Fantasy Baseball Advice

This post is not meant to scream fire in the theater of Razzball.  I’m not saying don’t draft these guys.  I’m not unfriending them.  (I would hide all of their stupid Mafia Wars updates.  Okay, quick rant, I have a friend who emailed everyone that he just had a kid.  Yay for him, I know.  So I emailed him back congrats that the kid doesn’t look like his wife.  Then I go onto Facebook and he just won a cannoli or some shizz on Mafia Wars.  He just got home from the hospital with his newborn and he’s warring with 12-year-olds hiding behind fictitious Mafioso personalities?  Nice.  I wonder in forty years if his kid will email me saying his Dad died then start playing an online video game.)  I’m just saying you need to be aware of certain concerns that I’ve kept to myself about these players.  I’m unburdening myself.  My shrink says it’s good for me.  I still like these players; I just want you to have the whole picture.  Anyway, here’s some concerns for 2010 fantasy baseball:

Miguel Montero – Concern:  Snyder.  I’m worried that Chris Snyder might see more ABs than anyone thinks he will.    Montero sits one game a week?  We’re cool.  Snyder gets two games a week and suddenly Montero will be lucky to match last year’s numbers, forget eclipsing them.

Gordon Beckham – Concern:  Ozzie.  I hate putting my young player, upside cards in the hands of a manager that has been known to be absolutely bonkers.  Beckham could leave Spring Training batting 2nd and still end up being replaced by Omar Vizquel by May.  Jose Mesa would not be the only upset one.

Troy Tulowitzki – Concern:  Less speed, cold start.  I’ve actually expressed these concerns before, but it was done in my mumbly, Milton voice.  Tulo’s never stole anywhere near 20+ bases before last year.  Also, his career April average is .194 and usually doesn’t fully turn it on until June.  What if he starts pressing in June to finally turn it on and it never comes?

Justin Upton – Concern: Youth, expectations.  J-Upside will be a great one for many years to come.  He’ll probably win an MVP within the next five years.  He’s still only 22 for the majority of the 2010 season.  He will give you a 30+ homer, 20+ steal season; I’m just not sure it comes this year.

Josh Hamilton – Concern:  Health.  Well, the concern says it all.  Can he stay healthy for 500 ABs?

Yovani Gallardo – Concern: He’s gonna win the Cy Young and I’m not going to own him.  Okay, the other players on this list I like with concerns.  I’m avoiding YoGa with concerns.  Gallardo went from a huge innings jump from 2008 to 2009 and definitely tired at the end of 2009 (5+ ERA in August and September).  But it wasn’t an arm injury in 2008.  He did some shizz to his knee.  He might make me look stupid.  Oh, Gallardo, you give me turmoil.

Nolan Reimold – Concern: Youth, Achilles.  Some gooftards just don’t get their act together in their second year.  I’m hoping Reimold is not one of them, but that concern is there.  Then you have an Achilles injury that’s taking longer to heal than Achilles’s Achilles.

Ian Stewart – Concern: I’ve overhyped him.  Is he that different than this guy?  Haha, I made you click the link.  Don’t worry, it’s safe for work.  Unless you work with Bill James, then it might be considered porn.

Okay, who put Jerry Blevins 498th?  He’s the greatest LOOGY of all-time… OF ALL-TIME.  Kanye shrug.  We’re using Yahoo for our Fantasy Razzball leagues. (You can win a mother-bleepin’ hot tub; are you kidding me?  Seriously.  Yes, I brought out the one word, “Seriously,” sentence, then brought out the expository sentence to mention I brought out the one word, “Seriously,” sentence.) Yahoo’s drafting and fantasy baseball team setup-ma-whosies is fine.  ESPN has its minuses, Yahoo has its pluses, then read that again in the mirror.  And just like there were problems with ESPN’s fantasy baseball rankings, I have issues with Yahoo’s.  I can’t go over every single difference of opinion, but you could just go to my 2010 fantasy baseball top 300 and use that.  Or go to the Point Shares and use that.  Or buy me an all-exclusive trip to Dubai and I’ll draft for you while skiing in a mall.  Sheik, if you want to go to the food court, may I suggest the ski lift?  That sounds splendid, I hope they have Chik-Fil-A. Anyway, here’s some huge differences in Yahoo’s fantasy baseball rankings compared to mine:

Troy Tulowitzki - 7 at Yahoo, 16 here.  Hey, I like Tulo just as much as the next man, but obviously not if that next man works at Yahoo.  As I’ve said many times before, Tulo’s career high in steals last year was nearly triple his previous career high, including the minors.  And he doesn’t start hitting until June.

Joe Mauer – 8 at Yahoo, 28 here.  I already dropped a Joe Mauer schmohawk bomb.

Justin Upton – 18 at Yahoo, 24 here.  I do enjoy J-Upside, but him at 18 and above Holliday?  Holliday was more valuable than Upton last year, and the year before and the year before and you get it.  No reason to think it suddenly stops this year for Holliday.  In the 2nd round, I want as close to a lock that I can get.  Sorry, Yahoo, now get your shinebox!

Ichiro Suzuki – 27 at Yahoo, 43 here.  I’ve been over his overratedness so much I’m beginning to think overratedness is a word.

Pablo Sandoval – 29 at Yahoo, 58 here.  Here’s what Grey (that’s me!) said about Sandoval, “It’s hard to not like a chubby guy who goes by the nickname, Kung Fu Panda.  Who doesn’t love pandas?  It’s unpatriotic (in China).  I love pandas so much I want a freakin’ panda dog.  If I had a kid, I’m dye the kid to look like a panda.  So, I do like Pablo Sandoval.  But there’s caveats.  He’s not really a home run hitter.  It would not shock me to see him hit 22 homers in 2010.  Also, his average last year looks to be on the high side.  I wouldn’t be surprised to see a .300 average instead of .330.  I like him, just be careful what you’re expecting.”  And that’s me quoting me!

Aramis Ramirez – 47 at Yahoo, 94 here.  Aramis overrated, underlined it.

Yovani Gallardo – 58 at Yahoo, 107 here.  That makes my job passing on him so much easier.

Michael Young – 64 at Yahoo, 93 here.  Young is a nice complimentary pick if you have a few low average guys, but, in a vacuum, Young bores.

Carlos Quentin – 164 at Yahoo, 54 here.  There’s a Carlos Quentin sleeper post and I have him over a 100 spots before in my rankings.  You think I might end up owning Quentin on a few teams?  Rhetorical!  Now remember what I said in the rankings companion piece.  Draft Quentin before someone else does, but that doesn’t mean wa³y before.

Geovany Soto – 172 at Yahoo, 127 here.  I wrote the Geovany Soto sleeper post for a reason.  Recognize!  Or don’t, your choice.

Dexter Fowler – 290 at Yahoo, 151 here.  My Fowler sleeper post was written in September.  Prescient ain’t just a word I can’t spell without Dictionary.com, it’s a state of mind!

Have to go through a lot other ‘perts’ turd nuggets to find some kernels of truth, right?  So I took a looksie at ESPN’s mock draft.  These guys (and maybe girls, cause I don’t even recognize some names — Becquey?  Is that the phonetic pronunciation of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway’s abbreviation, BQE?  No idea.) make their living by doling out fantasy baseball advice, but, as Tim Gunn would say, the problem is they’ve been in the monkey house too long.  Here’s Gunn’s explanation, “When you first walk into the monkey house at the zoo, what do you do?  You cover your nose and think, “This place stinks!” After some time, you’ve adjusted a bit, “Well, I guess this isn’t so bad.”  Then later, you don’t even notice the smell.”  ESPN builds a bunker, doles out advice but has no idea what the stench is like.  To get poetic on you, they think their feces smells like Reese’s Pieces.

In that mock, they drafted Ian Stewart 163rd overall.  Wow, Stewart has an ADP of 120 at Mock Draft Central so that’s awesome value!  The only hitch is, there’s no way anyone’s getting Stewart that late in a draft if they draft with anyone but those ESPN readers who are also in the monkey house.  The monkeys at ESPN don’t even mention Stewart was good value at 163.  You know why?  Because they have no idea.  They don’t look at anything besides what’s written at ESPN.  It’s like Hurley from Lost doling out fantasy advice.  Jack’s doing surgery, Locke’s seeing shizz and The BQE is taking Ian Stewart 163rd overall.  Honestly, I’m not even sure if they have an internet connection in Bristol.  So this look at the monkeys’ mock draft may be constructive for those of you who are playing against other monkeys, but, in reality, we’re just mocking them.  Anyway, here’s some head scratchers from ESPN’s 2010 fantasy baseball mock draft:

Carl Crawford – 7th overall. Ha!  Seriously, I don’t even know what to say about this.  Michael Bourn is that different at around pick 100?  The saving grace to this pick is that it was made by Nate Ravitz, who, I believe, is the neighbor in Bewitched.  Could be wrong.

Joe Mauer – 14th overall.  Bewitched neighbor grabbed him too.  So with Mauer and Crawford he’s looking at about 35 homers combined for his first two picks.  Guess he’s punting power.  Yeah, he just lost.  Thanks for playing.

Ryan Howard – 18th overall.  This is the last player I’m looking at that was taken way later than they will normally go. (Kinsler at 21?!  Wait, did they do this mock draft in 2007 and forget to post it?)  Howard is a great pick at 18.  Again, ain’t happening in the real world, so I’m done looking at value picks in this draft.

Derek Jeter – 25th overall.  I actually like Tristan Cockcroft (who is a Yankee fan and maybe why he made this pick), but Jeter at 25th overall is just silly.  Maybe Cockcroft is hoping for a wedding invite.  Not sure; let’s not dwell.

Javier Vazquez – 61st overall.  That’s around where his ADP is,  but I have him ranked around 135th overall.  I might need to do an overrated post on him.

Yovani Gallardo – 69th overall.  The BQE goes for YoGa about 40 spots before he should, but not nearly as bad as…

Brandon Webb – 98th overall.  They are totally reprinting a 2007 draft just to see if anyone will notice.  Very sneaky.

James Shields – 152nd overall.  Not a pick I would make, but this isn’t so much about the time Shields was drafted.  The real knee to the balls is in the comments where they wrote, “Becquey takes James Shields with pick No. 152, and many lament that Shields is off the board.”  Why? Because of his mediocre K-rate?  Is it his increasing walk rate?  Is it his inability to pitch in away games?  Is it his division?  Are they using a new definition of lament?  Seriously, I have to stop before I get an aneurysm.

Finished up the hitters for the 2010 fantasy baseball rankings and now we’re turning our eye patch to the top 20 starters for 2010 fantasy baseball.  Ain’t life grand?  I supposed, but pimpin’ still ain’t easy, despite strides made by Three 6 Mafia and Big Daddy Kane.  Before we get into the top 20 starters, I want to point out one thing about my projections.  Wins and losses are total shots in the dark.  Did I take into consideration how well their respective teams would do?  Really doe.  Still doesn’t matter.  As with other rankings, where I see tiers starting and ending is mentioned and my projections.  Anyway, here’s the top 20 starters for 2010 fantasy baseball:

1. Tim Lincecum – Went over Lincecum’s projections in the top 20 for 2010 fantasy baseball.

2. Felix Hernandez – This is a new tier.  This tier goes from here until Greinke.  I call this tier, “F-Her vs. Greinke.”  I feel like F-Her doesn’t get his due.  I know he must be thrilled to finally get that acknowledgment from a fantasy baseball blog.  Fire your PR firm!  Imagine a 23-year-old pitcher in New York throwing 238 2/3 innings with a 2.49 ERA and 217 Ks.  Joba’s Mom opens a crystal meth lab in the bathroom of a Denny’s and it makes more news than F-Her.  Even in my blurb for F-Her I’m talking about Joba.  Guy gets no respect.  At least I didn’t talk about Greinke.  Oh, wait… 2010 Projections:  18-6/3.00/1.10/220

3. Zach Greinke – The only reason why Greinke is going before F-Her in drafts is because of hype.  Just something about someone reaching their potential that drives people crazy.  Greinke had an exceptional year in 2009.  No argument from me.  I before E except in Greinke, I know.  I just think F-Her’s a tad safer.  Maybe it’s the four straight years of 190+ innings from F-Her… Maybe it’s the jump in K-rate for Greinke and the more gradual increase for F-Her… Maybe it’s Greinke’s literal feel good story…. Maybe I’m just a cynic to hype… In the end, it’s not like I ranked Greinke 20th.  2010 Projections:  14-5/3.05/1.10/225

4. Roy Halladay – This is a new tier.  This tier goes until Johan.  I call this tier, “Don’t hate them because they’ve done it many times before.”  Went over my Halladay fantasy already.  2010 Projections:  17-8/3.02/1.14/185

5. CC Sabathia – Since I pitted Greinke vs. F-Her, let’s look at Sabathia vs. Johan.  Johan’s K-rate has been falling.  It was still 7.88 and slightly above CC at 7.71.  Johan’s walks went up last year:  2.48 BB/9.  Sabathia’s was still higher at 2.62.  Johan pitches in Metco, whereas CC’s in a Little League stadium.  Johan was dealing with some arm issues, so maybe that’s why he was wilder than usual and his strikeouts have been declining.  Yeah, maybe, but Johan was dealing with some arm issues so he’s below CC.  2010 Projections:  20-10/3.45/1.17/200

6. Johan Santana – I think reports of Johan’s doneness have been prematurely reported.  Will he give you 250 Ks and a 2.50?  Nah, those days are in the rear view, but 200 Ks and a 3.00 ERA seems completely doable.  2010 Projections:  18-7/3.15/1.18/200

7. Justin Verlander – This is a new tier.  This tier goes from here until Wainwright.  I call this tier, “These guys have a legitimate chance of being on my team.”  I don’t draft starters high, but I am a whore for Ks.  They’re sorta like homers for me with hitters.  A homer gets you a Run, a RBI and boosts your average.  While a K doesn’t directly get you a Win, it does help ERA and WHIP.  It’s also one of the few things the pitcher controls.  Thanks to a fastball that averaged 96 MPH, Verlander had 269 Ks last year.  For starters last year, he ranked 7th for getting batters to chase pitches outside the strike zone.  If he can somehow avoid the terrible April he’s had two years in a row, he could be in for a sub-3 ERA. 2010 Projections:  17-11/3.25/1.20/230

8. Dan Haren – Haren is one of the most reliable pitchers.  Around a 3.20 ERA — check!  Around 200 Ks — check!  Terrible in the 2nd half — alas!  2010 Projections:  16-10/3.30/1.15/200

9. Jon Lester – Pitchers usually breakout in their third year starting.  Worked last year for Lester and I don’t see it as a fluke.  Will his K-rate continue to climb?  Probably not.  Is it a tough division?  Sorta.  Whole lot easier not facing the Sawx.  Last year, his FIP was 3.15.   He ranked behind only Lincecum and Verlander for K/9.  Could be Lincecum, Verlander and Lester at the top of the rankings next year.  2010 Projections:  17-7/3.35/1.20/215

10. Adam Wainwright – As with other rankings posts, there’s always a few that legitimately stump me.  I move them up and down and eventually settle on a place.  I don’t tell you this just so you can peer behind the curtain and see I’m not wearing pants.  I tell you this so you know I’m more iffy on certain players.  If they were to bomb, I wouldn’t be completely surprised.  So Wainwright was great last year, most signs point to him being able to repeat, but there’s a few red flags.  A Flag)  His innings jump.  He is older than the age when pitchers are usually flagged for that, but still.  B Flag) He relies heavily on breaking pitches.  Either he doesn’t trust his fastball or Yadier’s got carpal tunnel and can’t hold down one finger.  C Flag)  Whoever heard of a C Flag.  There’s no such thing.  2010 Projections:   16-8/3.30/1.18/190

11. Cole Hamels – This is a new tier.  This tier goes from here until Kershaw.  I call this tier, “If I don’t get a pitcher from the previous tier, I’ll need someone from this tier.”  Sure, Hamels was full on crizzap last year.  Well, Happy New Year!  Hamels led all starters with least amount of contact made on pitches inside the strike zone.  That’s stuff.  He’s on a team that can give him a shot for 18-20 Wins, he can reach 190 Ks and a mid to low-3 ERA.  2010 Projections:  16-10/3.45/1.15/185

12. Josh Johnson – Tons of Ks, great ERA, insane FIP.  Yes!  Previous elbow problems combined with a huge innings bump, his 2.74 ERA pre-All-Star Break vs. his 4.00 ERA post-All-Star Break, somewhat lucky HR/FB.  This fish looks so damn tasty, but he might be tainted with mercury.  I don’t think he’s a slam dunk, but I’m willing to take the risk for the reward.  2010 Projections:  14-6/3.35/1.22/175

13. Cliff Lee – After Lee’s Cy Young win, I remained a non-believer.  After his 2009 year, I’ve seen the light.  I’m done fighting the man.  Lee’s a top starter.  And I just know that now that I’m in bed with him, I’m going to wake up with a horse’s head.  2010 Projections:  15-8/3.40/1.22/160

14. Ubaldo Jimenez – From May to October, Ubaldo’s ERA was 3.08.  And he has the most baldass name.  2010 Projections:  15-9/3.50/1.27/200

15. Ricky Nolasco – In 185 innings, Nolasco rang up 195 Ks and only gave up 44 walks.  His K/BB rate ranked fifth in the majors just behind Greinke, Vazquez, Haren and Halladay.  He ranked eighth for the times he was able to get a batter to swing outside of the strike zone, just below Verlander.  He also had a 5.06 ERA last year.   This was due to bad luck.  The ERA will come down.  This is a fantasy baseball trust exercise.  Fall into Nolasco’s arms, he’ll catch you.  2010 Projections:  15-7/3.55/1.20/200

16. Josh Beckett – Red State Jeter always seems to have stretches where he’ll throw a couple of 6 inning games and give up 8 runs in each, which is a dagger to the testicles.  But he’s consistently near 200 Ks, has a team that gives him wins and a 3.63 FIP or under for three years straight.  2010 Projections:  16-10/3.70/1.22/195

17. Clayton Kershaw – Kershaw is not the prototypical Grey crush.  He walks a lot of hitters and has a hard time getting out of the 6 inning.  A 21 year old who just had a 3.08 FIP and a 9.74 K/9 makes up for a whole lot of walks and short outings.  End of last year, I furthered my Kershaw fantasy.  2010 Projections:  12-4/3.20/1.22/200

18. Chris Carpenter – This is a new tier.  This tier goes from here until Peavy.  I call this tier, “Avoid.”  I know all that jazz about Duncan teaching his starters to pitch to contact.  Well, here’s a jazz riff for you.  I don’t want my fantasy starters pitching to contact when I have to pay for them with a top draft pick.  If Carp comes cheap, then sure, otherwise I think he’s too hyped, even outside The Bootheel.  2010 Projections:  14-7/3.10/1.05/135

19. Yovani Gallardo – We had a good run last year, but it went on too long and wasn’t that pretty towards the end.  I could see my avoidance of Gallardo biting me in the ass because he is an extreme strikeout pitcher, which I like, but the innings jump from 2008 to 2009 raises too many questions for me.  2010 Projections:  14-9/3.85/1.32/175

20. Jake Peavy – It’s with great regret Peavy ends up in the avoid tier.  He’s just been too injured the last couple of seasons.  Fool me once, shame on you.  Fool me twice and, well, you know the cliché.  And now he’s out of Petco.  Lates, Peave.  2010 Projections:  10-5/3.35/1.15/145

How’s everyone holding up without baseball every day?  I don’t know what to do with myself!  Yesterday, I wandered into a Starbucks and told the coffeerista about Billy Butler for 2010.  She told me where to find Manic Panic hair dye so I could dye my roots blue (which is a great gospel group, but stick to My Roots Blue’s first two albums).  We’ve gone over the final 2009 fantasy baseball rankings for hitters and the top 20 starters.  Anyway, here’s the top 40 starters for 2009 fantasy baseball and how they compare to where I originally ranked them:

21. Jered Weaver – Is it me or does he look like a guy whose talent should be blowing snot rockets further than anyone else? Weaver struggled a bit vs. lefties last year (.276 BAA) and in the latter half of the year (Post-All-Star Break 4.47 ERA).  Preseason Rank #37, 2009 Projections:  14-9/3.75/1.25/160, Final Numbers:  16-8/3.75/1.24/174

22. Joel Pineiro – Unranked in 2009 and will probably be unranked again in 2010.  105 Ks; blech!  I’m sure I can think of at least 40 starters I’d prefer over a thirty-one year old pitcher with around a 4 K/9 who was entering their walk year.  He should donate a third of his next year’s salary to Dave Duncan’s favorite charity, Feed The Children, Namely Chris and Shelley.  Preseason Unranked, Final Numbers:  15-12/3.49/1.14/105

23. Clayton Kershaw – There’s nothing I love more than a pitcher who might be undervalued because of bad Win Karma.  He only won 8 games, bleh! Bleh, yourself.  Don’t worry about wins.  Almost as exciting as watching people avoid pitchers based on a low win total is watching people draft starters because they won a lot of games.  Pitfall, Harry!  Preseason Rank #47, 2009 Projections:  11-6/4.20/1.40/140, Final Numbers:  8-8/2.79/1.23/185

24. Johan Santana – Some may write it off as just one of those years for the Mets.  Saying they had the inverse Midas touch like anyone from a reality show in anything other than a reality show.  Unfortunately, Johan’s K/9 continued to fall in 2009, his walks rose, his BAA and WHIP went up.  Preseason Rank #1, 2009 Projections:  18-6/2.95/1.12/210, Final Numbers:  13-9/3.13/1.21/146

25. Edwin Jackson – A 2.52 ERA before the All-Star Game vs. a 5.07 ERA after.  February Grey is going to have to put on his aluminum foil hat to figure out if Jackson was simply a fluke in the first half or if he finally reached his potential only to then lose it again.  Preseason Rank #70, 2009 Projections:  11-9/4.50/1.50/120, Final Numbers:  13-9/3.62/1.26/161

26. Yovani Gallardo – Here’s another guy that had some ugly first and 2nd half splits.  On July 30th, Gallardo had an ERA of 3.13.  That was followed by August and September ERAs of 5.24 and 5.51 respectively.  The Brewers tried to limit his innings towards the end of the year, obviously they should’ve shut him down on July 30th.  By the time they did shut him down, I think it might have been just rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.  I’m pretty sure I’m avoiding him next year.  Preseason Rank #33, 2009 Projections:  12-6/3.50/1.25/150, Final Numbers:  13-12/3.73/1.31/204

27. J.A. Happ – Happ confounded me.  Confounded I tell ya!  He really didn’t seem like he should’ve been as good as he was.  Remember, Rudy said he dropped Happ in his NL-Only league?  That wasn’t just Rudy coming off an all night bender or reading misinformed tea leaves.  Happ just doesn’t seem like he should’ve been as good as he was.  Preseason Unranked, Final Numbers:  12-4/2.93/1.23/119

28. Scott Baker – Here’s someone who actually got their shizz together as the season progressed, dropping his ERA by over two full runs in the 2nd half.  He did get hit pretty soundly by righties, which, frankly, is not terrific.  Preseason Rank #52, 2009 Projections:  12-6/3.95/1.22/150, Final Numbers:  15-9/4.37/1.19/162

29. Bronson Arroyo – Talking about someone who got their act together in the 2nd half, Arroyo wasn’t ownable in the 1st half (5.38 ERA).  In the last three years, he now has a pre-All-Star Break ERA of 5.39 and a post-All-Star Break of 3.06.  Guess who’s going to be a buy on July 1st, 2010.  Preseason Rank #63, 2009 Projections:  12-10/4.25/1.40/150, Final Numbers:  15-13/3.84/1.27/127

30. Tommy Hanson – For fear of a roofie, I didn’t own Hanson in any league.  Turned out Hanson was not only ready to make the jump t0 the big leagues, but he was ready to dominate.  He didn’t even tire as the season went on, putting up a great month of September and a solid final start of the season.  For Hanson, it was mmmbop, indeed.  Preseason Unranked, Final Numbers:  11-4/2.89/1.18/116

31. John Danks – At 41, I ranked Danks a lot higher in the preseason than most ‘perts because I saw something in Danks.  What I didn’t see was a pitcher whose homers, walks and luck would go up.  It was a mirage of a season in 2009. Preseason Rank #41, 2009 Projections:  14-10/3.90/1.28/160, Final Numbers:  13-11/3.77/1.28/149

32. Ryan Dempster – I just hate pitchers two years after they go from relieving to starting.  My rationale is they’re rested the year after relieving so they’ll pitch better than expected, while two years after they’ll pitch tired from being stretched out the previous year.  Didn’t seem to bother Dempster, but it still hasn’t swayed me otherwise.  Preseason Rank #45, 2009 Projections:  9-7/4.50/1.35/120, Final Numbers:  11-9/3.65/1.31/172

33. Randy Wells – Unlike what we saw with Hanson, here’s a rookie pitcher that did seem to tire as the season progressed.  Not to the point where he was unusable, but it was still there.  His WHIP (1.65 in September) started to move towards his minor league numbers with his BAA at .311.  Preseason Unranked, Final Numbers:  12-10/3.05/1.28/104

34. Gavin Floyd – Last year, I was wrong about Floyd as I said in the preseason, “Everything from last year points to him having more luck than stuff.  In fact, CHONE’s projections for 2009 has Floyd at a 5.05 ERA.”  And that’s me quoting me quoting CHONE!  Yeah, CHONE wasn’t the only one.  Wasn’t much to get excited about with Floyd.  His 2008 looked like an outlier.  In 2008, his FIP was 4.77 to a 3.84 ERA. Then, this year, his FIP was 3.77 to a 4.06 ERA.  What do you know, Floyd’s playing with us.  Preseason Rank #56, 2009 Projections:  12-11/4.50/1.32/140, Final Numbers:  11-11/4.06/1.23/163

35. Scott Feldman – There wasn’t any point this season when I would’ve picked up Feldman.  His value is coming mostly from great Win Karma.  Commenter, “Grey you said you needed wins in a few of your leagues, so shouldn’t you have picked up Feldman?”  Grey, “Um, yeah, I guess, technically, durrrrrrr.”  Preseason Unranked, Final Numbers:  17-8/4.08/1.28/113

36. Matt Garza – I liked Garza in the preseason but didn’t end up with him on any team, because as is my wont — it’s my wont, ya’ll! — when choosing between two pitchers, I take the NL one first.  So Garza got passed up for the likes of Cain, Josh Johnson and/or The Wandwagon. Preseason Rank #38, 2009 Projections:  14-10/3.50/1.25/140, Final Numbers:  8-12/3.95/1.26/189

37. Chad Billingsley – Bust!  I saw a much better season coming from this schmohawk.  Guess this teaches us a very valuable lesson, don’t ignore Verducci.  I will love Billingsley again next year.  Major bounce back coming.  Preseason Rank #13, 2009 Projections:  16-6/3.35/1.33/200, Final Numbers:  12-11/4.03/1.32/179

38. Jorge de la Rosa – I may not have ranked him the preseason, but, as it turned out, you didn’t want to draft him in March anyway (5.21 ERA pre-All-Star Break).  I did plead with you like a bittie in the BK Lounge to pick him up in the middle of the season when you should’ve picked him up, so we’re good.   Preseason Unranked, Final Numbers:  16-9/4.38/1.38/193

39. Mark Buehrle – Hmm… Even the month he pitched his perfect game, he only had an ERA of 3.92.  Usual shizz with Buehrle, not great, not terrible.  Preseason Rank #82, 2009 Projections:  13-10/4.00/1.35/120, Final Numbers:  13-10/3.84/1.25/105

40. A.J. Burnett – I had serious doubts about Burnett putting together back-to-back seasons of 200 innings since he had never done it before in his career.  Congrats, Burnett, now go tug on your ear.  Preseason Rank #26, 2009 Projections:  13-9/4.15/1.30/140, Final Numbers:  13-9/4.04/1.40/195