Fantasy Baseball – I Love (Loathe?) This Game

By: Chad Ruter

TOUTS UPDATE

Before I get to the main portion of this column, I want to update our readers on a few things. First of all, thank you for reading, and sticking with us through the times we’ve been unable to write. Now that the semester is wrapping up for J, and I’m working from a new computer, it is light-years easier to get posts up on a semi-daily basis.

After a week of discussions, we are now having our blog linked through the site – sportsblognet.com, and are working with one of the creators of that site. It’s nothing to write home about, but the more links into our site, the better. We encourage all of our readers to check out the list of blogs that are linked through that site.

One final piece of news before I move on. With this new computer, Justin and I are looking into ways to do a podcast. With me trekking home this upcoming weekend (after watching a Saturday afternoon Cubs game from the rooftops!!!), we’ll have the opportunity to figure out the logistics, and figure out the hardware we’re going to need. I can’t give a specific timetable on when we’ll be able to podcast, but we’ll keep you updated.

CUBS UPDATE

OK, so I lied earlier, I have one other topic before I hit stride on my main point. It sickens me that Alfonso Soriano (a.k.a. Oh-and-One) remains the leadoff hitter in the Cubs lineup. The guy has no feel of the strike zone, swings at the first pitch in virtually every at-bat, and absolutely refuses to hit the ball to the opposite field. He is single-handedly killing this offense with just how bad he has been. I’m not even going to discuss the On Base Percentage (OBP) argument because it’s obvious he has never, and will never, bring that trait to the table. The Cubs are just 9-9 this season with Soriano in the lineup, and 1-4 since he returned from the disabled list on May 1. The ability to steal bases is one argument that Lou Piniella frequents as a reason to keep Sori in the leadoff spot, but he can’t even do that at this stage because of the buildup of leg injuries he’s suffered. And it’s not like he’s played great defensively to make up for his downright ugly plate appearances. He’s cost the Cubs two games with his misplays out in LF. I know you can’t pull an $18 million guy out of the lineup – but please move him down to the 6 spot, have Theriot leadoff, and move DeRosa or Soto into the 2 spot. The least you can do is limit the amount of at-bats that Soriano gets, until of course he gets out of this slump. Take some of the pressure. I’m sick of Piniella going back to the excuse, “Soriano’s a leadoff hitter, and that’s where he is the most comfortable.” I could give crap where Soriano feels the most comfortable. If he’s hurting the team in some way, it’s the managers job to limit the amount he hurts them. In Soriano’s case, you have to dump him down in the order until he gets his swing straightened out.

{Soriano has seen that little white ball blow past him on more than a few occasions in 2008}

FANTASY BASEBALL

I read Justin’s column last night, and while some people might have felt sympathetic, I couldn’t stop laughing. Here is an excerpt from J’s post last night:

“This wasn’t really an adjustment as it was a Godsend. Both Scott Kazmir and Rich Harden are both coming of the DL and they couldn’t be back at a more needed time. Now my starting rotation of pitchers consist of: Kazmir, Chris Young, A.J. Burnett, Rich Harden, Oliver Perez, Jonathon Sanchez, Gavin Floyd and eventually, Wandy Rodriguez. Even after the eventual cuts of Floyd and Perez that is a pretty damn good rotation.”

(Would you rely on this guy to bring you back from the brink of fantasy suicide? Me neither…I’d go right for the bottle of Zoloft)

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Did I read that correctly? Were Scott Kazmir and Rich Harden coming off the DL put in the same paragraph as Godsend? Kazmir can be an ace when he’s healthy, which is about 80% of the time. But when was the last time that Rich Harden made 6 consecutive starts? The answer: July 24-August 19 of the year….2005! What good is an injured pitcher in a head-to-head league? He doesn’t pitch on a consistent enough basis for you to provide much long-term value. Let’s talk about the other pitcher’s he’s got on his team.

Chris Young: One of the three players I traded (along with Kevin Youkilis and Hideki Matsui) to get NL Second Half MVP Candidates Matt Holliday and Mark Teixeira. He’s pulled in a 3.63 ERA with 33 strikeouts through the first month of the season. Very respectable numbers, but he imploded during the second half of 2007, and with a lack of hitters in San Diego, he won’t win a ton of games.

AJ Burnett: Prior to his latest start where he threw seven and two-thirds shutout innings with five K’s vs. the Red Sox, Burnett had racked up a pretty looking 6.07 ERA with a WHIP above 1.65. And with the Toronto offense seriously struggling to score runs, Burnett’s value is very low. He is also being considered one of the worst signings in Blue Jays history…although that doesn’t have any bearing in fantasy baseball.

Oliver Perez: So much for faith in him. J already dropped him by the time of this writing…

Jonathan Sanchez: A 3.48 ERA to go along with 40 K’s, but yet again, another pitcher of Justin’s that finds himself on a team with little to no offense. Despite a pitcher being very good…a lack of offense can force a guy to try to throw perfectly, which can lead to opposite results.

Gavin Floyd: 3.16 ERA with a low WHIP, but only 15 K’s, Floyd goes right along with the team concept of their offenses doing little to support their quality pitching. Can this guy really last?

Wandy Rodriguez: Pitched very well in four starts before going on the DL, but he’s a lefty pitcher that plays in a ballpark with a short left field porch, and he pitches in a division with a ton of righthanders that hit for power. He can strikeout a lot of guys, but that win total won’t be terribly high.

Combine this staff with an offense that is sputtering, and we have hit a point where an intervention has to take place. Don’t worry readers…leave this process to a professional, a.k.a – me. I’ll let Justin know that he has seriously re-tool his team, and that step one in that process is to trade Prince Fielder to me!