The Commissioner's Corner - Week 8

League News

I've not heard any opposition to my proposal so I would start blocking off August 22 as the official Diamond Dynasty Weekend Spectacular, consisting of our first league golf tournament, (first?) trip to Fenway, and 2015's trade deadline meeting.    

Milestones and Historical Perspective

James is 4 wins away from joining the 1,300 club.  Yay for James.

Hey, look at this!

This is our brand new segment called "Hey, look at this!" where I find mildly interesting historical stats and present them to you in a way that may or may not mildly interest you.

When you think about guys like Robert Horry and Mike Vrabel, you think about championships.  You think about how clutch they were in the big games.  They may not have been the best players on their teams, but when the spotlight was brightest they came through time and time again.  

I wondered which MLB player has had the most Diamond Dynasty success?  Would it be a big name like Matt Holiday?  What about a mid-tier player like Todd Walker, or a fill in player like Torii Hunter?  I crunched the numbers through my supercomputer and strangely enough, there have only been two players to win 3 chalices in this leagues storied history.  

The first player to be Chaliced thrice was the immortal Mike Mussina, who rattled off three straight titles under TJ (03), Colin (04), and Alex (05) as a New York Yankee.

The other, Zack Greinke tallied his third DD Chalice last year under Richie.  His other titles came in 2011 under Kurt as a Milwaukee Brewer, and in 2004 under Colin as a Kansas City Royal.  Barring a trade, it will be up to James to lead Greinke to number 4.

Incentives

WWE Belt

Payouts: $50 at the All-Star Break, $75 at the end of the regular season

Belt holder:  TJ keeps the belt after a 6-4 win over the struggling Alex.  His streak is now up to 3 weeks - a 2015 league best - despite winning just 16 categories in that time.

Shutout Pool
Week 8 pot: $10

Colin gave it another go in week 7 but fell short and had to "settle" for an 8-2 win.  That was the only one relatively close.

Neighborhood Rumble

        
Payouts:  $25 to the Islington and Westwood champion, $50 to the Tournament champ

Dates: Week 16ish – talk to Kurt for more details.

The Commissioner's Corner - Week 7

League News

The results are in from week 5's TCC survey, thank you to the 7 that voted.  Everyone's interested in a golf outing, here's the play:

Saturday, August 22nd - Meet at MEDITECH Greens, the all-par-3 golf course owned by my previous employer for a speedy 18 holes.  Hit the showers, then straight into Fenway where the losing team will buy the winning team the first round at (insert generic Fenway bar here) before catching Sox-Royals at 7:10 pm.  Don't say "I don't even know what I'm doing that weekend" because now you do.  If something else comes up, you can't do that other thing.  BONUS:  We could make the Trade Deadline Sunday August 23rd.  Is there anything more american than hashing out a deal on the golf course?  This has to happen.

In other news, Colin gets the first shutout of the year (more on that below) and moves into sole position of first place for the first time since week 2, 2010.

Milestones and Historical Perspective

Congratulations are in order again for Mr. Lancey, who sits at exactly 1,300 wins after the 10-0 drubbing.  Half of active managers have made the club, and James is only 8 wins away. 

Hey, look at this!

This is our brand new segment called "Hey, look at this!" where I find mildly interesting historical stats and present them to you in a way that may or may not mildly interest you.

A look at our regular season champions...

Year    Moves

2003  6th most

2004  4th most

2005  3rd most

2006  4th most

2007  2nd most

2008  5th most

2009  T-7th most

2010  1st…most

2011  4th most

2012  T-5th most

2013  7th most

2014  T-8th most

Incentives

WWE Belt

Payouts: $50 at the All-Star Break, $75 at the end of the regular season

Belt holder:  TJ fends off Jarrett with a 5-5 tie and turns his attention to Alex.

Shutout Pool
Week 7 pot: $5

There it is!  With a late Sunday save, Colin cashes in on the year's first 10-0 shutout.  He dominated offensively and managed to steal ERA, WHIP, and saves after a bad Sunday from James's Staaf.  Lancey wins a modest $30 and gives his team some breathing room, should he find a mid-season skid.  Congratulations Colin!  The pot is reset to $5.

Neighborhood Rumble

         
Payouts:  $25 to the Islington and Westwood champion, $50 to the Tournament champ

Dates: Week 16ish – talk to Kurt for more details.

BREAKING NEWS - Adrian 2.0 out as manager

(CALDWELL, NJ) - News has come down from ownership that Adrian 2.0 is out as manager of the club.  The announcement came down earlier this evening.  The official statement is below:


    "This has been a difficult start to the season, something that we certainly didn't anticipate," ownership said. "Over roughly the last 2+ years, we have not performed at the level we should. It's all about wins and losses, and after the first month of play this year we didn't see the progress and improvement we hoped for. We appreciate all that Adrian 2.0 has done for our organization, and he has handled his duties with great professionalism and dedication. The reasons for our disappointing start are many, but we determined that it's in the best interest of the club to make this move."

The club will name an interim manager at a 10:30 a.m. press conference Wednesday. The team is rumored to be hiring Adrian 3.0, according to Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports. 3.0 spent six seasons with the club during his playing career, and has been a member of the front office since 2012.

The team has not gotten off to a strong start, currently sitting in 9th while posting a 20-29-1 record to open the season.  Many think that missing the playoffs in his two full years at the helm  (2013 & 2014) was his ultimate demise; the slow start drove the final nail in the coffin.

In two plus seasons with the club, Adrian 3.0 posted a 217-253-20 (.463) record. 

The team has been bad in just about every way this year. The club is in the bottom half in every category total but is particularly bad offensively with a roto ranking of 6.  Slow starts from keepers like Adrian Beltre, David Ortiz, and Tyson Ross have not helped the efforts.

The Commissioner's Corner - Week 6

League News

Kurt visits The Teej and Kris Bryant hits his first home run.

Milestones and Historical Perspective

Race to 1,300 wins:

1. James (1,292) 
2.  TJ (1,290)

Hey, look at this!

This is our brand new segment called "Hey, look at this!" where I find mildly interesting historical stats and present them to you in a way that may or may not mildly interest you.

Many of last year's contenders have stumbled out of the gate:

"But Richie, there's a lot of baseball left!"

That's true, my little ones.  But 5 of the top 6 teams at this time last year made the playoffs.  The one playoff team that was outside the top 6 at this time last year was Jarrett, who was DFL and stormed back to get a bye.

Incentives

WWE Belt

Payouts: $50 at the All-Star Break, $75 at the end of the regular season

Belt holder:  Richie falls one win short of retaining the belt; instead, TJ takes it by a 5-4 margin.  Last week I included TJ in the group of managers who have never won, and also stated that he was 3 weeks away from even getting a shot at it.  This was not intentional, and the fact that no one caught this makes me wonder if anyone is reading this.

Shutout Pool
Week 6 pot: $30

A competitive week across the board failed to produce any shutout bids.

Neighborhood Rumble

         
Payouts:  $25 to the Islington and Westwood champion, $50 to the Tournament champ

Dates: Week 16ish – talk to Kurt for more details.

The Commissioner's Corner - Week 5

League News

James extends his lead on the field while Kurt breaks back into the top 4 for the first time since week 3, 2014.  

In preparation for future League News's's'

Milestones and Historical Perspective

Congratulations to Alex, TJ, and Kurt, who all eclipsed the 1300-win mark.  They join Ben as the only DD members to reach the not-so-elusive milestone.  Next on the chopping block:

Race to 1,300 wins:

1. James (1,288) (-145)
2. TJ (1285)        (+120)

Hey, look at this!

This is our brand new segment called "Hey, look at this!" where I find mildly interesting historical stats and present them to you in a way that may or may not mildly interest you.

Richie popped his WWE belt cherry last week against Jarrett.  This leaves TJ, Adrian, and Tim as the only Diamond Dynasty members to never hold the WWE belt, and they are all at least 3 matches away from even having a chance at it.  TJ and Adrian each went 0-3 in belt games last season.

Incentives

WWE Belt

Payouts: $50 at the All-Star Break, $75 at the end of the regular season

Belt holder:  Richie clings to a 6-4 victory and nabs the belt from Jarrett. 

Shutout Pool
Week 5 pot: $25

A competitive week across the board failed to produce any shutout bids.

Neighborhood Rumble

          
Payouts:  $25 to the Islington and Westwood champion, $50 to the Tournament champ

Dates: Week 16ish – talk to Kurt for more details.