The Baseball Season is Over

The baseball season is over.  That also means that the fantasy baseball season is over.  My team finished first in the league.  Hurray.  Enough with the bragging though.  The playoffs start tonight.  I don't know if the wildcard game can be considered the playoffs, but it's baseball and I'm ready to watch the game.  I'm worried about my Yankees.  CC Sabathia is busy not drinking alcohol, so he won't be a factor.  I don't think his absence will be a big loss.  He had a terrible year.  I don't think the Yankees will go far into the playoffs though.  I just have a bad feeling.  The best team in New York might actually be the Mets. 

My World Series Prediction: Blue Jays over the Cardinals in 6 games (Sorry Yankees)

It's Official

It’s official.  The 2014 regular season is over.  The big story is the end of Derek Jeter’s career.  It’s a bittersweet moment for us Yankee fans.  I can’t remember watching too many Yankee games before Jeter was the shortstop.  Also retiring at the end of the season were Paul Konerko and Bobby Abreu.  It’s a shame that Konerko and Abreu didn’t receive more attention.  They were certainly deserving of it.  All three left the game with class and dignity, just as they played it. 

Also with the end of the regular season, comes the end of the fantasy baseball season.  About a month ago, I posted (bragged) about my sizable lead over the second place team in the league.  Shortly thereafter, I lost that lead and held second place for about two weeks.  During that time, I constantly searched the available free agents in search of an edge.  Fortunately, I reclaimed the lead and won the league.  There are no prizes – just the right to brag on this blog.  But, there is a lesson to be learned here.  Don’t count all of your chickens until Trevor Plouffe is your third baseman. 

Fantasy League Update

I’m not one to brag, but September is upon us and I am on top of my fantasy league.  I seem to have cornered the market on every stat except for home runs.  However, I have even made some progress in that category with free agent pickups like Chris Carter, Lucas Duda, and Mike Napoli.  I currently have 56 more saves than the team second in that category.  I tend to stock up on closers assuming that a few will be busts.  The only bust was Ernesto Frieri.  And boy, was he a bust.  How did the Angels get Jason Grilli for this guy?  I have had a few injuries lately.  Joe Mauer was hurt for a while.  Miguel Montero became the starter, while I picked up Kurt Suzuki as for backup.  Yes, Mauer is still eligible at catcher.  Paul Goldschmidt has been shelved for a while.  But my power trio of Carter, Duda, and Napoli have been good replacements.  I recently dumped Anibal Sanchez who has been on the DL.  My thinking is that if he comes back, it will only be for 3 or 4 starts anyway.  I acquired Chris Archer to replace him.  Archer has had a heck of a season.  He is a relatively unknown young player who should be around for many years to come.  In sum, it’s looking good.  But like I said, I’m not one to brag.

This Just In...

Big news in the world of fantasy baseball.  My team has moved from last to second to last.  I have been rather busy on the waiver wire.  This year's pickups include Jhonny Peralta, Michael Young, Justin Morneau, Tim Hudson, David Hernandez, and Jared Burton.  I will have Jered Weaver and Zack Greinke back in the lineup soon. I really need the help.  My pitching has been awful outside of Madison Bumgarner. 

Pitching Woes

Jered Weaver.  Chad Billingsley.  Zack Greinke.  Joel Hanrahan.  What do these people all have in common?  They are all Major League pitchers.  They are all on the disabled list.  They are all on my fantasy team which now finds itself in last place.  My starting pitchers now consist of Madison Bumgardner, Phil Hughes, Tim Hudson, and Matt Cain.  Free agency can only help me so much.  And don’t even get me started on my relievers.  John Axford is awful.  Carlos Marmol is awful.  Steve Cishek might get some saves if the Marlins ever win.  That leaves Huston Street as my only reliable closer.  It can’t get any worse, right?

Fantasy Baseball Woes

You can tell that a fantasy team is in trouble when the owner is concerned about his backup outfielder.  My backup outfielder is Michael Brantley of the Indians.  It turns out Brantley is the latest victim of injuries on my team.  This year’s victims include Alex Rodriguez, Mariano Rivera, Drew Stubbs, Ryan Howard, and Brett Gardner.  This year’s disappointments include Roy Halladay, Albert Pujols, Frank Francisco, and Ervin Santana.  I actually traded Pujols for Clayton Kershaw.  That has worked out well.  My biggest positive surprise has been Edwin Encarnacion’s power surge.  I am currently 7th in the standings.  I have a shot at 3rd place, but it is a long shot.  There is always next year. 

Fantasy Baseball Draft!!!

Spring is here which means that baseball season fast approaches. And with the beginning of baseball season comes fantasy baseball. I drafted my team over the weekend using an auction-style draft. This was my first auction-style draft. It’s much like eBay. 20% of my money went towards drafting Pujols. Now I know how the Angels feel. I feel pretty good about my team. Look at this roster:

Joe Mauer

Albert Pujols

Dustin Ackley

Alex Rodriguez

Derek Jeter

Drew Stubbs

Brett Gardner

Ichiro Suzuki

Ryan Howard

Jesus Montero

Edwin Encarnacion

Jose Tabata

Ian Desmond

Roy Halladay

CC Sabathia

Shaun Marcum

Anibal Sanchez

Ervin Santana

Mariano Rivera

JJ Putz

Frank Francisco

Brandon League

Chris Perez

I overpaid for Halladay, but otherwise there are no regrets. Fingers crossed for no injuries.

My Fantasy Baseball Draft

I participated in my fantasy draft this past Saturday night. I think I did OK. I had a plan and I stuck to it for the most part. My draft results are below. My first pick was Prince Fielder. I narrowed it down to either Fielder or Teixiera and I chose Fielder. He should give me plenty of runs, home runs, and RBI. (Please don’t get hurt Prince) I took a risk by taking the oft-injured Josh Hamilton and Francisco Liriano but I like the upside. I took some prospects in the later rounds. I think Matt LaPorta is the most intriguing of the bunch. Overall, I covered all statistics fairly well. I will be in good shape until my first DL trip comes around – probably in a couple of weeks.

1.
(8)
Prince Fielder
2.
(17)
Troy Tulowitzki
3.
(32)
Ryan Zimmerman
4.
(41)
Justin Verlander
5.
(56)
Mariano Rivera
6.
(65)
Yovani Gallardo
7.
(80)
Bobby Abreu
8.
(89)
Josh Hamilton
9.
(104)
Joakim Soria
10.
(113)
John Danks
11.
(128)
Matt Garza
12.
(137)
Jorge Posada
13.
(152)
Howie Kendrick
14.
(161)
Geovany Soto
15.
(176)
Julio Borbón
16.
(185)
Frank Francisco
17.
(200)
Nyjer Morgan
18.
(209)
Francisco Liriano
19.
(224)
Matt Lindstrom
20.
(233)
Clint Barmes
21.
(248)
Matt Capps
22.
(257)
Matt LaPorta
23.
(272)
Clayton Richard

Fantasy Baseball Begins

It's that time of year again. No, it's not the start of baseball season. It's the start of fantasy baseball season. I nearly won the league last year but a disappointing final week led to a second place finish. My draft starts in about a half hour. I've done a lot of pre-ranking of players. I have a habit of drawing bad drafting positions. I'm assuming I will draft last again. My strategy is a little bit different than the conventional wisdom. I will take the best position player available in the first and second round. Then, I will try to take an elite pitcher in the third or fourth. I will also look for an elite closer in the fourth or fifth. After that, pitching is not a priority until the later rounds unless I see a bargain. I also don't look for outfielders until later on in the draft. I place a special emphasis on steals and saves. These categories can be tough to fill through free agency. If I can pick up a solid player who is eligible at multiple positions, this is a plus. Mark DeRosa has been a great example of this in past years. I also like to avoid pitchers with WHIPs over 1.35. I don't really focus on wins - they will come to me as long as I have pitchers from different teams. Free agency can alway help with runs or RBI. Anyway, I'm off to get ready for the draft. Good luck to those of you who will be in a fantasy league this year.

Fantasy Baseball Ends

Well, fantasy baseball is over for this year. I came in second after winning the league last year. I only lost by a point and a half. The sad thing is that I led the league yesterday by half a point. And my team was loaded too - Howard, Utley, Youkilis, Victor Martinez, Torii Hunter. My pitching staff featured Halladay, Carpenter, Jurrjens, and Cliff Lee. What went wrong? Also, what will I do with my time now that I don't have fantasy baseball for 6 months? At least I have playoff baseball to watch for a while. I'm already sick of Joe Buck and Tim McCarver and the playoffs haven't even started.