The True CFCL Legacy

I thought the CFCL Legacy was simply being around 30 years.  Turns out that’s not as big of a deal as I thought.  We’ll learn more about that in the upcoming weeks.  So then I thought perhaps our legacy would be our children carrying on the tradition started by their not fore, but six fathers.

If we eliminate the female offspring since we’ve never had a female remotely interested in joining the league (sorry Revenge and Dem Rebels (X 3)) then we have nine future CFCL’ers.  So below I have created their teams as I would imagine they would and voila!  We have a junior league, not unlike the professional soccer leagues in Europe that have developmental leagues for teams before they (the teams) get to the Big Time and Bright Lights.

Revenge – One son

Noah (Noah’s Arcs)  No, that isn’t a misprint.  The name would represent the trending of the team.  Great draft and stocked minor league system?  They are on an upward arc.  Season ending injuries and Brad Lincoln’s son on the team?  Downward arc.  Of course this wouldn’t stop Noah from collecting his players in twos.  Uptons (Justin and BJ), Claytons (Richards and Kershaw).

Dem Rebels – One son

Cooper (Cooper Rollows) – You would think he would name his team after the town that he himself was named after.  Well Cooper is a renaissance man and chose to honor a wordsmith of legendary proportions.  It’s uncertain how good the players will be, but the lineup card will be extremely well written.

DoorMatts – Two sons, one son is already in the league.  This opens the door for the other twin.

Matt (Matterhorns) – Looks to be an up and down season with a bunch of Mickey Mouse players.

Kenndoza Line – Two sons

Jacob (Jacob’s Ladders) – always looking to move up with Tim Robbins moving from the pitcher’s mound to the manager’s seat in the dugout.

Evan (Evan Almighties) – a hard team to beat with the All Powerful on their side.

Stranger Danger – Two sons

Lucas (Lucas Cruikshanks) – Sadly the Cruikshanks are the most disliked team in the league because they are . . . so . . .damn . . . annoying.  On the upside they will have the biggest social media following.

Maximus (Maximus D. Meridius) – Russell Crowe is the manager.  The team looks fierce on the field, but their war uniforms make it tough to turn a double play.

Clowns – Two sons

Aidan (Aidan Quinns) – Come all without, come all within.  You’ll not see nothing like the Mighty Quinn(s).

Logan (Kenny Logans)  - When a player gets injured but can walk off the field, on the Jumbotron a video of a gopher will appear lipsyncing “I’m All Right”.  The Kenny part would also be a nod to his favorite CFCL owner, Kenn Ruby.

Ruffins, Bulls, Beatniks and Twin Killers – kind of makes you want to have a son, doesn’t it?

Anatomy of a Pennant Race (Part 1)

It may not surprise you to hear that over the course of 29 complete seasons the CFCL has seen some amazing pennant races.  I'm sure every league has had them.  But just in the last four years we have seen three amazing races, each quite different than the other.

2012 - Candy Colored Clowns hold a commanding 15-20 point lead over the league around the trade deadline.  Dem Rebels decide to try to make things interesting and make a few deals at the deadline.  As late as the end of August the Clowns still held a 20 point lead over the Rebels.  And then September happens.  And the Rebels are coming, and they keep coming and they make the Clowns sweat.  When the final out was recorded for the season, the Clowns had their first CFCL title, finishing 1 point ahead of Dem Rebels.

2011 - A year that will live in infamy in the Revenge historical archives.  Four teams finished within four and a half points of each other.  Going into the final week the DoorMatts, Ruffins, Revenge and Kenndoza Line all had legitimate opportunity to take home the Copperfield Trophy.  With about six days left in the season the Ruffins, in third or fourth place, even sent out a concession e-mail wishing the other three owners well in their pursuit of the pinnacle.  When it looked like the Revenge would take their first championship to the mantle, tragedy struck in the name of Brad Lincoln and the Ruffins scooted past the scrum to finish 1.5 points ahead of the Kenndoza Line.

2010 -   Perhaps the most amazing race ever.  The Kenndoza Line and DoorMatts were neck and neck.  To make matter more hectic, perennial champion Copperfields were hovering just a few points back.  It came down to the last day.  It came down to the last game.  It came down to the last inning.  After the final pitch we had a flatfooted tie, Kenndoza Line 79 - DoorMatts 79.  The Line owned the tie-breaker, denying the DoorMatts their first ever title.

2013 is shaping up much the same way.  But not just for the championship.  There is a lot of drama for ALL the positions.  Today and tomorrow we will look at each "race".  First - teams 6-10.

STANDINGS AS OF 9/11/13

6.  Eukennott Beatniks  48
7.  Dem Rebels  48
8.  Stranger Danger  46
9.  Morkertzuma's Revenge  44
10.  Twin  Killers  35

In the following matchups, I have only identified if the team lower in the standings can catch the team directly above them by either gaining points or having the higher team lose points.  If you want to see a comprehensive view of the standings, click here.

Twin Killers  VS.  Revenge  [Nine points separate them]
The Killers can conservatively gain 1 point in Runs, 1 OBP, 2 WHiP, 2 K/BB for a total of 6.
The Revenge could potentially lose 1 SB, 1 OBP, 1 ERA, 1 WHiP, 1 QS, 2 K/BB for a total of 7.
Thirteen point swing with a nine point difference.  Killers could move up.

Revenge VS Danger [Two points separate them]
Before we get to the analysis, let's be reminded that the Revenge are trying to pass a team WHOSE OWNER DIDN'T SHOW UP TO THE DRAFT; WHOSE PROXY LEFT THE DRAFT EARLY; WHO HAD TO COMPLETE HIS RESERVE ROSTER TWO FULL DAYS AFTER THE COMPLETION OF THE DRAFT!!!!
Revenge can gain 1 RBI, 1 OBP, 1 TB, 2 WHiP for a total of 5.
Danger can lose 1 SB for a total of 1.
Six point swing with a two point difference.  Revenge could move up.

Danger VS Dem Rebels [Two points separate them]
Before we get to the analysis, let's be reminded that the Rebels are trying to stay ahead of a team WHOSE OWNER DIDN'T SHOW UP TO THE DRAFT; WHOSE PROXY LEFT THE DRAFT EARLY; WHO HAD TO COMPLETE HIS RESERVE ROSTER TWO FULL DAYS AFTER THE COMPLETION OF THE DRAFT!!!!
Danger can gain 1 OBP, 1 QS for a total of 2.
Dem Rebels can lose 1 R, 2 OBP, 2 WHiP, 2 K/BB for a total of 7.
Nine point swing with a two point difference.  Danger could move up.

Dem Rebels VS Beatniks [0 points separate them]
I show the Rebels as the pursuers of the Beatniks, despite the tie in points because the Beatniks have been ahead all season long.  Simply throwing a bone to the 'Niks.  They've had a tough season.
Dem Rebels can gain 1 SB, 1 K/BB for a total of 2.
Beatniks can lose 1 SB, 1 OBP, 2 WHiP, 1 QS, 1 K/BB for a total of 6.
Eight point swing with no point difference.  Dem Rebels could move up.

Teams 1-5 tomorrow.  Stay tuned.

Meet Stranger Danger

As we come down the home stretch of our current owner Q&A, it's time to meet the youngest tenured owner of the CFCL.  Scott Stang joined the CFCL in 2011 taking over the vaunted Copperfield franchise.  While Scott hasn't exactly replicated the Copperfield dominance, he has seen improvement each year.  His first year the Danger finished last, but last year they jumped to 7th and are currently holding 7th place again this year.

When Scott joined the league the Monroe Doctrine conducted a not too terribly official interview to get some background.  But today, the Danger actually provide their own answers.  It's time to meet Stranger Danger.

What brought you to the CFCL?

I wanted to try rotisserie auction draft.

Your brothers have helped out with your drafts the last few years.  Is yours a big baseball family?

My brothers and I played baseball through high school. I also went a little further and played for Robert Morris college and try out for numerous county teams such flyers and cougars. We are all fantasy owners in a head to head league.

Do you or they belong to other fantasy baseball leagues?

We are all in a head to head league together and from the looks of it all three are gonna make the playoffs . We have been part of this league for the last five years.

You have a newborn at home along with another young child.  Any plans to get them involved in fantasy sports when the time is right?

I plan on my children to love sports( not only baseball) and to be involved at a very young age. My four year old is already lethal with a bat and will be playing organized ball in the spring. The other is to young but will soon be where his brother is. I'm sure they will get into fantasy play when old enough.

What has been your most enjoyable moment in the CFCL so far?

trying to build a franchise in this league is a great challenge and very different from the fantasy style I am used to. The owners know there baseball which in return makes the leagues competition second to none.

The Owners of the CFCL 2011

Well the CFCL went down to Naperville
We were lookin’ for a room to use
We were in a bind ‘cause we were way behind
And we sure didn’t have much to choose.

When we came across this young man
Sittin’ at the computer and playin’ it hot
And the Ruffins jumped up on a hickory stump
And said, “Boys, let me tell you what”

“You probably didn’t know it
But I’m a fantasy player too
And if you go to draft below
I’ll make a deal with you.”

And so in 2011, for the second year in a row our normal corporate digs were not available and the Ruffins came to the rescue.  They provided a room in the basement of a Naperville office building.  The room wasn’t real conducive for photo taking so we stepped out in the hallway for our close up.

From left: Rich Bentel (Dem Rebels), Bob Boryca (Mo’s Red Hots), Dave Holian (David’s Ruffins), Tim Morkert (Morkertzuma’s Revenge), Scott Strang (Stranger Danger), Matt Grage (Graging Bulls), Dan Strang (Assistant GM Stranger Danger), Matt Bentel (DoorMatts), Mike Bentel (Twin Killers), Jeff Ruby (brother of Kenn and proxy for Kenndoza Line), Mike Coulter (Candy Colored Clowns).

The Ruffins used the home field advantage to perfection as they defended their title and grabbed their 4^th overall championship.  Little did we know at the time that this would be the last year we would draft with Bob (Red Hots). He would resign at the end of the year.  Kenn Ruby couldn’t make it up from Cincinnati due to the recent birth of his second child, but DunKenn made it with Kenn’s brother Jeff who proved to be an amazing proxy, handling the bidding and tracking of players while a cell phone was glued to his ear all afternoon so Kenn would know what was happening.

We also welcomed Stranger Danger to the CFCL as they took over the league’s most successful franchise (David’s Copperfields, who resigned at the end of 2010).

The Owners of the CFCL - 2012

This is a new weekly feature as we walk backwards to the beginning.  You've seen the Big Uglies from 2013.  Each week we'll step back one year and meet the ownership.  The cool thing here is that when the picture was taken we didn't know what we were facing for the year.  But now we can look at the picture knowing who won, what happened during the year, etc. 

Here are the owners for 2012 drafting in Lisle, IL.

Pictured left to right:  Rich Bentel (Dem Rebels, in A's hat), Dave Holian (David's Ruffins), Matt Bentel (DoorMatts), Mike Bentel (Twin Killers), Matt Grage (Graging Bulls), Kenn Ruby (Kenndoza Line), Scott Strang (Stranger Danger), Nick Hansen (Eukennott Beatniks), Mike Coulter (Candy Colored Clowns and eventual 2012 Champion), Tim Morkert (Morkertzuma's Revenge).

Two interesting things heading in to 2012.  First we were welcoming back an old friend.  Nick Hansen rejoined the league after a much too long three year hiatus.  Secondly Dem Rebels and the Clowns engaged in one of the craziest pennant chases in CFCL history.  Both made significant trades right at the trade deadline and then watched as the Rebels, down 21 points in late August made a charge that left them one point short of catching the Clowns.  Going into the final day, it was possible for Dem Rebels to gain one point, thus tying the Clowns.  But the Clowns held the tie-breaker edge so they were in strong position going in to the final day, due in large part to their management of their team throughout the year.

Notice also that the DoorMatts seem to be staring someone down.  My guess is it's everyone but Nick since everyone in the direction Matt is looking at finished ahead of him in the standings.

Meet The 2013 CFCL Owners

Here are the ten heartbeats of the CFCL.  This solid core allow me to fully state with utmost confidence "30 Years of the CFCL!  (We're Not Even Halfway There!)"

Left to right we have:  Matt Grage (Owner of Graging Bulls); Tim Morkert (Morkertzuma's Revenge); Nick Hansen (Eukennott Beatniks); Rich Bentel (Dem Rebels); Mike Bentel (Twin Killers); Matt Bentel (DoorMatts); Dan Strang (sitting in for his brother, Scott Strang - Stranger Danger); Kenn Ruby (Kenndoza Line); and last year's champion Mike Coulter (Candy Colored Clowns).  [Not pictured Dave Holian (David's Ruffins); Dave drafted via cellphone connection and with the awesome assistance of former CFCL owner and League Founder, David Mahlan]