Crooked Pitch

There are some situations in fantasy baseball that just have disaster written all over them. Below are three positional battles and playing time configurations that could bring a summer of heartbreak.

Nationals Bullpen

The Nationals’ bullpen is the biggest embarrassment in Washington since Watergate. How bad is it? The Nationals have blown 13 of 19 save opportunities this year. Kip Wells, who began the season in the minors, has a strong chance to emerge as the top reliever for the team. The main culprits have been Joel Beimel who regained the closers role after coming off the disabled list and promptly allowed 5 ER’s in 4 IP and Joel Hanrahan who blew three of his first five save opportunities as the teams closer. The only saving grace is that the Nationals’ offense is not as bad as in years past. The Nat’s are currently 3rd in the National League at 5.92 Runs per game. With a little help from the other pitchers, whoever emerges as the closer could get some save opportunities.

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I love a “Cinderella “ story as much as anyone. But, even I have to face the facts that sometimes, particularly when it comes to mediocre pitchers having phenomenal starts, that it may be time to sell high. Call it dumb luck, or whatever, these three pitchers’ fifteen minutes of fame is over. If you have any of these players on your roster I would highly suggest unloading them ASAP.

1. Kevin Millwood | Texas Rangers - Millwood is off to a hot start with an ERA of 2.78 and three wins. But in his last outing he gave up five runs in 7 1/3 Innings. He is probably coming back to Earth now, considering he hasn’t had an ERA below 4.50 since 2005. He isn’t a big strikeout pitcher either; he currently has 25 K’s in 45 Innings. The only saving grace is he figures to pick up some wins this season courtesy of the Rangers run support, but not enough to keep him on your team all season.
2. Doug Davis | Arizona Diamondbacks - Davis started the season strong. Through the first five games he had and ERA of 2.91 with two wins for the Diamondbacks. That fell apart in his last start however. He gave up four runs on five hits in 4 1/3 innings, issuing four walks along the way. He has never been more that two games over .500 in his career and his ERA hasn’t been below 4.00 since 2005. In addition, three times in his career he has issued more than 90 walks in a season.
3. Kyle Lohse | St. Louis Cardinals - Lohse has started red hot after coming off of a career year where he finished with 15 wins and a 3.78 ERA. He started off 3-0 with a 1.97 ERA. But, his last start may also be an ominous sign of things to come. Against the Phillies he allowed six earned runs in just 4 1/3 innings. Also troublesome was the fact that he was hit by a pitch in the third inning and said after the game his arm felt “numb”. Lohse has a history of declining production, last year her went 4-4 with a 4.35 ERA after the All-Star break versus 11-2 and a 3.39 ERA before the break.

These players are probably at their peak of value right now. While hot pitchers are great to come by, history dictates you should proceed cautiously with this group of pitchers.

There comes a time for every fantasy baseball owner where they need to find a short-term pickup. Not someone to center the team around, not a high risk/high reward prospect, no, just someone to fill in until an injured player gets back. The criteria for choosing such a player comes down to two things; durability and consistent performance. If you are scrambling for some short-term relief, here are three players that are probably available.

A.J. Pierzynski | Chicago White Sox | C
Over the past three seasons Pierzynski’s logged at least 472 at-bats each year. During this time he’s averaged 14 home runs, 58 RBI and scored 62 runs. He hits both left and right handed pitching well and he is under no real challenge to lose his job. He also hits in the middle of a veteran lineup with plenty of opportunities to drive in runs. He is currently available in 77% of Yahoo leagues.

Lyle Overbay | Toronto Blue Jays | 1B
Currently available in over 90 % of Yahoo leagues, Overbay has, at least, 425 at-bats in each of the last three seasons. Over that time he has averaged .277 with 16 home runs, and 68 RBI. He is currently batting .342 with ten RBI.

Bronson Arroyo | Cincinnati Reds | SP
There is a good chance Arroyo is sitting available in your league right now (Currently available in 75% of Yahoo leagues). He has 200-plus innings pitched in each of his last three seasons. Coming off a 2008 campaign where he posted 15 wins, he has averaged 166 strikeouts and a WHIP of 1.33 for the last three years.

These players may just buy you enough time to get your regulars back in the lineup and still keep you in first place contention.

Please welcome Mark Hinton to the Crooked Pitch family. He’s going to be a regular contributor moving forward.

Trading is entrenched in the fabric a baseball. Team’s trade players, kids trade baseball cards, but trading in fantasy baseball is going the way of the blacksmith; out the window.

Trading in fantasy baseball has become more difficult for several reasons, the first of which is the attempts by owners to unload injured goods. Every time I am sent a trade proposal I can’t help but think I am being sold a bill of goods. Many times I really am. I cannot count the number of times someone has tried to offer me a newly injured player before the player is listed as injured. This has to be the oldest scam in fantasy sports. This is why I always give myself 24 hours to mull over any trade offers and check out if the player has any issues that may keep him from playing.

The next reason is the sheer absurdity of the trade offers. RULE #1 QUANTITY DOES NOT EQUAL QUALITY. Three mediocre middle relievers do not equal one top tier outfielder. I get these trade requests all the time. Then, after rejecting the original offer, the owner will “sweeten” the deal by throwing in another lousy player. There is no way an owner wants several players whose equal value can be found on the free agent list. Why would an owner want to create a logjam at a position with a bunch of players that are marginal and a hole at another, where they had a strong player to begin with? Please, do everyone in the league a favor; just keep these trade offers to yourself.

The next reason that trading has become more difficult is the “veto” power of the other owners. Leagues give owners veto power to prevent “collusion” or “dumping” situations in leagues that ruin the competitiveness for everyone. But some owners have taken this too far and vote to veto every trade that comes along. Andrew Johnson (the former president who was nicknamed Sir Veto for you non-historians out there) had nothing on these guys who obstinately block every attempt to better your team. These killjoys have abused the system and taken the fun out of many fantasy leagues.

Trading can be a way to mutually benefit two teams and make the game more fun. It is a great way to shake up the structure of your team at a time when you need it. Now, all you need to do is find a willing trading partner and a league with owners that will let it happen.

HAPPY TRADING