The Injury Bug

Well, The Scorpions just stink.  My keeper league team is in a really tough division, we’re in last, and I’m just trying to have a respectable season.  Right now though, we’re like 25-50 and going nowhere fast.  I’m very encouraged by rookie outfielders Nolan Reimold (Orioles…8HR, 17RBI, .287) and Colby Rasmus (Cardinals….7HR, 28RBI, .270), and now even Wladmir Balentien (2HR, 17RBI, .227) is getting a full time shot with the Mariners.  But patience is the watchword with this team.

The Swingin’ J’s is another story.  We have been in and out of first place much of the year, but now we may be about to slide.  Two of our stud outfielders, Carlos Beltran (Mets…8HR, 40RBI, .336) and Raul Ibanez (Philies…22HR, 59RBI, .312), are out…on the Disabled List, possibly until the All Star break!  I’ve picked up Andre Ethier (Dodgers…11HR, 43RBI, .268) and Mike Cameron (Brewers…12HR, 38RBI, .248) as replacements, but it’s just not the same.

The good news is I have someone coming off the DL on this time.   John Smoltz will have his first start for the Red Sox on Thursday!  That is, if it doesn’t get rained out!

How About Those Yankees?

You almost have to feel sorry for the New York Yankees.  Well, not really.  The team spent millions during the offseason to land heralded free agents C.C. Sabathia, and Mark Texiera, all in an effort to challenge the vaunted Boston Red Sox. 

The result?  0-8 head to head so far this season. 

Last night’s game was just sad.  C.C. gets the Yanks to the 8th with a 3-1 lead and runs out of gas.  The bullpen couldn’t hold the lead.  A-Rod, normally the goat, was left on 2nd the inning before after a big hit.

There was a big upside for my fantasy teams, The Scorpions and The Swinging J’s?  I have Jonathan Papelbon on both squads, and he got the side out 1-2-3 and got the save.

The June Swoon

Well, you knew I couldn’t be “Mr. May” forever.  I just didn’t think my fantasy baseball teams would slide so quickly.

The news for The Scorpions has been harsh.  Pitching, normally our strength, has been in the toilet.  It doesn’t help that closers Jonathan Papelbon of the Red Sox and Matt Lindstrom of the Marlins have had shaky outings.  They are actually the least of my worries.  It all began with starter Ricky Nolasco of the Marlins (15 game winner in ’08) going down to the minors to get his mechanics worked out.   Then the same thing happened to Indians starter Fausto Carmona (19 game winner in ’07).  Couple that with subpar performances from Pirates starter Ian Snell, who normally gets a lot of strikeouts, and a four game skid by starter Joe Saunders of the Angels, and you can understand why my team is 1-13 the past two weeks! 

The bright spots for The Scorpions are our younger players.  So there is hope for the future.  We snagged Orioles outfielder Nolan Reimold just at the right time!  He got called up to the big club a little more than a month ago and has 7 homers and 16 RBI in just 78 at bats!  Then there’s outfielder Colby Rasmus of the Cardinals.  We have had him stashed away in this “keeper” league for two years, and finally he’s producing.  He is only 22.  In 175 at bats he has 7 homers, 23 RBI and he’s hitting .269.  More importantly though, both these guys have fought their way into the starting lineups of their respective teams.

 

The Swinging J’s are faring better…but it has been a down few weeks.  We are in third place after an 8-12 week, followed by a 10-9 week.  So far this week though we are 13-3, so improvement may be right around the corner.  The trouble has been two of our fantasy studs on the Mets, outfielder Carlos Beltran, and 3B David Wright, were both in a funk until about two or three days ago.  Now Wright is somewhat back on track (no power, but .354 average and 16 stolen bases) , and Beltran got rid of the stomach flu that knocked him out of the lineup for a bunch of games.

Mr. May

That originally was a nickname Yankees owner George Steinbrenner derisively gave to high priced (at the time) free agent Dave Winfield in the 1980’s.  It might as well be my title in one league.  As of Monday, The Swingin’ J’s are in first place!  We are 69-42-29.  Yes, there are ties in this league.  We are a game and a half in first.  So it could be short lived.

The Scorpions are not as lucky.  We are in last place in our division.  The toughest division in the league.  Here’s a look:

 

Arch Rivals         39-10

Cracker Jacks     32-17

Colt 45’s                 30-19

Scorpions              21-28

 

But again, just as my first place run in one league could end soon, it is only May.  So there’s hope for the other league too!

The First 30 Days

Well, were about a month in to the season, and my two fantasy teams are doing pretty well. The Scorpions are just a shade under .500, powered by strong play by surprise upstart Brandon Inge of the Tigers, who appears to be much more comfortable at the plate thanks to his return to his natural field position of third base. I think he’s up to 5 dingers or more. I have a bunch of other guys with a lot of homers, Curtis Granderson of the Tigers, and Casey Blake of the Dodgers….but their stats are sort of “hollow”….not much of a batting average or extra base hits to back up the strong homer numbers. None of our starting pitchers have been standouts, except for Joe Saunders of the Los Angeles Angels…who is 3-0. He doesn’t get a lot of strikeouts though, so if he doesn’t get the windsor, I don’t get a lot of points. Jonathan Papelbon of the Red Sox, has rocked as usual…..with 5 saves so far.. My other closer, Matt Lindstrom of the Florida Marlins, is on shaky ground, but has a lot of saves as well.

My real rock star team so far is The Swingin’ J’s. They are a half game out of first place at this writing, powered by strong performances from the above said Brandon Inge, along with Pablo Sandoval of the San Franciso Giants, who plays third but qualifies at catcher, New York Mets centerfielder Carlos Beltran, and early on, second baseman Kelly Johnson of the Atlanta Braves. He’s in a slump now. Pitching wise on this team….we’ve been anchored for the second season in a row by emerging Los Angeles Dodger superstar Chad Billingsley, who appears recovered from that broken leg he suffered in the offseason. He is a just a great fantasy pitcher to own. Lots of wins, and strikeouts, and he gives up few runs, walks, and home runs.

More reports from the front to follow…..

 

 

So Far, So Good…

Well the season is just a few days old, and some of my players are already turning in strong performances. 

Team #1…The Scorpions

The first outing for stud pitchers Joe Saunders and Ricky Nolasco turned out as advertised…solid wins…in the case of Nolasco, a number of strikeouts!  Hitting wise, my Brandon Inge pickup is a winner so far.  He homered in his first two games.  And in the bullpen, Jon Papelbon squeezed out a save in the Sox opener. 

Two days in….my record is 7-0 in this league.

 

Team #2…The Swingin J’s

So far in this league, I am 8-8…if all trends continue through the rest of the week.  Stars for this team include Brandon Inge (see Scorpions)…along with Curtis Granderson, a fellow Tiger who also homered in his first game. 

 

Fantasy baseball though, like the stock market, can be very fickle…I’ll let you know how things turn out by the end of the week!

Here We Go!

Less than a week and counting!  My two drafts are done, and I can’t wait to get going!  The draft highlights:

 

Team #1…The Scorpions (a keeper league)

This league, since it is a keeper league, only has a supplemental draft.  That means we picked up 7 additional players to add to the 18 we kept since last season.  This is a “points” league, meaning we get points for everything a player does (hits, runs, rbi, wins, saves, etc.).  That has an effect on who you decide to pick up.  You want to make sure you have the best possible players at every position that can get a lot of points in the “points categories” your league has.   Some of the new players include:

Brandon Inge (3B/C-DET)…one of my favorite pickups…starting 3b qualifies at Catcher!  20 HR potential!

Justin Masterson (RP-BOS)…he’s one injury away from being a stud starter for one of the best teams in baseball.

Matt Linstrom (RP-FLA)…new Marlins closer throws 100mph!

 

Team #2…The Swingin J’s (non-keeper league)

In this league we draft all new teams each spring.  It’s sort of overwhelming on draft day…you have to make some decisions really fast!  This league has fewer teams than my other one…so more superstars per team.  This league, compared to the other one,  has you go against a different team every week, and you win based on how well you do in categories…so regardless of position, you want to have some guys strong in homers, some in triples, stolen bases, etc….along with pitchers who can get wins, shutouts, strikeouts, and not give up a lot of homers, walks, or runs, for example.  Here’s how it went…again…the highlights:

David Wright (3B-NYM)…one of the best players out there..strong in multiple categories…including walks.

Carlos Beltran (OF-NYM)….ditto

Justin Morneau (1B-MIN)….same deal

Curtis Granderson (OF-DET)…he doesn’t have power of the other guys….but he hit a ton of triples last year.  I also have him on The Scorpions.

Raul Ibanez (OF-PHI)…surprisingly strong in a number of categories…but he is 36 and an injury/sunset of career risk.

Derek Lee (1B-CUBS)…same deal as Ibanez.

Kelly Johnson (2B-ATL)…emerging 2B who could have breakout year in ‘09.

Brandon Inge (C/3B-DET)…name sound familiar?

Pablo Sandoval (C/3B-SF)…hopefully my pick that slipped under my competitor’s radar.  Hit like .345 in 100+AB’s late last season!

Ricky Nolasco (SP-FLA)…Marlins starting pitcher gets lots of wins/strikeouts, does give up a lot of gopherballs.

Ted Lilly(SP-CUBS)…same deal as Nolasco except not Cubs Opening Day starter.

Chad Billingsley(SP-LAD)…emerging ace with lots of wins/strikeouts.

Jon Papelbon(RP-BOS)…perhaps the best closer in baseball…I’ve had him for years on my keeper team, The Scorpions.

Matt Linstrom(RP-FLA)…again, name sound familiar?

 

So remember how I said The Swingin J’s draft was overwhelming because you have to pick so many players so quickly? (btw you have a minute thirty to make each draft pick) Well, the crutch I used to help me is that old phrase “…dance with the one that brung ya’?”  That’s what I did in this draft.  I would often revert to picking either:

a) players I had on The Swingin’ J’s last year (Nolasco, Billingsley, Lilly, Wright, Beltran)

b) players I have on The Scorpions (Papelbon, Granderson, Linstrom, Nolasco)

c) players I used to have on The Scorpions (Ibanez)

The advantage of going for these guys is, while it is a little boring to have players you’ve had before, they are steady, known quantities, giving me more time to concentrate on other players in the draft. 

 

No more time to crow about my picks.  Let’s see how it goes.  The games begin Sunday!  Good Luck to all you Fantasy & Roto players!

Movin’ On from A-Roid

We really have no choice.  Especially us fantasy leaguers.  Drafts are coming up in a matter of weeks, and there are hundreds of names to sort through, list, and prioritize.  I’m not saying forget the A-Roid debacle.  Just let’s try to back burner it for now, at the least.  It will all bubble to the surface in a few months when the unauthorized biography about A-Roid comes out.

Preparing for these fantasy baseball drafts is fun…but by the end your brain starts to hurt with all the names, numbers, and player positions crammed in your head.  This takes HOURS.  I will sit up til 1 or 2am for countless nights, reading fantasy baseball guides, scanning the Internet…and going over my roster from the previous year.  Just ask my wife.  There’s probably a few more home projects that would get done this time of the year were it not for the fantasy baseball drafts!

So I have two drafts I’m studying for.  One is in a continuous league, where we get to keep up to 18 of the 25 players on our roster during the offseason.  So the guys we are drafting March 14th are the bottom of the barrel, to a degree, but still can make or break a fantasy baseball season.  For example, last year I picked up White Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski, a solid hitter who plays nearly every day, for a very hard to fill fantasy baseball position.  He remains on my roster to this day.

The other league starts fresh every year, so that draft is on the one hand easier, and on the other, more challenging.  Yes, I’ll have superstars to choose from, but the question is which one will have a great year, and which one will just have an okay campaign.

And there’s always the question of …which one might be coming off the juice?

ARoid Rage

The latest news regarding A-Rod and his steroid admission…forced by the Sports Illustrated article of course, is a shame, perhaps somewhat expected, since we know there are a ton more players that used, but haven’t been outed.  The big debate now, is should the all 104 names from that MLB steroid survey be released?  I think yes, not because I’m a nosy newsman…but because I agree with the guys on “Planet Mikey”…a sports radio show on WEEI Boston….who say we will keep having these “eruptions” every time another name from the list is released.  And that will keep this steroid cloud over the league for a long time, holding it hostage to some degree.

I’m curious what you all think about “The List”…and who else may be on it.  A few names come to mind…

Pitchers and Catchers?

I just want to say off the bat (get it?) that I love football.  Love it.  Especially during the season when it’s a near guarantee my beloved New York Giants will be playing every weekend.   The Super Bowl is cool too. Even if I have no real dog in the fight, like this year.  Super Bowl Sunday is a great excuse to lounge and eat food that’s bad for you, instead of getting ready for the workweek. 

Then there’s the other thing. 

Once you hit Super Bowl Sunday (and Daytona week), you know IT’S ONLY TWO WEEKS TIL PITCHERS AND CATCHERS REPORT!  Yeah, I’m just a little pumped up.  It was an exciting offseason and all, and I’m waiting to see how the fantasy baseball players I have kept will look for 2009, along with preparing for a league draft we have every year where we fill out the rest of our rosters.

Starting last year, I now participate in two leagues. 

One is “continuous”, meaning we keep a certain amount of players on our roster year to year.  It’s very competitive, and certain teams (including mine, The Scorpions) have belonged since it started in the late 80’s/early 90’s.  I have a hard time winning in that league.  We were a finalist once, in 2001.  Many of the owners draft players who have barely graduated high school!  I just don’t have time to reasearch that much.  I’m a good “dumpster bin” hunter though.  I’ve made some great waiver wire picks over the years, including my favorite, John Papelbon.

The other league is one I joined with the help of a photographer here at WFSB named Nate.  It is not continuous.  You draft a whole new team every year.  It’s managed by Yahoo.  I was a finalist in that league last year, and hope to do even better in 2009.

Super Bowl Sunday can’t come soon enough!