FABL 2023 Finals - Cancer vs Libra
In a completely shocking and unforeseen twist, the Cancer Crabs have stormed back from behind and defeated the Virgo Flowers in the 2023 Fantasy Astrology Baseball League semifinals! How could this have happened after Virgo had such a commanding lead after week one of the two-week matchup? Well, it’s because of one player: Shohei Ohtani!
“But Ohtani hasn’t played since September 3 because of an oblique strain,” you might gently remind me. “How could he have affected the outcome of the fantasy playoffs?” The answer lies in the date of Ohtani’s last game of 2023: September 3. And as you’ll see in the below chart, the semifinal matchup started on… September 4. When I calculated weekly totals last Tuesday, I forgot to remove Shohei from the lineup. So when we replace his 14 days’ worth of zero’s with one of Cancer’s top replacement options at the time (Baltimore outfielder Austin Hays), we have the Crabs sneaking by the Flowers 2479 to 2303.
If you think it’s unfair to retroactively alter a sign’s point total in a weekly matchup based on this oversight, then I would request you cut me some slack. First of all, I changed the league so it’s not set up for official weekly matchups anymore, so all these calculations are done manually anyway. Plus, as league manager, I’m well within my rights to alter point totals, even if there WERE weekly matchups.
And as far as the selection of Hays for these calculations, know that the Crabs would have emerged victorious with any of their top five hitters over the last two weeks replacing Ohtani in the DH slot, with Hays representing the midpoint. If I wanted the gap to be even wider, I would have picked Guardians first baseman Josh Naylor or Cubs utility threat Christopher Morel. But Rangers first baseman Nathaniel Lowe or Twins second baseman Jorge Polanco would also have done the trick.
Looking at the big picture, Virgo has such a large lead in full-season points that it’s highly unlikely they’ll lose the overall title. But we’ve seen what can happen to nigh-insurmountable leads before. In the slightly less big picture, Libra defeated Sagittarius in the Positive League, meaning that Mookie Betts, Bryce Harper, and Corbin Burnes will lead the charge against Trea Turner, Yordan Alvarez, and Gunnar Henderson in the finals. Let’s hope my hometown sign can keep the momentum going!