Look....But Don't Touch

[DOUGHBOYS]

I might get a few comments from this one....

There are some things that ball players do that can't be gauged by Numerish.
Weight is one of those things. I've stated before that I like drafting overweight players. They may not LOOK as good as other players, but they perform.
And, for the most part, they perform without injury. At least until they hit their 30's, then the weight effects some of these players.
CC Sabathia is starting to feel the weight. He can do a David Ortiz and lose it or he can simply collect his $$$ without earning it over the last years of his contract.
The choice is his. And by the way, by my count CC Sabathia has lost almost 100 pounds over the last five years.
That is, if we only listen to spring training reports.
He hasn't, of course. But still, I look forward each year to his annual weight loss report.
Miguel Cabrera, Billy Butler, Prince Fielder, Bartolo Colon, and David Ortiz before the weight loss are almost all sure bets to not get hurt. Their sloth like movements are/were a boon to their health.

There is another type of player that has a little more fantasy value now.
The lazy player.
Again, this is for longevity in playing in that they are less injury prone.
Ichiro has never been considered lazy...but he sort of is.
He won't dive for balls. He may go to his knees, but that's as far as he goes. He'll leap with his glove above the wall for a potential home run ball, but never, will he dive into rows of seats after a ball.
Ichiro's less than 100 % on the field is a GOOD thing for fantasy players.

This isn't like fat players. We can't SEE lazy. We have to do our own scouting.
BJ Upton is lazy.
He's a cruiser.
BJ Upton would rather cruise into second then stretch a hit to a triple. He'll loaf after balls in the outfield.
Remember, this is a good thing. BJ Upton hardly ever gets hurt. And his laziness like most players, comes in the field. As fantasy players, we don't care what our players do in the field....as long as they don't get hurt.
Hanley Ramirez is lazy.
Robinson Cano may not be lazy, but he likes to LOOK lazy. His nonchalance keeps him on the field all the time.
We like.
Miguel Cabrera and Billy Butler could be members of BOTH clubs. Call them Fat AND Lazy....and call them a member of my fantasy team.

A lot of folks were amazed that Mike Trout had the year that he did. I was amazed he stayed healthy.
Mike Trout was a human pinball. I don't like human pinballs on my team.
I love watching them on television, hate them on my team.
Brett Lawrie is a human pinball and he is already destined for an injury marred career.
He threw his body in a Yankee Stadium camera well for a foul ball.
A foul ball!
We admire that hustle as a fan, as an owner, I'm freakin'.
Lawrie should take a lesson from Derek Jeter.
Jeter looks like he has a calculator in his head before making dives.
He lowers his chance of injury by seemingly picking a landing spot that is most healthy for his body.
Lawrie was ball first, everything else, second, including our fantasy team.
Camerin Maybin contorts his body in funny ways all over the outfield.
Great for spectators, not good for staying on the field.
In Colorado, we've made fun of Troy Tulowitzki. Tulo is proud of his arm and is an expert at making an easy play look hard.
He does this because he likes to show off his arm. What he doesn't get, is that throwing from different angles is hard on his core. Last year, I fell into the Tulo trap and thought that he'd taken care of everything, both mentally and physically.
He hasn't.

Some human pinballs realize what they are doing shortens their shelf life, and change their ways.
Ian Kinsler has toned down flying after extra bases and diving for every ball.
He's not considered lazy. He's just playing more under control now.
Ian Desmond should take a lesson from Ian Kinsler.
Bryce Harper had minor things happen to him last year. I expect major injuries to come soon.
He plays hard. Too hard.Just what the Nationals want....and what I don't want.
Josh Hamilton plays hard and he's a 'Do you feel lucky, Punk' fantasy pick.

We're men.
We like our women beautiful. We like our players exciting.
While single, the one night stands or 20 minutes of passion (Daily fantasy leagues) in a backseat are wonderful.
But when we're serious and want to be with a woman for the rest of our lives (Main Event), we want her to be somebody that we can be comfortable spending a lot of time with.
And we want our players to be the same way.
After we're married, we can still look at players like Lawrie, as long as we don't touch.