making up for lost time
I know, I know. I've been away. Have you missed me? I spent the long weekend down in DC (more on that below), and I've also been spending some quality time with my girlfriend and devoting much of my remaining time to looking for a new day job... if you know anyone who's hiring, let me know.
So yeah, lots going on. In fact, because there's so much ground to cover, here's a bunch of quick hits:
• From the world of baseball, the Yankees have now won five in a row, including three of four over the Tigers, who (somehow) have the best record in baseball. It would be great to see the Yankees win again tonight, sweeping the four game series, especially if they can score a bunch of runs off stud rookie Justin Verlander and completely break his spirit in the process. There's nothing shakier than a rookie's confidence, and since Verlander isn't on my fantasy team...
• Speaking of my fantasy teams, my season is off to an incredible start. I've been in or near first place in both of my leagues for weeks now. Today, I'm in first with a nice lead in the Cheap Seats league, and a nose out of first (in second) in the Buffalo Heads. With Clemens and Gagne set to return, and youngsters Anthony Reyes and Jered Weaver called up and pitching well, I should get a boost. Though I'd be crazy to expect guys like Corey Patterson and Eric Byrnes to continue to play as well as they have, and unless I find another closer in the Buffalo Heads league, I can't really expect to win. Right now I've got Tom Gordon and, um, Eddie Guardado.
• I'm proud of a trade I made a couple of weeks ago, though it could still bite me in the ass. At the height of his hype, I traded hot rookie pitcher Cole Hamels for Scot Shields and Kyle Farnsworth, in a 6x6 league that counts holds. I knew about Hamels' injury history, and holds was my weakest category, so the trade seemed like a worthy risk, even after Hamels' first start. Now that Hamels is on the DL again, the trade looks great (even with Farnsworth not pitching particularly well.)
• It's encouraging to see how the Yankees are holding their ground--tied for first with the Red Sox--despite all of their injuries. Matsui, Sheffield, Pavano and Sturtze will be out for a while, and Damon, Jeter and Posada all have nagging injury issues. Yet other guys keep stepping up (Did anyone think Melky Cabrera would hit .320? Even his mother is stunned.) and the Yanks keep winning, despite relying on guys like Kelly Stinnett, Miguel Cairo and Scott Proctor. You could actually make a case that they look better on the field right now than they did about a month ago, when their roster was nearly at full strength.
• The Mets won in extra innings again last night. They're starting to give off that team-of-destiny vibe this year, with lots of exciting young talent (including this week's stud callup, Lastings Milledge) and what appears to be great team chemistry. I argued early in the season that David Wright was overrated—sure, he's good, but let's see him play like A-Rod, or at least Miguel Cabrera, before we start calling him one of the best players in the game—and now I'm eating my words, as Wright has already had four game-ending hits and has to be considered an MVP candidate. (I'm not saying he's gonna beat out Pujols... but someone's gotta finish second, right?)
• This story is already a borderline cliche here in New York, but how much better would the Mets be right now if they hadn't traded Scott Kazmir for Victor Zambrano? Zambrano, the team's fourth or fifth starter, is now out for the year. Meanwhile Kazmir is a legit Cy Young candidate with seven wins (on an awful Devil Rays team), a 2.86 ERA and more than a strikeout an inning. At age 22, Kazmir is second (to Johan Santana) in the AL in Ks, and won't be a free agent until 2011. At which point the Mets will have the chance to get him back for about $20 million a year.
• Over in Red Sox Nation, the team's vaunted 1-2 punch of Schilling and Beckett has already combined for 15 wins. But check out what castoffs Bronson Arroyo and Derek Lowe are doing: Lowe's ERA is a run lower than Schilling's (3.93 to 2.90), while Arroyo (2.58) is pitching almost two runs a game better than Beckett (4.46). But then, that's what moving from the AL to the NL can do (though Cincinnati's home field isn't exactly a pitcher's paradise—just ask Eric Milton).
Okay, well, apparently I had a lot to say about baseball. More quick hits later on everything else going on in the world.
So yeah, lots going on. In fact, because there's so much ground to cover, here's a bunch of quick hits:
• From the world of baseball, the Yankees have now won five in a row, including three of four over the Tigers, who (somehow) have the best record in baseball. It would be great to see the Yankees win again tonight, sweeping the four game series, especially if they can score a bunch of runs off stud rookie Justin Verlander and completely break his spirit in the process. There's nothing shakier than a rookie's confidence, and since Verlander isn't on my fantasy team...
• Speaking of my fantasy teams, my season is off to an incredible start. I've been in or near first place in both of my leagues for weeks now. Today, I'm in first with a nice lead in the Cheap Seats league, and a nose out of first (in second) in the Buffalo Heads. With Clemens and Gagne set to return, and youngsters Anthony Reyes and Jered Weaver called up and pitching well, I should get a boost. Though I'd be crazy to expect guys like Corey Patterson and Eric Byrnes to continue to play as well as they have, and unless I find another closer in the Buffalo Heads league, I can't really expect to win. Right now I've got Tom Gordon and, um, Eddie Guardado.
• I'm proud of a trade I made a couple of weeks ago, though it could still bite me in the ass. At the height of his hype, I traded hot rookie pitcher Cole Hamels for Scot Shields and Kyle Farnsworth, in a 6x6 league that counts holds. I knew about Hamels' injury history, and holds was my weakest category, so the trade seemed like a worthy risk, even after Hamels' first start. Now that Hamels is on the DL again, the trade looks great (even with Farnsworth not pitching particularly well.)
• It's encouraging to see how the Yankees are holding their ground--tied for first with the Red Sox--despite all of their injuries. Matsui, Sheffield, Pavano and Sturtze will be out for a while, and Damon, Jeter and Posada all have nagging injury issues. Yet other guys keep stepping up (Did anyone think Melky Cabrera would hit .320? Even his mother is stunned.) and the Yanks keep winning, despite relying on guys like Kelly Stinnett, Miguel Cairo and Scott Proctor. You could actually make a case that they look better on the field right now than they did about a month ago, when their roster was nearly at full strength.
• The Mets won in extra innings again last night. They're starting to give off that team-of-destiny vibe this year, with lots of exciting young talent (including this week's stud callup, Lastings Milledge) and what appears to be great team chemistry. I argued early in the season that David Wright was overrated—sure, he's good, but let's see him play like A-Rod, or at least Miguel Cabrera, before we start calling him one of the best players in the game—and now I'm eating my words, as Wright has already had four game-ending hits and has to be considered an MVP candidate. (I'm not saying he's gonna beat out Pujols... but someone's gotta finish second, right?)
• This story is already a borderline cliche here in New York, but how much better would the Mets be right now if they hadn't traded Scott Kazmir for Victor Zambrano? Zambrano, the team's fourth or fifth starter, is now out for the year. Meanwhile Kazmir is a legit Cy Young candidate with seven wins (on an awful Devil Rays team), a 2.86 ERA and more than a strikeout an inning. At age 22, Kazmir is second (to Johan Santana) in the AL in Ks, and won't be a free agent until 2011. At which point the Mets will have the chance to get him back for about $20 million a year.
• Over in Red Sox Nation, the team's vaunted 1-2 punch of Schilling and Beckett has already combined for 15 wins. But check out what castoffs Bronson Arroyo and Derek Lowe are doing: Lowe's ERA is a run lower than Schilling's (3.93 to 2.90), while Arroyo (2.58) is pitching almost two runs a game better than Beckett (4.46). But then, that's what moving from the AL to the NL can do (though Cincinnati's home field isn't exactly a pitcher's paradise—just ask Eric Milton).
Okay, well, apparently I had a lot to say about baseball. More quick hits later on everything else going on in the world.
posted by Zackattack at 11:03 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home