I’m sitting at the top of the standings with a comfortable lead in my auction league, and also in several other casual leagues, but this year I was admitted into a very competitive league, which requires strict tending to just to even wind up in the middle of the pack. The kind of league where if a news flash pops up on our site, someone is picking up Jay Bruce less than an hour after the press release of promotion, or Brandon Morrow during the game which J.J. Putz gets injured. It’s cutthroat. After sitting at the top of the league in April, I tumbled all the way down nearly to the bottom, mostly due to lackadaisically setting my lineup and failing to be on top of pickups. So I’ve stepped my game up over the last few weeks, been on top of promotions (Chase Headley, for one), and climbed some points.
The lesson to be learned is no matter how far down the standings you might be, even in July, make the best moves and stay on top of things. In that same auction league, I ran the team with a friend a few years ago, and in June or July we were floating near the bottom of the ranks, and we probably would have stayed there if I were willing to cut our losses. The team got red hot, we made a trade or two and several solid additions, and the team ended up in third. You may just have a team full of first-half underperformers, but if you’re really a competitive player, like I know I am, stick it out and chances are it’ll pay off, figuratively and literally.
Last Friday, I talked about my confidence in Joba Chamberlain possibly racking up that first win on what should have been a lucky Friday the 13th. That didn’t happen, and it unluckily came one out short of happening again yesterday. Chamberlain was lighting up the gun and getting guys out missing on his nasty slider, allowing only one run in 5 2/3 innings, and fanning nine batters. With the Yankees lineup starting to surge, the wins are going to come fast and furious eventually, and Chamberlain has the potential to be a No. 2/3 pitcher with these kinds of performances.
While Chipper Jones continues to float around the .400 mark, Joe Mauer owners have to be happy that they’re finally getting something from a catcher they likely invested good money or a high draft pick into. Mauer has hit his only two home runs of the season this month finally, and is batting over the .400 mark as well. Not only that, but the good hitting is contagious; the three batters following him in the lineup, Justin Morneau, Michael Cuddyer, and Jason Kubel are all also over .300 in June. Cuddyer has returned from his early-season injury without the power owners expected, but increased production is a good sign. It’s also about time that Kubel is getting another shot at full-time play after platooning for some time. Kubel’s average is back above .260, and might still have a shot at knocking 25 or 30 balls out of the park if the Twins confidence in the slugger doesn’t falter again. Either way, I doubt Craig Monroe is the answer on off days.
The White Sox continue to be an interesting team to follow this year from a fantasy standpoint, currently projecting to boast some of the biggest breakouts and busts of 2008. Gavin Floyd continues to look like the real deal, and probably a better bet than sinker pitcher John Danks, either plagued or saved by a two-out error in Thursday afternoon’s game that yielded six unearned runs. Yet the Sox plugged away and posted 13 runs thanks to an offense that seems to finally be picking up. Alexei Ramirez continues to be more than a spark plug, and Joe Crede has proved that his hot start wasn’t a fluke, depriving Josh Fields essentially of having any chance to make an impact similar to last year. Crede is on pace for a .280-75-35-100 season, a Comeback Player of the Year pace after injury derailed his 2007 campaign.
Still troubling are the numbers from several other White Sox, but I would buy low on Nick Swisher. After sporting an average around the Mendoza line for the first two months, Swisher has hit .327 with 4 HR and 13 RBIs since. More encouraging, his struggles to begin the season seem to be the result of balls not finding their way into open space. The numbers traditionally say that the typical BABIP of a player usually hovers around .300, and Swisher’s BABIP in April was a below-average .261, followed by an abnormally low .227 in May. Swisher’s numbers may fall below his projections, but he’s not going to be this bad either.
Nothing has been said yet, but by the time this column is up to read, I’m expecting Rangers manager Ron Washington to comment on C.J. Wilson and his job security, or lack thereof. Wilson has allowed five earned runs now in his four outings this week, including a loss and a blown save yesterday. After retiring only one hitter against Atlanta, Wilson’s ERA has ballooned to 5.04. Washington threatened to yank Wilson from his closing duties several weeks ago before he settled down, but I expect changes to come, especially considering Texas is actually in competing distance sitting at .500. Wilson owners and anyone in need of saves would be wise to grab a hold of Eddie Guardado, as he looks to be next in line since Joaquin Benoit has struggled up to this point.
On a closing note, I’d like to give a thumb up to ESPN, and two thumbs down to Yahoo in the way they run their fantasy baseball. ESPN took a lot of flack at the beginning of last year for trouble with their service. But when I get online around 2 am Thursday morning to try and pick up a spot starter for the day and can’t insert him into my lineup in Yahoo leagues until Friday, something’s wrong there. ESPN leagues allow adds, drops and DL moves much later into the day. We all love fantasy sports, but both casual owners and diehard players alike have other things going on in their lives, and more flexibility is always a good thing.
Have a fun, safe weekend.
