Week 16's installment of the DDWPIPOTCFFBE (Diamond Dynasty Weekly Preview In Pursuit Of The Chalice For Fantasy Baseball Excellence)

Week 15 – Drew overtakes Adrian for first place in an otherwise stagnant, shortened week.

The Match-Up: TJ (3^rd) vs Jarrett (9^th) *5*

TJ is really struggling to hang with the elite teams this year, posting an 0-4-2 record over his last 6 weeks. He has the easiest schedule in the league over the next 3 weeks, facing Jarrett, Ben (8^th) and James (10^th) before things get really tough again. If he has any hopes of grabbing one of the top two spots come playoff time, he'll have to take care of business in the immediate future. Jarrett has been better as of late, posting a 2-1 record over the past 3 weeks. He's 9.5 games out of a playoff spot with 7 weeks to go, and with Richie (7^th) Ben (8^th) and James (10^th) on the horizon, never say never...TJ scorpion-bowled Jarrett in week 7, 10-0.

The Match-Up: Alex (6^th) vs James (10^th) *4*

Alex is treading water with a 2-0-2 record over the last month despite only outscoring his opponents 21-18. After this week, he's got the toughest schedule in the league, drawing Adrian (2^nd) Drew (1^st) and Kurt (4^th). He holds a 2 game lead over Richie (7^th) and a 5 game lead over Ben (8^th) for the last DD playoff spot, so a win this week would be a huge insurance run given his strength of schedule going forward. James fought Kurt to a 4-4 tie last week, but he needs to start putting up W's if he wants to close the 12 game playoff gap. He plays the middle of the pack for the next month, so there is still a tiny glimmer of hope. Alex ripped James 3 new ones in week 7, 10-0.

The Match-Up: Richie (7^th) vs Drew (1^st) *3*

Drew's fantasy baseball excellence over the past two months has resulted in a steady climb up the rankings and finally, last week, to the top of the standings. He's won five weeks in a row and seven out of his last 8. Last week's 6-2-2 win over Adrian (2nd) left no doubt as to who the best team in the league is right now. Before last week, Drew was beating up on the bottom half of the league (James (10^th), Ben (then 7^th) and Jarrett (then 10^th)), but last week he proved those wins were no fluke. Richie is riding a nice little hot streak too, winning five of his last six, taking out Adrian (then 1^st) and TJ (3^rd) in the process. He's staring down the last playoff spot (2GB), but he's got his toughest match-up of the year against Drew's white-hot squad. Fuck the power rankings, playoffs here I come! Richie beat Drew in week 7, 6-4.

The Match-Up: Colin (5^th) vs Ben (8^th) *2*

Colin has come back down to earth after his torrid stretch in the middle of the season. He's just 1-2-1 in his last 4 weeks, including a 4-6 loss to Jarrett (9^th) last week. He still holds onto the 5^th spot in the league, but the playoff race is really tightening up once again. Colin, Alex, Richie and Ben are separated by a mere five games, with only two spots up for grabs. As James showed us last year, all you have to do is get to the dance and let the chips fall where they may (Kurt, is it possible to take a look at/post what place the champions finished the regular season? That would be cool to see). Ben managed to stop his 5 week losing streak last week, but his 5-5 tie with Alex (6^th) gives him 6 weeks without a win. A big win this week (8-2, 9-1) could really shuffle the playoff picture. Ben beat Colin 6-4 in week 7.

The Match-Up: Kurt (4^th) vs Adrian (2^nd) *1*

In the best on-paper match-up of the week, Kurt looks to extend Adrian's 3 week losing streak. Kurt's play has been mediocre as of late, following W's with L's. He could only muster a 4-4 tie with James (10^th) last week, but he has a solid grip on the 4^th seed and would really have to implode to drop a spot or two. Adrian – what is going on? 3 week losing streak? Engine 4 is taking on water. While he's in no danger of missing the playoffs, TJ (3^rd) and Kurt (4^th) are breathing right down his neck for that second bye-week spot. It'll be interesting to see if Adrian can right the ship against a tough opponent this week. These two teams played to a 5-5 tie in week 7.