WEEK 27: EZ Fantasy Baseball 2016

#151

Anyone seen this MLB predictions generator by 538? Pretty neat.

#152

MovingPictures07 wrote:Anyone seen this MLB predictions generator by 538? Pretty neat.

I'm going to be checking this when I'm in a sportsbook in Vegas on Friday. May be using it to help make some futures bets in baseball on some Over/Unders.

I would very quickly take the under for the Reds to get to 70 wins, for starters. For about $50.

#153

I think the craziest thing about that is it predicts the Chicago Cubs as having the best chance of winning the World Series. Could this be the year?

#154

MovingPictures07 wrote:I think the craziest thing about that is it predicts the Chicago Cubs as having the best chance of winning the World Series. Could this be the year?

on paper they're definitely the strongest team in baseball right now. They're great in every area and have plenty of guys on the roster who've won before (three of whom did it with the Sox in 2013, for the record). I'm pretty much a full-time Cubs fan at this point. They need to win.

#155

Sloonei wrote:
MovingPictures07 wrote:I think the craziest thing about that is it predicts the Chicago Cubs as having the best chance of winning the World Series. Could this be the year?
on paper they're definitely the strongest team in baseball right now. They're great in every area and have plenty of guys on the roster who've won before (three of whom did it with the Sox in 2013, for the record). I'm pretty much a full-time Cubs fan at this point. They need to win.

It'd be pretty awesome if they did. I can't imagine being a hardcore Cubs fan and having to wait out a drought this long.

#156

The Cubs are probably the best team in baseball. The problem is, once the playoffs start that means basically nothing. I think the MLB playoffs are a total crapshoot more than any of the other professional leagues in America.

#157

JaggedJimmyJay wrote:The Cubs are probably the best team in baseball. The problem is, once the playoffs start that means basically nothing. I think the MLB playoffs are a total crapshoot more than any of the other professional leagues in America.

Why is that?

#158

MovingPictures07 wrote:
JaggedJimmyJay wrote:The Cubs are probably the best team in baseball. The problem is, once the playoffs start that means basically nothing. I think the MLB playoffs are a total crapshoot more than any of the other professional leagues in America.
Why is that?

It's inherent to the structure. A team can put together a very impressive resume over a 162 game marathon of a regular season, and then have just 3 off games in the first round and it's all over. It seems to happen every year to at least one team, while a lesser team gets hot late in the season or in the playoffs and wins the whole thing. This also happens in the NFL, but not quite to the same degree.

#159

That's definitely true. The Mets last year are a perfect example. They were the last or one of the last teams to sneak into the playoffs, and even that was dependent on a major collapse by Washington, but then they got hot in October and went to the World Series.

Kansas City was the opposite of this trend though. They steamrolled everyone in the regular season and continued to do that all the way through the playoffs.

#160

This blind squirrel finally found his acorn. The Pirates are going nuts this week!

#161

G-Man wrote:This blind squirrel finally found his acorn. The Pirates are going nuts this week!

Same with the Red Sox! They only scored 1 run (in a win) on Monday, but 11 yesterday and 9 today.

#162

Metalmarsh89 wrote:
G-Man wrote:This blind squirrel finally found his acorn. The Pirates are going nuts this week!
Same with the Red Sox! They only scored 1 run (in a win) on Monday, but 11 yesterday and 9 today.

I am happy you've found success, and regret not following you. The Harpers got shout out today.

#163

I'm taking the Red Sox offense.

#164

Here are the mid-week scores for Week 4:

1. G-Man (36 runs)
2. S~V~S (34 runs)
3. Metalmarsh89 (28 runs)
4. Turnip Head (23 runs)
5. Spacedaisy (18 runs)
6. Epignosis (17 runs)
6. JaggedJimmyJay (17 runs)
8. birdwithteeth11 (13 runs)
8. Draconus (13 runs)
8. Russtifinko (13 runs)
11. AllAlongTheBoardwork (12 runs)
11. MovingPictures07 (12 runs)
13. Sloonei (9 runs)

I'll send out the Week 5 selection reminder tonight.

#165

It's no fair, everyone stopped pitching to Bryce Harper!

#166

Ooh. What an awful time to be randomized the Cubs

Only 1 game played so far this week (with only an hour left until the second game starts). Anyways, that's my fault. I've had a lot going on irl and totally forgot about this. Sorry G-Man! I'll definitely be tracking for awhile now

#167

I want the Angels this week. They seem to be putting things together but I expect I'll kill their momentum.

I can't not obsess over baseball, if that wasn't already obvious.

#168

If that happens, I will call them and tell them who put the whammy on them

#169

One of my fantasy teams is depending on Albert Pujols to hit lots of balls over fences this year.

#170

Sloonei wrote:One of my fantasy teams is depending on Albert Pujols to hit lots of balls over fences this year.

I read that post way too fast at first and only picked up on the words "my fantasy," "Albert Pujols," and "lots of balls."

#171

G-Man wrote:
Sloonei wrote:One of my fantasy teams is depending on Albert Pujols to hit lots of balls over fences this year.
I read that post way too fast at first and only picked up on the words "my fantasy," "Albert Pujols," and "lots of balls."

#172

I suppose it's a good thing I didn't spell his name phonetically.

#173

Aw poo. Today's Pirates-Rockies game has been postponed.

#174

I'm not doing very well. Which team should I pick for next week?

#175

The Nats just got shut out twice in a row. By the Phillies.

#176

Sloonei wrote:The Nats just got shut out twice in a row. By the Phillies.

Even I know enough about baseball to know that's weak.

#177

Get your picks in, folks! You know the drill. Here is the chart. Only a few of us haven't used the Cubs yet. Otherwise it's a pretty interesting spread. Turnip Head has yet to actually submit a team selection to me. :P

Spoiler: show

#178

I am going with the Pittsburgh Pirates, please.

#179

I'll take the Arizona Diamondbacks.

#180

Miamis Dee Gordon got suspended for steroids, and AZ is playing them 3 games this week. AZ has better pitchers in each of those games, so the Diamondbacks are a pretty good pick. AZ, San Fran & Philly are all really close in runs, AZ could have a good week. Their other match ups are Colorado and the Braves. The Braves suck so far this year. Colorado is their toughest opponent this week, so if they do well against them this weekend, they could breeze the rest of it, even with only one day off.

#181

S~V~S wrote:Miamis Dee Gordon got suspended for steroids, and AZ is playing them 3 games this week. AZ has better pitchers in each of those games, so the Diamondbacks are a pretty good pick. AZ, San Fran & Philly are all really close in runs, AZ could have a good week. Their other match ups are Colorado and the Braves. The Braves suck so far this year. Colorado is their toughest opponent this week, so if they do well against them this weekend, they could breeze the rest of it, even with only one day off.

Yeah, I was surprised to see the Braves' current W-L ratio. So far, I've only been looking at the team that certain teams are playing for the upcoming week and trying to judge whether a relatively good team is playing a relatively bad team. I probably need to be doing more research though because my picks have been completely uninformed beyond that.

#182

Arizona has been having a good season so far, and this could be a great week for them.

These are the season run leaders, and it is a fairly tight ranking still.

RK TEAM R
1 St. Louis 137
2 Cubs 130
3 Pittsburgh 119
4 San Francisco 118
5 Arizona 118

#183

Interesting, the top 3 are all in the same division (as the Reds, that's the only reason I know), right?

#184

Week 5: Baltimore Orioles

#185

MovingPictures07 wrote:Interesting, the top 3 are all in the same division (as the Reds, that's the only reason I know), right?

There's probably a reason the top 3 in runs scored all play in the Reds' division.

#186

JaggedJimmyJay wrote:
MovingPictures07 wrote:Interesting, the top 3 are all in the same division (as the Reds, that's the only reason I know), right?
There's probably a reason the top 3 in runs scored all play in the Reds' division.

#187

You know I have to say that I'm actually excited about baseball for the first time in my adult life (since the Red Sox broke the curse, really) thanks to this fantasy stuff. I haven't watched any games but I've been following my weekly picks' game scores just about every day/night.

I think I may switch EZ Fantasy Football over to this new-team-each-week-for-points format.

#188

G-Man wrote:You know I have to say that I'm actually excited about baseball for the first time in my adult life (since the Red Sox broke the curse, really) thanks to this fantasy stuff. I haven't watched any games but I've been following my weekly picks' game scores just about every day/night.

I think I may switch EZ Fantasy Football over to this new-team-each-week-for-points format.

I am more interested this year than most years as well.

#189

I'll draft the San Francisco Giants for Week 5.

#190

The Giants are one of three teams I'm considering for next week. I'm really tempted to join you.

#191

Oh man, Giants or Mets. Who do I pick?

#192

My brain is telling me the Giants but my heart is telling me the Mets.

Let's go Mets go.

#193

G-Man wrote:My brain is telling me the Giants but my heart is telling me the Mets.

Let's go Mets go.

I thought about the Mets too.

But I opted to go SF, because they play in Cincinnati and then host the Rockies next week. Two bad pitching teams, and SF tends to rake against the Reds.

#194

The Giants are going against two teams that are bleeding runs but they also play the Mets today. The Mets play two teams that are bleeding runs but not quite as badly as the Giants' opponents. I guess I felt the Mets are positioned to handle the Giants today and possibly produce seven days of run accumulation instead of the Giants' six.

Looking aheads, I didn't see many favorable seven-game weeks remaining for the Mets, assuming current trends hold. The Giants' schedule looks like it holds more opportunities to use them in the future. There I go overthinking a silly fantasy game. :P

#195

Week 4 is in the books! Now for the weekly rundown. Here's a reminder of who everyone picked for Week 4:

AllAlongTheBoardwalk - TORONTO BLUE JAYS*
birdwithteeth11- CHICAGO CUBS
Draconus- CHICAGO CUBS*
Epignosis- LOS ANGELES DODGERS
G-Man- PITTSBURGH PIRATES
JaggedJimmyJay- NEW YORK METS
Metalmarsh89- BOSTON RED SOX
MovingPictures07- TORONTO BLUE JAYS
Russtifinko- KANSAS CITY ROYALS*
S~V~S- ST. LOUIS CARDINALS
Sloonei- WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Spacedaisy- SAN DIEGO PADRES
Turnip Head- COLORADO ROCKIES*

*= Randomly Selected Team (player did not pick in time)

WEEK 4 TOTALS:
1. G-Man (45 runs)
2. Metalmarsh89 (43 runs)
3. S~V~S (39 runs)
4. Turnip Head (37 runs)
5. JaggedJimmyJay (36 runs)
6. Spacedaisy (28 runs)
7. birdwithteeth11 (26 runs)
7. Draconus (26 runs)
9. Epignosis (23 runs)
10. AllAlongTheBoardwork (21 runs)
10. MovingPictures07 (21 runs)
12. Sloonei (20 runs)
13. Russtifinko (13 runs)

Metalmarsh made it close thanks to his Red Sox pick having a stellar game last night. I was sweating bullets. I emerged victorious in the end for the week.

OVERALL STANDINGS:
1. JaggedJimmyJay* (143 runs)
2. S~V~S* (139 runs)
3. Metalmarsh89 (137 runs)
4. G-Man* (111 runs)
5. birdwithteeth11 (110 runs)
5. Spacedaisy* (110 runs)
7. Draconus* (109 runs)
8. Epignosis (105 runs)
9. Sloonei* (104 runs)
10. Turnip Head (102 runs)
11. MovingPictures07 (97 runs)
12. Russtifinko (93 runs)
13. AllAlongTheBoardwork (85 runs)

Each asterisk (*) marks a week as the runs leader (sole or tied) for a given week

The top three seem pretty steady but there was lots of movement below them. One bad week is all it takes to fall behind or lose your lead, so we'll see what happens when our leaders run out of big-hitting teams. Is it still anyone's game to win? We'll find out. JaggedJimmyJay has held the #1 spot three weeks in a row now. Who is going to take the top spot away from him?

Fancy-pants progress graph time!

Spoiler: show

#196

Now for the Week 5 picks! Games are already underway.

AllAlongTheBoardwork- BALTIMORE ORIOLES*
birdwithteeth11- DETROIT TIGERS**
Draconus- SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS
Epignosis- ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS
G-Man- NEW YORK METS
JaggedJimmyJay- BALTIMORE ORIOLES
Metalmarsh89- SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS
MovingPictures07- ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS
Russtifinko- ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS*
S~V~S- PITTSBURGH PIRATES
Sloonei- LOS ANGELES ANGELS
Spacedaisy- BALTIMORE ORIOLES*
Turnip Head- CLEVELAND INDIANS*

*= Randomly Selected Team (player did not pick in time)
**=Player requested a team they already used this season. Additional time was given for an alternate selection but none was given, leading to randomization.

#197

Thanks G-Man! Just note that I have Arizona this week, I assume that was a typo. Unless of course Baltimore performs better than Arizona, then that's fine.

#198

Hmm. Thanks for bringing that to my attention. I'll double check my spreadsheet once the girls are in bed and make sure I didn't make any other goofs.

#199

Okay, I fixed MP's team in the earlier post. Everyone else's teams were accurate. I'm not sure why I goofed on MP's.

#200

G-Man wrote:Okay, I fixed MP's team in the earlier post. Everyone else's teams were accurate. I'm not sure why I goofed on MP's.

It happens, don't sweat it!

Full Games	Civilian: Mafia: Independent:
Speed Games	Civilian: Fiddler on the Roof Mafia:
Heists	Civilian: MVP: RED vs BLUE
Burglaries	Independent: The Theme Is Literally a Burglary
Special Games	Civilian: Independent:

Full Games	Civilian: Mafia: Independent:
Speed Games	Civilian: Fiddler on the Roof Mafia:
Heists	Civilian: MVP: RED vs BLUE
Burglaries	Independent: The Theme Is Literally a Burglary
Special Games	Civilian: Independent:

Full Games	Civilian: Mafia: Independent:
Speed Games	Civilian: Fiddler on the Roof Mafia:
Heists	Civilian: MVP: RED vs BLUE
Burglaries	Independent: The Theme Is Literally a Burglary
Special Games	Civilian: Independent:

2014 Sockys
2015 Sockys
Miscellaneous

2014 Sockys
2015 Sockys
Miscellaneous

2014 Sockys
2015 Sockys
Miscellaneous