Week 14's installment of the DDWPIPOTCFFBE (Diamond Dynasty Weekly Preview In Pursuit Of The Chalice For Fantasy Baseball Excellence)

Week 13 – One race tightens, the other widens, and a big upset that requires an apology

The Match-Up: Richie (8^th) vs Adrian (1^st)

The king has been dethroned! After 13 weeks of tyrannical rule, the most unlikely of competitors (James, 10^th) took down Adrian for his first losing week of 2011, 4-6. Adrian was 10-0-3 during his 10-3 run (Kurt, record check?). He now leads the league by only 2 games over Drew (2^nd) and 4 games over TJ (3^rd). He looks to get back on the winning track against Richie (8^th), who dropped his match up last week to Colin, 2-6-2. Richie's loss broke a 3 week winning streak, but he is still only 4 games out of a playoff spot. Richie plays Adrian (1^st) this week, Drew (2^nd) next week, and TJ (3^rd) after that, so he has his work cut out for him. Adrian beat Richie in Week 5, 6-4.

The Match-Up: Kurt (4^th) vs Ben (7^th)

Ben started the month of June in 5^th place, but he starts July in 7^th. He dropped his fourth week in a row last week to Drew (2^nd), 3-7. With Kurt (4^th), Alex (6^th) and Colin (5^th) on tap, there are no lay-ups on the horizon for Ben – his team needs to put up some solid numbers to assure his spot in the playoffs. After rolling over TJ (3^rd) last week, the commish couldn't keep up the energy and dropped his match last week to Jarrett (9^th). With the loss, Kurt has faded from the top of the pack. He's 9.5 games behind Adrian (1^st). He started out 3-0-3, but is just .500 (3-3) since week 8. It'll be interesting to see which Kurt shows up for the remainder of the season. These two teams played to a tie in Week 5, 4-4.

The Match-Up: Alex (6^th) vs Jarrett (9^th)

Alex fought TJ (3^rd) to a 5-5 tie last week, and he hasn't lost in 2 weeks. He's got Jarrett (9^th) Ben (7^th) and James (10^th) coming up, so he's got a chance to move up from the 6^th spot, or at least distance himself from the 7^th place spot. Jarrett came out of no where to beat Kurt (4^th) last week, 7-3. He retains his 9^th place spot, and is only 9.5 games out of a playoff spot. He's 1-2-1 (19-20) over his last 4 weeks, but he only has to play slightly better to get in the playoff discussion. Jarrett beat Alex in Week 5, 5-4.

The Match-Up: Colin (5^th) vs TJ (3^rd)

Colin got back to his winning ways last week, as he took care of Richie (8^th) 6-2. He gained 3 games on Adrian (1^st) for the top seed, and he's only 3 games behind Kurt (4^th). Colin is 6-2-1 in his last 9 weeks. TJ is sliding fast, and he hasn't won in a month (0-3-1). Like Ben (7^th), TJ has dropped 2 places over the course of the last month (1^st to 3^rd). He plays the bottom half of the league over the next month, so he'll be looking to take advantage of the favorable schedule. Colin beat TJ in Week 5, 6-3.

The Match-Up: James (10^th) vs Drew (2^nd)

Well, well, well, James...I'm sorry. I was wrong, dead wrong. Not only did you step up to my challenge, but you were the first person to beat Adrian all year! A tip of the cap to you sir, undoubtedly deserved. James is 2-1-1 in his last 4 weeks, and 11 games out of a playoff spot. Let's see if he can keep up the good play against Drew this week, and Kurt (4^th) after that. Drew is cutting through the league like a silent assassin, 5-1 in his last 6 weeks. His 7-3 victory over Ben (7^th) last week marked his third in a row, and he's only 2 games out of the top spot. If everything goes according to plan, we'll have a heavyweight bout on our hands next week when Drew squares off against Adrian (1^st) for the lead in the standings. Drew smoked James in Week 5, 8-2.

Happy 4^th! I wish I hadn't run out of beer. And what's going on for our Home Run Derby BBQ/meeting? Let's make sure we're all on the same page for that.