When you’re looking at pitcher matchups for fantasy baseball, sometimes the cards just align for certain guys. On the right day, Piniero can look like Winiero. Or Jamie Moyer looks like “Play Me” Moyer. Or Carl Pavano becomes Pava-yes. *Grey groans at his own wordplay* It’s all about the matchups, right? Anyone can win against the Nats… Well, maybe. Maybe not. I decided to look at teams in general to see what their overall stats could tell us about potential fantasy baseball matchups.
Best Team OBP – Cleveland Indians – You look at their overall record and you may think they’re a terrible team, but they’re getting on base and scoring runs. It’s their pitching that’s Les Miserables.
Most Team Strikeouts – Florida Marlins – What’s that, a fifty-eight foot change in the dirt? Don’t worry, Uggla will swing.
Worst Home Slugging – Chicago White Sox – They’re tied with San Diego, which isn’t surprising, but isn’t Cellular supposed to favor hitters. Yeah, for the visiting team.
Terrible Against Lefties – Oakland A’s, Orioles, Pirates, Padres, Cardinals – Those are the bottom five teams against lefties in regards to OPS. Makes sense since four of those five teams’ biggest threats are lefties and the Cards only have one hitter.
Terrible Against Everyone – Giants, A’s, Mariners – No surprises here. Matt Holliday is the only hitter on any of those teams slightly scary. Well, him and Mike Sweeney. But Mike only when he’s drunk.
Easiest Teams To Steal Against – Red Sox, Marlins, Yankees – Tek, Baker and (Insert Yankee Fill-In Catcher), I blame you. (BTW, The Padres were fifth. Ah, if only Cristal Young pitched every day…)
Hardest Teams To Steal Against – Cards, Astros, Braves – The urban legend goes that Yadier once threw out a runner in Petco while he was catching in Busch. The runner was Adrian Gonzalez.
Surprisingly Solid OPS – Washington Nats – When I saw they had a near-800 OPS, I shutdown my internet browser. Restarted it. Cleared my cookies, which is to say I vomited. Then looked up the stats again. Nats are actually decent offensively and have more runs scored than the Mets. The Nats are also the fourth highest OPS in the majors in Away games.
Crazy Home/Away Splits – Cleveland Indians – They have a .697 OPS in Home games and top three in Away games with a .825. Maybe when they’re home they should stay in a Holiday Inn Express.
