Age ain’t nothin but a number, baby. And speaking of numbers, what’s yours? Oh you’re here with friends and you’re just at the bar getting their drinks? But you only have one…hello, where are you going? I knew I should’ve shaved my ear hair before going out tonight…and scene. I give you this painful glimpse into an aging man’s world so that you might better understand this week’s Creeper Of The Week. Getting old sucks. Getting wasted and passing out is no longer considered cool, it usually gets you fired. Your smoking hot girlfriend who used to go out and party with you is now your wife and wishes you’d grow up. Muscles you didn’t even know you used or had begin to ache even with the slightest change to your exercise routine. You stretch and you warm up, ready to take these fools on the court out. You think you look like Black Mamba out there but in reality, you just look like Will Ferrell from Semi-Pro minus that sweet frickin’ afro. Like I said, reality hits you hard bro and that definitely happened to Eric Chavez and his HOF career gone wrong. This man has pretty much lived on the DL since about 2006 and at age 35 there’s no reason to think that’ll stop. So with all that, why should you be interested in Eric for week 8 of the 2013 fantasy baseball season? Follow me to the second paragraph to find out and make sure to bring a walking cane…
Chavez used to be a premier power hitter at a position that was thin on talent for a while in 3B. From 2001 to 2005, Eric smacked 151 HRs all while playing half his games in Oakland Coliseum, a yard not known for letting power hitters thrive. And then the dings began. His 2006 season was 137 games. His 2007 one 90. Well, you get the trend and it didn’t really ever stop. This all to say, these are the reasons why no one seems to own Eric Chavez right now – 7% in both ESPN and Yahoo leagues – despite how well he’s playing. How well, you ask? Heading into Saturday, guess who leads the league in hits over the last 7 days? Go on, I’ll wait…still waiting…c’mon, really? I kinda set this up for you pretty well, just take a guess! Of course it’s Eric. He’s 20/34 during that span with 2 homers and 10 RBIs. But he’s so old! Yeah, I know, and I can’t promise you can count on him playing every game this week but given how he’s swinging the bat, it might be hard for the coaches to take him out, especially given his slate. The Diamondbacks travel to Colorado. You might be familiar with the Rockies scoring habits but just to remind you, Matt Cain and Madison Bumgarner went to Colorado on Thursday and Friday night and the Rockies scored 6 and 10 runs, respectively, and where the teams have combined for 33 runs total in that span. I point that out because no pitch or pitcher is safe in that thin air so Chavez giving you a HR or two and a few doubles wouldn’t surprise me. He follows that up with heading back home to face the Padres, a team with the 6th worst away ERA in baseball right now. And speaking of home, Chavez thrives in AZ where he has a 1.054 OPS as of Saturday morning thru 42 at-bats. Though I can’t promise he’ll get to face the two scheduled lefties – he only has 10 AB against them so far this season – I’d have to think with how hot his bat is, he’ll get a shot at at least one of them. So all this to say, the next time that old guy tries to buy you a drink, 4 lady Razzball readers, give him a shot. He just might not be the Creeper he looks like but a Creeper you’d enjoy riding all of next week…wait, what? Skycrest out!
