Anatomy of a fantasy freak-out - jmik58's Blog

jmik58's Blog

Anatomy of a fantasy freak-out

Posted on May 8, 2009 at 11:55 AM.

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Written for PhilliesDigest.com

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I�m a little tea pot, short and stout.

The �Broken Ankiels� are quietly hanging in there in third place of their fourteen team rotisserie fantasy league. The power numbers are there, the runs are there, and the average is respectably above average. But then there�s the other side of the spectrum; good ol� fashioned pitching.

Unfortunately, the B.A.�s have been anything but Bad A** on the mound thus far. However, a nasty first month has been buffered by a recent revival in the past few weeks to slowly drop ERA and WHIP numbers earning some big-time quality starts with the wins to accompany them.

A restructured group that includes starters James Shields, Derek Lowe, Mark Buehrle, Randy Wolf, Brett Myers, Zach Duke, and the surprising Scott Richmond, are starting to pull their weight to climb the fantasy ladder.

Such guys don�t lend themselves much to big numbers in the realm of strikeouts, but some things have to be sacrificed.

So with each passing night, the offense holds fairly steady and the pitching shows its signs of improvement - the type of improvement that can be wiped out by forces uncontrollable by a given player.

This is my handle, this is my spout.

Pitching in fantasy baseball is a fickle thing. First, you have the actual pitcher himself who has to perform his duties to near perfection. The pitcher then must rely on the defense, the offense to score more runs that he surrenders, and the bullpen to close the deal.

Hitting is much more stable. It leads to less broken furniture and electronics. A hitter either gets a hit or he doesn�t. Hit it where they ain�t and the numbers go up. Fail and they fall. Complicated; yet it�s simple.

Last night, Randy Wolf was reminded just how fragile the elaborate formula that is pitching can be.

When I get all steamed up, hear me shout.

In a convoluted way, the Los Angeles Dodgers last night were the real life version of my beloved Broken Ankiels through the first month of the season. Abundant offense, but just enough pitching to screw it all up.

The major difference being that I�ve moved on from that way of life. I�m trying to climb and the Dodgers are cutting rungs out from under me.

Six solid innings and a 6-1 lead going into the seventh last night for LA against the Washington. Nothingals, and Randy Wolf was well on his way to tallying another notch on the belt for the win column. The quality start? Check. The win? Check�?

Get out your erasers.

Tip me over and pour me out.

Ten (10) runs in the final three innings for Washington. Thank you very much Ramon Troncoso. Rot in fantasy baseball hell, Cory Wade. Way to help seal the deal Brent Leach and James McDonald.

The line for Randy Wolf now on the season: 4 quality starts�1 win. One.

The team with the record for most consecutive home wins to start a season, facing the worst team in baseball. Did I mention the five run lead in the seventh inning?

Oh well, I guess that�s just the Dodgers being Manny.