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Point Awards

This is my last Points article for the year and, as all good end of year columns, I must look at who maximum achieved, overachieved and underachieved for the year. I picked 9/18/2007, in part because it is my son’s birthday and in part because I had to pick a date if I wanted to submit this article during the season. As I look at who deserved to be on my lists, there are some expected results but many more surprises. I hope these articles have brought you some insight into how to build a Points-based team and who have been good acquisitions.

Top Players

(Average, Runs, Home Runs, RBI, Stolen Bases, and Slugging as of 9/18/07)

Catcher: Jorge Posada, New York Yankees(.337, 85, 20, 85, 2, .552)

First Base: Prince Fielder, Milwaukee Brewers (.291, 100, 46, 110, 0, .617)

Second Base: Brandon Phillips, Cincinnati Reds (.293, 103, 29, 90, 31, .498)

Shortstop: Hanley Ramirez, Florida Marlins (.333, 115, 28, 74, 50, .569)

Third Base: Alex Rodriguez, New York Yankees (.312, 134, 52, 142, 24, .650)

Outfielders:
Magglio Ordonez, Detroit Tigers (.357, 111, 27, 132, 4, .589)
Matt Holliday, Colorado Rockies (.334, 107, 32, 122, 11, .594)
Ichiro Suzuki, Seattle Mariners (.352, 105, 6, 62, 37, .434)

(Wins, Strikeouts, Saves, ERA, Walks and Hits per Innings Pitched as of 9/18/07)

Starting Pitchers:
Jake Peavy, San Diego Padres (18, 0, 225, 2.39, 1.04)
Brandon Webb, Arizona Diamondbacks (16, 0, 186, 3.02, 1.17)
Johan Santana, Minnesota Twins (15, 0, 220, 3.14, 1.05)
Erik Bedard, Baltimore Orioles (13, 0, 221, 3.16, 1.08)
Josh Beckett, Boston Red Sox (19, 0, 180, 3.19, 1.12)

Relief Pitchers:
Trevor Hoffman, San Diego Padres (4, 38, 37, 2.59, 1.01)
Bobby Jenks, Chicago White Sox (3, 38, 56, 2.90, 0.90)
J.J. Putz, Seattle Mariners (4, 38, 72, 1.36, 0.66)

Some picks felt obvious, such as Alex Rodriguez, his teammate Jorge Posada, and Magglio Ordonez. Their numbers were head and shoulders above everyone else. Prince Fielder is this year’s Ryan Howard but much more likely to maintain this level. For those expecting to see second baseman Chase Utley up here, Brandon Phillips jumped to the front because of consistency and because of Utley’s visit to the Disabled List. I also thought Phillips would be the unsung hero of Points leagues. There is not a weak category, nor any area where negative points could grow. In a tight battle, I gave Hanley Ramirez the edge over Jose Reyes and Jimmy Rollins at shortstop, although both would be worthy choices. Ordonez and Matt Holliday have very similar dominant numbers. Although Ichiro Suzuki only hit six Home Runs, his 220 hits led the majors. This group of hitters not only would win 2007, I would match them up with any team for 2008.

Pitchers are usually more confusing but this group could only be toppled by injury or illness. Jake Peavy was heads and shoulders above any other starting pitcher. Johan Santana was less than his usual self but still far better than most. Josh Beckett bounced back from a sub par first year with the Red Sox and is clearly their top pitcher. All the starters have high strikeout totals and low WHIP. The closers all maintain low WHIP and good strikeout to inning ratio.

Surprise Upturn

Catcher: Russell Martin, Los Angeles Dodgers (.292, 81, 17, 84, 21, 466)

First Base: Carlos Pena, Tampa Bay Rays (.278, 92, 40, 112, 1, .607)

Second Base: Brian Roberts, Baltimore Orioles (.292, 98, 11, 51, 44, .437)

Shortstop: Orlando Cabrera, Los Angeles Dodgers (.305, 96, 8, 83, 20, .403)

Third Base: Mike Lowell, Boston Red Sox (.329, 70, 19, 109, 3, .505)

Outfielders:
Eric Byrnes, Arizona Diamondbacks (. 290, 97, 21, 82, 45, .475)
Curtis Granderson, Detroit Tigers (.298, 115, 22, 72, 23, 550)
Aaron Rowand, Philadelphia Phillies (.315, 100, 26, 87, 6, .529)

Starting Pitchers:
John Smoltz, Atlanta Braves (14, 0, 181, 2.97, 1.19)
James Shields, Tampa Bay Rays (12, 0, 184, 3.85, 1.10)
Fausto Carmona, Cleveland Indians (17, 0, 126, 3.07, 1.20)
John Lackey, Los Angeles Angels (16, 0, 160, 3.20, 1.26)
John Maine, New York Mets (14, 0, 151, 3.72, 1.25)

Relief Pitchers:
Jose Valverde, Arizona Diamondbacks (1, 45, 73, 2.78, 1.10)
Francisco Cordero, Milwaukee Brewers (0, 43, 80, 2.77, 1.09)
Takashi Saito, Los Angeles Dodgers (1, 39, 74, 1.20, 0.70)

This by far was my most enjoyable unit. If you had these players you likely acquired them at a discount and used your money to build a superior team. For example, John Smoltz is here only because of his age and the knowledge that someday he will break down (See Randy Johnson). He has had a fantastic career and, like the Energizer bunny, he keeps going and going. Carlos Pena had been thrown away by several teams including both the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees this past year. Think they could have used him this season? Mike Lowell was forced upon the Red Sox in the Josh Beckett trade for salary reasons. Orlando Cabrera just keeps surprising. Eric Byrnes and Aaron Rowand show they both have more than just heart and hustle and they have those in abundance. All the above pitchers had something that caused doubt or fear in the minds of Fantasy Owners but led by James Shields and Fausto Carmona, they produced far more than expected. Please note all three of these closers had more saves than in the top team.

Over Their Head

Catcher: David Ross, Cincinnati Reds (.200, 31, 16, 31, 0, .391)

First Base: Richie Sexson, Seattle Mariners (.205, 58, 21, 63, 1, .398)

Second Base: Marcus Giles, San Diego Padres (.227, 52, 4, 38, 10, .318)

Shortstop: Bobby Crosby, Oakland As (.226, 40, 8, 31, 10, .341)

Third Base: Eric Chavez, Oakland As (.240, 43, 15, 46, 4, .445)

Outfielders:
Ryan Langerhans, Washington Nationals (.161, 25, 5, 20, 3, .287)
Craig Monroe, Chicago Cubs (.222, 50, 11, 57, 0, .371)
Jay Gibbons, Baltimore Orioles (.229, 28, 6, 28, 0, .348)

Starting Pitchers:
Daniel Cabrera, Baltimore Orioles (9, 0, 160, 5.51, 1.58)
Scott Olsen, Florida Marlins (9, 0, 128, 6.06, 1.75)
Dontrelle Willis, Florida Marlins (9, 0, 131, 5.34, 1.63)
Jose Contreras, Chicago White Sox (9, 0, 102, 5.80, 1.61)
Jeremy Bonderman, Detroit Tigers (11, 0, 145, 5.00, 1.38)

Relief Pitchers:
Bob Wickman, Arizona Diamondbacks (3, 20, 36, 3.85, 1.52)
Chris Ray, Baltimore Orioles (5, 16, 44, 4.43, 1.24)
Salomon Torres, Ex-Pittsburgh Pirates (1, 12, 39, 5.32, 1.37)

These are the underachievers, the injured and the mere disappointing. All the batters were expected to give good performances but only Eric Chavez finished with an average over .229 and a slugging percentage of over .398. It was not long ago that an infield of Richie Sexson, Marcus Giles, Bobby Crosby and Eric Chavez would be looked upon as a winning unit. This year they only brought heartbreak. While all five starters won at least nine games, none of them kept an ERA of under 5.00 or a WHIP of under 1.58 except for Jeremy Bonderman who actually had a great year until I traded for him and he self destructed. Bonderman was my personal failure. While they may have had good periods, the years ended in disaster. All three closers had lost their jobs before the season entered the final phase. I could have added Eric Gagne but as a Red Sox fan, it has been too painful. These are the worst of the worst but still that is an accomplishment in its own perverse way.

Have a good year and see you in Spring Training of 2008.

Questions and comments may be sent to davidkopacz@sportsgrumblings.com