Follow The Fantasy, Week 6: Back Where I Belong
My victory this week was never in question. I knew I would easily embarrass and annihilate my week 6 opponent. The only question was would I win by enough points, to catapult me from third place to the top of the mountain. The answer to that question did not only lay with my teams victory but with the outcome of this weeks’ most intriguing matchup.
Tied for first and facing each other was BeastModeBar10der (owned by Gee) and the Commish’s TheChampisHere; with me just half a game behind. The best possible (and almost impossible) outcome would have been for them to tie in every individual category so neither would increase their win total.
Fortunately for me BeastModeBar10der overserved the Commish (ED: Get it!) and beat him easily 6-2-2. With me winning handedly 8-2 that allowed me to leap-frog the incumbents and seize the throne. I get no reprieve as I dive right into the next altercation against the Commish himself. But let us take a look at their matchup.
A Kingdom Collapses
As you can see, their matchup was extremely close with four offensive categories being decided by less than four points. Paul Goldschmidt has established himself as a top tier first baseman. With homers on three straight days his power and runs batted in were major contributions to Gee’s win. Whatever Goldschmidt is putting on his bagels, can he give some to Ike Davis.
The Commish boasts an enormous pitching staff which grinded out a win for strikeouts. The most easily decided category was earned run average which was won solidly by the Commish. That 2.89 was thanks to tremendous performances by Adam Wainwright and Dodger’s Hyun-Jin Ryu. Ryu has been a great surprise for L.A. and can still be had in over 20 percent of Yahoo leagues. Ryu is also the second best character in Street Fighter.
We all know who the BEST Street Fighter Character is…
On to my matchup against Travis and his ImBack! YouKnowIt! He drafted heavy on starting pitchers having both Justin Verlander and Stephen Strasburg. Verlander was bounced after 5 innings and three earned runs against lowly Cleveland. Strasburg was hurt by errors, giving up no earned runs in 5 innings but still taking the loss in the 8-2 Cubs victory.
While arms like those two are obviously a major advantage, his lineup lacks power. I pretty much crushed him like a soda can in 4 of 5 offensive categories. It was a group slaughtering with blows by Segura, Beltre, Headley and Gordon. Segura was even voted National League player of the week. Forget what I said earlier in the year about Youkilis, this guy might be the free agent pickup of the year.
While I might not have the two biggest named starters in fantasy, my pitching staff is nothing to scoff at. Clayton Kershaw while only 4-2 this year on the underachieving Dodgers still has a salvation inducing ERA of 1.62 after his no decision against Arizona. Max Scherzer is 6-0 and is third in the league is strikeouts. Hiroki Kuroda has been a great number 3 for my staff thus far. Earning a win against Kansas City he kept his ERA at a smooth 2.30. Newcomer Andrew Cashner bounced back after a rough outing to secure a win. Luckily with the Mets sucking, Bobby Parnell now has more wins than saves. Not really what a closer is for, but I’m not really complaining.
Roster moves this week varied from useless to genius. With A.J. Pierznski injured I picked up Even Gattis of the Braves. That move was quickly deamed useless as Brian McCann returned. Gattis was getting some outfield time but that window is closing rapidly with Jason Heyward’s impending return. I swapped him for Ryan Doumit of the Minnesota Twins. Doumit is going to be part of a package to bring me back a Hall of Fame catcher (TEASER.) The most beneficial addition this week was Travis Wood, of the Cubs. Finally I dropped Ryan Vogelsong in favor of this 26 year old. Wood has a sub 1.00 whip and an ERA in the low 2.00s. Pick him up if you can he is available in 44 percent of Yahoo leagues.
POTENTIAL PICK-UPS!
With injuries starting to rear their ugly heads on everyone’s team impactful free agent pickups can bridge the gap until your players return from a disabled list stint. A starter who might be able to give you some quality innings is Ubaldo Jimenez. Giving quality outings in his last 3 starts the one time star may be starting to put it all back together.
Colorado’s Jorge De La Rosa has also strung together two exceptional outings. He gave up only 5 hits in those starts, against the Yankees and Cardinals. His next start is against San Francisco and could be had in more than 70 percent of leagues.
At the top of the list for position players who have been on fire lately is James Looney. Looney has had his average well over .300 all season and sports a nice RBI total for a player with limited power. A free agent in almost half of Yahoo leagues, Looney seems to be adjusting to Tampa Bay quite nicely. If it isn’t too late pick up Vernon Wells of the Yankees. Rejuvenated in pinstripes like many are he has been a huge surprise this season. Even with the return of Curtis Granderson to the Yankees outfield, Wells will still be getting plenty of at bats. Stupid designated hitter.
DROP ‘EM DEAD
Positions players on the down slope who you might want drop are Yuniskey Betancourt and Paul Konerko. Betancourt’s average has been steadily dropping since the beginning of May. Now batting below .240 he has only had 2 multi-hit games since May 5th. He’s still owned in over half of Yahoo leagues. Konerko is owned in 74 percent of yahoo leagues despite only batting .214 and having only 4 home runs. First base is a deep position, you can do better with Moreland or Garrett Jones both available in over 55 percent of leagues.
Pitching wise it’s time to let Carlos Villanueva go. After starting like a house on fire Villanueva has since cooled off. His ERA has climbed every start since April 18th which was the last time he recorded his first and only win. It’s hard to get wins on the Cubs when they only average 4 runs per game and your career ERA is 4.23. If this guy is still on your team, you’re a moron. Yet he’s still owned in over 25 percent of leagues. Looks like 1 in four people are morons… Yea, that sounds about right.
STAY TUNED
Next week I play the Commish in another top 4 brawl. If I can hold him off I have a good chance to stay in the lead, again depends on Gee and his opposition. I also have a major trade in the works as previously teased. So come back next week to see how I won or lost, and how my choices can better improve your team.
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