With his 8th place finish last year, Adrian missed the playoffs for the third straight season and for the fifth time in six years, the latter of which is a Diamond Dynasty record for futility. He’s looking for his first playoff appearance since 2011 and his first post-season victory since 2008, when he took home the title as a #2 seed. He enters the season with the weakest keepers by o-rank and a below average draft board. His winning percentages in the last three seasons are well below his career mark of .497, a percentage he hopes to push back over .500 by the end of the season. He is 68 wins away from joining Ben in the 1300-win club.
After occupying first place in weeks 14-16 last season, Alex finished the regular season in third place but suffered a disappointing first round exit to near-cinderella story Ben. A keeper re-tool saw new faces via trade (Hanley Ramirez, Stephen Strasburg) and a bonus expansion flex (Gerritt Cole) to help build an above-average keeper roster to balance his below-average draft board. Alex is working on three straight playoff appearances but is searching for his first title since 2005. In a 10 team league, a manager would win, on average, every 10 years. Let’s see if “5” is the magic number for the big guy.
Ho hum, another season, another finals appearance for Ben. His bid to become the second manager ever to win back-to-back titles fell just short, losing in the championship game. Still, four finals appearances in five seasons is a record that will stand for a long time. Unlike some other playoff teams from last season Ben managed to make his playoff push without mortgaging his future, leaving him with an above average draft board to pair with his excellent keepers. With the tools at hand and his managerial prowess, the Diamond Dynasty’s winningest manager is in good shape to make another playoff run. A bid this year would give him seven straight (tied best all time, TJ) and 10 of 11 (tied best all time, Kurt).
A decade after his first championship, Colin is still searching for number two. Last year’s 112 wins and .536 winning percentage was the third best mark for the franchise (and pushed his career winning percentage over .500), but he faltered in the semi finals in a tightly contested match. He enters 2015 with the best O-Ranked keepers in the league and a slightly below-average draft board. Can Colin make his first finals appearance since his championship year in 2004? Can he take home the title? I’m Ron Burgandy?
James squeaked his way into the playoffs last year behind the second-worst winning percentage for a 5th seed in league history, and his playoff performance played out expectedly; an 0-2 effort marked the first time in James’ illustrious post-season career that he failed to win at least one match. It wasn’t all bad though, as it marked the second time in his career that he managed to make the playoffs in consecutive years. With only one winning season in his last four, James is looking to turn that trend around while become the first ever three-time league champion.
Franchise records in wins and winning percentage. A playoff appearance, his first since 2009. A 16 week unbeaten streak. And a belt holder for every moment except when it counted. Not since Ben’s 2005 season have we seen a season with such promise end so abruptly, but that was Jarrett’s fate in 2014. The question now is, what that the outlier? Or was that a sign of things to come? WIth strong keepers but the second worst draft board, it’ll be very interesting to see if Jarrett has finally discovered the winning formula.
We found Kurt in a strange position last year; that is, not in the playoffs. There had only been one other playoffs in league history where the former commissioner was not involved. His keepers are not the strongest in the league but he should benefit from a strong draft board. The question now is how he rebounds, and how much of a burden the commissionership was. With the chains of responsibility lifted, will he rise again to the top of the mountain? Can he pass Alex and move up to second on the all-time wins list (8 behind)? With a revamped line up, the sky is the limit.
As the hangover finally fades away, Richie comes into 2015 as the defending champion with the target on his back. His 128 wins were the third best mark in league history and his 2-0 playoff run pushed his playoff record over .500 for the first time in franchise history (9-8). With strong keepers but a pathetic draft board, it will be an uphill climb for the new commissioner. But there’s no such thing as a rebuilding year with this franchise - at least not until July, anyway. He’s gunning to become the second person to successfully defend his crown, and god damnit he’s gonna try like hell to do it.
Coming off his worst season in franchise history, an unfortunate on-call incident left TJ with a league-drafted team this season. The on-call karma didn’t take long to catch up to him, though, as he lost Yu Darvish for the season to TJS. It was a rare playoff miss last season for the london-bound cherub as his league record consecutive playoff run ended at seven seasons. But despite his regular season prowess, Geers is still searching for his first league title since 19...2002.
The league welcomes a new face for the first time since 2006 as Tim takes over one of the Diamond Dynasty’s most beleaguered franchises. With a stacked draft board and revamped keepers, Tim was given all the tools needed to succeed. It is exciting to see the birth of a new legacy in a league entering it’s adolescent years, and it’ll be fun to see where Tim fits into the league’s historical fabric. Tim, you’re only 77 wins away from passing Paul French for 14th on the all-time wins list.
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