Why I Have a Love/Hate Relationship With Fantasy Baseball

Yeah, it's only the end of April.  And, yeah there is still a lot of ball yet to be played this season.  But, still, I think I have a little cause for concern at this point in the season about the "studs" I drafted that are "duds" so far this Spring.  Here is a short list of players and my reasons for concern.

Milton Bradley, OF Cubs

3 for 28, 4R, 1HR, 1RBI,  hitting .107 so far this year and has already missed more games than he has started. 

Typically a frequent member of DL's everywhere, Bradley has outdone even himself by being hurt so early in the season.  This 25/75 guy is probably going to be a bust for the already shaky Cubs this year, and I look to Reed Johnson to be the permanent stand in for him. 

Conversely, I look for Johnson to hit .300 with 20 hr and 60 RBI in 300 AB's in Bradley's place.

Cliff Lee, SP Indians

1-3, 3.94 ERA, 24 HR, 38 hits 14 ER and 9 BB allowed in 32 innings so far this year. Last year he was almost unhittable and dominated every batter he faced. Just as a point of reference for those who have already forgotten about the '08 campaign, Lee went until May 18th before his first loss and then went 14 starts between his second and last losses, July 11th until September 23rd. 

And he only allowed 63 ER, 12 HR an 34 BB in 31 starts with 170 K. Yeah, I drank the Kool-aid and I know he will make 25 more starts this year, but I hope he returns to form and gets a little run support, which has been sorely lacking in Ohio thus far this year. 

Then again, Cy Young winners tend to take the world on their shoulders the following year. Which brings us to:

Mark Derosa, 3B Indians

20 for 85, 15 R, 4 HR, 17 RBI, 0 SB in 21 games so far.  he also went 3 for 22 from April 21-27 with 3 HR and 1 RBI. 

Again, it's early but I spent a 4th round pick on him in my fantasy draft when I could have waited and gotten Asdrubal Cabrerra (21 for 65, 15 R, 1HR, 9 RBI, 3 SB, .323 AVG) in the late rounds and picked up someone like Melvin Mora in Derosa's place. But, then again, last year WAS a contract year for Mark and those tend to be monster years for lots of players.  

Also, as a player who qualifies in most Fantasy leagues at multiple positions, I fear that solely manning the hot corner for the Tribe might tend to burn him out. When he played the outfield for the Cubs last year in relief of Soriano and Fukudome, he got a chance to kind of relax a little while being in games and raking to all fields all season long.

Geovanny Soto, C  Cubs

5 for 42, 3 R, 0 HR, 2 RBI, 0 SB, .119 AVG/.279 OBP/.143 SLG in 15 games this year.  The 2008 NL rookie of the Year is clearly having a sophomore slump as the Northsiders' backstop, though technically he did play in 15 games in '07 at the end of the year for Sweet Lou. 

He was brilliant in limited play in '07 which is the reason Piniella gave him the flier in '08 as the starter with Henry Blanco filling-in only on Soto's scheduled rest days. Those of us who spent a middle round pick on him are on bended knee, lighting candles and sacrificing live chickens in the hope that with warmer weather he heats up too. 

Last Year he started out closer to a .250 clip and got hotter as the season progressed.  Lets hope this years slow start doesn't trend to a .230 season.

But then there are genuine surprises this year. 

Kosuke Fukudome, OF Cubs

After a dismal rookie year in '08, he is off to a fast and impressive start- 24 for 67, 14 R, 4 HR, 15 RBI, 1 SB, .328 avg/.482 obp/.627 slg and a 1.109 ops in 19 games. This is the Fukudome the Cubs were hoping to see last year. 

After a season to adjust to American Baseball, he is finally living up to all the hype that sorrounded his entry into the Big's in '08.  If he can keep up this clip he will be as big a star here as he was in Japan and make folks say "Ichiro, who?"

Adam Jones, OF Bal

26 for 74, 23 R, 4 HR, 18 RBI, 1 SB, .351 avg/.430 obp/.627 slg and an ops of 1.065 in 18 games.  And to boot, he is a middling player on a Baltimore Orioles roster that has surprised and impressed everyone. 

Just wait until Matt Weiters gets seasoned in Triple-A ball and the Orioles will be a force to be reckoned with in the AL- East.  They are 9-13 with some hard luck losses. But they are the Orioles so what do you expect.

Yadier Molina, C St. Louis 

24 for 68, 9 R, 2 HR, 12 RBI, 1 SB, .353/.423/.529 and .952 slugging.  This is a catcher, people.  A backstop, a man who gets paid tons of money to be a target for some of the wildest pitching in the Bigs. 

You should be impresed with this line, it's better than Mark Teixiera, Alfonso Soriano, Ryan Ludwick and Shane Victorino just to name a few so-called Superstar players. 

Love/Hate. It is a rough thing to go through.

I will continue to watch and comment on the boons and busts in baseball as the season progresses.  I have learned to not get too worried as a rule when it comes to numbers early on in the season. 

Players start off slowly, pitchers tend to find their grooves and the cream will rise to the top as a season drags on.

I will heed the advice of Kwai Chang Kane - "Patience, Grasshopper.  Have patience."