Hey everyone, sorry again for the off week. The past few times I’ve thrown a blurb together it’s taken me an hour or two so I’ve been selfishly procrastinating. With that said, there was a lot of movement this week, so let’s dive in.
Completing Week 15 marks the entrance into the final quarter of the season. To go along with that, I want to remind everyone that the trade deadline is Feb 21st, so you have 1 more month to make any moves. Week 16 is an extended week lasting through Feb 3rd, bisected by the All-Star Break. Also, please please please send me your dues if you are still outstanding and haven’t contacted me with a date to do so. I really should have all of them by now and don’t want to have to be the bad guy.
Evan and Draper’s matchup proved to be a bit uneventful. The bout between the bottom barrel teams showed a marginal victory for Evan, coming short of the Shitty Predictor’s 7-3 projection. As we move further into the season, both teams are solidifying their place at the bottom of the totem pole, both dealing with the conundrum of how to properly tank in a fantasy league without benching the entire squad. Still, with neither of these two owners making a sale as of yet, there is still time to further their cause and pick up draft picks for future staff. The question remains, is there even meat on the bone?
Barbs appears to have seized his opportunity to snag some points from Elm this past week. With a 7-3 victory, B picked up 14 points to push himself into the playoff conversation to tie Lantz for 6th place, slipping Rad and stiff arming Sako in the process. Given his Week 16 matchup against George, the door is open for him to create the cushion he needs as he closes out the season with collisions into Lantz, Jagz, and TK. Barbs has been openly active on the trade market, dangling one John Gibson on the block with yet to find a dance partner with a scoring winger. The time still remains to deal, but the clock is ticking. Tough decisions ahead while sitting near the bubble.
Speaking of Rad and Jason, Phil’s New Haircut proves to be a fresh one at that, with Josh taking the 6-3 W. To Jason’s credit, neither of them performed poorly or stellar, but with time running out, Rad seems to have relegated Jay out of a wildcard position where Sako was sitting in 1st place only 6 weeks ago. While Rad can take solace in his victory, his 13 point pickup outpaced Barbs and Lantz only slightly, closing his deficit from 10 points down to 7. With 5 weeks remaining, it’s very possible for him to slip into a playoff position, but after being neutered by shipping Crosby, it remains to be seen whether he should wheel his newfound currency or continue the garage sale.
Zaj hits new heights, seizing 18 points last week. Although against George, I wouldn’t write off the take just yet. Doebler posted a number 1 Power Rank for the week with an Index of 91, not shabby at all. What’s more, Doebler has been in the top two performers 5 of the last 7 weeks, and in the top 5 every week through that same stretch. Sitting in 3rd place, 2 points back from 1st and a 12 point cushion from danger, Doebler is a near shoein for the playoffs, and the way his team is performing, I’d mark him as a favorite to take the conference lead in the weeks ahead; especially given his weaker opponents in front of him. Doebler looks to further his cause this in Week 16 as he squares off with a wounded Draper, but I imagine he’s looking forward to his Week 18 matchup with Caruso for King Shit.
Speaking of shit, Terd Ferg and Jimbob ended with a split pot last week. While neither was able to gain any momentum in the standings, their mutual pigeon hold allowed everyone around them to outpace. Lantz continues to sit on the bubble while Jim is sitting comfortable in 2nd place, top of his conference with a 10 point lead on Barbs, his only conference competition. Jim’s 13 point cushion is enough for him to take a couple good shots without fear of losing his first round bye, whereas Lantz is living on the edge. Lantz has a mixed bag ahead as he faces Caruso this week, however can look forward to meetings with George and Elm to round off his season. Although on the bubble, I imagine his spirits are high and expectations set.
I had no intention of saving the Tom matchup for last, however this week proved to be a very large one for Kelly and Caruso. First off, this was a nail biter that ended in dramatic upset. Although Kelly took a 9-1 shellacking, it was only a few points away from being a minor 6-4 upset, and was a cointoss through Saturday. Caruso pocketed his 18 points, simultaneously dethroning TK and taking his place. While this is a large upset, the larger story points to TK coming back down to earth, placing the conference lead into a 3 way race between TK, Caruso, and Doebinski. What more, Caruso relied on his goaltending to get the job done, meanwhile trading Matt Murray and a 14th to TK for Huberdeau and a 9th, seriously strengthening his rival. Caruso indeed foreshadowed his own misfortune, but had no intention of such a large upset and will now have an even larger decision to make; what to do with his newfound position, certainly krutting it up. Although TK took a large L this week, he faces Elm and Draper in the oncoming weeks with only Rad, Jim, and Barbs standing a chance of thwarting growth. Meanwhile Caruso meets Lantz and Jim back to back. One thing’s for certain, the next 5 weeks spell gunshow for the Evens Conference. Who will spoil the fun?
Again, reminder that Week 16 is in fact an extended week and to please make good on dues asap.
Thanks guys, gl;hf.