By the Numbers: Roto vs. H to H for Week 21

Well, it is getting that time again.  Playoff Time!!!  This has been one odd year in that the all 6 teams in the upper tier have already clinched their birth with one week left.  If Timmy can get 9 Points this week then we will have all teams reaching 100 Wins for the first time ever.  So, I for one am rooting for him.  Sorry Panties.  The competition is going to be great in both tiers as several teams are bunched.  There is definitely no shame in going for the first Rick Hill Award.  Ok, here is what I glean from the results this week.



#1 Baseman:  Went up in roto stats and had an excellent week last week in most categories.  But........
#2 Stars is right behind.  Also went up again in roto stats.  One has to say the rise has been phenomenal to say the least.  I did some research on Stars winning percentage since the trades for Tulo and Upton and here's what I found.  Since the Tulo trade, the winning percentage has been a very solid .633.  I would take that anyday.  Since adding both Tulo and Upton, (ok, time to drop the jaw) the winning percentage has been an astronomical .837!!!  And some managers wondered why the trades were so controversial?  Well, the stats don't lie.  Gaining All Star calibur players on offense make a tremendous impact.  Baseman was a cut above the rest for much of the season, but now Stars has made it a neck to neck race. 
#3 Hardballers:  Randy has been steady at #3 for awhile now.  Just biding his time until the playoffs.
#4 Wooster:  Continues to defy the stats and looking to surprise in the playoffs.
#5 Squirrels:  Can pitching lead Juan to the Promised Land?  It's happened before.  Also Prince Fielder is raking.
#6 Hitters:  Had two tough matchups the last two weeks against B-Man and Stars.  If the pitching has a good week or two in the playoffs, then Hitters is going to be tough!  The problem is that the pitching has been lettting him down much of the season.
#7 Zonk:  Really rose in roto this week and in the H to H standings.  Pushing for that Rick Hill Award.
# 8 Champs:  Played Randy tough, but lost a close one last week.
#9 Utica:  Took a tumble in roto and in the standings.
#10 Sultan:  Stayed steady this week in roto and moved up one position in H to H.  Has had hard luck with pitchers this year.  That's why it is very risky to trade for pitching!
#11 Ageless:  Not in last in roto anymore and not in the standings, despite an 11-1 pasting last week.
#12 Thanks for Playing:  Lost to Sultan in the final game last week.  Team is playing hard, but results aren't really showing.

Hope you enjoyed or maybe not!
BASEMAN

By the Numbers: Roto vs. H to H for Week 20

Ok, all you stat freaks, here is the latest "By the Numbers" as the regular season is about to close in a couple of weeks.  The numbers all the way around are frightening close in roto vs. H to H.  Take a look and then I will give a further analysis of what I say crunching the numbers.




1)  BASEMAN's stats went up since last week, but lost ground to the 2nd and 3rd place teams in the standings.  That is just the nature of head to head.
2)  Stars dramatic rise in stats and standings are no coincidence.  Just look at the trades and the all star offensive lineup and there is the answer.  This was predicted by the way.
3)  Hardballers is the most balanced team of all with 48 pts. for both offense and defense in roto stats.  No wonder he is having a stellar season.  I guess the pts. could be balanced at the low end, but you get my point.
4) Tennessee and Squirrels are tied in roto pts. and almost tied in the standings.  Squirrels earns most points by pitching and Hitters (hence the name) on offense.
5)  Wooster has been showing his playoff position is worthy as the differential in roto points and H to H standings is only a plus 1.  Still a longshot come playoff time to win 3 straight.
6)  Champs has actually shown a bit of life on offense.  This happened last year come playoff time and he will need this again for the Rick Hill Award.
7) Utica's numbers show decent pitching and poor offense.  Uncharacteristic of his teams normally.
8) Zonk is balanced, but more on the low end with 33 pts. on both offense and defense.  Not the Zonk we are accostumed to seeing.
9)  Sultan has increased his pitching points, but it seems to be the offense slowing a bit of late with a drop in pt. production.
10) Thanks for Playing (Love the Name, but tells of the year Timmy has been having) has been dropping in points and barely holding off Ageless for total of roto points.  Their roto finish may be one to watch.

As you can see the year play out, roto and Head to Head standings are awfully close and that just goes to show what a marathon of a season it is, and the better teams more often than not rise to the top.  There are some exceptions from year to year, but hard to say that this year.  Ed does have 78 pts. to Wooster's 72, but I explained the numbers last week and when a balance of offensive pts. to defensive pts. is so off kilter like Champs is, then it is hard to be consistent from week to week.

BASEMAN

By the Numbers: Roto vs. H to H for Week 19

Here are the numbers for Week 19 and for the most part the roto and head to head numbers match up rather close.  It is amazing really.  Looking at the first five places in the standings, there is no differential.  I will let you take a look at the chart and then give some more input of my own below.  Want you to analyze for yourself first.



Ok, here is my analysis.
Baseman and Stars are very close and that is showing in the standings.  Truly powerful teams during the regular season, but there is definitely competition behind that is highly capable of knocking them off in the playoffs.
Hardballers, Tennessee and Squirrels have solid point numbers and show why they are deserving of playoff positions this season.  No flukey teams here.  Hardballers has been rising in points and I have noticed.  So has his record as a matter of fact.
Panties is still playing above his roto point numbers, but not by as much.  It all could still equal out for him when all is said and done.
Utica loses a few points, but is now at no differential, while Champs is performing as the 6th highest ranked team in roto, but not transferring to the standings, and unfortunately for him it won't.  The bottom 6 teams are too far behind and Hardball Heaven has never seen the likes of this before with 3 weeks left where the only questions are playoff seedings.  There is a distinct division between the top half of the league and the bottom.  Last week's scores proved that pretty much, except for Champs who tied Wooster.  Upsets happen, but looking at the whole season, the league is truly divided this year, which is extremely rare!!

One more note on Champs.  He has 62 of his total 78 points in pitching.  The pitching numbers are stunningly good as it is hard to accumulate that many points when you can only get 72 total on defense.  Awesome!  Problem is that the offense only gives him 16 points out of a possible 72.  That is anemic to say the least!  Wooster on the other hand only has 72 total roto points, but the team is more balanced.  Therefore, Wooster has a better shot of winning week to week.  For example, Wooster has 38 points on defense and 34 on offense.  Pretty close.  Ed may want to draft more offense next season.  Just looking at the numbers!

The rest of the league is pretty close in the roto vs. H to H standings.  I Fear is at -2, but his numbers have declined a bit.  It is very close in numbers for teams 9-12. 

Hope you enjoyed!  Please add your own analysis is you see something I didn't.

BASEMAN

Getting Reunited With Plaz (Peter Alden)

Here is a recent message from Peter that he sent me.  Wanted to share it with you all.  He dearly misses the league, but as you can see he is awfully busy these days, plus is working on getting his Master's degree among other aspects of life.  He tells me that if he can't devote the amount of time needed to perform well in the league, then better to stay out.   Plaz is quite the competitor as we all know and he consistently placed well and is a one-time champ!  His email is pralden@yahoo.com if any of you would like to say a big "Hello."  I know he would like hearing from some of us.

Here's his message:

Surprise! Some of you haven't been informed yet that Tessa gave birth to Asher Vale on July 29th. He tipped the scales at 9lb. 2 oz. and was 53cm tall. It has been a very exciting past several days (Asher is now 9 days old-TIME FLIES). We're all back home in our apartment, safe and sound. Interestingly, Asher sleeps most of the night and is awake most of the day. I don't expect that to last, but I'll take it while I can get it. On Monday, we'll need to take Asher into downtown Shanghai to get his Canadien Passport and citizenship. We'll do the same at the American consulate later. We have opted not to hire a personal driver and have resorted to taxi cabs for the time being. Securing a taxi cab driver who is willing to take a car seat can be a challenge here in Shanghai. Sometimes it takes two or three flaggings before we find the right driver.

BASEMAN

By the Numbers: Roto vs. H to H for Week 18

Here are the new stats for last week.  There have been definite changes for some teams.  S & P has definitely downgraded Baseman......LOL!



Ok, here is my take on the numbers and some patterns developing.
#1:  Stars has made monumental leaps in recent weeks and it ain't by coincidence.  The offense is just explosive with power almost at every position.  Remember when I alerted the league to what the trades would mean for Stephen's team.  Well, look at what has taken place.  An offensive juggernaut has developed before our very eyes.  I'm sorry, but I may not get over the Tulowitzki trade.  He helped propel me to the title a few years ago, and may do the same for Stars among others now in the lineup.
#2:  Sultan of Swat has also risen, so other than the Tulo trade and even Kemp, Chad's team has climbed.  So, although Chad has helped other teams, he also helped himself, so that is what trades are about.  Watch out for this team the last couple of weeks.
#3:  Wooster Panties is still riding good fortune despite being 8th in roto standings and 3rd in head to head standings.  Looks like the upper tier playoffs are highly probable for Mr. Stansifer.  If he can win the title, it may be the biggest upset ever according to the numbers.  Anything can happen once you get to the playoffs.
#4 Champs has been riding his pitching points which are highest in the league by far.  Can't win by pitching alone.  His 17 total roto points on offense just won't get it done despite being tied for 6th in roto pts. overall.  Needs more balance obviously.
#5 Hardballers has been on the rise as well and is now #3 in roto points.  Spots 3-6 in the head to head standings are so close that Randy can climb there too.  Is this team peaking at the right time like Stars team?
#6 Baseman still has been posting ok numbers, but the pitching and offense just have not been gelling together at the same time.  The pitching absolutely blew a gasket this past week and many points were lost in roto.  Pitching was an absolute disaster as even my aces just couldn't do much of anything.  Chasing points in pitching is risky and dearly paid the price in roto stats this week.  Hoping to right the ship the remaining weeks.

Those are just some things that stand out to me this week.  If you have any other observations, then please add as I'm sure others may glean something more from these stats as well.

BASEMAN

Announcing the Rick Hill "Fight the Good Fight" Award

Over the last couple of weeks I have been giving some thought to a suggestion made by Juan during the preseason. With Rick Hill (Reds) passing still fresh on our minds, he suggested that we dedicate this season in his memory. I did not know a proper way to do that and as such the idea has just sorta languished. I guess talking to Kerm the other night for the first time in forever also gave me reason to recollect different members of our league and how the camaraderie has developed throughout the years. Most of us have shared so much together from watching kids grow up, marriages, family additions, tragedies and yes even death. It would be out of character for this league to just abandon the memory of a former member especially one that touched as many as Rick did.

Rick no doubt anticipated a long and successful life full of family, friends and wonderful memories. When he learned of his condition his expectations did not lessen as was evidenced by his optimistic and faith-filled outlook. As time passed and his condition worsened his optimism did not waiver. In the end he could honestly say he played the hand that was dealt him and "fought the good fight". He was truly a winner in life.

In Hardball Heaven Rick entered the 2010 season, as all of us do, anticipating a successful, winning season. Unfortunately as the season progressed his results were not what any of us would want. Considering all the challenges facing him in real life, who could have faulted him for abandoning the league and turning his full attention to himself. But in true Rick Hill fashion he continued to stay active and competitive, occasionally soliciting help managing his team when he made trips for treatments. Even though he missed the top tier playoffs Rick continued to give it his all and went on to win the consolation bracket. In the league Rick played the hand that was dealt him and fought the good fight. He left the league a winner.

Each year all of us begin the season with high expectations of a successful winning season. As the season progresses, challenges and adversity begin to take their toll on some teams. Injuries, slumps, unmet expectations, bad luck and distractions from the "real" world leaves 6 teams out of contention for the Championship game. Teams in Hardball Heaven have always stayed competitive all the way to the end regardless of league standings. This as much as anything else is a testament to the quality of managers we are blessed to have in this league.

As Founders of the league, Tommy and I have decided to award an annual Rick Hill "Fight the Good Fight" Award beginning with this, the 2011, season. It will go to the winner of the consolation bracket. The intent of this award is to recognize the manager that has stood up to the challenges and adversity of the regular season and continued to fight the good fight. The manager that has played the hand that was dealt them and finished the season a winner just as our friend Rick did. The Rick Hill award winner will be recognized both on the Hardball Heaven blog page as well as the Hardball Heaven Facebook page.

I hope each of you will recognize the significance of this award and will join Tommy and I in honoring the memory of our dear comrade Rick Hill.

So thankful for each of you,
Randy and Tommy

...

By the Numbers: After Week 17

I think I finally did it!  We shall see if after I try publish this post, but fingers are crossed.  Let's see.  Ok, after the preview it looks good!  Thank you Randy.  Just a little rundown, but look at Utica who jumped to 6th in roto pts. but is 9th in the standings.  Toughest luck so far, but remember the middle teams are bunched tightly in roto points.  Also dropping in the head to head and roto standings, but still having things pan out is the Wooster Panties team that is plus 4 in the standings.  Dropped to 9th in roto, but still in 5th in head to head.  Could it happen that a team in the bottom half in roto stats win it all?  Could it???  The top half of the league is pretty consistent rankings, except for Wooster.  In the bottom half, anything can happen with the tight scoring.  Is I Fear that I Suck really a last place team.  Looking at the numbers, not even close!
Hope you enjoyed.