It’s always good to look at spring training numbers to give you an idea as what to expect from guys for the season. They’re facing top pitchers who are all displaying their best stuff. No one needs time to get warmed up. No one’s trying new pitches or getting a feel for the ball. They are at the height of their game in March. In fact, I think someone should propose to Bud that the World Series could easily be played in March. Yes, The March Classic. I like how that sounds. Since these spring training numbers mean so much, I decided to look at the top slugging guys in March:
Corey Hart – Leading the charge with slugging at .976. Obviously, no night games and wearing sunglasses is a recipe for success.
Mike Jacobs – He’s even hitting lefties this spring as he racked up 20 RBIs and 7 homers.
Travis Ishikawa – Five homers already and a slugging percentage of .649. Wow, huh? Seriously, reread the word before “huh.” No, that’s a comma. Before that.
Jed Lowrie – He’ll easily end the spring as Boston’s best hitter with a line of .462/500/.872. Can anyone say MVP?
These are the top 4 sluggers for 2009 Spring Training. That’s right. Not 2010. A real beauty pageant of names, right? Seriously, please stop looking at spring stats. Corey Hart didn’t come within 450 points of that slugging percentage for one single month of last year as he went on to his worst season in the majors. Lowrie hit 2 homers and batted .147 in 2009. If you need me to tell you what the other two did, you might need Matthew Berry’s help. Spring stats mean nothing. You should only be looking at who’s healthy, who’s winning position battles and who’s winning rotation spots. The rest is meaningless.
The Carpenter/Gallardo duel reminded me of Landon and Brittini taking on Mark and Rachel as they competed to see who could slide the furthest on giant blocks of ice while wearing nothing but speedos. (BTW, Nice to see Mark battling the ageism of MTV. Stick it to man! Wait, he is a man. Show those rapscallions, gramps!) Chris Carpenter went 8 IP, 2 hits, 0 ER, 10 Ks, then Yovani Gallardo removed his fey white gloves and went 8 IP, 0 ER, 6 Ks, i.e., the other end of the duel. Going forward, I’d trade Carpenter away and trade for Gallardo. You may be right, I may be crazy. Gallardo can throw 200 Ks and a sub-4 ERA. While Carpenter will be tremendous if healthy, but that if is supersized. Now, no one’s saying to trade him for a Circuit City gift card, but I’d see what kind of deals you can broker. Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
Matt Capps – He fell to the ground in pain like he was just, um, capped as a line drive hit him in the arm. It looked as if it could lead to a DL stint. I grabbed John Grabow in every league. Jesse Chavez might see some chances, but I’m not intoxicated enough to own two Pirate relievers.
Mat Gamel – 0-for-3 with 2 Ks, then Bill Hall hit the game winner. That’s not how it’s supposed to work out. The good news was Gamel was playing without the DH. Though we’ll see how long that lasts.
Phil Hughes – 8 IP, 0 ER, 4 baserunners, 6 Ks. Hughes remembers where he lost his “Next Big Thing” Award. It was sitting next to his “Can’t Decide Whether He’s Good Or Not” trophy.
Nelson Cruz – Last six games, 5 homers, 4 steals, batting .294 on the season. I say he gets up to about .309 then it bottoms out to .275, then he cranks it up to .304, then trips up to .280, then… Well, you get the picture.
Gil Meche – Was a mess throwing 73 pitches through two and a third innings. Somehow only allowing two earned. I’d run him out there in his next start vs. the White Sox, then we might need to reevaulate.
Wandy Rodriguez – 4 IP, 12 baserunners, 6 unearned runs. The Lords of Fantasy Baseball granted me my one wish this year and made Wandy’s 1st inning debacle all unearned runs. Tie my to the WHIPping post and call me grateful.
Aaron Harang – After hours of a rain delay, Dusty sent Harang back out there for one out to get a Win. Arm injuries be damned! Leave it to Dusty.
Joey Votto – Seems to only have an ear infection at the inception of the game. Is he trying out for the Fear Strikes Out remake? You my friend are no Anthony Perkins.
Hunter Pence – Quietly hitting .358 on the season. I say quietly because he only has 5 HRs and 5 steals. Hey, you’ll take it and like it, but I have to think the average will come down — but the power should go up.
Jonathan Papelbon – Got the save but gave up two earned and another homer. There’s a few options in the Sawx bullpen for Tito to turn to, but I don’t think it’s going to get that far for another week or two of meltdowns.
Joe Mauer – He didn’t start, but he did get another homer. Without seeing the highlights, I’m going to assume he hit this one from the bench.
Francisco Liriano – 4 IP, 5 ER, 11 baserunners. F-Liriano. No, that’s not a nickname. That’s my sentiment.
Jorge De La Rosa – 3 1/3 IP, 7 ER. Hey, only two walks!
Juan Pierre - 2-for-6, 2 Runs, 3 RBIs and .385 on the season. When Manny returns, Pierre may be traded to a club that needs a full-time outfielder, but we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.
Mr. T – Sung the 7th inning stretch in Wrigley yesterday, but even more comical is the groans he made throughout the half inning he was in the booth. If I had the techno know-how, I would’ve recorded the audio. After a double play, Mr. T, “Grrr… Oh, man. Grrr…. Grrr…”
Chad Gaudin – 5 1/3 IP, 7 ER. Someone remind never to start him outside of Petco.
Matt Lindstrom – Got the save yesterday while only walking one. When I’m modifying walk with “only,” he’s still not out of the woods.
Freddy Sanchez – 6-for-6, 4 Runs, 3 RBIs and a steal. Please… That’s like Joe Mauer through a half inning.
Jeremy Guthrie – 7 IP, 1 ER. There’s the Guthrie I fell in love with it. I wouldn’t run him out there for his next start vs. the Tigers, but I’ll be monitoring him. Someone’s gotta, right?
George Sherrill – Recorded his 10th save and his ERA’s down to 2.75. Making a run for Donkey-corn status.
Brian Roberts – Hurt his shin then stayed in the game to double and triple. Yeah, that doesn’t sound too serious.
Travis Ishikawa – 4-for-4 with a homer just days after Bochy says Guzman will see more ABs. Could someone take Bill Hall and Ishikawa to the Pine Barrens?
Kenji Johjima – His little piggy went to the hospital in a splint. Rob Johnson’s as boring as his name. Maybe Jeff Clement is finally removed from purgatory. (Speaking of purgatory, I saw Angels & Demons this weekend. Grey leaves his computer! News at 11! For the trailer… From a terrible book to an awful movie, watch as Tom Hanks, with distractingly dyed hair, runs around in search of pointing statues! Everyone seems guilty, except the guy who is! At least there’s no albinos!)
Adam Kennedy/Ichiro Suzuki – These two opposing lead-off hitters both went 4-for-4. According to Elias Sports Bureau, this was the first time two lead-off hitters in the same game both went 4-for-4. Actually… They didn’t say that. But this was heard recently around the offices, “For the third time this week, Bob put his garbage can on his desk and labelled it, ‘In.’”
Francisco Rodriguez – Not sure how in two days he went from “crying over back pain” to the mound with his violent delivery, but there he was again. Guess he’s *pinkie to mouth* OK-Rod.
Jose Reyes – Still out. Does Votto and him share a doctor? Maybe one of them can call K-Rod’s.
Ervin Santana – 1 IP, 7 ER. Honestly, I don’t think he’ll be this bad going forward, but I did tell you to trade Ervin away two weeks ago.
Vladimir Guerrero – Returned to the lineup and went 0-for-4. Hey, he had a better game than Ervin.
Alexei Ramirez – Now apologize for hating him for 2 months. Not to me, to him.
Carlos Quentin – Left the game after running out a double. His heel could nag him all year. Can they give someone a cortisone shot in the heel? Seriously, anyone know? Anyone, besides Joey Votto’s doctor.
David Price – 3 1/3 IP, 2 ER, 5 BBs, 6 Ks. Price continued where he left off in Triple-A, which is not good. He’s walking too many guys and his home run rate is up. Hopefully, he can figure out his major malfunction.
J.P Izzywheelfourson – Meet Implosion. Implosion meet J.P. Izzywheelfourson. For those keeping track, and you all should be, Nelson pitched a perfect 7th and Wheeler didn’t pitch at all. So Izzy may have been the closer coming in, but Wheeler and Howell move up just by staying out of that meltdown and Nelson moves up by pitching well. Or… Izzy + Balfour < Nelson + Wheeler + Howell = Ulcer.
Who doesn’t love a good comeback story? Mickey Rourke, Jamie Walters, Wilco’s Sky Blue Sky after a very hit or miss, A Ghost is Born… Now there’s Edwin Jackson. Last night, he pitched a gem. 7 2/3 IP, 1 ER with 89 pitches. I love prospects that seem destined for greatness then fail. (see Alex Gordon Love™. Don’t see Felix Pie Love™, Jeff Clement Love™ or Andy LaRoche Semi-Love™). Edwin Jackson fits that post-hype prospect bill. He was supposed to be so good for sooooo long. (Yes, five oh’s.) And he’s still only 25. In deep leagues, I’m going to try him on for size. If you need pitching, don’t wait until his next good start. It may be too late. Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday in fantasy baseball:
Tim Lincecum – He was pulled after 78 pitches with Bochy showing more restraint in one start than he did all of last year. Obviously, I don’t own him on any team, but if I did, I wouldn’t cash the bailout check. (<– Not sure what that means, but it’s timely!) Last year, Lincecum only threw 84 pitches in four innings in his first game of the year and went on to win the Cy Young… Of course, there was an hour and fourteen minute delay between his first pitch and last pitch and he was coming in in relief. Nevertheless! Lincecum will be fine and, even if he’s not, you’re not trading away your prize pitcher right after yesterday’s performance. Sit tight, paisan.
Travis Ishikawa – 2-for-5, 3 RBIs. You don’t know anything about him? That’s the way it’s meant to be. I have secrets!
Jeff Suppan – I can’t believe Milwaukee’s opening day pitcher was rocked. Oh…it’s Suppan. I can’t believe the Milwaukee opening day pitcher was Suppan.
Mike Cameron – 2 steals. Said after the game about the Giants, “They were really swinging the bats today.” They were facing the Soup.
Kyle Farnsworth – Cost me a win for Meche and a loss for Buehrle in my Razzball league. We need a Razzball glossary term for this. Please advise.
Ryan Zimmerman – Started the year 1-for-9. Way to come out swinging!… And missing. I swear, if you disappoint me this year, we’re through.
Cameron Maybin – One steal and batted 2nd yesterday. That’s so Maybin!
Emilio Bonifacio – 2-for-5, 2 RBIs and after the game he saved a turtle from a burning building.
Jorge Cantu – Another HR. In other news, the Marlins are petitioning major league baseball to only face the Nats this year.
Scott Olsen – 3 IP, 8 ER. Marlins finally figure out what those other teams were talking about.
Josh Johnson – 6 2/3, 0 ER, 8 Ks. Tried to push as many people as I could into drafting Johnson. Hope people listened.
Chris Young – 6 IP, 2 ER. Why ignoring spring training stats is sometimes the best medicine.
Heath Bell – Notched his first save. I hope he entered to Hell’s Bells.
Alex Gordon – HR yesterday. If he could just hit 25 more with a respectable average, I’d be so happy.
Ubaldo Jimenez/Dan Haren – Was like Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton out in Chase Field.
Ian Stewart – Rockie players were supposedly upset Stewart got the start on Opening Day over Barmes. I can’t even imagine how upset they were with that deer.
DeWayne Wise – 0-for-4, 3 Ks. When asked about the decision to lead off with Wise, Ozzie said, “Without Juan Uribe, what choice do I have?”
Geovany Soto – Left with shoulder soreness. Will be out until the weekend. If something happens to Koyie Hill, Soto said he could play, so I don’t think it’s that bad. Then again, Theriot took warm up pitches from Heilman in the 9th. If only Ozzie was managing the North Siders…
James Shields – 5 1/3, 5 ER. Couple of doinks, a couple of donks and Ortiz’s badonkadonk. Not a great start, obviously, but you can’t sit Shields. Take solace in that…. I take solace everywhere and it always finds it’s way home — oofa!
Josh Beckett – Red State Jeter put it together with a very solid opening day start — 7 IP, 1 ER, 10 Ks.
Trevor Cahill – 5 IP, 2 ER. He looked much worse. The A’s start guys that have no business being in the majors. I tend to ignore them.
Jason Motte – Was deemed unable to go yesterday after pitching on Monday. Translation: Franklin’s getting some saves whether Motte’s effective or not.
Wandy Rodriguez – 6 IP, 1 ER. Get on the Wandwagon!
David Freese – Not playing again. This time LaRussa opted for Joe Thurston. In one hand, rookie with potential. In the other hand, minor league journeyman. Eh, just be happy LaRussa started Rasmus.
Colby Rasmus – 2-for-4 in MLB debut. That’s it, LaRussa. Now give him 400 more ABs.
Brandon Morrow – During Morrow’s collapse on Tuesday, the Mariners announcer said Batista was “sparkling (on Monday).” I’m not even joking. Batista put something in the Mariners drink when they weren’t looking! This job is still Morrow’s, no doubt. But let’s go over quickly what we know. 1) Morrow can’t stay healthy. 2) Closing puts a lot of stress on a pitcher, physical and otherwise. 3) Batista’s their backup plan. 4) Batista sucks. 5) Batista spiked the Mariners’ drink.
Oh, they’re not just bad. Nah, I outdid even myself this time. On this drafternoon, I picked a team that is near-perfectly awful. They simultaneously suck and blow. On a scale of one to ten, they’re a negative seven. I did the math! Somehow I managed to get a team where not one hitter projects for more than twelve home runs. If someone in the Royals brass gets wind of my drafting skills, I may get a job! If you think I’m being facetious (which was recently outlawed in Madagascar), shame on you. And shame on this team! I took part in a fantasy baseball draft this past Saturday to pick the worst fantasy baseball team. And I think I done did it. My co-conspirators in this were:
Random thoughts about various rounds of the draft:
ROUND 1 – I had my eye on Ronnie Belliard like only Mrs. Belliard could ever know. He’s eligible at 1st! Need I continue? Okay, he’s on the Nats. Should I go on? His K rate has been going up. More? He’s also eligible at 3rd. All right, one more thing. He’s projected for 400 ABs and 11 home runs. Bleh, and thank you.
ROUND 2 – It was between Chone Fuggums and Lousy Castillo. Had to go with the more shallow position of 3rd base. Fuggums will probably get 500 ABs, and, I don’t know, 4 HRs. Not a bad guy for the Not Corner.
ROUND 3 – And Lousy Castillo makes it back to me. Projected for 487 ABs and… Wait for it… Here it comes… Hold on, I have an itch… All right, here it is… Zero home runs! WTF? How is that even possible?
ROUND 4 – Okay, I’ve waited on crappy outfielders long enough. Skip Suckmaker, you’re mine! Thank you, LaRussa.
ROUND 5 – I’m actually worried about my Runs at this point. No, I didn’t just drink some Mexican water. So to clog up my tailpipe, I select Erick Aybar. He’s projected for less than 50 Runs and over 400 ABs. Later I will add his Brother in Razzball Charms.
ROUND 6 – One thing I really notice about drafting craptacular players, everyone has a different draft sheet. It’s like you got ten owners together that have all been in solitary confinement for the last six months. Everyone knows who’s crappy, but nobody knows which order anyone else is going to take them, so guys last longer than you think they will. Without further ado, Brian Schneider.
ROUND 7 – And because no one knows when anyone is drafting a player, you (or at least I) want to fill up your (my) Utility spot with another catcher that I know will rack up the ABs and little else — Yadier Molina.
ROUND 8 – Super futility man, Willie Aybar.
ROUND 9 – Finally, I take a pitcher. Not just any pitcher, but a pitcher worthy of a Razzball Spotlight, Gorilla Ponson.
ROUND 10 – B. Giles because anyone who’s ever played any level of baseball can put up his stats.
ROUND 11 – Travis Ishikawa. Everyone loses a job on your fantasy Razzball team, so backups are very helpful and Giants hitters are even more so. Worst case scenario, Ishikawa and Belliard will make a nice blahtoon.
ROUND 12 – Vicente Padilla, probably my riskiest pick so far. He can’t make it out of May with a job, can he?
ROUND 13 – Endy Chavez. Nicest thing anyone can ever say about a guy on your Fantasy Razzball team, “He’s a great fielder!”
ROUND 14 – DeWayne Wise. Ozzie’s crazy enough to give him 500 ABs, but he’s not crazy enough to lead him off, is he?
ROUND 15 – Having played this league last year, I knew anyone I took on the pitching side would lose their job sooner than later if I was playing right. With his 150th pick, Grey selects Danys Baez, a leading candidate for an Orioles rotation spot. You heard me right, non-Orioles fans. Baez might be an Orioles starter this year. How’s dem apples? Delicious!
ROUND 16 – Mark Buerhle. Tried to balance all of the starters I was going to lose with a guy who can give me 200 lame innings. There’s a chance I bench him until he gets cold.
ROUND 17 – Matt Harrison. Okay, I’m a sucker for sucky Texas pitchers.
ROUND 18 – Jamie Moyer. Another innings eater-slash-guy you can’t believe is still a major league starter.
ROUND 19/20 – Chris Dickerson and Gerald Laird. Dickerson’s a K machine, but he’s the only guy on my entire team with any downside. I’ll be honest. I might be patroling the waiver wire for a Dickerson replacement. As for Laird, it’s really hard to resist taking an extra catcher. They’re all so good!
ROUND 23/24 – Jesse Litsch and Mike Pelfrey. Some of you may be sad to see these guys here because you have them on your regular fantasy teams. Let’s just say, I’m hoping these guys stay healthy because they could be in for an awfully wonderful year.
ROUND 25/26/27 – Kevin Frandsen and Cristian Guzman and Gabe Gross. Not sure how this crapfecta lasted this long, but I just had to back up some of my other guys that are sure to lose playing time. Actually, if I played my cards right, some of them might have lost playing time already. Razztastic!
We at Razzball realize that exporting our views across the country has damaging consequences on the blogosphere. To help make amends, we are reaching out to leading team blogs and featuring their locally blogged answers to pressing 2009 fantasy baseball questions regarding their team. We feel this approach will be fresher, more sustainable, and require less energy consumption (for us anyway). The 2009 Giants Fantasy Baseball Preview comes courtesy of McCovey Chronicles.
1) Is Ishikawa the Giants 1st baseman for 2009? If not, who? If so, what can we expect from him? “Better than Ryan Klesko” isn’t an answer.
He should get a bulk of the at-bats against right-handers, as his minor league history suggests he’s pretty useless against lefties. If the season were to start today, a lot of the at-bats at first would go to Josh Phelps, but I expect that the Giants will sign a right-handed hitter who can play both first and third. That will probably be Rich Aurilia, but there’s always a chance that the Giants will get Ty Wigginton or Nomar Garciaparra.
I wouldn’t expect a whole lot from Ishikawa. If I were to give an optimistic projection, it would be .260/.340/.450, with 18 HR. The pessimest in me says .230/.290/.390, and a trip to Fresno around June.
2) Do the extra innings that Lincecum put on his arm in 2008 worry you? Why or why not? (If necessary, feel free to include crazy anecdotes about how Lincecum’s father taught him to throw with an anvil so Lincecum will never break down.)
They don’t worry me more than the workload of any other young pitcher. Lincecum’s velocity was consistent late in games at the end of the season, so until there’s a data point other than “pitches thrown” to get me worried, I won’t be. Plus, as he can bend space and time, I’m sure he can control chaotic processes within his own genetic code. If he tears something, he’ll just make a new one with his mind.
3) Please convince me Burriss or Velez will win the 2nd base job.
While either would make a cheap source for fantasy steals, the best real-life option would be Kevin Frandsen. Burriss’s value to the organization would probably be at its highest if he were a starting shortstop, so he needs defensive innings in AAA. Velez is a fast bag of antlers, I’ll give him that, but he’s pretty baseball-clueless. His defense is shoddy, at best, and he’ll never hit for average or power. He’ll make a good 25th-man someday, but that’s about it.
4) What can we expect of Fred Lewis in 2009?
More of the same, I’d think. His batting average on balls in play was unusually high, so some folks think he’s due for a fall, but there still some room for growth to counteract any sort of regression to the mean. He took an awful lot of first pitch strikes, and might benefit from being a little more aggressive. Now that he’s a “middle-of-the-order threat” instead of a leadoff hitter, he’ll probably try and jump on first pitches more often to try and hit for a little more power, but I think any power improvement will be marginal. I’ll guess .280/.350/.470, with 14 home runs. If he bats third in the Giants’ lineup, though, he’ll get a fair number of RBIs.
5) I think Brian Wilson will lose his job at some point in 2009. Am I talking gibberish like the other famous Brian Wilson or are you concerned too?
I’m not too worried about Wilson. His stuff is nasty enough to make up for his wonky control. Unless his velocity dips, he’ll stick around. If he can cut his walk rate, he’ll become an elite closer. You could write that about 30+ relievers, but it’s especially true for Wilson. He has a 96-MPH fastball and an 89-MPH slider; if he has even average control, he’ll be a beast.
