I Want To Believe Primetime Blog

[Doctor Who]

Thanks Wayne! Screwy schedule these days. Nice comedic relief and never thought if have any of those ugly braves on my page to look at. I guess that's what I get for bringing up the Burke homer.

[Doctor Who]

Writers Block. I sat here this morning, looking at my computer screen not knowing what to write about. It must be the dog days of summer. It is my first reminder that the season is a marathon and not a sprint. We are coming up on the week that makes us half-way through. Some of us wish the season ended today, while others want more time as they count how to get into the money, or if it is even possible at this point. For this team, it is in 4th place, 5.5 points out of the money. Draft day brings all the excitement, while the dog days of summer seem to make you wonder why you keep putting in all the work for a team that seems to have more problems than bright spots.

This coming week, I have 6 two start pitchers. Pitching has not been a strong suit for this team, yet I look at my staff and it looks solid to me. Do I just need to wait it out and slowly but surely, my ERA and WHIP will get fixed in the end for it to matter? We all get attached to players and think they are better than what is out there on the FAAB. And this week, this team once again stayed silent. Polanco was available and with almost no money to bid, I did throw out a cursory 313 bid on him, but was not a winner as he went for 351. So I sat here wondering why there was no movement for this team, there wasn’t a way to make this team better this week? Was I just not researching enough? Then I focused on not the FAAB pool, but my own team. Attachment. Hope. Belief. When a player is on our team, we love them like a child, as long as there is that positive hope and belief that they will do better, or they are better, than what is out there. But then I looked at my players and all of them are owned in leagues, with my lowest player coming in at 85.7% owned. I don’t know if that is a good thing or a bad one, but was just interesting.

With that said, week 12 was the first week that this team was in first place for the week. The pitching has been outstanding as of late, but the offense remains average at best in my opinion. Braun, Ortiz, Wright, and my entire outfield have been non-existent to say the least. Overall though, except for batting average, I somehow managed to hit all my goals. So why does it seem like I’m not overjoyed that this team found a way to meet the goals when my stars didn’t even do anything? I guess I should, but I guess deep down, I’m concerned about if this team will ever get going offensively like I thought it would. I’m more positive about my pitching staff for some reason than I am offensively.

Josh Beckett has been an enormous pickup for me and was not different this past week with two quality starts. Charlie Morton also has been a great pickup for me, even though Wayne’s distaste for him. He has been a player that has been good for me over the last year and a half. This is was I mean by attachment. Scott Kazmir continues to be an ace, and Hamels is now out of his spring training phase and is looking like the ace I knew he would be. Bartolo Colon has been huge for me also. Yes, that fat guy can still pitch, even though I am scared he will break a leg every time he swings a bat. Two guys I continue to worry about though is Matt Cain and Verlander. I don’t know how much longer I can keep the faith with Verlander. He has been horrible. Not even average. I was way wrong about him picking him ahead of others in the 3rd round. Duffy, Keuchel, and Hughes have been good pickups as well. Now you see why I’m so positive about this team’s pitching staff. Why I’m attached to these guys and why I’m more positive about the pitching than I am the offense.

This team though has found a way to maintain and gain through the standings. I don’t know how, and I don’t want to know. Being only 5.5 points back is crazy to me, but who am I to question it. So here goes nothing. This pitching staff has my belief, and has 6 two start pitchers this week to either reward my belief or to shatter it. I feel like this week could be a huge mover for me, or a huge disappointment. We will know soon enough. It starts today. The dog days of summer. Where hope either goes to die, or is resurrected.

[Bronx Yankees]

Two guys I continue to worry about though is Matt Cain and Verlander. I don’t know how much longer I can keep the faith with Verlander. He has been horrible. Not even average. I was way wrong about him picking him ahead of others in the 3rd round.

Enjoying your thread. Just wanted to say re Verlander: you are not alone, you are not alone. I was dead wrong on Verlander this year. I have him on four different teams, including my Main Event team. I thought he was a bargain in the third round of 15-teamers. I liked him better than just about every starter not named Kershaw or Darvish, and I did not want to spend a first or second round pick on a pitcher. To me, he had an off-year last year, but in September and October regained his prior form and looked very strong in the play-offs. I thought he had whatever mechanical issues he experienced last season all worked out. I hoped I was getting 16-20 wins and 225 Ks with at least a solid ERA and WHIP. Not only has he pitched like crap for virtually this entire season, he is not even striking guys out consistently, and has become a "WHIP-killer." What a disappointment. I blame Kate Upton.

Mike

[Doctor Who]

Looks like Verlander is done. Don't know how this guy could be so good, lose it, get it back, and then just lose it for good. Game will drive you mad sometimes. I've read about his delivery, watched it, and still can't find out what wrong. Is it mental? Who knows... I know it is driving me mental though!

[Money]

Looks like Verlander is done. Don't know how this guy could be so good, lose it, get it back, and then just lose it for good. Game will drive you mad sometimes. I've read about his delivery, watched it, and still can't find out what wrong. Is it mental? Who knows... I know it is driving me mental though!

I think the just needs a rest. Skip him a start or two, put him on the DL for two weeks and then see what he has. Ausmus is not much of a major league manager in my opinion.

[Bronx Yankees]

I saw some news blurb that said Verlander and coaches watched video today and identified some needed mechanical corrections based on differences between 2012 and now.

My first reaction: skepticism

My second reaction: um, what took so long to start watching video looking for then and now changes in mechanics?

Well, things can't get much worse.

Mike

[Doctor Who]

Frustration. Exhaustion. Second-guessing. It all seems to set in during the summer. Is it just because of the humid heat? Or is it knowing that time is running out for you to turn your season around? I was told at an early age that fantasy baseball is a war of attrition. More so than any other fantasy sport, mainly due to the large amount of games compared to any other sport. Fantasy baseball though, can be, at times, like Chinese water torture. Drip… Drip… Drip… At first the bad starts and bad days don’t bother you, as you think to yourself, “Oh, it will stop.” But then it doesn’t, and you start to focus more and more on those bad starts, those bad days, those drops. It just goes to show you how we live and die with this sport. We crave it, even though we know what is coming in the future months, the frustration, the exhaustion, and finally the second-guessing.

I’m still getting close to 300 AB’s (293 this week, even with Hunter going down), which is good news, but this team continues to not be the offensive juggernaut I thought it would be. My so called stars, have been inconsistent all year. Pujols started hot, has cooled off considerably. Hill and Alvarez have been in an offensive pit all year. Wright and Braun have been hot some weeks, and then horrible in others. My batting average remains solid somehow as I flop between 3rd and 4th every other day. I’m in the middle of the pack in runs, and lower half in home runs, with everyone above starting to separate themselves further and further. Finally, RBI’s and SB have been a strength somehow. I lead in SB’s, which I didn’t foresee with this group, and is why I still have hope for this team as it has made up for the lackluster offense. But this offense is starting to drip. The drops are starting to get to me. Somebody make it stop!

I said last week that I believed in my pitching. It looked strong to me. It looked like it was on the way up to making a difference. Then ENIEMIEN told me to come Back to Reality. There were some bright spots. But the blowups this week made the gains go away and then some. Beckett continues to be an ace. Hamels has stepped up to fill the shoes of my number 1. Kazmir continues to be unbelievable. Even Vargas pitched well in his double starts against two tough teams. But then the drips began. Matt Cain had another blowup. Tomlin blew up in both of his starts. By the way, is it just me or do you hate when ESPN shows how long your pitcher has been on the mound in a certain inning on Sportscenter? I feel like they are purposely rubbing it my face. Kuechel and Hughes both were below average in their two start weeks. Finally, we get to my biggest headache, Justin Verlander. His first start he got blown up, his second (after supposedly watching tape of himself again) was a saving grace for him. If he has to watch tape 24/7 from now on, then by God, do it! Meanwhile, Colon, Dickey, and Duffy all had great starts on my bench. Those drops are getting louder and louder by the day. Driving me mad. I got almost 100 IP, which is almost unheard of these days, which led to an uninspiring ERA and WHIP of 4.53 and 1.41 collectively, and only collected 4 wins. I did get 76 K’s though, and now lead the league in this after committing to it early on.

Somehow I stayed 5.5 points back from being in the money and am in 3rd place. So the drips will continue for the near future. Hopefully sometime soon, I’ll be able to find a cork and stop the craziness. I did take the plunge on Andrew Heaney, hoping he can be a difference maker. I bid 214 on him, and evidently I was the only one that really needed him or believed as the second place bid was 51. Even more maddening, I bid myself up as I had a bid of 133 for him until 15 minutes prior to the deadline. Here is hoping he rewards me with something good during his first two start week of the season. This coming week could be a redemption week as I have 4 starters with 2 starts. I elected to go with Duffy over Hughes, Keuchel, Morton, and Vargas. All based on a hunch. He goes against Kershaw, but it seems to me opposing pitchers who face great pitching somehow step their game up. I know that is a mirage, but that’s what I’m going with this week. If it doesn’t work, then I will just blame it on the maddening drips. Who knew that one drip after another could cause you to crazy… But until it stops, I will continue to BELIEVE.

[Doctor Who]

Last week, I made a conscious effort to take a one week break. I set my lineup after FAAB ran, and I told myself that I wouldn't look at box scores for the week, I wouldn't agonize over the decisions, and I would take a breath. That included a week hiatus of not divulging and going over my team. It has been my fault that I thought I could do this without an actual outlet, and that will change this week as I try and reach out to a few folks, and hopefully that develops as an outlet that will help me out going further.

Now, to the team itself. Maybe I need to take a break from my team more often. Somehow, someway, I have moved into 3rd place with 70.5 points, only a 1/2 point out of 2nd. I didn't really do anything though, I just remained status quo while others faltered, and now are enduring what I have been going through the last month possibly, with them hating their teams.

The last two weeks, it seems as though my batting has stepped up. It has hit over .300 the last two weeks. My catchers haven't been a complete waste, Pujols, Braun and Alvarez are getting hot again, Gordon and Brantley continue to be unbelievable, my Detroit outfield all of a sudden can hit. The only two guys that haven't joined the club really are
Wright, Hill, Jackson and Asdrubral. I did this week pick up Hardy, that could contribute in power if he figures it out, but it lets me get the brutal Hill out of the lineup as well as Asdrubral and play matchups with them until further notice. Overall though, the last two weeks have been a success. Hopefully it can continue until the all star break.

My pitching on the other hand, has not been good ever since I gave them props a few weeks back. In total, I have only gotten 7 wins, and with all those double starts and no closers, is not good to say the least. I need to win the wins category to have any chance in this league. My K's have been on par with what I expect, but my ERA has not improved although my WHIP hasn't been terrible. Everyone has gone up in flames that I bragged on except Morton and Beckett, but even they have started to show some chips in the armor. Hughes, Kazmir, Keuchel, and Colon have all been disasters. Hamels, Dickey, and Duffy have all been average at best. You know it has been a long pitching season when you think Cain and Verlander are starting to right the ship after an average 3 starts each. Andrew Heaney turned out to be a bust, but just in case the Marlins right his ship by the end of the year, I'll give him some rope and let him stay on the squad for a few more weeks. Even though he was terrible, at least he struck some people out.

FAAB periods- Nothing happened last week, and I picked up Hardy this week hoping to catch lightning in a bottle. I will say though that Joe, even though he hasn't been doing well in this league, continues to steal the players I'm going after. Can't fault the guy for not giving up and trying his ass off, but stop it dammit! He took Vicedo and Ruggiano away this week, JD Martinez a couple weeks back, and keeps making under the radar moves the past couple of weeks. Interesting to say the least. Gards stole James Jones from me, and that hurst because he could separate himself from the pack if he continues to steal the way he has. Disappointing to say the least, and great pickup for him. I finally let go of Victorino, which was a wasted pick from the start and probably even hung onto him too long as it is. I'm sure someone will pick him up for big bucks next week, but with my crowed outfield, I just thought I needed flexibility elsewhere.

The coming week- Six double starters this week, and giving Dickey the nod over the other struggling starters. Really flipped a coin over that one. I'm hoping Brauny can get back in the lineup today, that way Jackson can stay on the bench. He may be playing his way off the team soon as well. The league in its entirety though is really close still. Gards is in first by 8 points, then 2nd-10th is only separated by 9 points. So everyone is still clawing and scratching each other for every point imaginable. And because it worked last week, and I am superstitious like any baseball fan is, well at least the fun ones, I'm going to take another break this week as well from looking over the box scores and living and dying by every day, checking the standings for progress. Hopefully it doesn't hurt me in the long run, but the All-Star break can't come soon enough! I'm ready for that break to regroup and refocus. Until next time folks, good luck on those teams (I mean other than in my league)!

[Doctor Who]

So let me tell you a story, life-experience, whatever you want to call it. A friend and I gamble on football every year. About 4 years ago, we started making money pretty regularly over the course of a season and came out ahead every year. The reason? Because I stopped watching the games that I would bet on. I know it sounds foolish and superstitions are fake, blah, blah, blah. My friend/gambling partner didn't believe it either until it started to see it first hand over the years. Now it is the only superstition he believes. Every time I turned on a game, to watch entirely, or even switching channels something bad would happen to the team I was backing. It has even gotten to the point where I can't game-cast or know what is going on at all through texts. I know. Sounds silly and dumb but it somehow works. I needed a break from this as I stated mentally. But I also had in the back of my head if my superstition also applied to this game, and I took it for a test ride. Guess what? It might apply on the small sample size. I know you sharks out there must be licking their chops now that I'm not looking first hand at players etc. But for now, it will continue. Why you say? Because it did me well!

I was able to finally branch out to some people in the NFBC to help talk about this game, something that took me way too long to do since I'm just a hard-headed guy that always thinks they can do things themselves. It has done me and the team good. The team is now in 2nd place by it's lonesome, and only 2.5 points out of 1st. A long climb over this year, and now a 10 week sprint to the end. This team has $126 still left in FAAB, just enough to still be in the game there. Only add over the last two weeks was Tanaka. Basically I had a bench spot open and why not gamble he comes back in September and helps this squad out. If more information comes out later or I need the spot, easy drop.

The offense has been spectacular since I left you. They are collectively hitting over .300 and gaining ground in runs and RBI's. I'm still struggling with HR's but have maintained the awesome pace in steals. The Detroit outfield is finally playing out of their minds, something I've been waiting on all year, and shows in their record. Wright, Hill, and Holliday seem to be hitting their strides. Really wish Papi would get going though. He is getting the RBI's, but the AVG and no HR's hurts. I've seriously considered benching him, but just can't pull the trigger yet.

Pitching has been okay the last two weeks. 9 wins, a 3.66 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 121 K's, and everyone contributing except for Kuechel, Hughes, and that dreaded name, Verlander. He has a two start this week, and if doesn't show some life also could be benched in the coming weeks. Guy is so frustrating after believing in him so much before the start of the season. His new name from now on is Fool's Gold. Can you add that to your list Wayne? I've started to come back to the crowd in wins and K's and need to reinforce those two in the coming weeks. Might have to go back to a previous strategy there, but we will see. This week may be the last week for guys to show me they belong on this team going forward. It might be time for some new blood.

So until next time boys, I'll be the one going around the moon with no communications until next week, because that is something I believe in and will continue to go with it during this long- yet short- sprint to the finish line.

[Edwards Kings]

Good one.

Fools Gold - the player (generally one who has shown at least one year of promise, or a seasoned veteran coming off an "off year") with the goods that are apparently a steal and a bargain (albeit only in your mind), but ends up substituting inferior stats for the good ones. Kind of the fantasy equilalent of the changeling (a player believed to have been secretly substituted by fairies for the real player you wanted). In preparing your draft notes, a player who just shines, but the shine has a brassy glow that can be mistaken for fantasy gold. Can induce a similar (but reduced) feeling to when your daughter (your baby girl...the apple of your eye) brings home a boyfriend named "Snake" who has several arrests, but no convictions, or when your son (the little man...the person to carry your name to new heights in the next generation) brings home a Kardashian whose only talent is baking (she has a bun in the oven).

[Doctor Who]

Once Monday starts, we have 8 weeks left. There is good news and bad news to this story. The good news is I have finally pulled into first place and held steady. The bad news is that the last two weeks have not been great at all for me and I am limping. The league I am in is insane, as really only the last place team is out of it. Even the 11th place team is only 10 points behind 2nd. Everyone is bunched in with each other. I have held a 2 point lead steadily the last week. It is going to be a long 8 weeks with the likes of Joe Berg, Bill Strickler, Matthew Anderson, and James Stanard right on my ass. All those guys have won money before someway or the other. I on the other hand, have not, as I chocked away my first place lead into 3rd the last week of the season last year on a dumb mistake. Hopefully some guidance from some guys that have done well in this game that I recently started to talk, I mean vent to, will help me from choking my way out of the money this year.

Now on to the team. Basically, this is the last month to really make a move, but in this league, I'm sure it will matter all the way to the very end making me sweat the last 8 weeks. I'm in first place with a .271 BA and have a comfortable lead. Still shocked about that with my low average guys that I picked up in the middle rounds but I should be able to hang onto a lead there as the second place team is almost 3 full points behind me. This team is funny because I thought I would struggle in AVG and SB but those have been my top categories on the year, as I have struggled in the Runs and HR's, which I thought would be my strength. RBI's have really made my target as I am in the top 3 there. I continue to lead in Wins and K's, which I need to hold onto to win this league, and have some room to move up in WHIP and ERA with a good week or two. All in all, I can't complain how I set up for the final 8 weeks. I still have some growing room and I lead the pack, although my arms are getting tired and those sharks are starting to lick there teeth as they come closer and closer.



So as it has been all year, one side of my team is ice cold, while the other is hot. This week my offense has been terrible. Martin and Montero have been non-existent. Braun has yet to get a hit. Basically the only guys doing anything is Torri Hunter and Solarte, who I just picked up because of his recent hot streak. I like the Austin Jackson trade to more consistent playing time atop the order and getting his old hitting coach back in the picture. Also helps Rajai Davis get more playing time.

The pitching side this week has been awesome. Dickey, Kuechel, Colon, and Hamels all pitched gems getting me 4 needed wins. Even Verlander got in on the party with a win today! Bad news is that Cain looks like he is done for the year. He never got on track this year and was a huge disappointment for this team. I needed him to be a #2 for this team and it just didn't happen. If it wasn't for one of my best FA week periods ever when I picked up Keuchel, Colon, Beckett, and Duffy, I wouldn't be where I am today. Next week will be a big week as I will have at least 4 2 start weeks in the lineup. I don't really have a shot at the overall, but I would love to do enough to win my first league to finally put something behind my name other than the guy that just gives away his money every year.