From Four to Two

The 2021 Semi-Final Match-Ups did not disappoint. The Orlando Splitters impressed with 611.33 points and a victory over the Say Hey Kids’ 540.5 points. Led by Paul Goldschmidt (72.5 points) and John Means (38.08 points) the Splitters fell 22 points short of the Say Hey Kids in Hitting Points but, per usual, won the Pitching battle – this week by 92.83 points. In the other Semi-Final Match-Up, Jackal Attack and the LeBronto Blue James each lucked out – the Say Hey Kids put up 136 points more than either of them. Despite the off-week for the team, the Blue James leaned on 38 points from Byron Buxton, a surprising 42.25 points across two starts for Ranger Suarez and summed 404 points, 51.08 points more than Jackal Attack. Vlad Guerrero Jr and Max Scherzer were crucial pieces toward Jackal Attack finding themselves atop the Season Point Total Leaderboard at the end of the Regular Season, but with just 10 points and 11.75 points respectively between those two, Jackal fell short down the home stretch. The Say Hey Kids seem to be the favorite for 3rd place, when compared to this recent Jackal performance, but then again, you’d do better than to count Jackal out at any point.

2021 Championship Show Down

Taking a deeper look at our 2021 Hum Babe Dynasty Championship Match-Up, the Orlando Splitters and LeBronto Blue James both own impressive rosters when it comes to Keeper Players from the 2020 Season, but the only reason these teams are the final two standing is because of their ability to manage the Waiver Wire week in and week out. In the past General Managers were able to add Starting Pitchers at will, accumulating sometimes twenty plus starts in a week. Now with just five allowable claims per Match-Up, General Managers have to be much more strategic with those roster moves. The Orlando Splitters General Manager had this to say about it, “Throughout the season, I didn’t think too much about it. We have a solid group of guys on our roster and were able to count on them week in and week out. But since the Playoffs have rolled around, man has it been stressful. I’ve found myself putting all of the potential Free Agent adds on a whiteboard for three weeks out to strategize a road map of how our five weekly transactions are going to pan out. Then naturally, you run into hiccups where competing teams snag the guy you wanted before you get to him… It’s made things a lot of fun, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t looking forward to the offseason and break from this stress after we, hopefully, claim the Championship.”

Consolation Prizes

Blame Fantrax for any confusion in where our Consolation Bracket stands, but the battle for 9th and 10th Place, or the Consolation Championship is in fact between the Somalia Pirates and Morning Wood. Super Smash Stros and Pebble Beach duke it out for 11th and 12th Place, Straight Outta deGrompton and the San Francisco Studs have 13th and 14th Place finishes on the line and the London Bag Club and El Paso Border Patrol will determine the 15th and 16th Place finished. When it’s all said and done, not a ton on the line here other than bragging rights. Next season’s Draft Order is determined by Regular Season Standings and the Draft Lottery, plus there’s no prize money for the Consolation Bracket. Still, it’s pretty cool to see the #16 Seed, Somalia Pirates, turn it on in the postseason and put themselves in the position to claim the 9th Place finish.