EHCC 2016 Performance ⅓

We’re already a third of the way through the season! While there have been some surprises so far this season, 2016 has shaped up in a somewhat predictable manner. With 18 games separating 3^rd and 4^th in the east, it’s safe to say that the East is a 3 teams race. On the other hand, the West is a 5 team race. The top 5 teams being within 3.5 games of a playoff spot.

The leader in top weekly score so far is Dublin with 96.5 points in week 2. The leader? for worst weekly score so far is Bridgewater with 23 points also in week 3.

Did This Trade Really Happen?

Does anyone else think that Tijuana should be strung up by their Hispanics for that awful draft day trade?

Mar 20; Dublin trades potential bubble casualty Elvis Andrus to LV for a second round madp (#24 overall). No big deal, DUB is trying to create some roster flexibility, LV has an extra roster spot to play with, could use some help at SS.

Mar 27; LV flips Andrus along with a 2017 3^rd round madp to TIJ for the #2 overall pick… Ok, not a great trade but I can see it. Oh wait, and Zach Wheeler? The Zach Wheeler who was highly touted prospect who looked very promising as a young player until he got bit by the TJ bug. The same guy who will be back sometime reasonably soon. He was a throw in? For Elvis Andrus? A 27 year old shortstop who is below average at best. Not exactly a rebuilding piece. Am I missing something here?

As the trade is announced it you heard a collective groan at the draft party. The chatter on the draft chat echoes the sentiment. Is Tijuana building some special team where young promising pitchers and high draft picks are less valuable than middle of the road players? In essence, Las Vegas moved the #24 overall pick and a 2017 3^rd for the #2 overall pick and Zach Wheeler. Really!?!? All the while Las Vegas is taunting Tijuana, “That draft day trade is feeling better and better”.

So there you have it. A week into the start of the 2016 EHCC season and we already have the favorite for worst trade of the year.

Tankville

On paper the 2016 Rakeville Rockets looked like an up and coming team in the EHCC. The collection of talent on offense was impressive. Bryant, Cabrera, Abreu, Sano, Seager, etc… these guys are going to rake. The pitching staff looked like more of a stars and scrubs approach, a couple big names but not a well-rounded bunch. The offense was definitely going to carry this team. This even prompted the esteemed Skip Clifton to predict Rakeville as a borderline playoff team.

Despite this impressive collection of offensive talent the Rockets have underperformed so far in 2016. You’d think that Rakeville would be better than average in most offensive categories. You’d think wrong. Rakeville has an embarrassing 7-23-5 (0.271) record so far in offense categories. Add in a 12-21-2 (0.371) record in pitching and the team only holds a 0.321 winning percentage on the year. More importantly Rakeville already sits 15 games out of a playoff spot.

Do I have an explanation for Rakeville’s poor performance in 2016. Yes. Fantasy Karma! When Rakeville sent down Kris Bryant and Kolten Wong on July 12^th of last year it was a crystal clear signal that the Rockets were positioning for draft placement. This was a move that made the team known by all (including many within the organization) as Tankville. By rule Tankville was well within their rights to send these players down. But should a team blatantly tank like that? Fantasy karma says NO!

The 2015 tank job gave Rakeville the #2 overall pick in the 2016 madraft. A pick that was set in stone as soon as the regular season was over. The 2015 finish also netted Rakeville the second best odds in 2016’s midraft. This is where karma kicks in. Rakeville fell an unprecedented 8 spots, from 2 to 10 in the midraft lottery. Does anyone else have a better explanation for such a drop?

Let this be a lesson for all of you future tankers out there. Fantasy karma’s a bitch…

Las Vegas Pine Party

Do the Las Vegas Doggs know something that the rest of the league doesn’t? LV has been carrying 15 position players on their roster for much of the season. With 11 starting spots this leaves 4 position players on the bench each day. This gives LV GM Howe Dogg the flexibility to replace idol players and to play matchups. This isn’t really a big deal except all the other contending teams have only been carrying between 0-2 bench position players. Instead using these extra roster slots to carry extra pitchers than can be switched in on days when they start. This strategy would net owners more pitching counting stats.

The scoreboard can’t be more damning. LV = #1. Has me thinking that I should be picking up more position players.

What’s the Story

The following is a transcript of the recent Dublin ownership meetings. “Wow, this Trevor Story kid is killin’ it. Why is still a FA in Yahoo? He must be owned by someone. Maybe we can swing a trade for this kid; he’s been one of the best shortstops in baseball this year. Dude’s on pace for like 46 homeruns. Who owns this guy? Oh, Dublin… Hey wait, we’re Dublin! We own Trevor Story. Ahhhhh, this is great! Let’s keep him in the minors until he makes the HOF…”

What’s a guy gotta do to get the call?  #freestory

What an Albatross

In golf, an albatross is 3 under par. I presumed that since the Albatross franchise was based in Augusta (home of the Masters) that the team was named for this feat. I was going to use this space to make a joke about a second meaning of the word that I was more familiar with, “A metaphor for a dead weight or burden that one must carry, especially when the burden is not a literal one but a stigma of some kind that one cannot easily discard or throw off.”. It seemed appropriate since Augusta was dead weight in the EHCC for a few seasons (zing!). Upon further research I’ve found that Albatross can mean so so much more…

A large bird that is said to give bad luck to sailors.

A metaphor for a dead weight or burden that one must carry, especially when the burden is not a literal one but a stigma of some kind that one cannot easily discard or throw off.

A sexual position in which one male pleasures four others by giving a blow job, taking it in the butt, and giving two hand jobs simultaneously, hence the flapping motion of said bird.

 Three strokes under par in one golf hole.

 Four strikes in row whilst bowling.

The act of slapping both ass cheeks of your partner simultaneously while in the doggie style position, creating the effect of an albatross during takeoff.

 For which definition the team was actually named? We may never know…

Balancing Act

Let this be an argument against the unbalanced schedule.

San Juan is the 9^th ranked team according to average ‘points for’ this season (59.4), but somehow find themselves with the 4^th highest winning percentage and an almost assured spot in the playoffs. How does this happen? The East baby! Clearly the West is beating the snot out of each other while the top 3 teams in the East are already on cruise control. I’ve been using the term “lucky” to describe the teams with a high Δ (see below). This is a little misleading. It’s no luck that LV, WEY and SJ all have the highest Δ in 2016. The bottom 3 in the East have been abysmal with a combined .314 winning percentage. LV, WEY and SJ have had the luxury of beating up on the bottom 3, while the teams in the West pummels each other into mediocrity.

Is there any doubt that if San Juan was in the West that they’d be just another team vying for a playoffs spot? Instead the Guerites are printing playoff tickets in May. Count me in for a balanced schedule.

Feeling unlucky?

Below is a summary of the PF and PA for the 2016 1/3 regular season. The PF shows how well you’ve performed on average on the 12-120 scale. As in my previous posts, the delta(∆) column is your PA minus 65 (65 being the average). This number gives you an idea of how “lucky” you’ve been. You’ll see that the most “lucky” teams so far in 2015 are San Juan, Las Vegas and Weymouth. While the most “unlucky” teams have been Rakeville, Quebec City and Rio.

Notably, the top 5 teams on this list have set themselves apart from the rest of the league.