Mr. Rice texted me late Saturday Night. "Is it always this fun? I was having fun when I sucked. This is stupid." Diddo Mr. Rice. Welcome to my passion that is fantasy baseball. While the 2013 season certainly hasn't been a magical one personally the day to day grind is still just as enjoyable. Believe it or not but with the action concluded within this past week the season is already a quarter complete. While in real life baseball that doesn't really mean much in Fantasy I feel it's very telling. Personally I don't feel as though your team is defined by this point however I do feel your areas for improvement are. Let's take pitching for example. If you struggle in the pitching dept. chances are the majority of your players are having poor/disappointing seasons. While it is very likely that some of your pitchers will improve moving forward is it safe to say all will. It's sad to say as a fantasy owner but the term "down year" is used often. Let's assume all these pitchers do improve. How about Patrick Corbin who you nabbed off the wire who's performing like a Cy Young for you. He's really helped offset some of those poor performances. Without any proven track record is he a lock to continue his dominance? Hitting works the same way. While the season is still young the time for using that as a reason for staying on point is coming to an end. The time has come to take a good hard look at your team and make those assesments on what you need to improve and how bad you need it. Then simply send your trade request my way, I'm always willing to tinker.
Keeper Production
While I would love to sit down and punch the numbers as to who is getting what production from their Keepers in todays excercise I'll simply use their current Yahoo ranking.
BCFP- Pedroia 28, Sandoval 43, Bautista 95, Hamilton 365, Wainwright 17
Blasters- Trout 7, Jones 12, Kimbrel 62, Scherzer 34, Holliday 72
9irons- Posey 111, Kinsler 74, Sale 29, Moore 31, Shields 50
Maniacs- J. Upton 14, Beltran 68, Phillips 49
Takeover- Votto 27, Longoria 16, Heyward 921, Soriano 218, Cueto 240
Free Hat- Cabrera 1, Desmond 159, Beltre 59, Harper 55, Rizzo 48
Scrote Mashers- Encarnacion 39, Tulo 23, A. Cabrera 284(my bad), Bourn 336 (my Bad), Ortiz 80
Emanski- Kemp 225, Reyes 724, Cespedes 175, King Felix 19, Price 935
HGH+- Goldschmidt 4, Wright 26, Kershaw 2, Lester 70
Stars- Fielder 57, Cano 22, Strasburg 104, Aramis 706
Walls- Craig 107, Castro 188, CarGo 5, Stanton 832, Zimmerman 223
BC PED- Bruce 83, McCuth 35, Braun 37, Hanley 952, Chapman 86
* Only included keepers still on roster with original owner. (Maniacs- Rollins, Granderson...Stars- Hamels.....HGH+ Verlander). Worst Non-Injury related keeper Josh Hamilton(I would argue David Price but recent DL stint saved him) I thought I could find some correlation with standings and keepers but not really. Yes Todd has 4 of 5 within top 60 but Lemaster had 5 of 5 within top 72. If you would have asked me best keeper group coming into the year Bopp would have been 1st followed by Todd then Landon. Bopp 0 players in top 30, Landon only 1 within top 100 and 2 withing top 175. To me the Free Hat's take the crown here.
Weekly Wrapup
BCFP 10 vs. Emanski 2. Not gonna lie. This sluggish start has been hard on the Commish. Not 2-23 Swing and Swim tough, but difficult none the less. With each passing week those painful weeks become smaller and smaller in the rearview mirror of my life. In case those detractors have missed it that is the BCFP that appears on that coveted line 6 in the standings. No big deal, 16-7 last two week and winners of 3 of 4. For Emanski that second win has proved to be elusive. Overall production of the Deathsquad has been good. Pitching statistically has been the leagues best and offense no worse than league average yet a 10-1 win over HGH+ in week 4 is all Emanski has to show for it. One would think his fortunes would be due to turn. Now that I'm out of the picture for 11 Weeks let the run begin.
Tops- BCFP Runs 55, BCFP SV 9
Bottoms- NA
MVP- T. Wood 2/1.93/5/.86/3.21
Free Hat 9 vs. 9irons 3. If it seems as though the Free Hats never lose, it's because they don't. One lone tie two weeks ago is the only minor blemish on a otherwise perfect start. A darling in the Power Rankings and top dawg in the standings it has been a charming run for Mr. Whitley within the 64/60 since the start of Football season last year. While his team isn't without faults his "good" is just better than everyone else's and the number of quality options make him much less suseptable to "off" weeks than any other. For the 9irons it was a quick departure from the #2 spot in the standings as McClung Jr reclaimed the seat before GRC3 could even get the seat warm. The loss was the first for the 9irons on the season.
Tops- Free Hat K 77, 9irons K/9 9.34, Free Hat QS 12
Bottoms- 9irons HR 6, Free Hat SB 1, Free Hat SV 0
MVP- Cabrera .429/4/7/7/0/1.448
Stars 8 vs. BC PEDophiles 4. If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times, everyone has a little extra jump in their step following a Bopp loss. B'Ville walk proud this week. I spoke to Bopp early this week kids and I'm pleased to report there are concerns coming out of Lee Camp. Sure the PED's are sitting in 5th place but have you seen his numbers throughout the season. The Power Rankings aren't to fond of the PED's and neither is there owner. I've known this man for many of years and I have never known him to show doubt with any fantasy team regardless of how dark the road appears to be. Yesterday he spoke of this squad in an unmistakeable done of disappointment, as if the calender had flipped to August and the PED's were 25 games from the playoffs. Perhaps a glimpse into the future the Bopp sees. The Senior McClung should find himself in similar territory in terms as the results haven't warranted the sum of it's parts. However the Stars should see brighter days ahead. The offense is among the leagues best while the pitching should be not much worse than league average. It hasn't played out that way yet for the 8th place Stars but perhaps this was the start of a good run of luck.
Tops- Stars SB 12, PED ERA 2.29
Bottoms- PED Runs 33, PED RBI 35, PED AVG .231, PED OPS .659
MVP- Moreland .305/4/5/10/0/1.191
Takeover 7 vs. Maniacs 3. Wow. Talk about upsets. The Takeover has struggled all season. Injuries, lack of day to day detail, terrible pitching, well below average hitting. If there was a seven deadly sins of fantasy,the Takeover would have violated each and every one at some point this season. On the other side the Maniacs have been the darlings of the 64/60 Standings for the majority of the season. They have featured several excellent performances seemingly from out of nowhere along the way. I questioned the staying power of the Maniacs several weeks ago. While the Maniacs may still cling to the two spot in the standings losses such as this affirm my concern. Offensively tough to fault either team and with both deserving of better than 3-3 results. The pitching is where the problem was for both teams as 4.85 ERA and 1.38 WHIP were both good enough to win. I'm sure Junior is taking this loss rough. This certainly could be one of those circle games you could look back on come September as your fighting for your playoff lives. For the Takeover it is the first victory in their brief stint within the 64/60. I hope it serves as a building block for Holland and Co. moving forward.
Tops- Takeover AVG .318
Bottoms- Takeover K 35, Maniac WHIP 1.47, Takeover/Maniac QS 3
MVP- Joey Votto .583/2/7/5/0/1.572
Mashers 7 vs. Blasters 4. For the most part I don't care about the success or failures of other teams within the 64/60. I root for participation, a level playing field, and parity. This season it has become apparent to me that I root for both these owners to be competitive in this league. Jesse is willing to stir the drink early and often and Butch's passion win winning cannot be matched. While Jesse is holding up his end of the bargain, Lemaster has not. While some people perform best with their backs against the wall, that isn't how Butch rolls. Once he's down and bleeding Butch is shutting it down mentally and emotionally. Take this matchup for example. In years past this was a Purlitzer Prize worthy writing on Smacktalk, one passioned filled tirade of poetic mockery after another. This time not one blurb. I know Jesse wanted to. I would imagine Jesse typed up something on multiple occasion but the internal proof read wisely decided to delete before posting. Not because Jesse changed his style but because he knows Ev's demeanor during these times. I hope Ev's fortunes change soon. I hope the self vaunted pitching staff begins to perform as Butch has envisioned. I hope the W's come Butch's way so that the 64/60 can once again have it's Sultan of Smacktalk back in the fold.
Tops- NA
Bottoms- Mashers HR 6, Blasters ERA 5.42
MVP- Oritz .458/3/5/12/0/1.149
HGH+ 6 vs. Walls 4. What a week withe the sticks for the critically acclaimed (Power Rankings) HGH+. Perhaps the best across the board production in the league. While the results haven't been there for the HGH+ one would have to believe the turning point will happen at some point. While the overall roster has several replacement level types we all know success in many ways if fueled by the how good is your good. Goldschmidt is becoming fantasy royalty, Kershaw is already there, and Wright could provide the HGH+ with 3 players in the Top 25 come seasons end. Add the talent with the obvious pulse on the day to day operations and we could have ourselves a playoff contender. The loss drops Bowe out of what seems to be his personalized seat in the 6th spot. There have been several suprises during this 2013 season but perhaps the offensive struggles of the Walls could be at the top of the list. I would venture to say that out of his drafted players only CarGo has held value. While Stanton, Davis, Martinez, and Quentin have struggled mightily.
Tops- HGH+ HR 20, HGH+ RBI 60, HGH+ OPS .913, Walls WHIP .93
Bottoms- HGH+ K/9 6.01, Walls QS 3
MVP- LaRoche .308/4/4/10/0/1.149
Power Rankings
1. Free Hat 60 47.5 107.5
2. HGH+ Factory 55.5 40 95.5
3. Emanski 40 53.5 93.5
4. Maniac 41 44 85
5. Stars 47 36.5 83.5
6. Mashers 50.5 28.5 79
7. 9irons 35 41 76
8. PEDophiles 26.5 41.5 68
9. Walls 20 47 67
10. BCFP 19 46 65
11. Blasters 32.5 27 59.5
12. Takeover 41 15.5 56.5
Best Of The Best
Runs- Free Hat, HR- Free Hat, RBI- Free Hat, SB- HGH+, AVG- Takeover, OPS- Free Hat, SV- BCFP, K- Free Hat, ERA- Emanski, WHIP- Emanski, K/9- Walls, QS- Free Hat
Worst Of The Worst
Runs- Walls, HR- Takeover, RBI- Takeover, SB- Free Hat, AVG- PED, OPS- PED, SV- Free Hat, K- Takeover, ERA- Blasters, WHIP- Blasters, K/9- HGH+, QS- PED
Head Scratcher Of The Week
BC PEDophiles drop Adam Dunn. I've always been a Dunn supporter. In fact if you search the memory bank of this very website you will find my critically ignored "The Enigma Adam Dunn". His skill set isn't vast. Plus pop, moderate Run and RBI totals, good OPS. While the projectable numbers have been lowered over the last 4 years or so outside of 2011 you could take it to First Bank of Fantasy Trust. Simply put Dunn has a home in 10 Team Mixed Leagues and should be 100% owned in 12 teamers. While Dunn may not be a good fit for a strong offensive unit like the Free Hats, as his AVG risk could be detrimental, a AVG challenged team such as the PED's should just say the hell with it and take the power totals.
Pickup Of The Week
BCFP add Adam Dunn. For every reason I mentioned above. BJ Upton is delighted to welcome Adam Dunn to the list of sub .200 regulars in the BCFP's everyday lineup.
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