Two stunning upsets have left the league’s standings in chaos entering the final week.  Both the Lasershow and Legion shocked the Possums and Armadillos with robust performances.

CP Legion (8-10-5) vs.  RK Possums (16-4-3)

The week’s closest match saw the Possums lose a heartbreaking 5-4-1 decisions to the Legion. Chris relied on good hitting and solid pitching to win by the thinnest possible margin.  Blake Snell probably clinched the Cy Young award with two strong starts.  He did not allow an earned run and struck out 16 in 11.2 innings pitched.  He also earned two wins.  Hyun-Jin Ryu had a clutch win on Sunday to tie the hotly-contested wins category.  Rick dominated strikeouts and WHIP, but Chris had the better ERA.  Both teams pitched the same number of innings, but Chris had one extra save.  Both of these small differences shifted the week late, and the Possums were not able to counter on offense despite leading the league in steals.  Chris delivered the Possums just their fifth loss of the season.

LK Armadillos (17-5-1) vs.  SM Lasershow (6-12-5)

The Possums’ loss gave the Armadillos a chance to eliminate the Lannisters and guarantee themselves at least a share of the title with a victory.  Unfortunately for Larry, the improved Lasershow had other ideas.  Sean led the league in OBP and SLG thanks to great weeks from Christian Yelich and Tommy Pham.  The pair combined for three home runs and two steals.  Kyle Freeland had a pair of nice starts as well.  The Armadillos were not competitive after a series of injuries and offensive slumps.  The Armadillos deployed an absurdly high number of position players (25) and pitchers (12).  This means that only three players on the roster didn’t see action (though the number is higher in reality since some of these players were added and cut within the week).  The Armadillos tried everything they could to get good match-ups, but they couldn’t counter the Lasershow.  Sean’s team has shown a great deal of improvement late in the season.

JK Lannisters (13-4-6) vs.  HP PhoeGnomes (5-16-2)

The Lannisters took care of business with a strong performance against the PhoeGnomes.  The Lannisters led the league in home runs and RBI.  Mike Trout contributed four home runs and Manny Machado was hot for the week.  On pitching the PhoeGnomes were never competitive after bad starts form key rotation members.  The dominant win kept the Lannisters alive to the final week.  The loss also dooms the PhoeGnomes to last place, but Heather still has a chance to end the season on a high note versus the Possums

KK Thunderwolves (9-13-1) vs.  KG Capital City Goofballs (4-14-5)

Kevin and Kyle had a close match this week that Kevin eventually won.  Kyle Hendricks was the Goofballs’ star of the week with two starts, two wins, and 13 strikeouts.  Will Smith had two saves.  Freddie Freeman was also solid on offense with two home runs.  Kyle had a good week from Wil Myers, but the team faced criticism for not starting “Kevin Kramer” and refusing to trade him to the Lannisters for a package including a “Ricky”, “Jeff”, and “Kyle”.

Standings Chaos

The stunning upsets mean that three teams still have a chance to win the title.  There are nine different outcomes for the Possums and Armadillos.  Since the Lannisters face the Armadillos, their chances correlate to the Armadillos win/loss/tie scenarios.

• Possums Win / Armadillos win

The Possums and Armadillos share the title.  The Possums have the fewest losses but the Armadillos have more wins.  Since the records are not the same, the head-to-head tiebreaker does not apply.

• Possums Win / Lannisters win

The Possums win the title outright.  The Lannisters finish in second.

• Possums Win / Armadillos and Lannisters tie

The Possums win the title outright.  The Armadillos finish in second.

• Possums Lose / Armadillos win

The Armadillos win the title outright.  The Possums finish in second.

• Possums Lose / Lannisters win

The Lannisters win the title outright.  The Possums and Armadillos tie for second.

• Possums Lose / Armadillos and Lannisters tie

The Armadillos win the title outright.  The Lannisters and Possums tie for second.

• Possums Tie / Armadillos win

The Armadillos win the title outright.  The Possums finish in second.

• Possums Tie / Armadillos and Lannisters tie

The Possums and Armadillos share the title.

• Possums tie / Lannisters win

The Possums and Lannisters share the title.  The teams would have different records, so the head-to-head tie-breaker does not apply.

There are several interesting things to note here.  The Armadillos will end the year with at least a tie for the most wins.  The Lannisters will at least tie for the fewest losses.  Each team has a way to win the title outright:

• Rick: Possums win and Armadillos lose or tie
• Larry: Armadillos win and Possums lose or tie + Armadillos tie and Possums lose
• Jeff: Lannisters win and Possums lose

Rick and Larry will tie if both teams win or both teams tie, but not if both teams lose since the Lannisters would then win.  Rick and Jeff can tie if the Possums tie and the Lannisters win.  In both cases, Rick owns the in-season head-to-head tie-breaker, but the teams’ records are not the same so they don’t come into play for the official results (although the ESPN site still uses them to sort the rankings).  The shared titles are most likely if the Possums tie, because either the Lannisters or Armadillos could then force a tie.

The Possums appear to have the easier path since they play the last-place PhoeGnomes.  However, Heather will not end the year without a fight.  The Armadillos face a much more perilous task since the Lannisters have been so difficult to beat this year.  Jeff’s team has more ties plus wins (20) than any other team (Rick is second with 19).  The week is also challenging because teams rest starters and position players during the playoff reset period.  The Possums and Armadillos may regret not voting to end the season after Week 24 if some of the exotic outcomes happen.

The rest of the standings are almost set.  The Legion will end the year in fourth place after their heroic effort against the Possums.  The win is another legendary moment for the Legion, who always seem to be in the middle of something.  Kevin avoided last place but will have to live with seventh.  Heather will finish last, but can still try to knock of the Possums and debate draft picks.  The Lasershow and Thunderwolves are tied for fifth, and Sean could end his year on a high note.  Kyle could double his win total from last year and reach at least ten wins for the first time since 2015.  There’s at least a small something at stake in every match, so make the final week count!