Week 21's installment of the DDWPIPOTCFFBE (Diamond Dynasty Weekly Preview In Pursuit Of The Chalice For Fantasy Baseball Excellence)

Week 20 – Big blowouts across the board set up the league for a fantastic finish

The Match-Up: Richie (9^th) vs James (10^th) *5*

Richie's playoff door finally slammed shut last week after being tantalizingly close virtually the entire season. Alex took him down, 6-3-1 behind the stellar play of his newly acquired players via last week's blockbuster trade. Richie is now 8.5 games out of a playoff spot with only 2 weeks to play, but I am begrudgingly adding myself to the consolation committee, already populated by Jarrett (8^th) and James (10^th). Speaking of Mams, he takes place in the ultimate basement battle for the second time in three weeks (week 19 against Jarrett (then-9^th)). He's lost 3 in a row, and he's win-less in his last 7 match ups (0-5-2). He's a shoe-in to have the first pick in next year's draft at 10.5 games behind Richie for 9^th, so he's got that going for him, which is nice (manananana). Richie has beaten James in weeks 3 and 12 by a score of 6-4 (season: Richie 12-8).

The Match-Up: Jarrett (8^th) vs Drew (1^st) *4*

In what was probably the most unlikely result of the entire season, Jarrett kicked Adrian's (3^rd) ASS last week 10-0, posting the league's third shutout of the year (previous shutouts: Alex 10-0 against James, and TJ 10-0 over Jarrett). It's the first time in Diamond Dynasty history that a team has been on both ends of a shutout in a single season. I totally made that up, I have no idea if that's true, but it seems like it could be. With the win, Jarrett leap frogs Richie for 8^th place, the highest he's been since at least week 10, when I started keep track. I can't believe I'm typing this, but he's 7 games out of the playoffs...I'm just saying. But a serious uphill battle lies ahead – the mighty Drew. TJ came to challenge the throne last week and was turned away, 6-3. The win gives Drew 9 victories in his last 10 match ups, and 11 in his last 13. But most importantly, Drew is officially the first one to the playoff party, receiving the Yahoo! asterisk shortly after midnight. He also has a 12.5 game cushion on a bye week so unless Jarrett can pull another shutout out of his ass, Drew will have the luxury of letting the rest of the league beat up on each other for a week. Drew beat Jarrett 7-3 in week 3 and 5-4 in week 12 (season: Drew 12-7).

The Match-Up: Kurt (4^th) vs TJ (2^rd) *3*

It seems as though Kurt's mid-season acquisitions have helped him right the ship, as he laid an 8-1 whooping on Colin (5^th) last week. He's on a modest 2 week winning streak, and barring an epic collapse, will be in the 2011 DD playoffs. He closes the year with TJ this week and Jarrett (8^th) next week, and a lot could change by then. Kurt is 1.5 games behind Adrian for 3^rd, 3.5 games ahead of Colin (5^th), and 5 games ahead of Alex (6^th) - he could finish in 3^rd just as easily as 6^th. TJ couldn't take advantage of his first-place opportunity last week, as he lost to Drew (1^st) 3-6. It was his first loss in a month, but he still has substantial distance (7.5 games) between himself and Adrian (3^rd) for the second bye spot. He closes the year with Kurt and Alex (6^th). These teams played to a 5-5 tie in week 3, but Kurt Timbuktu-ed TJ 9-1 in week 12 (season: Kurt 14-6).

The Match-Up: Alex (6^th) vs Colin (5^th) *2*

With Ben (7^th) breathing right down both of their necks, neither team can afford to have a bad week. Alex has reloaded his roster with talent after last week's deadline deal with Richie (9^th), and he saw what his new additions could do. Jimmy Rollins hit .333 for the week, adding a home run, a stolen base, 4 runs scored and 4 RBI's, while Hiroki Kuroda, John Axford, and J.J. Putz combined for 1 win, 4 saves, 11 K's, and an ERA of (estimating) under 2.00. Their efforts helped Alex dispose of Richie, 6-3, for his first win since beating James in week 16. Colin is coming off a down week, losing 1-8 to Kurt. It's his first loss since taking out Adrian (then-2^nd) and Drew (1^st) 8-2 in successive weeks. In the last week of the season, Colin faces Richie while Alex has to go up against TJ (2^nd). Alex has a tougher draw to end the year, going up against TJ (2^nd) while Colin draws Richie (9^th). Ben lurks just 1.5 games behind Alex and 3 games behind Colin in what should be a great end to the regular season! Alex has Colin's number this year, taking him 8-2 in week 3 and 6-4 in week 12 (season: Alex 14-6).

The Match-Up: Ben (7^th) vs Adrian (3^rd) *1*

Ben took advantage of his match up last week, beating James 8-2 and thrusting himself to just a game and a half out of the playoffs. He hasn't been this close to a playoff spot since week 12, when his loss to Adrian (then-1^st) put him half a game out. He really has to earn his spot in the playoffs this year though, going up against Adrian and Drew (1^st) to close out the year. He's won 2 weeks in a row and this week runs into a slumping Adrian, who has lost 3 in a row (by a combined score of 6-24) and 6 of his last 8. He's in little danger of dropping out of the playoffs, but he is definitely not playing his best ball right now. Adrian gets the golden ticket – James (10^th) to close the year, so he can rest assured that he'll still be playing meaningful fantasy baseball in September. Because of both team's recent play, it seems as though Ben might be able to finally crack the top 6 if he can just get a little help from Alex or Colin. Adrian beat Ben 8-2 in week 3 and 6-4 in week 12 (season: Adrian 14-6). These last two weeks should be an old fashioned hootenanny! Should be a blast!