NFBC Weekly Profile - Shawn Childs
Posted: Tue Aug 03, 2010 7:49 am
His very name strikes fear or in the hearts of many fantasy players. Whether he’s in contention or not, everyone wants to know exactly where he’s at in order to monitor his progress.
With success comes respect. Shawn Childs has had plenty of the former while garnering a healthy amount of the latter.
So it’s no surprise then that the standings in the National Fantasy Baseball Championship’s Auction Championship have felt a bit of a tremor at the top as Childs has made a push up the standings in recent weeks. He entered play 15th overall, still out of the money but within striking distance of contention.
That has Childs keeping everything in perspective as he gears up for the stretch run.
“I'm hurting in two categories Stolen Bases and Saves,” he said. “I think I have a couple of players on my team that could help me make a push steals, but I need them healthy and running. B.J. Upton has been a disappointed, but he could help with a hot month. His ankle is a concern because it would be tough to find the speed replacement on the wire.
“Andrew McCutchen is my other speed threat. He played well early in the year, but he hasn't done much lately. His has a shoulder problem. Rickie Weeks is having a great year except he isn't running as much as I had hoped. If he had 15 steals, my team might be right on target for speed. Between these three players, I need to make up 10-12 stolen bases to make up 25-30 points in steals.
“My second closer has been a problem most of the year. I probably need to make up the same number of saves as steals to gain about 30 points overall. I have a couple of options if the right players get traded. To make an impact, I need three closers the rest of the way. I can't afford to lose ground to Wins and Strikeouts. As the great Jupinka would say, I need to thread the needle.”
At this point of the season, Childs said it’s too late to consider radically changing his approach. With the exception of steals and saves, he likes the overall balance of his roster. Much of that, he said, is due to an auction strategy which has worked out well for the most part.
“My plan almost worked out, but I was in two bidding wars for Vlad (Guerrero) and (Carlos) Quentin,” he said. “Between the two players, I lost about $8 of buying power. It doesn't sound like much, but it left me with three holes on my team to start the year – middle infield, corner infield and second closer.
“I fixed one of the three and I probably got enough stats out the middle infield. I just didn't get the right stats. I purchased Ty Wigginton at the auction hoping he might qualify at second if Roberts’ issues lingered. I was right, but I dropped him too early.”
If there’s one regret Childs has with his auction team, it’s diving in heavily for Boston’s Jonathan Papelbon.
“I probably could have purchased two closer for a couple of dollars more,” he said. “Papelbon cost me a couple of times the first weekend in Vegas.”
The 48-year-old Childs began the year ranked first all-time in career NFBC auction winnings and fifth in all-time NFBC winnings. One of the reasons why he has accumulated a high level of success in this format is because he’s been able to adeptly supplement and improve his roster throughout the season with critical free-agent pickups.
Childs points to Chris Snyder, Vicente Padilla and Jose Guillen as some of the key players he has picked up this season who have bolstered his lineup. Could a savvy move or two be in store in the final weeks of the season that could propel Childs’ team further up the standings?
We shall see.
“Maybe one of the closers in waiting I’m holding will help down the stretch,” he said. “If I was able to solve (my saves and stolen base) problems, I might be able to get over 1,000 points with some minor gains in other categories. If the top team had some fade, I might be a contender. As of today, I'd be happy making a run at my league title.”
With success comes respect. Shawn Childs has had plenty of the former while garnering a healthy amount of the latter.
So it’s no surprise then that the standings in the National Fantasy Baseball Championship’s Auction Championship have felt a bit of a tremor at the top as Childs has made a push up the standings in recent weeks. He entered play 15th overall, still out of the money but within striking distance of contention.
That has Childs keeping everything in perspective as he gears up for the stretch run.
“I'm hurting in two categories Stolen Bases and Saves,” he said. “I think I have a couple of players on my team that could help me make a push steals, but I need them healthy and running. B.J. Upton has been a disappointed, but he could help with a hot month. His ankle is a concern because it would be tough to find the speed replacement on the wire.
“Andrew McCutchen is my other speed threat. He played well early in the year, but he hasn't done much lately. His has a shoulder problem. Rickie Weeks is having a great year except he isn't running as much as I had hoped. If he had 15 steals, my team might be right on target for speed. Between these three players, I need to make up 10-12 stolen bases to make up 25-30 points in steals.
“My second closer has been a problem most of the year. I probably need to make up the same number of saves as steals to gain about 30 points overall. I have a couple of options if the right players get traded. To make an impact, I need three closers the rest of the way. I can't afford to lose ground to Wins and Strikeouts. As the great Jupinka would say, I need to thread the needle.”
At this point of the season, Childs said it’s too late to consider radically changing his approach. With the exception of steals and saves, he likes the overall balance of his roster. Much of that, he said, is due to an auction strategy which has worked out well for the most part.
“My plan almost worked out, but I was in two bidding wars for Vlad (Guerrero) and (Carlos) Quentin,” he said. “Between the two players, I lost about $8 of buying power. It doesn't sound like much, but it left me with three holes on my team to start the year – middle infield, corner infield and second closer.
“I fixed one of the three and I probably got enough stats out the middle infield. I just didn't get the right stats. I purchased Ty Wigginton at the auction hoping he might qualify at second if Roberts’ issues lingered. I was right, but I dropped him too early.”
If there’s one regret Childs has with his auction team, it’s diving in heavily for Boston’s Jonathan Papelbon.
“I probably could have purchased two closer for a couple of dollars more,” he said. “Papelbon cost me a couple of times the first weekend in Vegas.”
The 48-year-old Childs began the year ranked first all-time in career NFBC auction winnings and fifth in all-time NFBC winnings. One of the reasons why he has accumulated a high level of success in this format is because he’s been able to adeptly supplement and improve his roster throughout the season with critical free-agent pickups.
Childs points to Chris Snyder, Vicente Padilla and Jose Guillen as some of the key players he has picked up this season who have bolstered his lineup. Could a savvy move or two be in store in the final weeks of the season that could propel Childs’ team further up the standings?
We shall see.
“Maybe one of the closers in waiting I’m holding will help down the stretch,” he said. “If I was able to solve (my saves and stolen base) problems, I might be able to get over 1,000 points with some minor gains in other categories. If the top team had some fade, I might be a contender. As of today, I'd be happy making a run at my league title.”
