It was the best of teams – it was the worst of teams. Yes, I’m breaking out some Dickensian prose to paint my NL-only and AL-only teams as May comes to a close.
Let’s start with the worst team as that’s always more interesting – my AL-only team in a FantasyPros911-sponsored league. While my pre-season stats had me projected in 2nd place, I was never confident in this team. After a week of box scores where my whole lineup besides my two catchers (Mauer, K. Suzuki) were hitting 7th/8th/9th in their respective lineups, I realized my R/RBI weren’t going to be good as projected.
If it was just that, I should’ve at least managed to be middle of the pack. But this team had a secret suckiness weapon and that was the power of injury. Here are the guys I’ve drafted who’ve gone on the DL post-draft:
Curtis Granderson ($26), Cliff Lee ($22), Kurt Suzuki ($14), Kerry Wood ($13), Travis Snider ($12), Nick Johnson ($12), JJ Hardy ($11), Jack Wilson ($3), Matt Harrison (FA)
That’s a total of $113 out of $260 budget that spent at least 2 weeks on the DL in the first two months of the year. If you count Joe Mauer’s week off for a bruised heel ($33), over half my budget has gone to fragility. There are obviously a few injury-prone guys but it’s still a kick to the nuts when 3 of your top 5 guys (Granderson, Lee, Kurt Suzuki) miss significant time.
In addition, I managed to draft two DFA’s (Pat Burrell and Eric Byrnes) and miss every single fluke – e.g., Ty Wigginton, Andruw Jones, Jose Guillen, Paul Konerko.
Suffice to say, this team has been awful. I’m in last place with 33 points and the best case appears to be a rung or two above last place. It’s fitting I drafted David Murphy on this team since his law is treating my team like a male Doberman treats a female poodle.
Now to the positive team – my NL-only team as part of a KFFL-sponsored league. I’m currently in a 4-way battle at the top of the standings. I cobbled together a top offense despite using 2 of my top 5 draft picks on pitching (it was a snake draft vs. auction). I punted catcher until the 20th round and fell into Rod Barajas. Dan Uggla has been on fire. Jose Reyes has at least been healthy. Jonny Gomes has more than made up for my drafting of Elijah Dukes. And guys like Adam LaRoche, Jayson Werth, Placido Polanco, and Garrett Jones have all provided solid contributions. Even better, no injuries except Eric Young Jr.
My Lincecum/Hamels-led staff had an awful April as my 2nd-tier starters of Kyle Lohse, Homer Bailey, Charlie Morton, and Clayton Richard couldn’t buy a win and – the first three especially – put up some awful starts. My Wins, ERA, and WHIP have all bounced back in May as I dropped Lohse, shelved Morton, and got some solid starts out of Bailey (before he got injured), Richard, and a FA bargain in John Ely.
Assuming I don’t get barraged with injuries, I’m feeling really good about this NL-only team.
That’s it for now…will provide another update at the All-Star Break…
