Last week, I took the opportunity to vent about my poor ol' fantasy teams. Given that behavior's unproductivenss, this week I will turn a cold, objective eye upon my squads' warts and try to rationally identify the problem or potential problem. I have also included the number of points I trail the 1st place team.
Yahoo! Public League, 8th of 12, -34.5 points: I am weak in HR/RBI. Losing Jimmy Rollins was not as bad as one would think because I have Miguel Tejada to fill-in, but Delmon Young's zero HRs has hurt more after Alfonso Soriano spent half of April on the D.L.
Fake Teams H2H, 5-5 for the week, 26-21-3 and 4th overall, -3.5: This league starts five starting pitchers. With Rich Hill sent to the minors and Wandy Rodriguez on the D.L., my five are Brandon Webb, Jonathan Sanchez, Nick Blackburn, Matt Garza and Andy Sonnanstine - quite possibility in best-to-worst order.
Fake Teams NL-Only 4x4, 8th of 10, -22.5: There is a lot to be concerned about on this team. I have several hitters that are not hitting, but the main concern is a pitching staff being sunk by high WHIP SPs Oliver Perez and Manny Parra. However, it is being buoyed slightly by 2008 over-performers Kyle Lohse and Jonathan Sanchez. If those two turn into pumpkins and Olly and Manny don't get much better, then this staff will be sunk.
Blogger Expert League, 8th of 12, -24: Offense is a major problem as I lost Alex Rodriguez and Troy Tulowitzki to the D.L. The fill-ins? Akinori Iwamura and Yuni Betancourt. My catchers have done nothing but disappoint. Carlos Ruiz has looked like a one-year fluke, and Chris Snyder has failed to build on his great Spring Training. Neither Corey Hart nor Lastings Milledge was expected to have just a homer apiece this far into the season either.
Mixed League, 5th of 12, -34.5: Surprisingly, I am in the middle of a tightly bunch pack in hitting. My starting pitching has failed to deliver Wins, though. Right now, I have Aaron Harang and A.J. Burnett behind Brandon Webb. I need to get some help from recent pick-ups John Danks and Carlos Silva, though. How long do I wait before trying again to land a good SP via trade?
AL-Only 4x4 Keeper, 9th of 12, -24: Power is at a premium in this league thanks to its lack of concentration on any one team. As a result, I decided to go without a closer (for the time being) and dealt a $7 C.J. Wilson for a $35 Paul Konerko. A team whose HR leader is Melky Cabrera has to do this, right? On pitching, Justin Verlander has failed to provide the anchor of this staff. Free agent pick-up Greg Smith has far out-performed him. This can't hold. Either Verlander gets better or my starting pitching is sunk because I do not expect Smith to sail smoothly over the rest of the season.
NL-Only 4x4 Keeper, 3rd of 12, -19.5: My offense is propped up by a perfect Stars & Scrubs strategy. The Stars have been Chase Utley, Derrek Lee and Ryan Howard and the stars emerging from the Scrubs have been Nate McLouth, Michael Bourn and Geovanny Soto. The question with this strategy is whether the Stars keep being stars and the Scrubs keep becoming stars.