We’re a couple of weeks into the season and my fantasy team isn’t doing that bad. I’m currently tied for third in a twelve team league. For the most part, my hitting is carrying me. I’m first or second in the HR, RBI and Runs categories. Fair warning: I’m about t0 bore everyone with the details of my fantasy players to date.
I was doing a little better in pitching before last night. I had Radke starting and he gave up 6 runs and 7 hits in two inning pitched. Ouch! I then made matters worse by trying to be a bit to clever with my pitching strategy. I benched Jon Garland against the Yankees, fearing he might get beat up the Yankees. But he pitched pretty well in last night’s loss, giving up 3 runs in 7 innings. More importantly, I missed out on some sorely needed strikeouts (6).
But the real problem came from my move to pick up Orioles pitcher Matt Riley for one game. He pitched well in his last outing and was facing Tampa Bay last night. I figured I had a good chance to pick up a W, and some strikeouts. He ended up giving up 7 runs, 9 hits and 5 walks in 4.1 innings. I’m not ready to give up on making some situational pitching acquisitions in the future, but I might refrain from doing it for a few weeks.
As for position players, here’s how my guy’s are doing:
M. Ordonez (.316, 9R, 4HR, 13RBI, 0SB). Maggs my first round pick is off to a good start. My draft strategy was to fill in my infield first. But I wanted a Sox player right off the bat and figured Maggs was a good choice. I wasn’t sure how I would do in the league, so I wanted to have some players to root for. So far he hasn’t disappointed.
E. Chavez (.246, 9,2,6,1) Chavez is off to a slow start but he does have my lone stolen base. Second round was probably a bit too early to pick him up with the depth at 3b this year, but I still expect him to come around with some big numbers.
J. Kent (.288,11,2,11,0) I figured 2B was a premium position, so I wanted to take one early (3rd round). I won’t get a lot of stolen bases that other the position usually provides, but he should make up for it with big numbers in Houston’s offense.
Giambi (.227,9,3,7,0) Hopefully he will start to see some pitches with Sheffield hitting behind him. He has 15 walks, which doesn’t count for much in a 5x5 league. The computer picked him in the fourth round so I won’t complain.
J. Lopez (.462,10,3,10,0) Another computer pick. If he finishes .300/100/30/100 I will be very happy.
C. Patterson (.311,12,3,8,0) I picked up Patterson in the 9th round and hoped he would provide power with stolen bases. So far he has only provided the power. There are three factors that may be hurting his stolen base numbers: he is coming off an injury, he is letting Sosa take his swings, he doesn’t walk a lot. I am hoping he could at least get 15 stolen bases this year. If you combine that with the power numbers he gets I think he might end up a steal in the 9th round.
Jose Valentin (.271,10,3,8,0) Picked up Jose in the 10th round. Was off to a solid start before going on the 15 day DL.
Bobby Crosby (.196,5,2,9,0) Man, was I happy I picked up a backup SS in the 12th round when Jose went on the DL. I probably could have picked him up a lot lower, but I was intrigued by the hype and pulled the trigger a bit early. ( I also wasn’t very confident in Valentin). And with the depth in outfielders, I figured it wouldn’t hurt that much to pick up a utility player early.
Crosby was off to a slow start, but was hitting better the last few games. Then he the very first game I start him at short. I ended up picking up Adam Everett as a free agent until Crosby returns to the lineup back (maybe this weekend).
Moises Alou (.377,13,6,16,0). Moises, who I picked up in the 14th round, has been my best overall player. I thought he could have a big year hitting behind Patterson and Sosa, and in front of Aramis and Lee. Of course, I didn’t expect him to hit like this.
Konerko (.294,6,3,11,1) I drafted Paulie in the 15th round and have started him for a few games as a 1B, and as a utility player. Unfortunately he wasn’t playing the day he got his SB. Nevertheless, I think he was a good value pick in the 15th round.
Steve Finley (.182,9,1,4,0) In the 19th round I realized my team wasn’t going to get a lot of SB, so picked up Finley. I started him a few games before releasing him and picking up Rondell White (.309,15,4,13,0). This looks like the year Finley’s age finally catches up with him. As for White, if he stays healthy, he might be the free agent pick up of the year.
Bobby Kielty (.224,7,0,3,0) I picked up Kielty in the 20th round. I haven’t been playing him and he probably doesn’t have much fantasy value. But I’m not sure who I would replace him with.
So that’s it for my position players. I really need to pick up some stolen bases, but I’m not sure the best way to go about it. I think I might try and trade Konerko or White for a basestealer. Any suggestions? Let me know your thoughts.