Success Smells Like a Lilly, Failure Just Smells Wang
April 14, 2009
Category: Fantasy Baseball Daily Notes
Chien-Ming Wang – the two-time 19 game winner – is pitching historically bad. How bad? Some TV highlight show quoted some statistical service that the 15 earned runs he’s given up in the past 2 starts are the most ever for a Yankee pitcher’s first two starts of the year. For fantasy purposes, he’s more toxic than Chinese air, waterways, and land combined. As for Ted Lilly, you have to respect a guy who can overcome the ignominy of being traded for Hideki Irabu and Jeff Weaver. He’s been a very underrated late game starter for the past two years with the Cubs. Today, he went 6 and 2/3, giving up only one hit. Not to take anything away from Lilly, but the conditions were lousy at Wrigley for hitters. If Ubaldo didn’t walk 6 batters in less than 4 innings, the Cubs wouldn’t have scored as many runs either. We think Lilly’s risky for this year as he’s been relying a bit too much on breaking pitches. But it’s not as if the Cubs training staff hasn’t had experience with sore-armed pitchers (see Prior, Wood, Harden)… Oh, and Wang? We’re very worried about him. Anyway, here’s what else we saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
Edinson Volquez – I feel bad saying I told you so when someone’s not going well, but I told you so… Actually, that didn’t feel that bad. Schadenfreude, you make me feel good!
Fausto Carmona – 5 IP, 4 ER. Okay, I didn’t say to stay away from this schmohawk and it feels awful. Damn you, karma!
Orlando Hudson – Orlando is living it up in LA. Disneyworld meet Disneyland! O-Dog used up his month’s offense production in one day as he hit for the cycle. O-Dog’s about as hot as they come these last few days. Is he worth owning? Sure, I suppose. He’s a 10/10 hitter with a decent average. There’s a place for that but I’d prefer a 2nd baseman that could get you 25-40 steals. One thing I will say is Hudson seems like he’s running more in the early going with 3 steals already in the first week. But his career high in steals is 10.
Andre Ethier – 2 HRs yesterday. Nice! Now twist an ankle or something so Kemp could slowly start working his way up the lineup. Aw, you know I’m just playin’, Ethier. I love ya! (Actually, I don’t really, but I’m semi-rambling.)
Zach Duke – Shutout? Shuddup! The Astros are not a very good offensive team. (Which seems like a complaint for them for the last so many years. Maybe they might want to think about upgrading that. Just a thought!) Duke’s fine for an NL-Only league flier. In mixed leagues, it’s Zach Puke.
Cristian Guzman – My Fantasy Razzball team (and really it’s all about me) took some hits (literally!) yesterday as Guzman went 5-for-5 then limped off the field. He surprised last year by maintaining a .300 average and staying relatively healthy after failing to do either in his last years with Minnesota. I was banking on a regression but not on the health part… There is nothing more frustrating then losing a guy on a Monday in a weekly league. I should’ve just left Belliard in there… Wait, is that my inner monologue? My bad.
Jesse Litsch – Left with forearm tightness. Another guy I had on my team that I want to suck. I don’t think highly of Litsch, but would’ve been nice to see him stay healthy. He’ll be out a few starts is my guess.
Mike Pelfrey – 5 IP, 5 ER. I’m not defending Pelfrey because I don’t like him this year, but he did give up some bleeders and bloops. Cust kayin’.
Jon Lester – 11 runs in 2 starts. He was a risky pitcher too (in addition to Pelfrey).
Zach Greinke – 2-0, no earned runs thus far. Because our dipolma from the College of Fantasy Baseball at Charleston says we have to report when we’re wrong 17% of the time, Greinke was a risky pitcher too. Maybe trade him if you think we might still be right.
Matt Holliday – 3-for-4 with 2 RBIs. Batting between Giambi and Garciaparra is really paying off! *sarcasm off*
B.J. Upton – Matt Joyce sent down as The Beej returned to action with a two steal night. Good to have the Bossman back in town.
Carlos Pena – HR and 6 RBIs. *Random observation that is neither funny nor that enlightening alert* Pena reminds me of Delgado.
Ryan Franklin – First Save last night. He will get more. As far back as March 17th, I’ve been saying Franklin will get saves. I’m not going to link to all the times I said it. Just search in the search-a-ma-jig on the left.
Travis Snider – 2 HRs. Still like Lind better, but I also like anyone who’s hitting two home runs in a game. Even you, Ethier!
Chad Billingsley – 7 IP, 1 ER, 11 Ks. Since last summer, I’ve said he’s headed for the 2009 NL Cy Young. The Verducci guy clinked the armor, but I’m still holding tight.
Milton Bradley – Out a few days with a right groin strain. How appropriate since he’s a jerkoff.
Justin Upton – O-for-the season. The ‘Backs have too many options for him to continue on the path of ugly. He’s going to be a good one, but it may not be the first half of the year. Or this year at all. Color me worried.
Jermaine Dye/Paul Konerko – Back to back 300th HRs. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, this was the first time two players hit back to back 300th homers. Actually, they didn’t say that… Well, they might’ve. I have no idea. Another thing possibly heard today in the Elias Sports Bureau office, in Accounting, Julio said, “Who took my pen for the third time this month? Which is a new record!”
DeWayne Wise – Separated shoulder and out 6 weeks. This also really hurt my Fantasy Razzball team. Wise looked like he was headed for one of the all-time worst years ever if Ozzie would’ve continued to play him. And that’s a small “if,” because of course Ozzie was playing him. Alas… This opens up the centerfield job for the Jerry Owens promotion (SAGNOF, but he’s a truly crappy player) or Brian Anderson (poor average, some pop, not much to see here either). This could also mean Ozzie moves Alexei Ramirez up the order. Honestly, Alexei hasn’t done much to deserve it so that could mean Ozzie does move him up. Oh, who are we fooling? Ozzie’s going to continue to plug Wise into the top of the order, DL be damned!
Jed Lowrie – To the 15-Day DL. Oh, well. He’s done. Feel free to cut him loose. Probably the best thing that could’ve happened so you can move on from him sooner vs. later. (BTW, Sooner vs. Later battled to a draw last time out in the octagon.)
April 14th, 2009 at 2:02 am
Seems like Dukes is getting more playing time over Kearns and Milledge after all.
M.Reynolds is a FA in my league. Add him to the utility spot instead of Kotchman? Or even add Dukes?
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April 14th, 2009 at 2:19 am
On Baseball Tonight they had a quote from Elias Sports Bureau saying this was the first time 2 players hit their 300th HRs in the same game…I laughed when I read it and it made me wonder if you’d mention it
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April 14th, 2009 at 2:22 am
Just been doing some Wang-waiving.
Got me some Lind in one league, Wolf in another.
Oh the relief.
Now, how about Fausto? He’s my sixth RCL starter. Give him another shot?
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April 14th, 2009 at 4:16 am
I’ve anxiously be waiting for Scherzer’s 1st start which happens to be against the Cards tonight. Should I be sitting him down for his debut?
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April 14th, 2009 at 4:52 am
@Mowses: This is why we can’t all make judgments about playing time based on the first day of the season.
I have a similar question: I dropped Maybin for Fowler (BP has them ranked 12 and 13 as prospects, and Fowler’s playing his way into the lineup, while Maybin’s playing his way out of it. Plus, my Dad’s name is — wait for it — Dexter).
Please rank in order of spare-outfielderness: Snider, Maybin, Fowler, Dukes.
Also: My boys Gallardo and Slowey both got spanked last night. Thankfully, C-Bills was around to salve the pain. I like C-Bills and Peavy as a one-two this year.
5th starter: Kawakami? Edwin Jackson? Both have good matchups upcoming (Pirates/Seattle). Who do you like better in the long term?
Also: @theycallhimMISTERGrey — Bonifacio for Sandoval. Thoughts? I give GoodFace, get Sandy. The byzantine reasoning for this trade is in the forums, if you are interested.
Also: If Bradley doesn’t hurt himself, he’s probably in that game against the Brewers, and there’s no way he — unlike Reed Johnson — makes that leap over the fence to TAKE AWAY A GRAND SLAM from Prince Fielder. Cust kayin.’
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April 14th, 2009 at 5:13 am
My pitching has been so bad that Swisher’s inning on the bump last night would have been a positive for my pitching ratios, too bad it didn’t count, but at least his HR and 2 runs scored did! Here’s to a reawakening in The Bronx for Swisher Sweet.
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April 14th, 2009 at 5:37 am
@Tony B.: I like Swisher and hope he does well — but it’s amazing to me that he’s already hitting 3rd for the Yanks! I know ARod and Tex are out, but….
The Yanks are a mess.
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April 14th, 2009 at 5:47 am
@Baron Von Vulturewins:
I love the guy, my buddy played @ Ohio State with Swish for one season and we went out one night with Swish after a game, guy is a supreme ladies man and totally off the wall with energy, he never slows down, it’s hilarious.
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April 14th, 2009 at 5:57 am
@Baron: Swisher makes sense at the top of the lineup: he can take a mistake out of the yard; his OBP is high despite a usually mediocre average; and why not ride the guy when he’s hot and try to instill some confidence in his ability to replicate his former high level of play as a manager?
He just had the week that people were waiting for the entire year in CHI so that they could say Swisher was back…
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April 14th, 2009 at 6:04 am
@Tony B.: That’s funny. The As were way more interesting when he and Byrne were there…
@sean: I don’t doubt it. I hope he has a great year. It’s just funny that everyone goes ga-ga for the Yankees, and then you ask, “Sure — so who’s hitting 5th?”
Acquiring Swish is one of the few smart, non-gazillion-dollar-costing moves Cashman has made. Otherwise, though, that lineup is as deep as a puddle.
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April 14th, 2009 at 6:06 am
If anyone is looking for a plug-n-play tonight, I suggest looking at Russell “The Muscle” Branyan who gets a SAFECO matchup against Angels’ starter Shane Loux. Last year, I had the opportunity to work in the Brewers minor league system, specifically in Nashville where Branyan began his 2008 season.
From what I remember in their series against Salt Lake, Branyan absolutely destroyed Salt Lake and Loux during the 4 game series. You could do worse on this light scheduled MLB Tuesday…
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April 14th, 2009 at 6:15 am
looking to part ways with wang; should i go with (a) guthrie, (b) davies, (c) cahill, (d) millwood or (e) hold on to wang (sorry)?
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April 14th, 2009 at 6:17 am
The Yankees are dumb. Overspending to put together an ALL STAR team does not = a championship
Every year they splurge and lately its been backfiring. CC will settle down and TEX should hit, just not in april or may….
Glad to see my tribe can’t buy a clutch hit. Kc was retarded for not bringin in SORIA to start the 9th. It wasn’t a save situation so they go with Mahay? Ummmm no, you go with the lights out MEXICUTIONER!
Eithier and Bruce on my bench because i’m smart….. Tuesday is another day. Lets go Cards, big win for CARP….
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April 14th, 2009 at 6:19 am
i like him hitting 3rd,i just picked him up to fill in for bradley,yanks do look bad though 2 wins 400 million,george is wanting billy martin back
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April 14th, 2009 at 6:26 am
@Jesse: Don’t drop Wang for any of those pitchers. He’ll come around, and win some games, for the Yanks.
@Tony: Pick a lineup and go with it, unless someone’s in a huge tailspin. Playing day-to-day matchups will drive you nuts.
@AL KOHOLIC: Nice pick-up.
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April 14th, 2009 at 6:41 am
@Baron Von Vulturewins: Yeah i know, bruce and eithier had both slumped for a week and had bad matchups, just thought i’d go with the bench that was batting .500 all last week! Outsmarted myself!
eithier is brutal vs. leftys or at least he was last year! faces a lefty and goes yayo? same with bruce, facing gallardo? I figure gallardo would throw a good game vs. the reds….. NOPE! Gotta just stick with my good guys, juggling and watching guys mash will drive ya nuts!
QUESTION:
would you pick up rafael soriano over any of these smucks i own:
lyon (still unsure of the situation in D-town)
wang
spillborough
rodney
I can really only see dropping wang or lyon and I feel i’m cutting too early on them….?
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April 14th, 2009 at 6:47 am
I’d drop Lyon for Raffy Soriano in a heartbeat…
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April 14th, 2009 at 6:47 am
Was able to scoop up Price and Wieters in a couple of leagues off the waiver wire thanks to impatient owners looking to plug holes with Nyjer Morgan and Skip Schumaker.
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April 14th, 2009 at 6:48 am
@sean: I just came in my pants after reading that, haha. Nice job!
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April 14th, 2009 at 7:04 am
Feeling is mutual on Ethier, Grey (Kemp owner). The problem is, Torre has a ton of guys he trusts more than Kemp batting earlier. Hudson, Furcal, Ethier, and Loney.
And speaking of the O-Dog, I did pick him up last night. I know what his past is but situation plays into this too and the guy is batting 2nd in front of Manny, his coach wants him running (3 SB’s), and he’s shown some power so far. Situation can really effect a players stock. I think Hudson is worth the gamble right now.
Billingsley may get the NL CY Young, but he’ll have to beat out Josh Johnson to get it. Yeah for me, I have both.
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April 14th, 2009 at 7:07 am
@Tony B.: thats what i am thinking…. lyon isn’t a reliable closer, let alone a risking him pitching middle relief!
loving my buddy dropping fr-cordero a week before the season because he had such a bad spring and he’s racked up two solid saves so far…. and who used their waiver priority to snag him up, THIS GUY….
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April 14th, 2009 at 7:13 am
@Tony: Knock on wood to that last comment about cordero, he’ll probably blow up now, i just jinxed him, FFFFFFFFFFFF
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April 14th, 2009 at 7:18 am
any thoughts on this Jimmy Rollins and Chad Billingsley for Jair Jurrjens and Hanley Ramirez?
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April 14th, 2009 at 7:23 am
@wyotexpike22: At first glance, I wouldn’t do that, don’t overreact to Rollins’ ice cold start.
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April 14th, 2009 at 7:29 am
@wyotexpike22: depends on your pitching depth,but i wouldnt
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April 14th, 2009 at 7:35 am
@wyotexpike22: You’re giving up too much if you trade Rollo and Billingsley for that package. If you could get a better pitcher back, it might make sense.
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April 14th, 2009 at 7:36 am
Should I drop Justin Upton for Fowler?
Also, McClellan on STL is available, how good of a candidate is he to get the closer job over in STL?
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April 14th, 2009 at 7:51 am
@anon: he might get a few if your desperate but he is behind franklin and motte still might earn some
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April 14th, 2009 at 7:53 am
Do I trade Volquez for a super crappy closer? In this league, closers have HUGE trade value later in the year, and good starters do not, since there are so many of them. Last year, I still couldn’t trade Cliff Lee for F. Cordero at the All-Star break.
So, I have Beckett, Shields, Wainwright, Cueto, Volquez, Snell, and Guthrie with Qualls, Francisco, Motte and Downs. That should be enough saves, but having an extra closer would give me loads of flexibility, and often times can convince someone to make an awful trade.
If possible, do I trade Volquez for Lindstrom, Hanrahan, Wilson, Sherrill, etc? I don’t even think I could get any of these guys with Volquez right now, but should I start making offers? Sadly, my only hope in a trade might might be Gregg, or Corpas, which would not be worth it.
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April 14th, 2009 at 8:01 am
@anon: If it’s a non-keeper I would make that move. If it’s a keeper, I would find a way to get Fowler on your team without dropping Upton.
I wouldn’t bother with McClellan, that closer merry-go-round isn’t worth the headache, I’m actually still hanging onto Motte soley for the fact my league counts K’s, K/9, and K/BB.
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April 14th, 2009 at 8:01 am
I wouldn’t acquire closer in a crappy trade for hopes that you can have flexibility in making an awful trade.
You drafted Volquez for a reason, and probably higher than Cueto. I’d still hold.
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April 14th, 2009 at 8:03 am
@Tom: If that’s the route you want to go, wait for Volquez to dial up a nice start with a ton of K’s and aim for an uncrappy closer. Volquez is worth more than the ones you mentioned even with his blow-up last evening.
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@Mowses: Grab Dukes.
@get figgy with it: Hehe
@Steve: I’d hold him for now.
@deepee: I’m starting him in 12 team leagues and deeper.
@Baron Von Vulturewins: Dexter Von Vulturewins? Cool! I’d go with Fowler. I’d go with Kawakami. I’d get Sandoval there, if he’s eligible at catcher and you need one.
@Tony B.: Nice, I have Branyan going in one league today.
@Jesse: Bleh, Go with E. Hold your Wang.
@anon: Grab Fowler. He might get a few saves here and there, but he’s not going to be the number one guy.
@Tom: You’re better off holding Volquez then.
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April 14th, 2009 at 8:20 am
Cool. Well done folks. I’m glad I have you guys to keep me from pushing buttons.
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April 14th, 2009 at 8:22 am
Andruw’s fat, but he sure looks like flier material… Is he gonna start poaching abs from the byrd/murphy consortium yet?
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April 14th, 2009 at 8:24 am
So you would support cutting bait on Upton so I can activate Jobacum off the DL?
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April 14th, 2009 at 8:25 am
@cubbies299: Between Andruw and Hafner, it’s like Return of the Living Dead out there…
I thought about grabbing Andruw, then took a look at his stats last few seasons, back to when he was good, and thought better of it. Even in his prime he was a .260 hitter. I think the best case scenario for him this year is .250/30/90 — kind of like the Frank Thomas “I’m Not Dead” campaign in Oakland a few years back.
@Grey: Gracias. I’m shopping Bonifacio now, but am thinking I might have to drop him to take a pitcher if I get no bites — sadly, in my shallow league, no one really needs a 2Bman… I was going to shop him to the Kelly Johnson owner but K-Jo’s looked not bad so far.
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April 14th, 2009 at 8:32 am
You like Ohlendorf as a spotter against Houston? If Zach Duke can 4-hit shut them out and Ohlendorf’s the better pitcher, well… I can’t think that far ahead.
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April 14th, 2009 at 8:41 am
Lowrie’s injury kills my Razzball team. Him at third is the cornerstone of my team.
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April 14th, 2009 at 8:48 am
@cubbies299: Spot starting and Pirate pitchers are four words that should never be used in close proximity, unless you fancy Maholm. I wouldn’t recommend it but then again: A) What the hell do I know? B) The Astros offense is clicking like Cadillac Williams’ knee right now.
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@cubbies299: A fat guy poaching abs. Ha!
@Freak: I support it.
@Baron Von Vulturewins: They might not need a 2nd baseman or they may just realize it was only one week.
@cubbies299: I wouldn’t do that start outside or an NL-Only league of a 15 team mixed league.
@Freak: I know how you feel, I lost three guys yesterday.
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April 14th, 2009 at 8:58 am
@Baron Von Vulturewins: I’m just wondering if he gets enough PT to get that campaign. A .250/30/90 campaign is nothing to scoff at, esp if it could be a .250/35/90 campaign thanks to Arlington
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April 14th, 2009 at 9:01 am
Is scherzer totally healthy?
what was his deal anyways….
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April 14th, 2009 at 9:01 am
“Another guy I had on my team that I want to suck.”
Pretty long line of guys outside your door waiting for a quick suck? I can only assume Wang is first?
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April 14th, 2009 at 9:19 am
zing!
anyone else thinking about taking randy j to the glue factory?
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April 14th, 2009 at 9:23 am
@Grey: Dammit! NOOO! Don’t they see he’s hitting .500!!
If I had Kelly Johnson/Mike Aviles/Schmohawk Jones at 2B, I’d take a flyer on Bonifacio. If he returns 50 steals, he’s worth it.
@Tony B.: Cadillac’s knee! Nice!
@Freak: Just grabbed Nick Green. Me excited! My Razz team* is coming together nicely!
@cubbies299: I feel like if he hits, he plays. Right? But who knows. Either way, I stay away.
Even .250/35/90 is like Baby Burrell, in which case, why not just draft/go acquire Burrell? He was going in, like, the 18th round.
*Recently rechristened Color Me Razz. Sometimes inspiration strikes late. But it strikes, baby! It strikes!
“Girl, I want to Razz you up… all night long….”
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April 14th, 2009 at 9:37 am
Speaking of smelling like a wang the Big Unit has fallen apart pretty early in both of his starts so far. He’s looked solid the first 3 innings in each but then has gotten blown out of the water. There are thousands dumping Randy as we speak on Yahoo. Is it asking for trouble to keep this guy on your roster?
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April 14th, 2009 at 9:39 am
@Frank Rizzo: no guarante but he did the same thing early last year and then finished strong
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April 14th, 2009 at 9:44 am
@AL KOHOLIC: Agreed. Those old bones don’t actually get going until the warm weather hits!
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April 14th, 2009 at 9:57 am
@RT: Awesome. It warms up in San Fran in what, August?
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April 14th, 2009 at 10:00 am
Is anyone as excited about Anibal Sanchez as I am this season? I watched him against the Mets last week and he rang up a high pitch count, but the pitch repetoire looked dynamite and he got tough in tough situations including K’ing Delgado with 2 on and 2 out with a sadistic change-piece…
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April 14th, 2009 at 10:00 am
Which side would you rather have?
Lind/Maholm DeRosa/F.Francisco
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April 14th, 2009 at 10:02 am
@RT: Neither, but if i had to choose probably the Derosa FRANK FRANK side….
Maholm would be above average on any other team the pirates just don’t support him. Lind is a nice piece, just depends what you need….
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April 14th, 2009 at 10:05 am
@Tony:
19 Team League, so pretty deep. Understand then, that all of the players listed above can be VERY significant contributors.
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April 14th, 2009 at 10:09 am
gotya
depends what you need then….
I still say the Derosa side would have more value in a league that large? Saves are probably a little scarce?
If LIND continues his barrage he could be huge in that type of league too…. tough one for the format.
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April 14th, 2009 at 10:21 am
@bostonaccent: No, actually, it never warms up in San Fran. I live about a mile away from that stadium named after random phone companies, so I know. I put up the weather in Anchorage and San Fran, and on most days in the “summer”, it’s warmer in Alaska. Baseball should be played in a dome in this damn place.
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April 14th, 2009 at 10:25 am
“Milton Bradley – Out a few days with a right groin strain. How appropriate since he’s a jerkoff.” Ha! Almost spit up my afternoon soup
“What are two things that Edinson Volquez, Chien-Mien Wang, Fausto Carmona, and Mike Pelfrey have in common?
One is they all throw 90+ MPH sinkers.”
(Two is that three of them are owned by yours truly.)
Rudy the Fantasy Prophet
Well, I started Volk, Pelfrey, and Gallardo on the same team in my H2H league. The only good news is that my opponent threw out his Wang; however, after the game, he dropped his Wang.
I also have J. Upton in three leagues; two of them are keepers however.
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April 14th, 2009 at 10:34 am
@Bob:
SF weather aside, Johnson was 5-3 post all star break in 2008 with 78K, 2.41ERA, 1.05WHIP, .232BAA. Since 2004ish, he is generally better in the 2nd half.
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@bostonaccent: Yo, “Dropped a Deuce” was added to the Glossary. Well done!
@Paulie Allnuts: Hehe
I believe it was Mark Twain who said, “The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco.” I betcha Twain wouldn’t own Randy.
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April 14th, 2009 at 11:24 am
I play in a mixed 10 team league. Here’s my lineup:
C Chris Iannetta
C Mike Napoli
1B Mark Teixeira
2B Brandon Phillips
SS Rafael Furcal
3B David Wright
MI Elvis Andrus
CI Aramis Ramirez
OF Alfonso Soriano
OF Carlos Lee
OF Matt Kemp
OF Hunter Pence
OF Chris Young
U Garrett Atkins
BN Milton Bradley
My pitchers are decent I think. They are:
Harden
Billingsley
Shields
Scherzer
Slowey
Young, Chris
Kershaw
Meche
Davies, Kyle
Relievers:
Qualls
Bell
Capps
Lindstrom
The starting pitchers are rotated around where normally only six are active per week. They rest are on the bench. Harden, Shields, and Billingsley are always active. I usually have Qualls, Bell, and Capps active too. Lindstrom is insurance in case of injuries or instead all my starters have bad matchups in a given week.
My question is this. My batting is really sucking right now. They are batting .225 and I’m in last in batting average. RBI’s and Runs are near the bottom too. HR’s are good. SB’s are sucking too. The pitching is doing well. Should I expect a turnaround in the batting soon? It seems like with a lineup like that I should be dominating in batting. I used a lot of Razzball advice when drafting. I’m thinking to let it sit and wait for a turnaround, but the .225 average is a little distressing. Where do you think I should rank in a 10-team 5X5 roto league with a roster like this? Any advice is appreciated.
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April 14th, 2009 at 11:33 am
@Eric: Don’t worry about your batting it will come around. My team batting average is dead last too right now at .201 with the likes of Derrek Lee, Longoria, Alexei, Sizemore, Manny, Granderson, McLouth, and Rollins. Law of averages will come into effect soon.
We had a guy last night have maybe the best offensive fantasy night ever in which he rolled out 23 hits, 18 RBI’s, 8 Doubles, 10 HR’s, 4 SB’s, 9 Walks, and 16 Runs. Thank God there was a flip-side in which he started Gavin Floyd, Randy Johnson, and Lester… to somewhat hinder his overall team performance.
You have a very solid team, I wouldn’t be worried, it’s only Week 2 brother!
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@Eric: Questions this big are better handled in the forums, but overall your team is very solid. Your hitting should be absolutely fine. Krispie and Andrus might hurt you a bit in average, but Tex, Wright and Aramis should offset that. You are low in steals though. That’s not going to get that much better with time. If it will give you piece of mind, lowball the Ichiro owner who might be getting antsy. Maybe offer Harden, since you don’t need the pitching and he’s only going to get hurt anyway. Or offer Pence and Harden for Holliday. Overall, though I’d hold tight for now.
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April 14th, 2009 at 11:43 am
Under your Orlando Hudson comments, you said you prefer second basemen who can get you 25-40 SBs, but that list only includes three names: Brian Roberts (who you bash), Ian Kinsler and Brandon Phillips. All pricey options and Roberts is the only one guaranteed to surpass 30 bags.
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April 14th, 2009 at 11:43 am
Thanks Tony.
.201 is pretty bad. That must suck. I’m relying on the law of averages to even things out here. I’ve looked at my ratio of strikeouts to ABs and it ranks right there with all the other teams. They’re not striking out a lot. Seems like every at bat is a ground out or pop out or fly out. I’m more focused on the pitching right now anyways and scouting out pitchers. I just picked up Davies because he had two starts this week. I like to have one pitcher who gets picked up per week just because he has two starts. That one slot on the roster is constantly changing. This early in the year you have to be careful to not let a gem get away though, so I’m waiting to see how Davies does tonight before I cut him loose. I see that Parra has two starts next week, so I’m scouting him out for next week. Just waiting to see how everyone does so I can figure out who to cut for Parra though.
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@Jim: “…that could…” Lopez, Bonifacio, Burriss, any other speedy 2nd baseman.
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April 14th, 2009 at 11:51 am
Can anybody help me come to terms with the fact that in the 6th round of my 12 team draft, I passed on Chad Billingsley and drafted Liriano. Is there any upside to this blunder?
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April 14th, 2009 at 11:52 am
I picked up Andrus to help me in steals. How many do you think he’ll get this year? He had 54 in AA last year in a full year. Is 30-35 unreasonable to expect playing in the majors?
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April 14th, 2009 at 11:55 am
If Guzman is hurt for a while who do you like to replace him as a MI in a K and OPS league? My options are Freddy Sanchez, Asdrubal Cabrera, Burriss, Bartlett.
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April 14th, 2009 at 11:55 am
Liriano will probably bounce back. I’d keep starting him. He does still have a 1.20 WHIP.
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@Zebo: Well, I would’ve went Bills over Liriano, but Liriano should be fine.
@Eric: He should get you steals, but hurt you in average. He’s a bit of a question mark, but he’s capable. I count 160 steals on your team, give or take 20. Would be nice to have about 200, give or take 20. You’re not terribly slow, but it’s a bit of a problem. Then again, you might be able to grab some random steals off waivers later in the year and be fine. As I said above, I wouldn’t do anything, but if you wanted piece of mind, I offered suggestions.
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April 14th, 2009 at 12:00 pm
@Eric: elvis will run30-40 is probable if he gets on base
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April 14th, 2009 at 12:01 pm
@Eric: At first glance this looks like a trick question. Is this a one team league? Those bats are ridiculous. The trio of Bills, Shields, and C. Young is also sort of sexy. In a strictly fantasy baseball way.
@Zebo: I think Eric just gave the best shot any of us could come up with. Bills is a beast, you knew this.
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April 14th, 2009 at 12:02 pm
Did you see Liriano pitch? Does he still have 9K:9 stuff?
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@Matt: Grab Burriss.
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April 14th, 2009 at 12:09 pm
Thanks Grey.
I thought the batters were loaded just looking at it. I just needed some comfirmation that I wasn’t crazy because other people in my league are saying that my team sucks. They aren’t trying to get my to unload guys because I’d never do that. They’re just talking trash. What are friends for right? Thanks for the advice though. I don’t plan on making a trade for Harden. I plan on using him until he gets hurt. By the time he’s hurt, hopefully I’ll have found a breakout pitcher off the waiver wire to replace him.
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April 14th, 2009 at 12:09 pm
@Grey: I’m not familiar with the dynamics of 10-team leagues, but I’m not so sure I’d say that Eric’s team is that low on steals. Here’s how I’m figuring:
Furcal, Andrus, Kemp: 25-30 steals each
Soriano, Wright, Phillips, Krispie: 15-20 steals each
Pence, Lee, Napoli: 5-10 steals each
Adds up to 150-200 total. Wouldn’t that be good for above average, at least? I don’t think these projections are too optimistic.
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April 14th, 2009 at 12:12 pm
@Dingo: Lesson for next time: don’t take so long to look up projections, and maybe your comment might be a bit more timely.
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April 14th, 2009 at 12:16 pm
@Dingo: You get an A for doing the research. Other than Grey, BVV, and a few others most of the answers are coming straight outta the ass. Not to say they are wrong, they are just off the top of the head responses without the actual homework. Way to step up your game.
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@Dingo: Agree with P0rk. It’s good to have second opinions anyway.
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April 14th, 2009 at 1:20 pm
Shouldn’t Gabe Kapler get some sort of bonus in the Razzball league for striking out against Nick Swisher’s 75mph heater??
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@vinko: Then how do we handle anyone that strikes out against Saunders?
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April 14th, 2009 at 1:45 pm
@Grey: I cut Burris yesterday, it was either him or the O Dog.I just don’t see Burris getting on base enough to do his magic
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April 14th, 2009 at 6:14 pm
whats up with these royal pitchers,davies is mowing them down again tonight
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