Fantasy Baseball 2004 Trash Talk Thread

I was glad to get a deal done after the Jeter talks bottomed out. It will be nice to finally have a reliable SS in the lineup that I can count on each week.

 

The first month of league play is over. I wrote a small synopsis for each team in the West Division. Might do the East teams tomorrow:


Pythons

Bob has put together strong all-around teams in fantasy baseball for the past two seasons, and this year is no exception. With a nice balance of hitting and pitching, led by blue chippers Todd Helton, Barry Zito and Roy Halladay, the Pythons have surged to a 5-1-1 lead to take control of the West division, at least for now. The one trouble spot on this squad is the outfield, which lacks a true legitimate stud. However, with players like Paul Konerko, Jermaine Dye and Troy Glaus exceeding expectations and outperforming their draft spots, look for Finn's Pythons to continue to be one of the stronger teams in the league.

Steamrollers

It's been a long time since Behad has fielded a competitive team, but he's off to a good start this year, currently sitting in second place in the West. Kevin Brown and Curt Schilling are the pride and joy of this team, and as long as these guys are firing on all cylinders, the Steamrollers can hang with anyone in the league. However, Behad's bullpen has been substandard and the infield looks a tad weak once you get past Lo Duca and the overachieving Bagwell. Also, aside from the hot Hidalgo, Manny doesn't have a whole lot of help in the outfield. Choi does seem to be a good pickup, though, and has been playing well. As long as Brown and Schilling stay healthy, the Steamrollers will be dangerous.

The Aliens

Although the 4-3 record and the 3rd place standing in the West do not reflect it, the Aliens have been the best team in the whole league so far. Led by an absolute juggernaut of an offense featuring an all-star infield of Marcus Giles, Eric Chavez, Ivan Rodriguez and Mike Piazza, and the high-octane outfield trio of Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa and Bobby Abreu, the rookie SamCassell has charged in and dominated with a league leading 1262 total points scored, a whopping 120 points ahead of the nearest team. What is most surprising is that all this was accomplished without Nomar Garciaparra, his second round pick. Pitching is a real problem, though, and Sam has one of the weakest SP and RP staffs in the league, without a true ace. Also, one has to think that Sean Casey (the current 1B points leader) will cool off eventually. With that offense, though, the Aliens are going to be one fearsome team that nobody feels fomfotable going up against.

Llamas

Like the Pythons, Jent's Llamas are very well-balanced overall, with a solid infield, outfield and starting rotation. The RP staff is the weakest area, but even that is not terribly bad, with Looper and Cordero pitching well. Schmidt, Mulder, Millwood, Maddux and Garcia form a formidable starting five, and Vlad Guerrero, Jason Giambi and Miguel Tejada bring the pain with the bat. If Schmidt remains healthy, look for Jent's team to possibly move up a spot or two in the standings.

PhiSlammaJamma

The big story here is the loss of Mark Prior, and one gets the feeling that Phi is just biding his time, trying to stay afloat until Big Mark comes back. This team was built around starting pitching, but Prior's injury, Mussina's slump and Pettitte's recent DL stint have punched huge holes in Phi's championship dreams. The anemic offense is not much help, so Phi has been trying to weather the storm by starting 3 quality relievers each game. It remains to be seen whether or not this proves to be a wise strategy in the end, but it has kept Phi mildly competitive with a 3-4 record. A special mention must be made of Danny Graves, who has turned out to be a tremendous pickup. If Prior comes back strong and Mussina breaks out his slump, the SP staff alone will make this a very dangerous team.

DarkHorses

Newcomer DarkHorse is off to a relatively slow start with a 3-4 record, and it's difficult to pinpoint a reason why, since the team has suffered no major injuries or prolonged slumps. Eric Gagne is Mr. Reliable as always, but overall this team has been underperforming with the second lowest overall points total in the league. The players on this team will simply have to play better for DarkHorse to turn things around.



Agree? Disagree? Comments?

 

Thanks.

Yeah, that's a quirk of the system. I'll switch them.

 

Argh! The freaking Cleveland bullpen blows another win for Sabathia. That's the third one this year. I'm starting to really hate those guys.

 

Here's the overview of the East:


Expos

The Expos followed a similar pattern as Phi, drafting pitching early and relying on the middle/late rounds to fill in the offense. So far the strategy has served the team well, and they currently share the East Division lead with a 5-2 record. The starting quartet of Pedro Martinez, Randy Johnson, Bartolo Colon and CC Sabathia have been very dependable, carrying the team during weeks when the offense has struggled. The Expos have been busy at the trade desk as well, making two major deals; first, trading Paul Lo Duca to the Steamrollers for the slumping Aubrey Huff and catcher Johnny Estrada, and then turning around and trading these same two players to DV's Dynamos for shortstop Edgar Renteria. If the team stays healthy and Randy Johnson continues to pitch like a #1 ace, then this team has as good a chance as any of long term success.


Capitol City Pimps

With Prior out, Pimp's draft deal with Phi looks better and better with each passing day. The Pimps depend on their offense to carry the load, and their success rests heavily upon the big bats of Albert Pujols, Richie Sexson, David Ortiz and Hank Blalock. There are a few holes elsewhere in the team, however, especially the outfield, which looks quite weak after Jim Edmonds and Pujols. Their pitching is suspect as well, and while Josh Beckett has been throwing very well, Johan Santana and most of the others have been underperforming. Keith Foulke has been golden in the bullpen despite being used in several non-save situations, but Matt Herges has been less than impressive, blowing a few opportunities for the Giants. The loss of Sexson could be a major blow to this team depending on how long he is out. Khalil Greene has been a nice surprise at shortstop, though.


Song's Tools

SSG's team is solid from top to bottom, with a nice degree of balance. Carlos Beltran and Milton Bradley roam the outfield, Jim Thome, Jeff Kent and Rafael Furcal are the infield stars, and Kerry Wood, Matt Morris and Russ Ortiz form a nice 1-2-3 punch on the mound. The undisputed MVP of this team so far, however, has been closer Armando Benitez, who has surged to the top of the RP standings with 10 saves in 13 games. Outfield depth and the question of whether or not Benitez will keep up his torrid pace are possible negatives for the Tools, but this team definitely has the potential for a big year.


The Monkey Drums

One of three newcomers to the league, Castor's Monkey Drums aren't off the best start, due in large part to a slumping Carlos Delgado and an injured Chipper Jones. Overall, though, this team has enough talent to turn things around, with Roy Oswalt and Brandon Webb on the mound and Lance Berkman, Javy Lopez and Delgado in the offense. Whether or not they can turn things around enough to eventually make the playoffs is another question altogether, but the potential is there for at least some degree of success. The team's lack of any real closers is quite troubling, however.

Smarmy Gits

The Gits have started off relatively slow, currently sitting down at 5th in the East with a 2-5 record. The slumping Derek Jeter and poor play of Vernon Wells have been large reasons why. However, the biggest problem for this team has been its starting pitching, which is extremely weak after ace Javier Vazquez and Hideo Nomo. This team does have a good degree of talent, though, and if Alex Rodriguez, Jeter and Wells all heat up, they could provide enough offense to carry the team even with mediocre pitching. A healthy Teixeira would be a big help here.

DV's Dynamos

Poor DV has had some bad luck, starting the season with a 0-6-1 record. Injuries have decimated his outfield, with Garret Anderson, Juan Gonzalez, Ryan Klesko and Austin Kearns all suffering major ailments. The good news is that Scott Rolen and Mariano Rivera have been spectacular, and Alfonso Soriano is bound to get really hot sooner or later playing in Texas. DV recently helped his cause by trading for Aubrey Huff and Johnny Estrada. For true lasting success, though, his players need to get healthy.



Agree? Disagree? Comments?

 

Bah...

Sounds like you just volunteered to do the next one.

 

And now we're tied 62-62.

I watched the game. I was hoping they would leave Halladay in for one more inning so he would have a chance to pick up the loss, but it was not to be.