There Are No Ties in Baseball !!??!! 2014 Wrap-Up

After 162 games of Hits, RBI, SB, K, and Holds, we ended in a frickin’ tie.  And unlike Bud Selig, there is nothing I can do to change it.  The PicketLine league does NOT have a tie-breaker rule, so the teams will simply split the two $$$ prizes.

Well, congratulations to Eric Kantner (New Market Mallers) for finishing in 1^st place with Joe Moore (WTFUTLEY).  This makes back-to-back championships for Moore, who sat atop the standings all by himself in 2013.  Kantner and Moore will get $750 each.

The Mallers lingered near the top of the standings all season, but used a late-season surge to grab the money spot.  David Ortiz(3^rd round), Michael Brantley(11^th), Billy Hamilton(2^nd), Neil Walker(18^th), Devin Mesoraco(19^th), Brock Holt(trade) and Anthony Rendon(10^th) led a balanced offense all summer.  Kantner’s pitching staff included Dodgers lefties, Clayton Kershaw (1^st) and Hyun-Jin Ryu(7^th).  Bartolo Colon(13^th) mixed in 16 QS and Michael Wacha(4^th) dealt in the first half of the season before his injury.  The bullpen was anchored by Huston Street’s(8^th) 41 Saves and a shocking season out of Pat Neshek(free agent).

WTFUTLEY overcame a dismal season from 1^st round pick David Wright thanks to an early June trade with 69witSuzynWaldman, who took a struggling Wright in exchange for Felix Hernandez.  Wow.  Moore’s 2^nd through 6^th round picks didn’t hurt either, as he hit on all of them… Giancarlo Stanton(2^nd), Starling Marte Partay(3^rd), Ian Kinsler(4^th), Jordan Zimmermann(5^th), and Jose Abreu (6^th).  The day before the Wright/Hernandez trade, Moore also grabbed Josh Harrison off the waiver wire.  Those two moves were likely the turning point in his season.  Chris Archer(9^th) and Garrett Richards(free agent) combined for 36 QS, while Addison Reed(7^th) and Jenrry Mejia(18^th) closed 59 games.  Wade Davis(free agent) had the best season for any reliever in baseball, mixing with Luke Gregerson(16^th) and Joba Chamberlain(free agent) to rack up Holds.

Finishing in 3^rd place was, of course, Bret Jenkins and The Jimy Kelly Rule.  Bret has now finished in the money six times, without ever taking 1^st place.  Bret once again led the league in transactions, with 332.  Jimy Kelly broke the backs of opposing pitchers with a lineup that included Buster Posey(3^rd), Victor Martinez(7^th), Mike Trout(1^st), and Brett Gardner(6^th).  On the mound, Jon Lester(9^th) and C.J. Wilson(11^th) were the only starters to throw over 100 innings for the club, with Lester posting 27 QS.  Dillon Gee(13^th) pitched well in eight QS and Jessie Hahn(free agent) dealt for 60 innings and six QS.  The back-end of the bullpen was Jenkins’ strong point, with Trevor Rosenthal(4^th) and Craig Kimbrel(2^nd) combining for 78 Saves.

4^th place was a bit of a shocker.  SONS OF PITCHES came out of nowhere to claim the final money spot.  On 9/16, I mentioned them as a possible sleeper on the league blog, but in my mind I wasn’t really giving them a chance based on how far back they were.  However, field manager Eric Rosin used that crazy screaming baseball to rally an offense that included Robinson Cano(1^st), Kyle Seager(8^th), Anthony Rizzo(6^th), Christian Yelich(11^th), Russell Martin(14th), Carl Crawford(10^th), Jason Heyward(4^th) and Corey Dickerson(free agent) to grab the final $200.  When Jose Fernandez(2^nd) went down early in the season it looked like Rosin’s season was doomed.  But starters like Hiroki Kuroda(9^th), Ervin Santana(12^th) and Collin McHugh(free agent) picked up the slack.  A resurgent Jonathan Broxton(free agent) and a consistent Darren O’Day(free agent) piled up Holds, while Santiago Casilla(18^th) picked up some crucial late-season Saves.

Congratulations to all the money winners!!!  As for the rest of us, we stink.

The Best Draft Pick Award goes to Chris Jenkins (Brewmasters), who selected Lucas Duda with the first pick of the final round.  Duda finished the season as the 74^th ranked player in Yahoo, had 92 RBI, 247 TB and .349 OB%.  Unfortunately, the Brewmasters dropped Duda TWICE during the season, before he was finally picked up for good by Shoving & Squeezing on May 28.  The Brewmasters also took Wily Peralta(22 QS) with the last pick of the 21^st round, but again the Brewmasters never reaped the rewards, dropping Peralta for the legendary bat of Justin Ruggiano before the season even began.

Worst Draft Pick Award goes to Sven Jenkins (Los Barbudos), Bryce Harper 3^rd overall.  I didn’t have to look far to figure this one out.  Just three picks into the draft and my team exploded.  Honorable mention goes to the poor owners who took Carlos Gonzalez, Chris Davis and Prince Fielder.  Ugh.

Worst Team Name… this was a tough one this year, with half the league being in contention, but I’m going with Kilt Spinners.  Brutal.