldn't last. Plus Josh Hader wasn't the unhittable relief ace that was maybe hoped, though he did strike out 130 dudes. A special shutout to this year's inductee to the "why the hell did I draft Jake Lamb" club from a charter member. I feel ya, John.

10. The Misfits 

Our league's senior member (the only guy in the league who watched Lefty Grove pitch in person!) took a bunch of old dudes, as usual, and had mixed results, as usual. The biggest issue for Reid was Paul Goldschmidt's "down" year - he was great, but not the first-round horse Reid needed. Noah Syndergaard was frustrating, Edwin Diaz got totally Mets'd, Jose Peraza lost his job, so did Sean Newcomb, so did Odubel Herrera... not a great season for Reid's draftees. Jack Flaherty looks like a bonafide ace but otherwise this team mostly disappointed.

Enjoy football season, everyone. See you in the spring.

At least I don't have to listen to Joe Buck and John Smoltz this year.

Postseason Wrap-up: Coming in Winter 2025

Commissioner Rich is hard at work on the postseason wrap-up blog. We promise.

Quick Season Wrapup

Here's a bunch of guys who used to be Braves, and also Brian McCann.

Congrats to Henry and his Rookies for winning the head-to-head championship! The Rookies held off a furious last-day comeback by Hassey's Girl to capture the championship with a score of 360.3-343.2.

In one of the closest finishes in FBLG history, Ray and Clemente's Bucs held on for the overall points title, winning by a mere 12 points over Henry's Rookies.

Thank you all for another fantastic season - everything came right down to the wire. I'll be sending emails to those of you who either owe money or have a reward coming your way.

Final scoreboard

1. Clemente's Bucs 4799.9
2. The Rookies 4787.2
3. Hassey's Girl 4655.4
4. Yari's Autonomics 4618.8
5. When the Ledee Breaks 4597.3
6. Arbitration Losers 4474.1
7. Fresh Fish 4428.8
8. Project Mayhem 4292.4
9. Lumber Co Lumber 4197.8
10. The Misfits 3810.4

We'll be back with a more in-depth wrapup soon as we gear up for the real baseball playoffs. Since much of the league is Marlins, Angels, Giants and Pirates fans, we'll also have some recommendations of TV shows you can binge instead.

Playoffs: Finals, Final Sunday Roundup

Look at that gorgeous swing. LOOK AT IT.

STUDS: Eric Thames (HG) homered twice and drove in 3. Hyun-Jin Ryu (HG) struck out 8 and allowed 3 runs in a 7-inning win, adding his first career homer. Michael Conforto (WLB) homered, doubled, walked and drove in 3. Sam Hilliard (PM) was a triple shy of a cycle and drove in 3.

DUDS: Jean Segura (YA) erred. Tanner Roark (LCL) allowed 5 runs and struck out 1 in 3-inning loss.

Playoffs: Finals, Final Saturday Roundup

Ryan Braun's hitting well again.
You know what that means.

STUD: Ryan Braun (M) doubled, singled, walked, stole a base, drove in 2 and scored twice.

DUD: Nick Ahmed (LCL) singled and stole a base — but committed 2 errors.

Playoffs: Finals, Final Friday Roundup

Trea Turner has 16 homers and 34 steals in only 114 games this season.

STUDS: Chase Anderson (M) allowed no runs and struck out 4 in a 6-inning win. Starlin Castro (FF) was a triple short of a cycle and scored twice. Jacob deGrom (FF) didn't allow a run and struck out 9 in a 7-inning win. Mike Foltynewicz (YA) didn't allow a run and struck out 7 in an 8-inning win. Ronald Acuña Jr. (WLB) homered, doubled, walked twice, drove in 2 and scored 3 runs. Trea Turner (CB) hit a pair of solo homers. Jeff McNeil (CB) was a triple short of a cycle, drove in 2 and scored 3 runs.

DUD: Kevin Newman (HG) went 0-fer with an error.

Playoffs: Finals, Final Thursday Roundup

Shane Greene in Detroit: 1.18 ERA and 22 saves. Shane Greene in Atanta: 4.22 ERA and 1 save. 

STUD: Jack Flaherty tossed another gem, striking out 8 and allowing 1 run in 8 innings.

DUDS: Carlos Martinez (HG) allowed 3 runs and recorded 1 out — a strikeout, at least. Shane Greene (R) allowed 1 run in 1 inning.

Playoffs: Finals, Final Wednesday Roundup

Because we didn't want to use a photo of Starlin Castro... we bring you Sam Hilliard!

STUDS: Sam Hilliard (PM) hit 2 solo homers. Starlin Castro (FF) - yes, he's still in the league - homered, doubled twice and scored twice.

DUDS: Dexter Fowler (HG) singled and erred. Kenley Jansen (CB) allowed 2 runs in an inning to blow the save. Brian McCann (FF) drove in a run and erred. Amed Rosario (FF) did what he does best, erring.