Power Rankings

After a long delay, we have our second power ranking of the season. In this post I will be attempting to rank the 12 teams in my Yahoo H2H keeper league based on how I think they will perform the rest of the year. These rankings are purely subjective and I reserve the right to change my mind on a whim. The rankings will show up intermittently throughout the year, depending on how determined I am. I will be including each team's record as it stands at the beginning of this week, and I will be naming a player for each team that hasn't performed well and who, in my opinion, will continue to not do well. So far almost every team is still within striking distance of the playoffs, so the next couple of months should be exciting as we see how everything shakes out.

1. The $5 Footlongs (71-36-3)

The Footlongs retain the number one spot from the previous power rankings, due in no small part to the fact that he is 10 games ahead of anyone else. The Footlongs have been doing well offensively, thanks to fantasy studs such as Albert Pujols, Chase Utley, and Miguel Cabrera. Jonathan's team has been doing especially well in the SB and BA categories. He's had some great pitching lately from Kevin Slowey, Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, and Edwin Jackson. Howie Kendrick and Delmon Young have been disappointing, and it might be time to give up on them. Adam Jones has had a nice breakthrough season this year, though he has slumped this past month. Jonathan will need a healthy Carlos Beltran if he wants to solidify his hold on first place for the rest of the season.

Player to sell: Delmon Young

2. Screaming Lemurs (56-50-4)

The Lemurs are currently in sixth place in the league standins, but they are only 4.5 games out of second and the stats they've put up this season indicate that they are much better than their current record. The Lemurs have a lot of speed and they've benefited from Juan Pierre's strong output during Manny's suspension. I've said it before, but this is a very well-balanced offense. Getting Aramis Ramirez back in a week or two will help a lot, but the Lemurs continue to get a lot of offense from a variety of players. His pitching staff has struggled a little bit, but it's quite a good collection of talent and I believe in their abilities to turn things around. When asked about his team, Posluch said, "I hate Mike Fontenot."

Player to sell: David Price

3. Orc Mischief (52-52-6)

Another team that I feel is better than their current record, Orc Mischief has put up some great offensive numbers this season. They've done a good job at picking up young players such as Nolan Reimold and Andrew McCutcheon throughout the year. Alexei Ramirez is starting to turn things around, Brad Hawpe is continuing to have a career year, and Mark Reynolds has been a nice surprise. The pitching staff doesn't have a lot of depth, but everyone has pitched well this year, and, with this offense, I think there will be a lot of 6-4 or 5-4 games.

Player to sell: Mike Cameron

4. Butt Admirals (56-41-13)

The Admirals have a solid team that is very competitive in the RBI, SB, BA, WHIP and Saves categories. Brad Lidge has struggled this year, but hopefully his time off will help him find last year's success. Ben Zobrist was a great pickup, as was Clint Barmes. Grady Sizemore and Joey Votto are back from their respective DL stints and the Admirals will count on their power production. The pitching staff has talent, but losing Edinson Volquez indefinitely shows this team's lack of pitching depth.

Player to sell: Vladimir Guerrero

5. The Tossers (58-46-6)

The Tossers have a lot of power and a great bullpen, but most of their success has depended on the strong starts by guys like Russell Branyan. Alex Rodriguez has sucked so far, so I guess I can't fault the Tossers for relying on guys like Branyan. Torii Hunter is having a career year, as was Raul Ibanez before he went on the DL. The pitching staff has been decent, but having Roy Oswalt pitch like the Roy Oswalt of years past would be a big addition. I think this team will make the playoffs, but not as a top-three team.

Player to sell: Roy Oswalt

6. Macafey (52-51-7)

After scuffling around in the bottom half of the league standings for most of the season, Macafey has made their way into the top half with some strong performances in the past month. They have a lot of offensive talent, but the team has underperformed for most of the year. Jimmy Rollins, Geovany Soto, and Mike Jacobs have all been disappointments, and David Wright has not hit for the power we expected of him. Derrek Lee and Adam Lind have done surprisingly well this year after underwhelming seasons last year, and Yovani Gallardo has been lights out for the past month. Pitching injuries have hurt this team, though Scott Downs, Roy Halladay, and Erik Bedard should be back in a week or two. This team has the talent to do well in the second half. When asked about his team's peformance this year, Tim replied, "We have not yet begun to fight! I wouldn't trade my team for any other on the road to the playoffs."

Player to sell: Milton Bradley

7. Naterade (56-48-6)

Naterade is currently ranked fourth in the standings, but I feel that they've been a bit lucky as their team hasn't been that good offensively compared to the rest of the league. Russell Martin has really been a disappointment, as was Lastings Milledge. Other than Mark Teixiera, Justin Upton, and Cody Ross, the offense has struggled for the past month. Maybe Andre Ethier will start to hit for a better average when Manny comes back from his suspension. The pitching staff has been very good, and Naterade has a plethora of closers, which will come in handy since Matt Lindstrom just went on the DL. Felix Hernandez has been great this year, and this could be the breakout season that we've come to expect from him. I think this team is a hitter or two away from making a deep run in the playoffs.

Player to sell: Lastings Milledge

8. Dissect Yourself (54-48-8)

Micah's pitching staff has done well so far, but I don't think they can keep it up. C.C. Sabathia has been disappointing, Wandy Rodriguez has been awful lately, Jose Contreras is old, and Gil Meche is inconsistent. At least Carlos Zambrano has pitched well this season. The offense is more talented, but this team has the worst BA in the league, thanks to free-swingers such as Chris Davis and Alfonso Soriano. Adrian Beltre is starting to heat up, and Chris Young has shown signs of life this month, but Jay Bruce and Matt Holliday have not exactly been carrying this team. Troy Tulowitzki is at least showing that he remembers how to be a fantasy stud. Micah had this to say about his team: I view my team this year like a bag of microwavable popcorn. My guys are playing great and you know there are going to be those last little kernels popping as you take the bag out of the microwave (see Bruce, Davis, Soriano, Young). And then I'll add the sweet melted butter (see: Sabathia - always a slow starter). Bon appetit."

Player to sell: Dan Uggla

9. Adrian's Revenge (52-55-3)

My team's driving me nuts. I've had some great performances from guys like Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau, Robinson Cano, and Ryan Zimmerman this year, but it seems like my team can't perform well at the same time. Kosuke Fukudome has been awful since I got him, Cameron Maybin was a bust during his time in the majors, and Magglio Ordonez needs to get in touch with Manny's hormone supplier. Thankfully Colby Rasmus is starting to look comfortable in the big leagues with eleven extra base hits this month, and Jhonny Peralta's power stroke is starting to return. The solid veterans that I thought I was drafting have really let me down this year, though. On the pitching side, Ervin Santana has been a bust and Scott Baker has been inconsistent. I think Ricky Nolasco will continue to improve in the second half, and Jordan Zimmerman will end up having a good year if he can continue his great strikeout rate. Hopefully my closer situation will stabilize and I'll get some more saves each week.

Player to sell: Pick 'em.

10. The Balls (41-63-6)

Here's where we get to the teams that are most likely out of the playoff race already. The Balls have gotten some solid power from Adrian Gonzalez and Ryan Howard, but they've lost Carlos Quentin for a month and counting, and most of their outfield is underwhelming. This team should have better stolen base numbers than they've already put up, but they'll need Jason Bartlett to continue his career year. Shin-Soo Choo is looking like a great draft pick. The pitching staff took a big hit with the loss of Jake Peavy, and no other pitcher on this staff is doing well this month. In regards to his team, John said, " The Balls suffered from an acute case of collective social anxiety disorder this year, but they have dealt with the issue and are now ready for a heroic comeback." John also attributes his early season struggles to a lack of "paying attention".

Player to sell: Phil Hughes

11. Summer Fox (44-60-6)

The Fox has been hurt by Carlos Delgado's injury, Manny Ramirez's suspension, and Garrett Atkins poor year, all of which have contributed to them falling near the bottom of every fantasy category in our league. Stephen Drew and Orlando Hudson find themselves heading in the opposite directions as their early season surge/stumble begin to correct themselves. Better performances are needed out of Kevin Youkilis and Brandon Phillips if the Fox has any hope of reaching the playoffs. The pitching staff has been hurt by injury and ineffectiveness and there's not much hope of them rebounding. John Lackey should get better, but I'm not willing to make the same bet for Joba Chamberlain, Daisuke Matsuzaka, or Chien-Ming Wang.

Player to sell: Wang

12. Order of the Phoenix (33-75-2)

Does Mark even check his team anymore? He has four DL-eligible players and three empty DL spots. Injuries to fantasy studs like Jose Reyes, Josh Hamilton, and Scott Kazmir have hurt his team, but he hasn't made any attempt to replace them. David Ortiz has found his power stroke this month, but Kelly Johnson, Jeff Francouer and Vernon Wells have been awful. Justin Verlander and Joe Blanton have been good this year, but Francisco Liriano is the only other starter currently pitching in the majors and he's been terrible.

Player to sell: Too many to list

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Trade Review - Chris B. Young/Gil Meche for Ubaldo Jimenez/Kosuke Fukudome

We have our fourth trade of the season, the third one that I've been involved in and the first for Dissect Yourself. Dissect Yourself had made it clear that Ubaldo Jimenez was available and I had been looking to move Chris B. Young, so we worked out a deal on June 8th that had my team, Adrian's Revenge send Chris B. Young and Gil Meche for Ubaldo Jimenez and Kosuke Fukudome.

I've had Chris B. Young in our keeper league ever since his rookie year in 2007 when he hit 32 HR and stole 27 bases. His numbers dropped a bit last year, but they couldn't prepare me for what he's done this season when I decided to trade him: .178 BA, .233 OBP, .314 SLG, 4 HR, and 8 SB. The Diamondbacks had just called up Gerrardo Parra, who seemed like a threat to his playing time, and though I still believed in Young's speed and power, I wasn't certain that he could get enough playing time if he couldn't hit the ball. Since Micah had said that Jimenez was available, I checked to see if he'd have any interest in Young.

Despite the fact that Jimenez had started off the season with a couple disastrous outings, I'd been intrigued by the numbers that the young pitcher had put up since then. Jimenez puts up solid strikeout totals, and he's cut down on his walk rate from last season. He consistently pitches pitches into the seventh inning, and he induces more groundballs than flyballs, which is a benefit when you pitch half your games at Coors Field. My team needs pitching help, and I felt that Jimenez was the type of underrated pitcher that could be had cheaply.

Micah was willing to trade Jimenez for Young by themselves, but he wanted to find out if I would be willing to include Meche for Fukudome. Meche has had some decent years for the Royals, enough to make him an underrated pitching asset, but he had put up some mediocre numbers in the first two months of the season, and I was worried that his chronic back problems would keep him from ever pitching to his potential. Fukudome had struggled as the season went on last year, but I was hoping that he could turn that trend around this year now that he was familiar with the major league season. My offense needed a consistent 4th or 5th outfielder, and I felt that Fukudome could fill that role if he could avoid tiring as the season progressed.

The day the deal went through, Meche pitched a 7 inning, 11 strikeout gem for his first win in a month. Those stats went to me, but he followed that up with a complete game shutout against the Diamondbacks. Micah may have gotten Meche at just the right time if he can pitch to the potential that he has shown in recent years. Young has also shown a bit more at the plate since the trade, hitting 2 HR and 3 doubles to go along with 2 SB in six games. Fukudome hasn't shown me anything since I've received him and he's 0 for his last 20. Jimenez had his own complete game win in his last start, but the fact that he threw 127 pitches and 4 walks doesn't give me a lot of hope in his next start.

How will this trade be remembered? Hard to say. Early dividends give the trade to Micah, but sometimes trades are not about screwing another team over. Instead, they can be a tool to get players that you believe will help your team. None of these players may be on our rosters next year, but it's all about improving your team's weaknesses.

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Trade Review - Jose Guillen for Jered Weaver

We have our third trade of the season, as Naterade and Orc Mischief deal from their strengths to shore up their weaknesses.  Besides myself, Naterade and Orc Mischief are the only other teams to have completed a trade so far this year, with two trades apiece.  Let's look at the trade's principals.

Naterade has struggled in the HR category this year and adding Jose Guillen will help to strengthen a young and inconsistent outfield.  Naterade doesn't have many sluggers on his team and Guillen will give him a veteran outfielder with 25 HR and 100 RBI upside.  Guillen is a career .273 hitter, so he could hurt Nate's BA, but Guillen did hit .290 in 2007.  Guillen missed a couple of weeks earlier this season, but he has been hot since coming off the DL, hitting .343 with 3 HR and 11 RBI in 10 games.

Orc Mischief has had very poor pitching so far this season, and he's only won two pitching categories other than Saves this year.  Besides Johan Santana and Jon Lester, and Lester hasn't pitched that well yet, Orc Mischief has a lot of soft-tossing pitchers with little major league success.  I'm not a big fan of Jered Weaver, but he should give you double-digit Wins with an okay WHIP and ERA.  He should be a top-40 pitcher, and he will become the Orc's 3rd or 4th best pitcher.  Weaver has started out very hot this year, and he could be a fantasy surprise if he can return his strikeout rate to last year's levels.  

Not every trade has to be a blockbuster deal, and I like how both teams evaluated their own strengths and weaknesses and then dealt accordingly.  Neither team will miss the players they gave up too dearly, and they both will enjoy the services of the players they received.

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Let's Take Stock of the Surroundings

As it is now the third week of the season, I see no reason why I shouldn't be able to make wild speculations and assumptions based upon the events of the previous two weeks in my Yahoo H2H keeper league.

- After two matchups, The $5 Footlongs have taken a close lead over the Screaming Lemurs, Dissect Yourself, and Naterade.  The Footlongs have gone undefeated in every offensive category except for steals, though they have had middling results in the pitching categories.  Their victories over the Lemurs and the Macafeys have been very close, so it might not be time yet to chisel their name on the season trophy.  They've had incredible starts from Miguel Cabrera, Chase Utley and Adam Jones; of the three I feel most confident in Cabrera's and Utley's abilities to maintain a high level of play, but Jones will eventually struggle at some point.  This is a good team (good enough that I put them on top of last week's power rankings), but they could easily be fourth or fifth.

- The Lemurs had a solid 10-0 victory over Summer Fox, but the matchup wasn't as lopsided as it looked.  The Fox came close to beating the Lemurs in Runs and RBI, but having Brandon Phillips and Garrett Atkins combine for 2 Runs and RBI surely didn't help his cause.  Incidentally, with Matsuzaka now on the DL, it seems that Rogstad needs to cut ties with Joey Devine in order to free up a DL spot and add a pitcher that will actually pitch this year.  Devine had surgery on his arm and will be out for the season.

- As far as the teams at the bottom of the standings, I think the Macafeys are most likely to make the playoffs.  They have too much talent to be stuck in the consolation bracket all year.  Order of the Phoenix will need to pitch better if they want to make the playoffs; none of their starters have an ERA under 5.00 to begin the year.  Orc Mischief has had a couple of tough matchups to begin the year, and I don't see them staying in the basement forever, though I don't know if they have the offense to make the playoffs.

- Let's give the Butt Admirals the "Hard Luck Award" for the first two weeks; they have tied in more categories than anyone, including tying in stolen bases each week, despite the fact that they are second in steals overall.  The Admirals would be in 7th if Emilio Bonifacio hadn't started the season so hot, or if Dustin Pedroia had stolen a base last week.

- The Tossers have stolen 6 bases so far this season, last in the league and half the amount that the Admirals and Orc Mischief put up in the first week.  It's possible that they could be the slowest team in the league, but they nearly tied Order of the Phoenix last week.

- Players that are hitting poorly this month that will hit better: Alexei Ramirez, Geovany Soto, Jay Bruce, and Chris Davis.

- Players that are hitting well that will drop off: Nick Swisher, Orlando Hudson, Mike Cameron, and Brandon Inge.

- Free Agents that I'm watching: Kevin Kouzmanoff, Luke Scott, Ty Wigginton, Pedro Feliz, Nick Johnson, Bronson Arroyo, Kyle Davies, David Purcey, Tim Wakefield, Justin Masterson, Anibal Sanchez, and Octavio Dotel.

- Since this is a keeper league, I just wanted to briefly touch on some on some of the rookies performances so far this season.  Since most starters have only made two starts, we'll just look at the hitters.  Cameron Maybin hit his first HR today, but he's still hitting around the Mendoza line.  Colby Rasmus has more walks than strikeouts, which suggests good strike zone judgement on his part, but where's the power?  He only has one extra-base hit so far this year.  Travis Snider is hitting great, but the batting average will probably come down a bit.  The power is legit though, and 25 HR is realistic.  Elvis Andrus is also hitting well, and the stolen bases should come as long as he keeps getting on base.  Dexter Fowler is showing a solid combination of pop and speed.  Jordan Schafer is struggling and striking out way too much; where's his speed?  Based only on these past two weeks, Travis Snider should be the AL Rookie of the Year by a landslide.

- Some prospects that I'm waiting on for this year that no one has on their roster: Matt Gamel, Gordon Beckham, Andrew McCutchen, Carlos Carrasco, and Tommy Hanson.    

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Trade Spin

Two trades so far this season and I have been involved in both of them.

After I named a players from each team that I wanted in my power rankings, Naterade responded by offering me Justin Morneau and Robinson Cano for Mark Teixiera and Emmanuel Burriss.  Nate has tried every year to pry Teixiera from me, and this was the deal that finally did it.  I really needed to upgrade at second base, so I was happy to receive Cano.  I felt that the upgrade that Cano represented over Burriss balanced out the downgrade from Teixiera to Morneau.  I think Morneau is a top-five first baseman, and though he doesn't have the power potential of Teixiera, Morneau is not that far off in the other offensive categories.  Cano balances out the slight offensive drop off by giving me one of the top 6 or 7 second baseman in the league.  I think Cano will bounce back from last season's mediocre batting average to hit over .300 again with 15+ HR.  He's a big upgrade for my team over Burriss, who I had picked up for his stolen base potential but had instead been killing my team's BA.

I'm not surprised that Naterade targeted Burriss; he had complimented my pickup of Burriss at the start of the season and Natarade could use the steals.  He gets a star in Teixiera, who was one of the longest tenured players on my team.  I first drafted Teixiera in 2006 and I've dealt with his slow starts every year.  He will pick things up, but it's hard to deal with slow starts from your star players in a H2H league.  Teixiera is a better keeper than Morneau, but I think having Cano will help me more this year.

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Power Rankings

It's time for the first power rankings of the year.  For those who don't know, this is a ranking of the 12 teams in my head-to-head keeper league.  As always, these are 90% subjective and they are a measure of how I think each team will do from this point on.  I reserve the right to change my opinion about each and every one of these team's throughout the year.  As an added bonus, I have designated one player from each team that I would like to have on my own team in a transparent attempt to ignite some trade talks.  These power rankings will appear intermittently throughout the season because they are time-consuming, though I will be more inclined to do them if you guys ask nicely.  Feel free to debate these rankings in the comments section.  Onto the rankings.

1. The $5 Footlongs

With Albert Pujols, Miguel Cabrera, Chase Utley, and Carlos Beltran, this offense can officially be considered stacked.  Most teams will not outslug them, and they might find it hard to outrun them since they also have Jacoby Ellsbury, Rafael Furcal, Bobby Abreu, and Adam Jones.  This outfield is a little light on power, so any home run droughts in the infield will be a blow to this team.  This team has great pitching, and though Tim Lincecum and Kevin Slowey have struggled so far, both pitchers should be fine.  This team has a solid bullpen, especially if Trevor Hoffman can stay healthy.  The only thing I can nitpick about this team is after their top four pitchers, they are relying on guys like Oliver Perez, Mike Pelfrey, Anthony Reyes, and Rick Porcello.  These pitchers all have value, but it’s not a good sign to see them all in one place.  

Guy who I’d want on my team: Kevin Slowey.  I think he’s going to be a top-15 pitcher this year. 

 

2. Screaming Lemurs

The Lemurs have a good mix of speed and power; this is a very balanced lineup.  Victor Martinez has started hot out of the gate this season, probably trying to erase any memory of his awful 2008 season.  Travis Snider has also started well, and he could have a solid rookie year.  The Lemurs need Alex Gordon to step things up this year to make this lineup one of the best in the league.  I’m a big fan of this team’s pitching, even with Brandon Webb on the DL.  John Danks, Javier Vasquez, Matt Garza, and Johnny Cueto should all have good seasons.  Saves will be scarce on this team, but the Lemurs have already taken advantage of Trevor Hoffman’s injury by picking up Carlos Villaneuva, who should get a few save opportunities before Hoffman comes back.  The Lemurs went 4-6 last week, but that was a very close matchup that could have easily been 6-4 in their favor.  

Guy I’d want on my team: Johnny Cueto.  He’s going to bounce back this year.

 

3. Naterade

This is a team that is better than the 5-4-1 record they put up last week against a very strong Macafeys team.  Naterade has a solid offense with a few young stars and a great pitching staff anchored by young aces such as Chad Billingsley, Felix Hernandez, and Josh Beckett.  This team should have a lot of high strikeout totals each week.  Naterade will more than hold his own in the pitching categories each week, but they may have trouble beating some of the more powerful offenses in our league.  Other than Justin Morneau and Evan Longoria, this team is a little light on power.  They will need guys like Justin Upton to improve this year if they want to go deep into the playoffs this year.  

Guy who I’d want on my team: Robinson Cano.  I think he’s going to have a strong season this year. 

 

4. Dissect Yourself

I think this offense is better than people realize.  Micah has lots of power and a good amount of speed on this team.  This team could be poised for a deep playoff run if Chris Davis and Ryan Doumit can hit like they did last year, and if Troy Tulowitzki can return to his 2007 form.  Micahel Bourn will steal a lot of bases if he can keep hitting the way he is now.  The bullpen is very solid, and Micah should come close to winning the Saves category every week.  The pitching is decent, but I’m not a fan of Carlos Zambrano, even with his good start.  

Guy I’d want on my team: Ubaldo Jimenez.  Despite pitching in Coors, I think Jimenez will be a good pitcher.

 

5. Macafeys

Last year’s champions have a strong team again this year, but I feel that it’s a bit weaker offensively than the 2008 team.  They have fantasy studs like David Wright, Jimmy Rollins, BJ Upton, and Geovany Soto, but they also have some weak spots, specifically at the middle infield positions.  The Macafeys have reloaded with young up-and-comers such as Adam Lind and Matt Wieters; Wieters will especially be valuable to the Macafeys as either Wieters or Soto will become a trade chip once Wieters is promoted.  Mike Jacobs has started slow, but I really like the power that he offers and he’s a solid CI or UT.  I’m not a Milton Bradley fan, mainly because he can’t stay healthy.  I think Nelson Cruz will be good this year, but I’m not buying into the hype that he generated with last year’s performance.  The pitching staff is very good; having Roy Halladay, Josh Johnson, Erik Bedard, Adam Wainwright, and Yovani Gallardo will result in some great pitching totals every week.  Closers are scarce on this team, though Jose Arredondo and Scott Downs could find a few saves this year.  Downs could supplant BJ Ryan as the Blue Jays closer if Ryan is injured or inefficient, greatly increasing Downs’ value.  

Guy I’d want on my team: Erik Bedard.  I’m buying into Bedard’s comeback year.   

 

6. The Balls

The Balls are also strong offensively, though there are some question marks on their team; Shin-Soo Choo and Xavier Nady have started out well, but can they continue to hit well throughout the season, or will find themselves losing at bats if they struggle?  Also, will Jarrod Saltalamacchia bust out of his slump and overtake Elvis Andrus as the jewel of the Mark Teixiera trade, or will he be a black hole at catcher for the Balls this year?  This team will run and hit, but batting average might be a problem for them.  The pitching staff should be pretty good, with Jake Peavy, Ricky Nolasco, and Derek Lowe running out there every five days.  I’m also a fan of Jair Jurrjens for this season, more so than I am of Gavin Floyd who, last season’s 17 Wins notwithstanding, I feel is overrated.  This team is good enough to win 6-4 every week, but I think they will struggle in the Saves, BA, and Wins categories.  

Guy I’d want on my team: Jair Jurrjens.  He’s going to surprise some people.

 

7. Order of the Phoenix

There’s some good power on this team stored in the bats of Lance Berkman, Pat Burrell, Josh Hamilton, and Ryan Ludwick, but this team should find steals hard to come by with Jose Reyes their only proven base stealer.  Even if Reyes has a monster year and steals 3 bags a week, this team will struggle in the SB category against most teams in the league.  There’s talent on the mound for the Phoenix, but there’s not a lot of depth behind Scott Kazmir and Francisco Liriano.  The bullpen is very good, so the Phoenix should be competitive in Saves, WHIP, and ERA, but K’s and Wins might be hard to come by for this staff.  It looks like Mark plans to address this problem by rotating out as many pitchers as the league allows each week, which should help him if he can pick solid matchups each time.  

Guy who I’d want on my team: It’s a tossup between Pablo Sandoval and Manny Parra.  Both players have started slow, but I think they’re going to have great years.

 

8. Adrian’s Revenge

My team has been hurt by injuries.  Already I’ve had to deal with Ervin Santana, Scott Baker, and Melvin Mora making trips to the DL (Joe Mauer and Kelvim Escobar are also on the DL but they were like that when I got them).  Only the young guys on my team want to hit; Mark Teixiera, Magglio Ordonez, and Carlos Guillen have given early performances ranging from awful to so-so.  Still, I like my team’s chances to make the playoffs if they can turn things around.  I really like my pitching staff, especially with the way Zack Greinke and Gil Meche have been pitching.  It would be nice if Joel Hanrahan would get a save, but I guess the Nationals would have to win a game for that to happen. 

 

9. Summer Fox

The Fox has the best record after the first week, but their team resembles a MASH unit more than a baseball team.  6 Fox players are on the DL, though Ichiro just came off recently, and it’s not looking like Hiroki Kuroda will return next week when eligible.  This team has a good offense with some young stars to build around.  Their hitting will need to carry the team until the pitching can get healthy.  Right now they are depending on Kyle Lohse, Ryan Dempster, and Jamie Moyer to anchor their staff.  There’s not much in the way of relief on this team, and it might be time to drop Joey Devine for another pitcher since he won’t be back any time soon.  This team can be competitive in the future if managed right, but they will need to get some pitching help if they want to be competitive this year.  

Guy I’d want on my team: Stephen Drew.  I think he’s going to be a solid SS for the next five years or so.

10. Butt Admirals

This could be again one of the faster teams in the league.  They don’t have any true burners, except for possibly Chone Figgins, but they do have quite a few guys that can steal 20-30 bases.  Elvis Andrus is a guy who will probably struggle at the plate, but he had 93 steals over the last two years in the minors, so I think it’s safe to say that he’ll have value this year.  Their pitching staff isn’t as solid as the offense, especially with the injury to Chris Carpenter, who was doing so well prior to getting hurt.  Dan Haren is a stud, Rich Harden is only as good as he’s healthy, and Edinson Volquez has talent, though he probably won’t be as good as he was last year.  Beyond those three, there isn’t much else.  The Admirals should be fine most weeks because they have a solid bullpen to help out in WHIP and ERA, though I’d probably think about dropping Takashi Saito for a reliever or starter with less health issues, preferably one that strikes out a lot of batters.  This team is well-suited to compete over the next couple of years if their young players like Chase Headley and Andrus can mature into All-Stars.  

Guy I’d want on my team: Joey Votto.  I think this guy’s going to be a star for years to come.

 

11. Orc Mischief

This is a boring team.  It’s boring, and I mean that as a compliment.  None of the players on this team are really sexy breakout picks, except for Alexei Ramirez probably, but they get the job done.  Players like Mark Reynolds, Mike Cameron, and Brad Hawpe don’t seem that great during the season because they can be streaky, but their stats at the end of the year are solid.  This team will have a lot of power, but I think their batting average will be suspect most weeks.  The Orcs will need to use that power to bash their opponents into submission each week, because there’s not much going on in the bullpen.  Johan Santana has started the season with his typically amazing results and Jon Lester is a solid young ace, but Chien-Ming Wang has been awful and Joe Saunders is overrated.  This team will have to hope their relievers give them solid ERA and WHIP each week.  I think this team could surprise some people if they get in the playoffs, but I don’t think the Orcs are built to win beyond this year.  

Guy I’d want on my team: Brad Hawpe.  Solid slugger.

 

12. The Tossers

What I like about this offense: Travis Hafner looks to be making a bit of a comeback, Corey Hart is a solid 20/20 player, Chris Iannetta could be a top-5 catcher, and Alex Rodriguez might be his old self by May.  What I don’t like: There are a lot of older guys here, which is not a good sign for a team that didn’t have a lot of success last year.  I do like the power and speed that Torii Hunter and Jayson Werth bring, but this team does not have a lot of stars.  The pitching staff is looking better than the offense, especially because bullpen offers three solid closers.  Aaron Harang also looks like he’s ready to bounce back from last year, and Ted Lilly is always good for strikeouts and a decent WHIP and ERA.  This team will need Cliff Lee to pitch better because the pitching staff will be critical to this team’s season record.  

Guy I’d want on my team: Ted Lilly.

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Tip of the Cap

I want to offer a tip of the cap, to steal Stephen Colbert's oft-used and possibly trademarked phrase, to my opponent this week the Balls for their prodigious offensive output today.  They hit .386 with 10 Runs, 6 HR, and 15 RBI, giving them a large lead over my pitiful .194/7/1/2 day.

Big hitters for the Balls were Carlos Quentin with 2 HR and 4 RBI, and Aubrey Huff with 4 hits and 3 RBI.  The Balls' offense is off to a solid start this season, and I commend them on their strong performance today.

Though my offense fared poorly today, I'd be remiss if I didn't comment on the solid pitching performance I received from Zack Greinke in his match against the Indians.  Greinke struck out 9 in just 5 innings, and though his WHIP suffered from 6 hits and 2 walks, Greinke recieved the W.  Greinke has put up some great numbers in his first two starts, striking out 16 while keeping the opposition scoreless through 11 innings, and I'm excited to see what he'll do as the year progresses.  

Since we are giving out tips of the cap, I'd like to acknowledge the strong pitching performances that the Macafeys and Naterade put up against each other last week.  The Macafeys barely overcame Naterade in 3 out of the 5 categories while tying in Saves.  The Macafeys received strong performances from Erik Bedard, Adam Wainwright and Josh Johnson, while Naterade countered with Josh Beckett and Felix Hernandez.  Both teams look like they will have formidable rotations this year.

I hope to have a short power rankings up by Friday, and maybe a small look back at the first two weeks of the season early next week.  

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