Fantasy Baseball Freakout - Jason Isringhausen Style - jmik58's Blog

jmik58's Blog

Fantasy Baseball Freakout - Jason Isringhausen Style

Posted on May 26, 2009 at 03:09 PM.

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Article written for PhilliesDigest.com
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In recognition of Memorial Day, the hat was a familiar bold cardinal red, but Jason Isringhausen�s jersey was a neutral grey with the word �Rays� embroidered in deep blue across his chest. Beyond the red hat, Isringhausen�s performance in blowing a 9th inning lead was in itself a tribute, a memorial if you will, on the day devoted to just that.

So how fitting it was, that on a day where we remember our fallen, that the former Cardinals closer would serve as a memorial to his own demise from years past.

Over the past three or four years, Isringhausen has blown more saves than the Rays even won in their first season. Ok, so maybe not literally, but it sure seems like it. An injured Troy Percival left Tampa Bay reeling for a closer but instead found an eraser in Isringhausen.

Hidden in the melt down was the somewhat decent performance by rising star David Price. Quite honestly, it�s a testament to his skill that he only allowed two earned in the few innings he pitched considering how many he walked. But, all stat loving and fantasy point splurging aside, he kept the Rays in the game.

But Jason Isringhausen wasn�t having it. The washed up reliever, looking to white-out his past performances, instead blotted out the last remaining cushion in route to earning the loss for Tampa Bay.

I personally, and thankfully, have no pitchers associated with this meltdown. But here lies another fantasy freak-out at the hands of woeful relief pitching. This one isn�t quite on the level of the meltdowns I�ve had while watching Randy Wolf�s win total stay stagnant while the Dodgers manage to wipe it away.

The one saving grace in all of this is the �quality start� stat.

Thank the fantasy heavens for creating this. If you�re in a league that doesn�t use it; have mercy. If you do have it, you pray for its safety alongside your hope for a full recovery by Mr. Johnson who recently underwent hip surgery.

For every fantasy freak-out there is a quality start.

And for every quality start, there is a Jason Isringhausen.