2012 Season Recap

October 6, 2012

Congratulations to everyone for another great year of Cold Zipper.  I say this every year, but I am so thankful that we have a league with twenty teams that are putting effort in from draft day till the last day of the season.  It makes it so much more fun to know that what you do is part of a combined effort from nineteen other guys trying to beat you, so much more fun than battling idle teams.

 

A bit of an odd thing to say when writing about yourself, but congratulations to the Walapin’ Walabees for taking the 2012 Cold Zipper championship and becoming the first team to have won twice.  It was a very challenging year with lot of guys who held first place for a long time and were seemingly impossible to overcome, but the Walabees came through.

 

Flying Buttresses also had a fantastic year, battling it out to the end, and also achieving the highest point total in the post-shutout era of Cold Zipper.  Burro MegaGigantica didn’t live up to the first place expectations that some had, but still had an absolutely outstanding year taking third place.  Brew Crew bounced back in a HUGE way after a troublesome 2011.  Garlicion proved that he still has no intention of taking any spot outside of the top 5 since his rookie campaign.  Bongo’sRedBlanky proved any remaining doubters wrong again that he is the real deal in this league.

 

Red Krush made a huge impression early on in 2012 by leading the league for a portion of time, showing that the 2011 rookie cobwebs are gone.  A very impressive year from the CZ sophomore.  Prestige and Bruisers put together some much improved years from their recent histories.  Perhaps a sign of more improvement to come.

 

Our other teams had some disappointing years comparative to their histories, but as some of the top 7 teams showed, the next year can spell redemption for rough years.

 

I had a ton of fun this year, both when I was struggling and succeeding.  I hope everyone else did too.  Enjoy the recap below, thank you to those that submitted their own recaps.  If you haven’t reported back yet to the commissioner regarding your 2013 status, please do.  We plan to make next season bigger and better than any Cold Zipper season yet.  Have a great offseason everyone!

 

 

 

RUNS
    1st Flying Buttresses- 794, 8th overall
    2nd WALAPIN’ WALABEES- 750, 36th overall (tied)
    3rd DUMPSTER DONKEYS – 740, 46th overall
    4th BURRO MEGAGIGANTICA – 727, 52nd overall
    5th RED KRUSH – 725, 55th overall
    Record: 2006 Walapin’ Walabees – 854

    2012 League Average: 682.85
    Historical Cold ZipperAverage: 693.07

    Highest ranked player: Mike Trout – 129 R – Undrafted

 

Doubles
    1st POSTHUNDER MUSCLESODERN PELAGIANS- 293, 30th overall
    2nd BREW CREW- 290, 33rd overall (tied)
    3rd RED KRUSH – 288, 35th overall (tied)
    4th BONGO’SREDBLANKY – 287, 38th overall (tied)
    5th PRESTIGE WORLDWIDE – 284, 41st overall (tied)
    Record: 2005 Pirates– 352

    2012 League Average: 261.30
    Historical Cold Zipper Average: 268.99

    Highest ranked player: Alex Gordon – 129 2B – Garlicionlicon – 4th round

 

Triples
    1st DUMPSTER DONKEYS- 38, 11th overall (tied)
    1st WALAPIN’ WALABEES- 38, 11th overall (tied)
    3rd RED KRUSH – 33, 29th overall (tied)
    3rd BONGO’SREDBLANKY – 33, 29th overall (tied)
    5th KILLER DAWGS – 31, 37th overall (tied)
    Record: 2007 BURRO MEGAGIGANTICA– 62

    2012 League Average: 27.40
    Historical Cold ZipperAverage: 26.66

    Highest ranked player: Angel Pagan – 15 3B – Dead Motherboards – 11th round

 

Home Runs
    1st PRESTIGE WORLDWIDE- 203, 17th overall (tied)
    2nd FLYING BUTTRESSES- 201, 20th overall (tied)
    3rd BURRO MEGAGIGANTICA – 196, 25th overall (tied)
    4th PEEHANDS – 189, 34th overall
    5th HERE’S A FREE LESSON – 188, 35th overall
    Record: 2009 Milquetoast– 229

    2012 League Average: 172.40
    Historical Cold ZipperAverage: 167.65

    Highest ranked player: Miguel Cabrera – 44 HR –Twinkie Treats - 1st round

 

Runs Batted In
    1st PRESTIGE WORLDWIDE- 736, 21st overall
    2nd WALAPIN’ WALABEES- 717, 37th overall
    3rd BURRO MEGAGIGANTICA – 711, 42nd overall
    4th FLYING BUTTRESSES – 699, 53rd overall
    5th RED KRUSH – 684, 67th overall
    Record: 2009 Milquetoast– 815

    2012 League Average: 653.05
    Historical Cold ZipperAverage: 667.41

    Highest ranked player: Miguel Cabrera – 139 RBI –Twinkie Treats - 1st round

 

Stolen Bases
    1st Postmodern PELAGIANS- 137, 12th overall
    2nd RED KRUSH- 132, 16th overall (tied)
    3rd BURRO MEGAGIGANTICA – 129, 19th overall (tied)
    3rd DUMPSTER DONKEYS – 129, 19th overall (tied)
    5th WALAPIN’ WALABEES – 128, 22nd overall (tied)
    Record: 2009 Postmodern Pelagians– 166

    2012 League Average: 106.70
    Historical Cold ZipperAverage: 96.40

    Highest ranked player: Mike Trout – 49 SB – Undrafted

 

Base on Balls (Offense)
    1st Garlicion- 551, 26th overall (tied)
    2nd WALAPIN’ WALABEES- 550, 28th overall
    3rd POSTHUNDER MUSCLESODERN PELAGIANS – 537, 39th overall
    4th BURRO MEGAGIGANTICA – 523, 50th overall (tied)
    5th FLYING BUTTRESSES – 508, 64th overall
    Record: 2008 California Cubbies– 653

    2012 League Average: 469.25
    Historical Cold ZipperAverage: 489.66

    Highest ranked player: Adam Dunn – 105 BB – Burro MegaGigantica – 9th round

 

Batting Average
    1st WALAPIN’ WALABEES- .285, 26th overall (tied)
    2nd BONGO’SREDBLANKY- .280, 42nd overall (tied)
    3rd RED KRUSH – .279, 46th overall (tied)
    4th POSTMODERN PELAGIANS – .276, 61st overall (tied)
    4th PRESTIGE WORLDWIDE – .276, 61st overall (tied)
    Record: 2007 Bruisers– .299

    2012 League Average: .268
    Historical Cold ZipperAverage: .273

    Highest ranked player: Melky Cabrera – .346 AVE – Bongo’s Red Blanky – 7th round

 

Innings Pitched
    1st RED KRUSH- 1795, 5th overall
    2nd TWIN CITIES CUBBIES- .1769.2, 6th overall
    3rd WALAPIN’ WALABEES – 1656.2, 12th overall
    4th POSTHUNDER MUSCLESODERN PELAGIANS – 1650.1, 13th overall
    5th Garlicion – 1599.2, 29th overall
    Record: 2010 Postmodern Pelagians– 2045

    2012 League Average: 1517.45
    Historical Cold ZipperAverage: 1358.45

    Highest ranked player: Justin Verlander – 238.1 IP – Dead Motherboards – 2nd round

 

Wins
    1st WALAPIN’ WALABEES- 116, 4th overall
    2nd RED KRUSH- 103, 14th overall (tied)
    2nd BREW CREW – 103, 14th overall (tied)
    4th POSTHUNDER MUSCLESODERN PELAGIANS – 102, 16th overall (tied)
    5th TWIN CITIES CUBBIES – 99, 29th overall (tied)
    Record: 2011 Flying Buttresses– 121

    2012 League Average: 92.15
    Historical Cold ZipperAverage: 82.29

    Highest ranked player: Gio Gonzalez – 21 W – Flying Buttresses – 6th round

 

Complete Games
    1st FLYING BUTTRESSES- 11, 13th overall (tied)
    1st BONGO’SREDBLANKY- 11, 13th overall (tied)
    3rd Twinkie Treats – 10, 20th overall (tied)
    4th Garlicion – 10, 20th overall (tied)
    5th THUNDER MUSCLES – 8, 42nd overall (tied)

    5th ATTACK CHICKENS – 8, 42nd overall (tied)
    Record: 2011 Peehands– 18

    2012 League Average: 6.05
    Historical Cold ZipperAverage: 6.44

    Highest ranked player: Justin Verlander – 6 CG – Dead Motherboards – 2nd round

 

Saves
    1st THUNDER MUSCLES- 100, 5th overall
    2nd Twinkie Treats- 89, 10th overall (tied)
    2nd BREW CREW – 89, 10th overall (tied)
    4th PRESTIGE WORLDWIDE – 85, 14th overall

    5th ATTACK CHICKENS – 79, 26th overall (tied)
    Record: 2006 The Charms– 146

    2012 League Average: 58.75
    Historical Cold ZipperAverage: 55.26

    Highest ranked player: Jim Johnson – 51 SV – Dumpster Donkeys – 12th round

 

Base on Balls (Pitching)
    1st DM- 399, 47th overall
    2nd PRESTIGE WORLDWIDE- 414, 50th overall
    3rd BONGO’SREDBLANKY – 439, 61st overall
    4th Bruisers – 440, 62nd overall (tied)

    5th WALAPIN’ WALABEES – 441, 64th overall (tied)
    Record: 2006 AttAttack Chickensk Chickens– 232

    2012 League Average: 486.90
    Historical Cold ZipperAverage: 454.09

 

Strikeouts
    1st Garlicion- 1438, 6th overall
    2nd RED KRUSH- 1419, 8th overall
    3rd FLYING BUTTRESSES – 1411, 9th overall
    4th WALAPIN’ WALABEES – 1393, 11th overall

    5th TWIN CITIES CUBBIES – 1378, 13th overall
    Record: 2010 PosThunder Musclesodern Pelagians– 1595

    2012 League Average: 1285.45
    Historical Cold ZipperAverage: 1070.80

    Highest ranked player: Justin Verlander – 239 K – Dead Motherboards – 2nd round

 

Holds
    1st TWIN CITIES CUBBIES- 81, 4th overall (tied)
    1st BURRO MEGAGIGANTICA- 81, 4th overall (tied)
    3rd PEEHANDS – 76, 10th overall
    4th HERE’S A FREE LESSON – 75, 11th overall (tied)

    5th PRESTIGE WORLDWIDE – 71, 16th overall (tied)
    Record: 2011 Dead Motherboards– 118

    2012 League Average: 56.65
    Historical Cold Zipper Average: 53.78

    Highest ranked player: Joel Peralta – 37 HLD – Dumpster Donkeys - 18th round

 

Earned Run Average
    1st KILLER DAWGS- 3.53, 10th overall
    2nd WALAPIN’ WALABEES- 3.60, 13th overall
    3rd FLYING BUTTRESSES – 3.62, 14th overall
    4th Twinkie Treats – 3.64, 15th overall (tied)

    5th BONGO’SREDBLANKY – 3.65, 20th overall
    Record: 2010 Flying Buttresses– 3.20

    2012 League Average: 3.95
    Historical Cold ZipperAverage: 4.07

    Highest ranked player: Clayton Kershaw – 2.53 ERA – Here’s a Free Lesson – 1st round

 

Walks + Hits per Innings Pitched
    1st FLYING BUTTRESSES- 1.20, 4th overall (tied)
    2nd KILLER DAWGS- 1.22, 7th overall
    3rd WALAPIN’ WALABEES – 1.238, 12th overall
    4th Twinkie Treats – 1.243, 13th overall

    5th BONGO’SREDBLANKY – 1.251, 18th overall

    Record: 2011 Dead Motherboards– 1.17

    2012 League Average: 1.29
    Historical Cold Zipper Average: 1.32

    Highest ranked player: Jered Weaver – 1.02 WHIP – Burro MegaGigantica – 2nd round

 

Most First Place Leads

    1st WALAPIN’ WALABEES – 3

    1st FLYING BUTTRESSES – 3

    3rd PRESTIGE WORLDWIDE – 2

    3rd POSTHUNDER MUSCLESODERN PELAGIANS – 2

    3rd Garlicion – 2

    6th RED KRUSH - 1

    6th BONGO’SREDBLANKY – 1

    6th BURRO MEGAGIGANTICA – 1

    6th TWIN CITIES CUBBIES – 1

    6th DUMPSTER DONKEYS – 1

    6th KILLER DAWGS – 1

    6th Dead Motherboards – 1

    6th THUNDER MUSCLES – 1

 

Most Top Five Leads

    1st WALAPIN’ WALABEES – 12

    2nd RED KRUSH – 9

    3rd FLYING BUTTRESSES – 8

    4th BONGO’SREDBLANKY – 7

    4th PRESTIGE WORLDWIDE – 7

    6th BURRO MEGAGIGANTICA - 6

    6th POSTMODERN PELAGIANS – 6

    8th Garlicion – 4

    8th Twinkie Treats – 4

    8th TWIN CITIES CUBBIES – 4

    11th Brew Crew – 3

    11th DUMPSTER DONKEYS – 3

    11th KILLER DAWGS – 3

    14th PEEHANDS – 2

    14th HERE’S A FREE LESSON – 2

    16th Bruisers – 1

    16th ATTACK CHICKENS – 1

    16th Dead Motherboards – 1

    16th THUNDER MUSCLES – 1

   

   

   Most Last Places

    1st THUNDER MUSCLES – 5

    2nd RED KRUSH – 3

    3rd PRESTIGE WORLDWIDE – 2

    3rd Dead Motherboards – 2

    5th PEEHANDS – 1

    5th BONGO’SREDBLANKY – 1

    5th Twinkie Treats – 1

    5th HERE’S A FREE LESSON – 1

    5th ATTACK CHICKENS – 1

  

Most Transactions

Thunder Muscles - 176

Twin Cities Cubbies - 175

PosThunder Musclesodern Pelagians - 156

Peehands - 149

Red Krush – 148

 

Most Trades

Dumpster Donkeys – 21

Flying Buttresses – 20

Peehands - 11

Walapin’ Walabees – 10

Thunder Muscles - 10

 

 

 

Most Traded Players

Justin Upton – 5

Bud Norris – 4

Tim Lincecum – 3

(23 players traded 3 times)

 

Trades by Position (multi-position players counted for each position eligible)

C - 10

1B – 23

2B - 22

3B - 23

SS - 17

OF - 52

SP - 108

RP - 47

UTIL - 0

 

Trades by Month

March – 1

April – 14

May – 22

Jun – 14

July – 9

August – 10

 

Trades

Number of Trades: 140

Average Trades/Team: 7

Highest Trade Amount: 21

Lowest Trade Amount: 0

Frequency: 1 trade every 1.34 days (from draft to season finale)

Most Players Traded in a Single Move: 9 (5/14 between THUNDER MUSCLES and I AM THE WALRUS)
Average Points of Teams With 7 Most Trades: 197.93
Average Points of Teams With 6 Mid-level Trades: 165.83
Average Points of Teams With 7 Least Trades:   169.93
Average Rank of Teams With 7 Most Trades: 8.28
Average Rank of Teams With 6 Mid-level Trades:  10.83

Average Rank of Teams with 7 Least Trades: 12.43

 

   First Round Picks Rankings

Pick - Player – Drafting Team - Rank

1 - Matt Kemp – RED KRUSH – 159

2 - Miguel Cabrera – TT - 3

3 - Albert Pujols – PRESTIGE WORLDWIDE - 32

4 - Troy Tulowitzki – Bruisers - 917

5 - Joey Votto – POSTMODERN PELAGIANS - 70

6 – Adrian Gonzalez – Red Krush - 60

7 – Roy Halladay – BURRO MEGAGIGANTICA - 300

8 – Ryan Braun – Bruisers - 2

9 – Robinson Cano – BONGO’SREDBLANKY - 10

10 – Carlos Gonzalez – I AM THE WALRUS - 30

11 – Evan Longoria – POSTMODERN PELAGIANS - 799

12 – Jacoby Ellsbury – THUNDER MUSCLES

13 – Jose Bautista – KILLER DAWGS - 343

14 – Prince Fielder – WALAPIN’ WALABEES - 28

15 – Justin Upton – DUMPSTER DONKEYS - 59

16 – Cliff Lee – DM -79

17 – Clayton Kershaw – HERE’S A FREE LESSON - 17

18 – Jose Reyes – ATTACK CHICKENS - 8

19 – Dustin Pedroia – TWIN CITIES CUBBIES

20 – Hanley Ramirez – Peehands

 

Top 25 Who Were Drafted After the Fifth Round

Rank - Player – Drafting Team – Overall Draft Pick

5 - R.A. Dickey –Attack Chickens - 258

7 – Chase Headley – Walapin’ Walabees – 267

11 – Angel Pagan – Dead Motherboards – 236

12 – Aaron Hill – Brew Crew – 288

18 – Edwin Encarnacion Attack Chickens – BURRO MEGAGIGANTICA – 234

20 – Kris Medlen – BURRO MEGAGIGANTICA – 327

 

Notable Last Round Picks

Rank – Player – Drafting Team

149 – David DeJesus –POSTMODERN PELAGIANS

155 – Jason Grili – I AM THE WALRUS

 

Side Bet Winner

Walapin’ Walabees

 

Cold ZipperAwards

2012 Silver Slugger – Walapin’ Walabees, 133 offensive points

Runner up – Red Krush, 120 offensive points

2nd Runner up – Flying Buttresses, 119 offensive points

2012 Cy Young – Walapin’ Walabees, 116.5 starting pitching points

Runner up – Flying Buttresses, 113 starting pitching points

2nd Runner up – Garlicion, 94.5 starting pitching points

2012 Mariano Rivera Award – Prestige Worldwide, 33 relief pitching points

Runner up – Twin Cities Cubbies, 29.5 relief pitching points

2nd runner up – Flying Buttresses, 28 relief pitching points 


BREW CREW

 

Your best player for the year: Aaron Hill, Kris Medlen (16 and 15 respectively)

Worst draft Picks: Dan Haren

Wrong guy to trade away: Dan Haren, Jarrod Parker

Wrong guy to trade for: Chad Billingsly (injury and it helped WW win)

Right guy to trade for: Gio Gonzalez

Other CZ team(s) you battled the most in the 2012 standings: I was really up and down. I probably was near Garlicion, Burro, and TT most of the year.

Are you satisfied with your 2012 finish: My goal is always to finish in the Top 5. I'm happy.

Team that surprised you the most in 2012: Probably WW. I didn't have confidence in his team when I looked at it earlier in the year, but obviously he knows what he's doing better than I do!

 

Manager's season recap: This was by far my favorite team post-draft. I thought I had a balanced team that would have given me a shot at placing high in each category. Injuries changed that quite a bit at different points, but it ended up being close to what I wanted in most categories. My pitching hurt me in the middle of the year, but it rallied later (at the expense of trading offense). I pulled out all the stops to get triples, but still didn't move much in that category. Lastly, I liked Medlen and wanted to grab him, so I really lucked out that it took so long for him to turn starter that FB had to cut him loose. Without him, I would have had a sorry end to the season.  Overall, it was a fun year. Congrats to WW and FB for best two years in CZ history.

 

BRUISERS

 

The Bruisers improving over last year's finish is a step in the right direction but it is hard to call a year successful without at least being in the top 5.  I am going to have to evaluate my strategy for trading draft picks and decide what route to go next year.  I am also going to have to avoid dumb draft mistakes and make sure I have the most up-to-date information.  Drafting Javier Lopez wasted a spot and picking Seth Smith was obviously another mistake.  Taking a risk on drafting Ryan Braun with the overall 8th pick proved to be a smart move.  Choosing Chris Sale, David Freeze, and Tori Hunter also turned out well. (Despite what many thought of Tori Hunter he had a very good season.)  Not many players from the original draft were left by the end of the year.

The results of my trades were mixed.  Getting Buster Posey for Tori Hunter and Jarod Saltalamacchia turned out well.  Hunter went on a tear but so did Posey and I needed catching help more than outfield. Since Tulowitzki ended up on the DL most of the year trading him for Eithier and Betancourt was a positive.  Giving up Sabathia for Sandoval and Hanrahan probably was a wash.  On the negative side I ended up giving away Reddick for nothing when Colon was suspended for the season before he even pitched an inning for me.  (I guess I got a Colonoscopy.)   I was a bit disappointed with the performance of Brandon Phillips in the Matt Cain for Phillips, Jaime Garcia, and Darren Oliver but it wasn't a disaster.

Congratulations to Walapin Wallabies and Brew Crew for bounce back years. With all the work I put in this year 9th place was a bit of a disappointment but as Billy said, the race in the middle of the pack was exciting all the way to the end.

 

BURRO MEGAGIGANTICA

 

BurroMG MVP: Edwin Encarnacion 3B - Drafted as a mid-round hope for a 25 HR season, the player formerly known as E5 busted out all over and contributed in every category but triples. 2nd place: Adam Dunn with a monster comeback season. These two players made it possible for the BurroMG to stay competitive in the power categories pretty much on their own.

 

Burro's worst draft pick: Sadly, Roy Halladay completely failed the season. Drafted in an effort to dominate the CGs, Roy didn't record a single one. BurroMG management wonders what could have been if they'd had the guts to make the call on Verlander with pick #7, as some in the strategy bunker were calling for.

 

Best trade: Sending Ricky Romero, Derek Holland and BJ Upton to the Dumpster Donkeys for Cole Hamels, Jeremy Hellickson, and Denard Span. 

Worst move: Not trusting my draft strategy and dropping Clay Buchholz just before he caught fire. The second worst move was misunderstanding Kris Medlen's season arc and getting out of that far, far too early. There was lots of room on the bench for me to wait for him to develop, and its not like he was doing a bad job for me out of the bullpen.

Strangest Turn: Punting saves in the draft, only to end up failing to capitalize on a single new closer anywhere. I saved a valuable draft pick, and missed every good new, emerging closer no matter the seasonal timing or the situation. Missed moves on the waiver wire certainly cost the Burro a chance at the big ring.

 

Season summary: Finishing with a medal after so many mid-table finishes in the last few seasons feels great! I can confirm that winning a bronze medal feel better than winning a silver medal. However, for a team that was thought to be drafted on pitching and was reaching for offense on draft night, the Burro's scoring totals have confused team management all season. It was also a bit frustrating to see the team's chance at battling for first collapse so quickly after touching 230 points. For all my apparently super SPs, things really wound down quickly in September. More than ever, winning in the CZ is a game of slim margins and single decisions. I'm looking forward to next year already! Hee-Haw!

 

DUMPSTER DONKEYS

 

Best player for the year: Fernando Rodney
Worst draft picks: (where do I begin). Lincecum, Jemile Weeks, Luebke, Justin Upton.
Wrong guy to trade away: Beltre.
Wrong guy to trade for: Ricky Romero
Right guy to trade for: Rodney
Teams I battled: Peehands, Prestige Worldwide, and Postmodern Pelagians.
Satisfied: Absolutely not.
Surprised me: Brew Crew, now granted this is only my second year in the league so I have limited experience with his team, but to jump from 18th to 4th (if standings hold) is pretty impressive.

Recap of my season: When your first round pick is a bust (Justin Upton) and the first three pitchers you select are Lincecum (terrible), Luebke (Tommy John), and Bud Norris, things can only go downhill from there. Lessons have been learned however and I have confidence I will bounce back next year.

 

 

FLYING BUTTRESSES

 

Season recap:

 

To say my emotions are mixed would be a tremendous understatement. For a moment, self-doubt enters my mind--"How can I justify having gotten the best fantasy player since 2004 for absolutely nothing and NOT win the league?" But then it occurs to me: I managed 260 points, what would have been a ColdZipper post-SO record. How was I to know that Mark, former cellar-dweller, had a collection of horseshoes hidden somewhere within his rectal cavity? I've determined, if only for the sake of my sanity, that there is no shame in trailing the champ by fewer than five points, particularly if my nearest competitor was some 40+ points behind me. Sour grapes to be sure, but I'm proud of the Buttresses. 

 

Best moves: Trout. Obvi. Buying low on Felix (like usual) didn't hurt either. Being on the ball with Casey Janssen and Ernesto Frieri was huge.

 

Underrated moves: Netting Adrian Beltre as part of the Juppers/Lincecame prostitution. Identifying Beachy's injury risk one week before being shelved for the year. 

 

Worst move (hindsight being 20/20): Cutting bait with Medlen as he pitched (poorly) in the bullpen before moving to the rotation. I was so ahead of the curve on that guy; I wish I hadn't gotten squirrely. 

 

It's stressful being in the lead. I'm ready for a bit of rest. I can't wait to take back the title next year. Thanks for being the best league ever, CZ. 

Garlicion

 

It wasn’t a bad season finishing in 5th and only 4 points from 3rd.  However, hats off to Walabees and Buttresses for crushing the rest of the competition.  I finished 59 points behind the winner.  Last year 59 points behind the winner would have gotten you 10th place, and 13th place in 2010.  But, a top five finish is always respectable in this league, no matter how far apart the points were.

I had several great highlights this year that contributed to some success for me: Carlos Beltran’s and Rafael Furcal’s surprising first halves, picking up Anthony Rizzo for 15 hrs and 48 RBIs in 87 games, picking up Carlos Gomez for 11hrs and 19 SBs in 62 games, Ryan Zimmerman’s improvement in the second half, drafting Jake Peavy at pick number 316, and trading Carlos Zambrano and Roy Oswalt away for Mat Latos. 

There were also a few negative highlights that contributed greatly to why I wasn’t able to ultimately compete for the championship: drafting Lance Berkman at #87, Alex Avila at 117, and Erick Aybar at 124, losing both Andrew Bailey and Scott Baker to injury before the season began, and not finding a guy deeper in the draft who would surprise everyone and finish in the top 25 or better.  Last year I got Ellsbury at #85 and the year before that I got Josh Hamilton at #117. 

It was a fun season nonetheless and I look forward to being on top again in 2013

Peehands

Your best player for the year: Andrew McCutchen (21) I love the man dearly. Don’t any of you take him from me next year. Billy Butler gets some great honorable mention as well.

Worst draft Picks: Chris Young (98). He was actually an amazing pick… for the first week. Then he did what is even worse than going on the DL: return and play about as worthless as you can get.

Wrong guy to trade away: Jordan Zimmerman. He was just too valuable to give away for a mediocre Floyd, injured Ted Lily, and awful Cozart

Wrong guy to trade for: Johan Santana at the height of his collapse. I should have known much better.

Right guy to trade for: I didn’t make a lot of good trades this year. I loved Cano for the hot streak time I had him for but traded him away quickly again. Oh well!

Other CZ team(s) you battled the most in the 2012 standings: Everyone in the bottom half!

Are you satisfied with your 2012 finish: Anyone that answers yes to that question that didn’t win is a little foolish. But, relatively speaking, I am please that I was able to climb out of the dark hole from 19th mid season to 12th by the end.

Team that surprised you the most in 2012: Twinkie Treat’s pitching. He put on a fantastic representation of successful pitching without investing in top tier names. Kudos to your SP picks my friend.  

Manager's season recap:

            This is one of the first years I left the draft feeling really good about my team. Boy was I wrong. I was able to grab a lot of the players I targeted for my draft position and thought I would have the best outfield in the league (McCutchen, Chris Young, Brett Gardner). Once mid april hit I lost Young & Gardner and struggled to fill in the gap. Hanging on the Young just killed me as he came back and just never performed to past levels. I made trade after trade this year trying to fill in the pieces I needed (as I had many holes elsewhere too) but simply did not make positive meaningful lasting transactions. I reached a low point in July in 19th nearing 130 points. From then out I realized I was way behind on SP stats and began (somewhat successfully) streaming for the last 2 months. I was able to make huge free agent pickups like Todd Wilhelmsin for several saves and Garret Jones’ return to glory. I hit good timings on hot pitchers like Kyle Kendrick’s run around August and really solidified my bullpen in the last few months. All to say being able to climb out of 19th and end in 12th with 174.5 points is a relative success, though it is still not nearly respectful enough to be pleased with my year’s performance. This is the first year I’ve finished under 200 points and my worst career placement in the standings. You can count on this team doing a lot more off season planning and calibration this year. This will not happen again!

(Thanks again for the support of the accidental Hanley drop. What an awful part of the season to drudge through. The year would have been boring without a little controversy right?)


POSTMODERN PELAGIANS

 

Your best player for the year: Ready for it? Adam LaRoche, my only top 100 player (66 yahoo). Thats right, I beat 10 managers under those conditions.

Worst draft Picks: Not considering injuries (my first two picks), Ubaldo Jiménez

Wrong guy to trade away: CJ Wilson; Andre Either

Wrong guy to trade for: Troy Tulowitski

Right guy to trade for: Dexter Fowler, Adam LaRoche,  Anibal Sánchez (for Carlos Pena; the difference between 1st and 2nd for FB?)

Other CZ team(s) you battled the most in the 2012 standings: Nothing truly notable.

Are you satisfied with your 2012 finish: No, but considering how decimated I was by injuries I was lucky to finish as a top 10 team every year, something even Peehands and WW can't say. 

Team that surprised you the most in 2012: Red Krush and Thunder Muscles, for very different reasons.

 

Manager's season recap:

Much like the end of 2012, the beginning of this season had many analyst predicting, for the first time in league history, a team to become a repeat champion. An excellent draft and some great value from trades further boasted what could have easily been a team that ran away with first from the get-go. Forerunner for Cold Zipper champion and silver slugger, the Postmodern Pelagians were hit hard in mid-May, losing Votto, Tulowitzki, and Longoria to injuries, 3 of the top 11 players from the draft. What looked to be the Pelagians finest season ended up being their lowest in points and lowest in rank. Still, even after taking what is arguably the biggest injury blow in all of Cold Zipper history, the Pelagians scrapped out a 10th place finish, edging out the likes of Twinkie Treats and Peehands, two proven opponents that couldn't overtake a team down Votto, Tulo, and Longoria. 

With the conclusion of the team's 7th season, the Postmodern Pelagians retain the rare lifetime achievement of always finishing top 10, an achievement no one with more than 3 years in the league has maintained and a title shared only with 3 year veteran Flying Buttresses now that the season has concluded. For a team this consistent, there's nowhere to go but up from here, something that Pelagian fans can be proud to say! With the management and strategies now in place, manager William Samsel is eagerly awaiting 2013 knowing that the team's injury woes will never be as difficult to overcome than they were this year. 

 

RED KRUSH

 

Your best player for the year: Jason Heyward

Worst draft Picks: Drew Stubbs or most of the pitching staff

Wrong guy to trade away: Johnny Cueto

Wrong guy to trade for: Any player from Flying Buttresses - Almost every play he traded me quickly ended up on the DL - sometimes within days of getting him he got hurt...  I was cursed in the trades this year.

Right guy to trade for: Gio Gonzalez, unfortunately re-traded him 15 days later...

Other CZ team(s) you battled the most in the 2012 standings:  Seemed Garlicion was always around me.  

Are you satisfied with your 2012 finish: I made great improvements over last year (Dead last) and though I would have liked to sustain it better, I'm pleased.

 

Manager's season recap: Like the Minnesota Twins, I end the season without a single starter that I began the year and I even don't have a reliever I started with.  I rode the hot pitching hand and had some young guys startout extremely well, only to crash and burn.  Rather than dropping them sooner, thinking they would turn it around, I kept on riding.  And it destroyed me.  I will not trade with Flying Buttresses EVER again.  Ok, probably will, but how does one get so screwed by the DL List????  I'm thrilled that I held first place for so long after riding last place all 2011.  Looking forward to another year.  

THUNDER MUSCLES


Your best player for the year:  Kimbrel

Worst draft Picks:  Ellsbury, Lawrie, Howard, Ike Davis, Josh Beckett

Wrong guy to trade away:  Felix Hernandez

Wrong guy to trade for:  Drew Stubbs

Right guy to trade for:   Paul Konerko

Other CZ team(s) you battled the most in the 2012 standings:   Anyone at the bottom

Are you satisfied with your 2012 finish:  Absolutely not

Team that surprised you the most in 2012:  Flying Buttresses... Mr. Consistent

Manager's season recap:  Bad draft, bad trades, bad luck. It didn't work out this year. Hopefully next year will be better. A nice "F You" to all the idiots on my team.

 

TWINKIE TREATS

 

Your best player for the year: Miggy

Worst draft Picks: Dee Gordon

Wrong guy to trade away: Didn't have a bad trade

Wrong guy to trade for: Mike Leake

Right guy to trade for: Kenley Jansen

Other CZ team(s) you battled the most in the 2012 standings: End the last two week epic slump that my team hit, Red Krush. The end of the season I did triumph over a surging Peehands.

Are you satisfied with your 2012 finish: HELL NO!!!

Team that surprised you the most in 2012: Bongo's Red Blanky, and Thunder Muscles - I didn't think he'd be THAT bad this year.

 

Manager's season recap: I rode many amazing years - Miggy, Josh Willingham, Aroldis Chapman, Hiroki Kurdoa, Kenley Jansen, and Jay Bruce (who had a quiet great year). However, my team faded hard core in the last two to three weeks of the season. I didn't have any amazing waiver wire pick-up, but I sure drafted well. Considering no one would admit that they wanted one of my pitchers, and my hitters, beyond Miggy, weren't sought after. I'd say I did really well considering. My team strategy will only need to be tweaked for next year and you'll see the next two-time CZ Champion.

 

 

TWIN CITIES CUBBIES

 

Your best player for the year: Curtis Granderson

Worst draft Picks: Drew Storen (got injured right after drafting him in 5th round), Ervin Santana (sucked more than Dunn last year until I dropped him when I read he might be making his last start of the year, then he got some things right), Mark Melancon (sent down to the minors in the first week of the season)

Wrong guy to trade away: Joe Nathan, Mat Latos

Wrong guy to trade for: Carlos Zambrano, Roy Oswalt, Carlos Pena

Right guy to trade for: Aramis Ramirez, BJ Upton

Other CZ team(s) you battled the most in the 2012 standings: Thunder Muscles (we were the 2 last place teams for what seemed the majority of the season)

Are you satisfied with your 2012 finish: No, being less than first is nothing to be satisfied about.  But digging myself out of a last place hole as late as Aug 29th and ending up in 15th was a nice end to the season

Team that surprised you the most in 2012: Team PED (aka whatever vile name Aaron has for his team) although once Melky was suspended his team sputtered to a halt

 

Manager's season recap:

It seems like my season can be summed up by saying that the lessons that I thought I learned last year haunted me this year and backfired and now I am left to question my strategies for running a fantasy baseball team.  After last season's failures of my highly touted setup men (Aroldis Chapman and Rafael Soriano) to produce near what I thought they would do or to convert into closers later in the season, I tried to target some sure closers at the draft table.  Well, that backfired on me (thanks a lot Storen) and it seems like last year's approach would have done me well with the closer carousel going on this year.  Other than Belt there were no rookies/lots of upside players I targeted in the draft, while everyone wishes they had drafted Trout with their last pick, I picked him up late last year (after a few of you had tried him out) and he failed to impress me so I totally passed on him (another lesson that backfired).  I'm always hesitant in trades, especially in this league where there are so few players on our roster and so few big names on the rosters, and that caused me to pass on some trades that I maybe should have (as well as offer many of you some outlandish trades).  But it seemed that a few of my trades at the end of the season like bringing in BJ Upton and Aramis Ramirez were part of a few bright spots of my season.  I had found out my wife was pregnant shortly after the league was set up and didn't know if I could put in the effort that this league required but felt it was too late to back out.  I feel good about the level of involvement I put in and am happy to step out of this league having gained a lot of valuable experience and knowledge and into the role of a father with only one fantasy baseball team to take care of.  Thank you all for a great 2 seasons, good luck in future years! -Mark

 

Walapin’ Walabees

 

Your best player for the year: Chase Headley, Michael Bourn, I really liked Alex Corn on the Cobb too

Worst draft Picks: Daniel Hudson – 5th round, Logan Morrison – 7th round

Wrong guy to trade away: Chris Perez, Wei Yen Chen to Attack Chickens

Wrong guy to trade for: Ian Kennedy

Right guy to trade for: Angel Pagan, as somewhat of a throw in

Other CZ team(s) you battled the most in the 2012 standings: Early on Postmodern Pelagians and Red Krush, later it was Flying Buttresses and Bongo’sRedBlanky

Are you satisfied with your 2012 finish: Thrilled

Team that surprised you the most in 2012: Thunder Muscles, I did not understand his draft strategy.  Coming into 2012 as the #2 ranked play in CZ career standings, he did not play as I expected.  On the other end of the spectrum, Red Krush had a fantastic year.  Not that 7th is bad, but I feel like 7th place doesn’t begin to tell the story of how good he’s been this year.

 

Manager's season recap:  There was something wrong.  Once standing tall feeling like an unbeatable champion, the Walapin’ Walabees had a faltering year in 2010 with a tied 6th place finish.  Thinking that 2011 would be a bounch back year to the top 3 norm, instead the Walabees took a turn for the worse and finished 2011 with a sixteenth place finish.  I felt like I had gone from the best to a Jose Reyes drafting joke.

 

I spent the offseason revisiting my past successes and mistakes and searched for answers why this team was not getting it anymore.  I realized that this league was evolving, and I was not.  I needed to change the way I approach things.  I spent the offseason making ridiculously detailed gameplans.  My goal was to cover any potential holes my team may have, and strive for 16 points or more in every category.

 

When the draft came, I felt very good about how my team looked.  It’s always very easy to hear what other people are saying and doubt yourself, but if you have a good gameplan and you stick to it, you won’t go wrong.  Despite a few inevitable mistakes, my draft was outstanding.  My team was very well balanced, and set me up for later trades.

 

Early on I was nervous, as I saw Postmodern Pelagians and Red Krush seemingly dominate the league.  As time passed they faltered, but so did I.  It took a few appropriate trades to improve my pitching after Daniel Hudson and Tim Stauffer proved to be injury plagued and worthless.  My team got better, but as the trade deadline approached, Flying Buttresses was dominating and I knew I needed to improve my pitching.  My offense was ridiculous, and with some options on the free agent list, I knew I could make my team better.  In the last few days before the trade deadline I acquired Verlander, Haren, Price, and Cain.  I was serious about getting better.  As a minor throw-in in those trades was Angel Pagan, who I was given to make up for my loss of Michael Bourn.  In just over a month Pagan gave me 36 runs, 7 triples and 10 stolen bases.  He was huge for my success.

 

I was nervous down to the last day as FB battled me, but I came out on top.  It feels good to be champion again, but I still have higher goals.  Flying Buttresses still holds the record as the highest career ranked team.  I want that back, and intend to take it.  Cannot wait till next year.