Well, this is fun. Not like, spring break with your feet up fun. More like, first row of a roller coaster hanging off the edge fun. Currently, at this moment, I am the lesser half of a 1-2 match-up right now that is very likely going to end in a 5-5 tie. The 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th seed are all winning their match-ups by 2 or more games. It's July 21st and we're 140 categories into the season, so you'd think, "well, gonna lose two games on these guys, that's a bummer". When I wake up tomorrow morning I will have fallen from 2nd to 6th place.
But, that's really been the story of the season. Standing jumps like that have happened to most of us this year. Eric was at the bottom to start and now in 3rd. Andy was at the top for a while and now in 9th. Hell, I was in 11th for a while myself. Has been the tightest this league has been since I can remember.
As I mentioned, it's July 21st, so this begs the question, what the actual fuck is about to happen at this deadline? The MLB Trade deadline is Wednesday, July 31st, which will give us all four days to digest where the dust has settled before making decisions on our 2019 championship hopes. Would hate to be Pflanz' therapist right about now.
What we know:
1. Jeremy, Russ, Eric, Brad, and John are definitely not selling. I'm throwing John in there because, well I don't need to explain that one. Also he just traded his first round pick. For a closer. Of the last place team in the NL West. Who has every reason to try and trade him. It's John so, I'm sure it'll work out in his interest.
2. Greg and Dan are definitely selling. I know Dan is cause he sent us all a text that was like, "Hey guys I'm officially selling." I know Greg is because I got a telegram from a birdhouse. Also he's 19.5 games back.
What I predict for the rest of the crew:
Pflanz / Richie: If this match-up is 5-5, trying to predict what will happen would be like golfing with a hockey stick. If Richie wins a lopsided match-up, Pflanz will sell. If Pflanz wins a lopsided match-up, Richie will have a trade rash outbreak and do whatever he cans to itch it.
Mark: When Mark gets drunk he thinks he's the best fantasy baseball player in the universe. So, bender not withstanding, I think he (hopefully) takes a big loss next week and decides to join a weak field of sellers.
Perka: It would be a tough climb into legitimate contention, and I think John is going to put the nail in the coffin for Perkins next week. He also seems to have the most pitching pieces to move out of the bunch.
Andy: Well, unless Andy decides to sell. Andy would be a scary buyer and a scary seller. Could either go all in and hope to continue the run he's been on, which, especially from the pitching side, has been pretty electric. Or, could be the phone receiving the most texts over the next two weeks. Someone should remind him to turn the alerts back on in our GroupMe chat.
Want to paint a clear picture of the remainder of the season:
Upcoming match-up is week 16. The MLB trade deadline is midway through week 17, and The Franchise trade deadline is the last day of week 17. August 5th will be the beginning of week 18 which is the first of the final five weeks of the regular season. 50 category wins up for grabs, and it looks like every single one is going to count. Just ask the asshole about to drop from 2nd place to 6th in one week...
So, let the games begin. Best time of the year. Stay close to your phones and on top of box scores. This is when the Epstein in all of us gets a good tickle. I wish everyone the best of luck. Except for John.
