It's been seven months since the day we saw the official postseason bracket for the 2021 playoffs, so it's easy to forget everything that happened.
Yes, we know Breakfast won.
And of course we know Choo did not.
Those are easy to remember.
But do you remember Crox edging Topton for the final playoff spot by one game?
The American League race was pretty wild if you recall. On Aug. 9, Topton was in fourth place, just 8.5 games out of first place. Choo and Crox were tied for first and Breakfast was 2 games out.
That is likely — I don't have the fancy tools that Fantrax has to check standings from the ESPN years — the closest four teams have been with just three weeks to go.
Man, if only someone, maybe a blogger of some sorts, would have covered this great race as it was happening? That would have been nice.
Crox lost ground on that first-place position in the weeks that followed with close losses to Topton and the Sex Panthers, before getting beat 15-7-2 by Breakfast to fall to third place.
Fortunately for Crox, the loss wasn't 16-6-2.
Then Topton would have been in.
And Crox is certainly going to have that in mind for 2022.
"Tommy is a force to be reckoned with in the AL," Crox said. "The usual suspects in the JLB are veterans, not old, but seasoned, but the Topton squad can be dangerous if they stop getting in their own damn way. Health will be critical as it is for everyone. And for the record, I narrowly squeaked into the playoffs with a team of waiver wire grabs as my IL maxed out by week 2 and continued to be the case through year-end. Health plays a huge role, but so does experience, youngins’."
It also helps to have Jose Ramirez, the best player in fantasy baseball.
He has that "100 score" for a reason. Speed, power, contact, patience at the plate — he has it all.
Last season, his average was a bit down, but he still batted .266 with 36 HRs and 103 RBIs. He stole 27 base, hit five triples, walked 72 times and scored 111 runs.
He's projected to go .271/36/107 with similar stats from 2021, so it's no wonder why the 29-year-old was garnering some attention in the offseason from JLB owners — and MLB owners, I suppose.
"JRam is a lot like me to be honest," Crox said, puffing up his chest. "So desirable in any format. And like me, even if he loses a quick first step, he can make up for it with with boyishly goods looks and crafty whit. It’s easy to avoid to noise because nothing is better. Can’t listen to the villagers when standing on top of the mountain."
Well, can you hear the villagers complaining about Yelich?
If you can't, maybe the Red Sox could hook you up with some sweet Apple Watches.
Once you get one, you'll start to see that the villagers aren't happy with his .205 average in 2020 and his .248 mark in 2021.
I'll be honest. When I messaged Crox, I asked about a bounce-back as if this was like Year 4 of hoping for one.
To my surprise, it was just 2019 when we last saw Yelich bat .329 with 44 homers, 97 RBIs and 30 stolen bases. Man, Covid truly did feel like double time.
The crazy thing is, I don't think Crox even picked up on that same thing because he answered like it had been four years.
"Yelich doesn’t need to bounce back," Crox said. "Even if he doesn't relive his MVP days, his OBP — which is so frequently overlooked in this League for some reason — is still incredible. And his track record suggests he runs more when he struggles with contact. He’s still checking boxes, even if it’s not every box."
He may be checking many more boxes this year. The last two seasons were rough on a lot of players, and I would expect that a more normal offseason — well, minus the lockout, but I'm speaking to normal as in home life — may be just what the many players needed.
Yelich is batting .300 in the spring thus far, and yes, it's a limited sample, but it's certainly better than seeing him struggle.
If Yelich turns back into that all-around star, his numbers will rival Jose Ramirez's, and that may mean Crox has the two best fantasy players out there.
Unfortunately for him, neither one of them is Shohei Ohtani, so he's left to find pitching to match the offense's win totals.
That's where the real questions marks come into play for the Crox.
His starting staff has punched their membership card to the trainer's office so many times, they're all getting free hoagies on their next visit.
Noah Syndergaard, Jack Flaherty (sorry), Carlos Carrasco, Dakota Hudson, Steven Strasburg, Luis Severino, Dustin May. ... All are either injured or coming off of injuries. This is really disconcerting for a team that was plagued by IL visits a year ago.
"I thought we weren’t counting pitching this year?!?" he joked, clearly deflecting from the real issue at hand. "The pitching market has changed since I’ve joined the JLB. It used to be a sure way to get to the top but with how SPs are used these days, it’s a bit of a crapshoot. Will they stay healthy? Nope. But hopefully all 10 of 12 don’t go on the IL like 2021."
Yes, let's hope not.
Otherwise, you'll really start to hear it from the villagers below — and maybe, just maybe, from that blogger.
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