The Skwirls have moved up to 6th place with 70 points!
We have been on a steady march up the standings for weeks now. This past week, we won the HR (13) RBI (45) and Runs scored (52) categories. We also won the Wins (5) and WHIP (1.05) cats, with strong showings in all the other categories.
Hell, we even picked up our first save of the season! That broke the tie for last place and gave us a half-point. Thank you Daniel Bard, at $14 the most overpaid set-up guy in the league by far. (I bid him up this year thinking about next year, when he could be an attractively priced closer.)
The news wasn't all good this past week, however. I did receive a bit of a shock when Jake Fox was waived by the O's. It's never a good sign when a guy you own in fantasy isn't even good enough for his team in real life. But that's life in AL-only sometimes. The deal on him is basically the wants (and needs) more playing time, and he feels his sporadic PT is responsible for his .188 BA. So he was designated and, according to reports, will likely be traded. Given that he's got serious pop (10 homers in Spring Training) and qualifies at C, I'll just keep him and see what happens.
When you consider that I've gotten essentially nothing from my 2 catcher slots, my recent surge in the standings is all the more heartening. To add a guy like Joe Mauer sometime this month will be the equivalent of making another blockbuster trade.
Speaking of which, Miguel Caberera is good. Really good. Since I traded for him, he's hit 5 homers and has 13 RBI... in 13 games. On the flip side, Mark Trumbo has 4 homers, and Franklin Gutierrez has 1. So I guess we're even. Nice trade so far for both sides, but Miggy's BA is way higher.
And the trade I didn't make? Juan Pierre is really heating up, scoring 10 runs in his last 11 games and stealing 2 bags, and (get THIS) hitting his first home run of the year. The window to buy him at a discount is closing.
Andino scored 4 runs this week but hit only .208.
One to Watch: SS Yunel Escobar. Scored him with FAAB last season for a reasonable $12, and kept him -- that move is really paying off. Offered him for Papelbon recently and am now rethinking the wisdom of that. Overshadowed on my team and in AL-only fantasy in general by the mighty Asdrubal Cabrera, Escobar has quietly put up some very nice numbers himself: .290 / 7 HR / 24 RBI / 36 R / 1 SB Bear in mind, his .256 last year is the outlier in his career thus far (.326 .288 .299). That's a career .289, and he's hitting .290, so... there you go.
1B Daric Barton was an absolute pest in Fenway this weekend, with 2 hits in all 3 games. He looked very comfortable hitting in the Cozy Confines, taking the ball the other way off the Green Monster. The announcers on radio and TV kept ragging on him for his low batting average and lack of a single home run, but this is a guy who hit 10 last year and walked over 100 times. He's not a slouch. He's just off to a pathetically slow start, and I think playing in Oakland is a real detriment to his style of hitting. He's an everyday player at $6; a good AL-only team needs a couple of those slot-fillers.
RP Al Alburquerque turned out to be a brilliant move, as he vultured not one but two (2!) wins in relief immediately after I rostered him. That's just the way I drew it up on on the chalkboard.
Showing posts with label Miguel Cabrera. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Miguel Cabrera. Show all posts
Monday, June 6, 2011
Monday, May 23, 2011
Week 8: Major Trade Announcement!
Gettin' Jiggy wit Miggy
The last place team in my AL-only had decided to throw in the towel on this season and rebuild for next year. "Young and cheap" was his mantra in his league-wide e-mail. I took a look at his roster like a kid in the proverbial candy store... although as a kid, I tended ignore most of the candy and to go straight for the baseball cards.
At first, I started putting together an offer for Frank Francisco, since I have 0 (count 'em, zero) saves. I guess I took "don't pay for saves" too literally this year. I noted in my e-mail PS that Trumbo ($6) and Ogando ($2) would probably be off-limits, but was willing to discuss other young and cheap players. But I difficulty making an offer that made sense there, I soon turned to the crown jewel on his roster: Miguel Cabrera. Figure, he's cleaning house, can't hurt to ask.
I wanted to put together a deal including 1B Daric Barton, who I had tied up with 2-year extension at only $6, but although a solid AL-only guy, his trade value is as low as his batting average right now. Trumbo was a piece I hated to part with, but when you are asking for perhaps the premier offensive player in the league, you've got to give to get. Because of roster integrity issues (do you have roster integrity rules in your league? I find them annoying), the deal went through several permutations before we settled on the final deal: Miggy for Trumbo and OF Franklin Gutierrez.
Gutierrez was another late-auction sleeper I stole for only $9. With Gutirrez coming off the DL, I had too many OFs anyway, so he was expendable. With Trumbo's solid start, and Kendry Morales going down for the year, his trade value was high. I believe in him, and true power hitters are hard to come by, but I also believe he'll hit his Rookie Rut here soon, and I'm very wary of the Sophomore Slump. As such, I banked his 7 homers (and 3 steals!) and got "Jiggy wit Miggy."
I feel like I stole Cabrera; what do you think? Even at $47, I might keep him next year. Or I might flip him for Youkilis. I admit I was leery of Miggy after his off-season issues, but they don't seem to be affecting him at the plate. I fully expect him to net the 38 / 118 / .331 line ESPN projected for him, which would mean 30 HR and 80 RBI for me for the rest of the way. Will Trumbo and Gutierrez net that production, and hit well over .300?
The Other Cabrera
Meanwhile, my SS Asdrubal Cabrera was the Fantasy 411's Weekend ROTO MONSTER, going off on Sunday with a 5 for 5 day, 2 homers, and a steal. (A tip of the cap to my little brother for urging me to pursue him on auction day. I got him for $23 in our high-inflation league.) Mike Siano had him as a "sleeper SS," and called his breakout season a "Bautista-type year." He's looking like an easy 20-20 guy, and lest you forget, he's only 25 years old! He's a keeper, kids.
So I guess now with Miggy and Asdrubal, all I need is Melky and Orlando to round out my All-Cabrera Team. Could do worse...
The last place team in my AL-only had decided to throw in the towel on this season and rebuild for next year. "Young and cheap" was his mantra in his league-wide e-mail. I took a look at his roster like a kid in the proverbial candy store... although as a kid, I tended ignore most of the candy and to go straight for the baseball cards.
At first, I started putting together an offer for Frank Francisco, since I have 0 (count 'em, zero) saves. I guess I took "don't pay for saves" too literally this year. I noted in my e-mail PS that Trumbo ($6) and Ogando ($2) would probably be off-limits, but was willing to discuss other young and cheap players. But I difficulty making an offer that made sense there, I soon turned to the crown jewel on his roster: Miguel Cabrera. Figure, he's cleaning house, can't hurt to ask.
I wanted to put together a deal including 1B Daric Barton, who I had tied up with 2-year extension at only $6, but although a solid AL-only guy, his trade value is as low as his batting average right now. Trumbo was a piece I hated to part with, but when you are asking for perhaps the premier offensive player in the league, you've got to give to get. Because of roster integrity issues (do you have roster integrity rules in your league? I find them annoying), the deal went through several permutations before we settled on the final deal: Miggy for Trumbo and OF Franklin Gutierrez.
Gutierrez was another late-auction sleeper I stole for only $9. With Gutirrez coming off the DL, I had too many OFs anyway, so he was expendable. With Trumbo's solid start, and Kendry Morales going down for the year, his trade value was high. I believe in him, and true power hitters are hard to come by, but I also believe he'll hit his Rookie Rut here soon, and I'm very wary of the Sophomore Slump. As such, I banked his 7 homers (and 3 steals!) and got "Jiggy wit Miggy."
I feel like I stole Cabrera; what do you think? Even at $47, I might keep him next year. Or I might flip him for Youkilis. I admit I was leery of Miggy after his off-season issues, but they don't seem to be affecting him at the plate. I fully expect him to net the 38 / 118 / .331 line ESPN projected for him, which would mean 30 HR and 80 RBI for me for the rest of the way. Will Trumbo and Gutierrez net that production, and hit well over .300?
 | |
| Miguel gets tagged out by Asdrubal |
Meanwhile, my SS Asdrubal Cabrera was the Fantasy 411's Weekend ROTO MONSTER, going off on Sunday with a 5 for 5 day, 2 homers, and a steal. (A tip of the cap to my little brother for urging me to pursue him on auction day. I got him for $23 in our high-inflation league.) Mike Siano had him as a "sleeper SS," and called his breakout season a "Bautista-type year." He's looking like an easy 20-20 guy, and lest you forget, he's only 25 years old! He's a keeper, kids.
So I guess now with Miggy and Asdrubal, all I need is Melky and Orlando to round out my All-Cabrera Team. Could do worse...
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