Just like the MLB All-Star Game on Tuesday, there was little drama in the DTBL All-Star Game on Thursday evening. In the 19th annual mid-summer game, the American Division cruised to a 12-1 victory over their National Division counterparts. The game even started eerily similar to the MLB game with Justin Verlander getting torched in the top of the first. The National All-Stars didn’t record their first hit until the fifth inning. Gators catcher Carlos Ruiz was named the MVP, going 3 for 3 with a home run and four runs knocked in. The game was played at the Demidome, home of Dom’s Demigods.
The game got off to an ominous start for the National Division with Verlander hitting Andrew McCutchen with the first pitch of the game. McCutchen came around to score on a base hit by Jose Bautista. David Wright followed with another RBI single. Later in the inning, Ruiz got his big night started with a two run single to give the American team a quick 4-0 lead in the first.
The American starting pitcher, Matt Cain, was far more effective. He pitched two scoreless, hitless innings and was followed by David Price who pitched two innings without giving up a hit either. Stephen Strasburg was the second pitcher into the game for the National squad, but he was only slightly more effective than Verlander. He gave up a two run home run to Miguel Cabrera in the top of the second, which increased the American lead to six. They were on cruise control from there, but were definitely not done scoring.
In the top of the fifth, Cole Hamels came in to pitch for the National Division and promptly gave up extra base hits to the first three hitters he faced. Doubles by Mark Trumbo and Ian Kinsler proceeded a two run home run by Ruiz. Half way through the game, it was 9-0 American with the National All-Stars still looking for their first hit. That hit finally came in the bottom of the fifth when Buster Posey hit a solo home run to end the no-hitter and shutout.
The American Division still had more runs in them. They scored three more in the top of the seventh to push the score to 12-1. The big hit of the inning was a bases clearing three run double by Ryan Braun. Neither team scored the rest of the way. Craig Kimbrel finished things off in the ninth with a pair of strike outs, including one of A.J. Pierzynski to end mercifully end the game.
There were plenty of offensive stars for the American Division, but Ruiz was the obvious choice for MVP. Ruiz and Braun both had three hits and at least three RBIs (four for Ruiz). Cabrera, Bautista and Kinsler each had multiple hits as well. All told, the American All-Stars recorded 12 runs on 16 hits. Meanwhile, the National team only recorded four hits, with Posey’s home run being the only hit by a National starter. Jason Kipnis had a pair of hits off the bench.
Cain and Price were the pitching stars of the game. Although the OOTP box score credits Price with the win, that distinction actually belongs to Cain since we don’t have a minimum inning requirement for earning a victory in an All-Star Game. Verlander took the loss. The defensive star of the game was probably McCutchen. He had six putouts in six innings in center field. Interestingly, he made catches to end five of the six innings he played.
As usual, the game was played using the Out of the Park Baseball simulation game. For the second straight year, there was a live webcast of the game on LiveStream. Check out the link below if you would like to watch the archived video. Congrats to Jay for managing his team to an easy win and thanks for taking the time to take part in the game. Here’s to an exciting second half!
We’re only in the last week of June, but I’m ready to declare that we have quite a pennant race brewing. At no point has any team in the league asserted its dominance, thus leaving us with a situation where seven out of the ten teams are in a very good position to win the championship. Those seven teams are all within 10 points of first place, with the top five separated by just four points. Somehow, the Mavericks have managed to hold the top spot most of the year, but it has been by the thinnest of margins at most times, including today when they are just 1/2 point clear of the Jackalope.
As we near the half way point of the season, I’m going to take a quick look at each of the ten teams, highlighting some of the key stories for each team. I will start with the three teams who are not currently in the thick of the race and then work my way up to the top of the standings.
Darkhorses
Only a year and a half removed from four consecutive championships, it would be fair to say things have gone downhill since then. While last year was a shocking disappointment for the Darkhorses, this season has been an absolute nightmare. Injuries have been the story of the league this season, but no team has had their season completely ruined by injuries like the Darkhorses. They sit in last place with just 18.5 points, so they are in serious jeopardy of breaking the league’s all time low water mark of 20 points since the league expanded to 10 teams in 1998. If you look at their roster, there is no way they should be this bad. Besides the injuries, incredibly disappointing seasons from Adrian Gonzalez and Tim Lincecum haven’t helped either. If those guys can turn it around and Chris Carpenter, Jacoby Ellsbury and Brett Gardner return soon, maybe they can gain a little momentum and avoid a historically bad season.
Gators
Still a work in progress, and not really a threat this year, but things are looking up for the Gators. Their ridiculously bad offense from ’11 has improved a bit and their pitching staff is respectable. But there is still a lot of work to do. Their huge pre-draft trade with the Mavericks hasn’t really worked out. Nelson Cruz has been so-so and Mark Reynolds has provided virtually nothing. They could have used those picks to improve in other areas, but what’s done is done. The first draft pick they did make, Melky Cabrera in round three, has been a huge surprise, currently third in the league with a .355 average. The Gators appear to be headed for another high draft slot next season. With some exciting young players coming into the league again next year, maybe they will have an opportunity to grab one of them.
Demigods
The third team not currently in the title race is the Demigods. At the beginning of the year, they looked like a team ready to make a run at the championship. But like the Darkhorses, the Demigods have been sabotaged by injuries. One in particular: Matt Kemp. In April, Kemp appeared to be a shoe-in for his second straight DTBL MVP award and a possible Triple Crown. But since then, he has missed the better part of the last two months. Who knows what he will provide when he returns? But a healthy Kemp and Evan Longoria could get the Demigods back into contention.
Cougars
Although they are only in seventh place, this is the best Cougars team in a long time. They are just 9.5 points behind the Mavericks and could get even closer if a couple of their pitchers turn things around. Josh Hamilton has carried the offense, despite slowing down a bit of late. Jason Kipnis has been one of the biggest steals of the draft, providing big time power and speed at a weak second base position. Many were surprised when the Cougars passed on Stephen Strasburg with the first pick of the draft. That may not have been a wise decision, but the Cougars made up for it by grabbing his Nationals teammate Gio Gonzalez in the second round. Gonzalez’s numbers are pretty similar to Strasburg’s and you have to figure the Cougars would not have taken Gonzalez if they had gone with Strasburg in round one.
Choppers
The transformation of the Choppers has been quite remarkable. Last year they were all offense with a questionable pitching staff. This year, it is just the opposite. They are second in the league with 40 pitching points, but only have 20 batting points. One player is mostly responsible for the pitching turnaround: Chris Sale. Over the years, many teams have benefited from an extra starting pitcher in a relief pitching slot. But normally, that pitcher doesn’t put up All-Star caliber stats like Sale is doing this year. He’s keeping together a staff whose starting rotation is bandaged up with a bunch of free agent signings to fill in for other injured starters. The injuries to the Choppers rotation could be a huge problem in the upcoming weeks/months. But there is certainly reason to believe the offense will pick it up. Jose Bautista is heating up, now in a tie for the league lead in home runs. He could help the Choppers pick up some offensive points to move even closer to first place.
Kings
It is hard to say that a team four points out of first has been a huge disappointment, but to some degree, I think that can be said about the Kings. The pitching staff has been atrocious as a whole. They are ninth in the league in ERA and near the bottom in WHIP and wins too. Justin Verlander needs some help. Recently, the Kings have done a poor job of rotating their extra starting pitchers into the lineup. In the last eight days, they missed out on a one hit shutout by Ervin Santana and seven great innings from Edwin Jackson last night. If they could ever start picking the right five starting pitchers for a given week, they could be on to something. For the most part, the offense has been great, leading the league in batting points. But the lack of production from two Nationals, Ryan Zimmerman and Michael Morse, has been troubling. The Kings are still in pretty good shape despite being in fifth place though.
Naturals
Much of what I wrote about the Choppers also applies to the Naturals. They have transformed from an offensive juggernaut with a mediocre pitching staff to a team with a disappointing offense and the best pitching staff in the league. Matt Cain, Zack Greinke and David Price have been outstanding for the Naturals rotation. Jordan Zimmermann would be right there too if he would ever get run support and win some games. The Naturals have to be considered one of the most dangerous teams heading into the second half because you have to figure their offense will improve. Having said that, the recent injury to Troy Tulowitzki could be extremely costly. He’s expected to miss the next 6-8 weeks and they don’t have an obvious candidate to pick up the slack.
Moonshiners
The Moonshiners are perhaps the league’s most intriguing team right now. They have suffered some very costly injuries to their pitching staff, with the most devastating one coming this past week when Brandon Beachy was lost for the season with a torn UCL. Beachy was leading the league in ERA and had a sub 1.00 WHIP. But one free agent signing may have saved their season. Since joining the Moonshiners a month ago, R.A. Dickey has not allowed an earned run. Read that again. Dickey has a 0.00 ERA, 0.495 WHIP, four wins and 42 strike outs in just 34.1 innings with the Moonshiners. The 37 year old knuckleballer has been the league’s best story this year and may have a huge say in determining if the Moonshiners can win their first DTBL championship.
Jackalope
It really can’t get any tighter at the top of the standings. As of today, the defending champions sit one half point behind the Mavericks. Batting points: 35.5 for the Mavericks, 35.0 for the Jackalope. Pitching points: both have 33. So both teams are holding their own in batting and pitching. The Jackalope got off to a bit of a slow start, but ever since their two biggest stars, Albert Pujols and Ryan Braun, have started to heat up, so has this team. I think they have to be considered the favorites at this point, especially if they are able to get anything out of Ryan Howard in the second half. Their dominating rotation from last year hasn’t been quite the same this season. But Felix Hernandez has been better of late, Cliff Lee will eventually win a game and Roy Halladay should provide he boost when he gets healthy. As long as they keep it close, I like their chances down the stretch.
Mavericks
This has been a pretty remarkable season for the Mavericks, following two consecutive eighth place finishes. Despite the incredible tightness of the race, they have managed to hold onto first place most of the year. Their strategy of stockpiling draft picks is paying off. Their pre-draft trade with the Gators may alter the course of this league for years to come. The two players they acquired with the draft picks they received in that trade: Stephen Strasburg and Mike Trout. Strasburg leads the league in strike outs and is not far behind in ERA, WHIP and wins too. What the Nationals decide to do with him when he reaches that magical 160 IP mark could have a dramatic impact on this league. I’ll probably write about this more when that date gets closer because I have a strong opinion on the matter. Meanwhile, I’ll be honest, I thought Trout was a bit of a gamble in the early second round because I wasn’t so sure the Angels would be able to make room for him this season. Boy was I wrong. He is hitting .351 and will probably be leading the league in stolen bases before June is over. If Adam Dunn, Edwin Encarnacion and Adam Jones keep hitting home runs at their current rates, the Mavericks are going to be tough to catch, despite all the teams nipping on their heels.
It’s almost getting to the point where no hitters aren’t even worth discussing, and perfect games aren’t terribly rare either. But nonetheless, Natruals right hander Matt Cain pitched the 22nd perfect game in MLB history last night, arguably one of the most dominating pitching performances of all time. In addition to not allowing a base runner, Cain also struck out a career high 14 hitters during the Giants 10-0 victory over the Astros. The 14 strike outs matched Sandy Koufax for the most K’s in a perfect game.
Using Bill James’ Game Score statistic, Cain’s outing was tied for the second best pitched game of all time, trailing only Kerry Wood’s 1 hit, 20 strike out game in 1998. By the way, Wood’s game was also against the Astros, but a lineup that featured a couple possible future Hall of Famers. The same cannot be said of the Astros lineup last night. But that should not diminish Cain’s accomplishment.
While there have only been 22 perfect games in MLB history, five of them have occurred in the past four seasons, including two this year. Cain is the first DTBL player to do it this year tough since Phil Humber is not on the league roster. The last DTBL perfect game before last night belonged to Roy Halladay in May of 2010.
The history of perfect games is quite fascinating. There had been a gap of 34 years without one before Don Larsen threw a perfect game in the 1956 World Series. Then there was another 13 year drought between 1968 and 1981. 13 of the 22 have occurred in the past 32 years and nine since this league was formed in 1993. There have been a lot of theories as to why they have been so frequent in recent years. Some are fairly obvious: there are a lot more teams, and therefore more games played than there were in the first half of the 20th century. The end of the steroid era has led to better pitching numbers across the board in the last half dozen years or so. One theory I like is more about the increase in no hitters than perfect games: it could have a lot to do with the diminished focus on batting average as a significant stat. Strike outs are way up in the current era. It stands to reason that with fewer balls being put into play, fewer hits will fall in. But this is only a partial explanation since the MLB-wide batting average is not even close to historical lows. Whatever the reasons may be, perfect games are still extremely impressive achievements.
With his outing last night, Cain moved into the DTBL lead in WHIP with a miniscule 0.853 mark. Although he’s not likely to keep it there all season, only two DTBL players have finished a full season with a lower WHIP. His 2.18 ERA, eight wins and 96 strike outs are all in the top three of the league as well. Cain has been a solid performer for the Naturals since 2007. His highest ERA was a very respectable 3.57 in his DTBL rookie season (’07). Yet wins have been hard to come by, mostly due to the Giants anemic offense in recent years. Cain has never reached the 15 win mark, though he seems to be a pretty good bet to do it this year since he’s already more than half way there. He leads the Naturals in all pitching categories except for saves, so he deserves most of the credit for their league high 41 pitching points. The Naturals are currently in fourth place, but just eight points out of first. Their batting/pitching numbers are almost reversed from last year when it was their hitting that led them to a second place finish.
Cain was only one of several pitchers who put up extremely impressive numbers on Wednesday night. The Cardinals’ Lance Lynn matched Cain’s strike out total of 14, allowing three hits in 7+ scoreless innings. And R.A. Dickey nearly made it two no hitters in one night. He allowed just one infield hit in a complete game. The Mets are appealing to try to get the scoring of the one hit changed to an error, but I would be absolutely shocked if the appeal is upheld. Dickey has been an amazing story all year. Last night, he broke the Mets team record for consecutive scoreless innings before allowing an unearned run in the ninth. But since the Moonshiners signed him as a free agent a few weeks ago, he is yet to allow an earned run in 25 1/3 innings. He has won 10 games this year (three with the Moonshiners).
Finally, following my last blog post a few weeks ago, there were a few comments about possible rule changes for next season. I decided to start a Forum thread to get a discussion going. If you haven’t read it yet, please check it out and provide any feedback you may have.
Memorial Day is usually a good point in the season to take stock in how the baseball season is going and examine where it may be headed. As usual, there are hitters and pitchers who are vastly exceeding expectations, and have done so for long enough to make you think it may not be a fluke. Some of those players are helping to put their DTBL teams at or near the top of the standings. However, there seems to be a much bigger factor in determining a team’s success (or lack there of) this season: injuries.
Almost daily, there is another key player going down to an injury, whether it be a minor day-to-day issue, or one that has the player headed to season ending surgery. We’ve had torn ACLs, torn UCLs, sprained knees, torn hamstrings, broken hands, blurred vision, chronic illness, you name it. It started in spring training when two closers were lost for the season after undergoing Tommy John surgery (Naturals’ Joakim Soria, Jackalope Ryan Madson). Two DTBL first round draft picks are yet to play a game this season (Kings’ Michael Morse, Choppers’ Michael Pineda). It is never a good sign when two of the most mentioned names in baseball are Tommy John and Dr. James Andrews.
Even the previously indestructible players are falling victim to this plague. The surest thing in baseball, Choppers’ Mariano Rivera, tore his ACL while shagging fly balls. And just yesterday, the always reliable Roy Halladay (Jackalope) was lost for 6-8 weeks due to a lat strain. Halladay wasn’t the only ace to go down yesterday either. Jered Weaver (Moonshiners) was pulled from his start in the first inning with a back problem. Fellow Moonshiner starting pitcher Ted Lilly hit the DL as well, as did red hot Kings catcher Jonathan LuCroy who suffered the freakiest injury of the season, breaking his hand due to a falling suitcase in a hotel room.
In those last two paragraphs, I named nine different players, and that didn’t even begin to scratch the surface. Every DTBL team has been affected, some more than others. I probably need to take a closer look at each roster to see if this is still the case, but prior to this most recent string of injuries, there were three teams in particular who had been absolutely decimated: the Darkhorses, Choppers and Demigods. All three are around the double digit mark in total number of players who have spent time on the DL, including some very critical losses. I suspect the Moonshiners are moving close to this list as well after losing 40% of their rotation yesterday. The Darkhorses injury problems were so bad, for a while they were fielding a major league roster with at least three disabled players. The Choppers and Demigods minors are/were filled with virtually nothing but injured players.
The Mavericks have been in first place virtually the entire season. In large part, that is because they had been the healthiest team in the league. Until about a week ago, their only injured player was 12th round draft pick, and projected bench player, Lorenzo Cain. But now the Mavericks have joined the rest of the league after having lost Neftali Feliz and Austin Jackson. Still, they are in better shape than most. With the exception of two pre-season injuries (Madson and Ryan Howard), the Jackalope had been relatively healthy as well, which helped guide them past the Mavericks for a couple days last week. But now this Halladay injury could be a major problem for the defending champions.
On a positive note, these injuries have certainly restrained any one team from running out to a huge lead, keeping most of the league very much in the mix. Half of the league is within 10 points of first place and two others are within 20. So if any of these teams can get relatively healthy, there are plenty of points to be gained. But that “healthy” term seems inconceivable for some teams at this point.
It was suggested to me by one league member that we look into adding additional DL slot(s) to our rosters in the future. I am not necessarily opposed to this idea, but keep in mind that such a change would require a number of other adjustments as well, like the total number of players on the league roster and maybe a change to the free agent signing limit too. This is a conversation I’m willing to have though if the consensus is that change is needed. Obviously, no change will be made for this season though. In the mean time, hopefully some of this madness will come to an end and we’ll be able to determine a champion based on player performance rather than healthy body tallies.
Hopefully my next article will be about player(s) who are actually contributing to their DTBL squads!
The first month of the season is coming close to being in the books – yet I still haven’t finished all these team “previews.” It seems pretty ridiculous to write team blurbs at this point, so I’ll post the remaining draft grades along with favorite picks
Moonshiners
Projected Finish: Seventh
2011 Finish: Third
AVG: C .. HR: A … R: A … RBI: A … SB: D … W: F … ERA: F … WHIP: F … K: D … SV: C
Marc’s favorite draft pick: Emilio Bonifacio, Round 5 – Had a great 2011, qualifies at SS and his name is fun to say!
Mike’s favorite draft pick: David Freese, Round 6 – World Series MVP has had trouble staying healthy, but he was one of the more solid hitters at a thin 3B
Naturals
Projected Finish: Sixth
2011 Finish: Second
AVG: A … HR: C … R: C … RBI: C … SB: C … W: F … ERA: C … WHIP: D … K: C … SV: C
Marc’s favorite draft pick: Nick Markakis, Round 4 – I refuse to believe that his power will not break through … some day
Nick’s favorite draft pick: Jesus Montero, Round 1 – expected to put up 1B-type numbers from the C position
Demigods
Projected Finish: Fourth
2011 Finish: Fifth
AVG: A … HR: B … R: B … RBI: B … SB: C … W: D … ERA: A … WHIP: A … K: F … SV: C
Marc’s favorite draft pick: Bud Norris, Round 12 – wildcard flier, could collect a lot of Ks
Dom’s favorite draft pick: Freddie Freeman, Round 1 – Seemed somewhat similar to Eric Hosmer, but wasn’t getting near as much hype
You’ve heard all about the champion Jackalope. Now it’s time to take a look back at the 2011 season for the other nine teams. I’ve grouped them into three categories: the good, the bad and the ugly. These groups don’t necessarily relate to the order of finish, but how competitive the teams were compared to expectations. The three teams I identified as “good” all finished higher in the standings than they did a year ago and should feel like they are headed in the right direction. “Bad” isn’t really the right word for the second group, because two of the three teams actually finished near the top of the standings. Disappointing is a better way to describe them. Finally, the teams that fall into the “ugly” category would probably like to pretend 2011 never happened.
THE GOOD
Mike’s Moonshiners
The quickest team out of the gate, the Moonshiners led the league for a good part of the first quarter of the season. They stumbled a bit in early summer and never really recovered, finishing in third place. However, that was up two spots from a year ago and was their best finish since 2008. The improvement was almost entirely due to the pitching staff, which received a huge boost from the Jackalope trade which brought them ace pitcher and Cy Young candidate Jared Weaver. While I already mentioned how beneficial that trade was to the Jackalope, the impact was similar for the Moonshiners. Weaver turned their average pitching staff into one of the league’s best. He finished in the top five of the league in ERA, WHIP and wins. Meanwhile, the offense was carried by slugging first baseman Prince Fielder (38 HR, 120 RBI) and 30/30 man Ian Kinsler (32 HR, 30 SB). Now that the pitching staff has been fixed, the Moonshiners will look to improve their offense going into 2012. With the Jackalope winning their first title this year, the Moonshiners are now the longest tenured DTBL team without a title. They figure to have a good chance to change that next year.
Dom’s Demigods
The biggest jump in the standings was made by the Demigods. After finishing dead last a year ago, they managed to move into the top half of the standings with a fifth place finish in 2011. This is despite the fact that they got almost nothing out of their first overall pick (Buster Posey); same with his catching partner Joe Mauer. The rest of the offense was surprisingly good though, finishing in the top five in every category and leading the league in batting average. The indisputable MVP of the team was Matt Kemp, who hit .324 with 39 HR, 126 RBI, 115 R, 40 SB. He led the league in RBIs and was the only player to appear on the league leaderboard in all five categories. He even flirted with the NL Triple Crown until the final week of the season. The pitching staff was a bit of a disappointment, but overall, the Demigods appear to be headed in the right direction.
Charlie’s Thunder Choppers
Although they only wound up finishing one spot higher than a year ago (6th, up from 7th), this was a much better year for the Choppers. They were a title contender in the second half of the season for the first time in five years. They wound up finishing 16 1/2 points out of first, cutting almost half the deficit from a year ago (32 points). As I documented in an article a couple months ago, it was some recent first round draft picks that helped pump some more juice into the Choppers offense. Jose Bautista and Curtis Granderson finished first and second in the league in home runs (43 and 41 respectively). Both are strong MVP candidates, while Bautista is even eligible for the DTBL Rookie of the Year award. Granderson led the league with 136 runs scored, the highest total since 2007. The Choppers boast another strong ROY candidate in closer Craig Kimbrel who saved 46 games in his first full MLB season. If the Choppers can add one or two more elite starting pitchers, they are another team to watch in 2012.
THE BAD
Nick’s Naturals
Okay, I admit it isn’t really fair to put the Naturals in a category labeled as “bad”, because they were definitely not that. But a defending champion almost always has its sights set on repeating, and the Naturals weren’t quite able to do that this year, finishing a distant second. In some ways, this Naturals team was every bit as good as the one that tied for title last year, but the Jackalope were just a little better. The Naturals were unable to repeat their amazing feat of 50 batting points from a year ago, but still led the league with 45. They figured they would need to get more out of their pitching staff though. Unfortunately for them, that didn’t really happen. Newly acquired Zack Greinke was solid, but he, along with the rest of the staff, didn’t have a truly spectacular season. Still, the Naturals shouldn’t regret their Greinke/Howard trade, because the pitching would have been worse without Greinke. Miguel Cabrera and Joey Votto led the league’s best offense. Cabrera won the batting title with a .344 average. Overall, there is nothing for the Naturals to be ashamed of this year. They were as close as one half point behind the Jackalope in late August. They figure to be right back in the title hunt again next year.
Kevin’s Kings
Again, this wasn’t a “bad” season for the Kings. They finished exactly where they did a year ago, in fourth place. However, this time fourth place meant 15 points back and not really a serious contender down the stretch. Last year, they were in the hunt right until the end and finished just five points behind the co-champions. Other than place of finish, there was virtually nothing in common between the 2010 and 2011 Kings. This year’s squad had a below average offense and one of the league’s best pitching staffs. It was just the opposite in ’10. The main reason for the pitching upswing was one man: Justin Verlander. Verlander tied a DTBL single season record with 24 wins. He also led the league in WHIP (0.920) and strike outs (250). Really, he’s the only Kings pitcher who sticks out as having an impressive year, yet they managed to garner 40 pitching points. On offense, it was an underwhelming and injury plagued season for almost all of the Kings stars. Jose Reyes bounced back to being one of the league’s elite players, but he too couldn’t stay healthy. It is hard to say where this franchise is headed. Without Verlander’s monster year, they could have finished near the bottom of the standings this year. On the other hand, had a few key guys stayed healthy, they may have been in the hunt until the end.
Marc’s Mavericks
Now this is the one team in this group where the “bad” label probably applies. For the second straight year, the Mavericks finished in eighth place. But this isn’t a franchise that typically goes through long rebuilding processes. Last year, they were completely wrecked by injuries and essentially gave up with a couple months to play. This year, they had some injuries, but that wasn’t the biggest problem. Disappointing seasons from almost all of their young players gave them little hope of competing. They have had five first round picks the past two years, and I would call several of them major disappointments at this point. Carlos Santana and Matt Wieters had decent seasons at a weak offensive position, but the jury is still out on them. Gordon Beckham and Jayson Heward have been huge busts so far. The only Maverick who really stood out as having a tremendous 2011 season was Clayton Kershaw. Kerhsaw led the league in ERA (2.28) and was just behind Verlander in WHIP (0.977), wins (21) and strike outs (248). It should definitely come down to those two for the Cy Young award. The Mavericks really need to hit some home runs with their early picks in next year’s draft because the last two years have been rather forgettable.
THE UGLY
David’s Darkhorses
The Darkhorses set a standard of excellence in winning four consecutive DTBL championships from 2006-2010. This year, not only did they fail to meet that standard, but they wound up with the worst finish in league history for a defending champion, finishing a distant seventh. They won those four titles by having the most balanced team in the league, usually finishing first or second in both batting and pitching. This year, they somehow managed to fall to the middle of the pack in both areas. Injuries were a factor, but not to the extent you would expect for a team that fell apart like this. Below average seasons for most of the roster is the main explanation. I suppose it was bound to happen eventually. On the bright side, Jacoby Ellsbury turned himself into one of the best fantasy players with a 32 HR, 39 SB season while hitting .321. His Red Sox teammate Adrian Gonzalez had another solid year for the Darkhorses, but dropped off a bit in the second half. One major problem with the pitching staff was the criminally bad run support Tim Lincecum received. He only won 13 games despite putting up his usual dominating numbers in the other categories. James Shields and Chris Carpenter also won fewer games than you would expect from their other numbers. I’ll chalk this up as a worst-case scenario season for the Darkhorses. Surely, things will go better next year.
Greg’s Gators
I should point out that until the final day of the season, it appeared the Gators, and possibly the Cougars as well, were going to break the DTBL record for fewest total points in the 10 team era. Fortunately for them, both teams picked up a point or two in the final day and avoided this place in history. They wound up tied for ninth place with a putrid 21 total points, one clear of the record low mark of 20 by Tim’s Titans in 1999.
While the Gators did avoid that distinction, they managed to set a different low water mark. Their six batting points are the fewest ever in the 10 team era (since ’98, batting or pitching). Only a couple stolen bases prevented them from finishing dead last in all five offensive categories. Sadly, they were in last by a fairly wide margin in most categories. They are going to have a tough time finding enough players worthy of keeping. About the only offensive player who put up keeper-worthy numbers was Dan Uggla, and even he only hit .233. The pitching staff was a little better, mostly thanks to C.C. Sabathia. Injuries to Jair Jurrjens and Josh Johnson prevented them from having a pretty respectable staff. Overall, there is a lot of work to do for this squad. I think 2011 was clearly the worst season in franchise history.
Kelly’s Cougars
I think Kelly clearly had more important things on her mind this year, which caused her to not put a lot of time and effort into her team. I’m not sure it would have mattered though. Much as was the case with the White Sox, Adam Dunn almost single-handedly ruined the Cougars season. Nobody had a particularly good season either though. Josh Hamilton fought through injuries, and other key players were simply inconsistent. The pitching staff was especially poor, though that can be partly blamed on the loss of staff ace Adam Wainwright to Tommy John surgery before the season even started. This will be chalked up as a forgettable year for the Cougars. Perhaps with some bounce back years from their key players, 2012 should be better.
Here is my review of the trades involving one or more DTBL players which were made in the weeks/days leading up to today’s MLB trade deadline. Since I’m not too knowledgeable about prospects, my take will focus mostly on the DTBL players and the impact these guys will have on their new teams as well as the DTBL implications.
July 12 – Brewers/Mets
Brewers get: RP Francisco Rodriguez (Moonshiners)
Mets get: 2 PTBNL
MLB impact: The Brewers made a significant improvement to their bullpen without giving up any players of note. When this deal was initially completed, it wasn’t clear what this would mean to their closer situation. However, John Axford has continued to save games for the Brewers, so Rodriguez appears to have been acquired strictly for set-up duties. Meanwhile, the Mets were able to unload a potentially enormous payroll drag had K-Rod finished enough games to kick in his guaranteed player option for 2012. This appears to have been a win-win deal for everyone but Rodriguez.
DTBL impact: This was a costly trade for the Moonshiners, leaving them with just two closers. Fortunately, another rumored trade of Drew Storen to the Twins never happened, or they could have been left with a single closer. They still rank third in saves, but that position could be in jeopardy.
July 26 – Nationals/Reds
Nationals get: OF Johnny Gomes (Cougars)
Reds get: LHP Chris Manno, OF Bill Rhinehart
MLB impact: Not much point in discussing this one too much. This was simply a dump trade by the Reds to make room for a rookie. I don’t really know why the Nats were interested in Gomes though, as they clearly aren’t going anywhere this season.
DTBL impact: Gomes has been on the Cougars bench since May. Since he figures to remain a platoon player in DC, it is unlikely he’ll give the Cougars much of a boost from here on out.
July 27 – Cardinals/Blue Jays/White Sox
Cardinals get: SP Edwin Jackson (free agent), RP Octavio Dotel (free agent), RP Marc Rzepczynski, OF Corey Patterson, 3 PTBNL
Blue Jays get: OF Colby Rasmus (Naturals), 3B Mark Teahen, RP Brian Tallet, RP Trevor Miller, RHP P.J. Walters
White Sox get: RP Jason Frasor, RHP Zach Stewart
MLB impact: This was one of the strangest trades of the week in that it featured two teams in tight division races selling off pieces while a non-contender acquired the biggest impact player. Rasmus had lost favor in St. Louis and had been relegated to the bench. So the Cardinals getting rid of him wasn’t terribly surprising, but they certainly sold low on a talented player. They did acquire some much needed help for their rotation with Jackson though. The 27 year old Jackson has already been traded 7 times in his career! He’s a free agent after this season too, so it is likely he’ll be in yet another uniform next year. The White Sox got a nice reliever in Frasor, but this trade was mostly done to shed some payroll. Meanwhile, the Blue Jays are probably the big winners in this trade, getting Rasmus for hardly anything.
DTBL impact: Jackson and Dotel are free agents. The Kings dumped Jackson about a month ago. It is possible some other team will give him a shot now that he is pitching for a NL team that can score some runs. This was a great trade for the Naturals since Rasmus will return to being an everyday player. Also, he could see a big spike in his numbers playing in a good hitters park and as part of a strong lineup.
July 28 – Giants/Mets
Giants get: OF Carlos Beltran (Demigods)
Mets get: RHP Zach Wheeler
MLB impact: Beltran was considered the premier offensive player on the market, and the Giants definitely needed some offensive help. Beltran should give the Giants a significant boost as they attempt to defend their World Series title. He will be a free agent following this season, so it made sense for the Mets to trade him. Apparently, Wheeler is a very highly regarded pitching prospect, so this should be a good trade for both teams.
DTBL impact: Even though this was one of the biggest trades of the week, it will probably have a minimal effect on the Demigods. Beltran is moving from one pitchers park to another and probably a weaker supporting cast. Beltran is also not the fantasy player he used to be since his power numbers are down and he doesn’t steal a lot of bases any more.
MLB impact: This is a huge trade for the Phillies who have had a bit of a black hole in right field this season. It makes their already impressive lineup just a bit stronger, further strengthening their resume as the best team in the National League. The Giants are still a threat due to their pitching, but the Phillies are the team to beat in October. Meanwhile, this was phase one in the Astros fire sale. They acquired some very good prospects, but the near term future is not bright.
DTBL impact: I would call this deal a big win for the Jackalope, who have had almost nothing but positive developments all season. Pence figures to get a lot more RBI opportunities in Philly and is going to a great hitters park. The Jacaklope lead has shrunk a bit in recent days, but this trade should give their offense a boost.
July 30 – Red Sox/Royals
Red Sox get: 2B Mike Aviles (free agent)
Royals get: INF Yamaico Navarro, RHP Kendal Volz
MLB impact: Not much to this deal. Aviles was simply a utility player in Kansas City and that will continue to be the case in Boston.
DTBL impact: It is unlikely the DTBL free agent Aviles will attract much attention following this deal. His playing time will be severely limited.
July 30 – Rangers/Orioles
Rangers get: RP Koji Uehera (Gators)
Orioles get: P Tommy Hunter, 1B/3B Chris Davis
MLB impact: The Rangers picked up a setup man who has some of the best numbers in the league this season. Uehera has incredible 64/8 strike out/walk numbers in 48 IP. They gave up a pair of players who they didn’t have much use for either, so this has to be viewed as a good deal for them. On the Orioles side, not receiving any legitimate prospects was surprising, but they did get two MLB ready players. They didn’t appear to have anywhere to put Davis when the trade was made, but the Lee trade a few hours later opened up 1B for him.
DTBL impact: Minimal. The Gators have used Uehera almost all year, but unless he’s going to start getting save opportunities (very unlikely), this trade doesn’t change his value at all.
July 30 – Indians/Rockies
Indians get: SP Ubaldo Jimenez (Gators)
Rockies get: RHP Alex White, RHP Joseph Gardner, IF/OF Matt McBride, LHP Drew Pomeranz
MLB impact: I don’t like to criticize teams for trying to go for it all when the opportunity presents itself, but I think this may be a bit of a short-sighted trade by the Indians. Yes, they are only a couple games out of first right now, but I believe they have overachieved to this point and are unlikely to win the division even with Jimenez. Meanwhile, they traded away two of their best pitching prospects. Jimenez should benefit by no longer pitching in Coors Field. Also, the NL to AL switch is less significant in this case since he is going to pitch in a very mediocre AL Central. He is not a free agent to-be, so this trade could be an important building block for the Indians, but call me skeptical. Great deal for the Rockies, IMO.
DTBL impact: It will be very interesting to see how Jimenez pitches in Cleveland. He hasn’t been a truly elite pitcher in well over a year now. The Gators need him to return to his early 2010 form in order to help revive their middle-of-the-road pitching staff. It’s all about how well he pitches. This trade probably won’t affect his numbers that much one way or the other.
July 30 – Giants/Indians
Giants get: SS Orlando Cabrera (Moonshiners)
Indians get: OF Thomas Neal
MLB impact: I was a little surprised by this trade on the Indians side. On the heals of their Jimenez deal, they sold off a valuable veteran in Cabrera. Apparently, they are very comfortable with Jason Kipnis as their everyday 2B, even though he just made his MLB debut earlier this week. I think it came down to Cabrera requesting to go somewhere he was wanted. The Giants are a perfect fit. He has a wealth of playoff experience and can help fill a number of roles for the Giants.
DTBL impact: The Moonshiners have been shuffling Cabrera in and out of their lineup. That doesn’t figure to change much, but this is still a good trade for them because Cabrera was seeing his role diminish in Cleveland. He could still provide some value for the Moonshiners before this season ends.
July 30 – Pirates/Orioles
Pirates get: 1B Derrek Lee (Choppers)
Orioles get: 1B Aaron Baker
MLB impact: The Lyle Overbay era as the Pirates starting 1B is mercifully over. The Pirates got so little production from that position, it is a miracle they are still in contention. Lee provides a significant upgrade at that position. I doubt it will be enough for them to hang with the Cardinals and Brewers, but it was the right move to make. Obviously, getting rid of the veteran Lee made sense for the Orioles who are going nowhere fast.
DTBL impact: The Choppers haven’t used Lee since May. I don’t see this trade changing his role too much since he is probably in a worse hitting situation in Pittsburgh. He is a capable replacement though, should they need to call on him.
July 31 – Cardinals/Dodgers
Cardinals get: SS Rafael Furcal (Moonshiners)
Dodgers get: OF Alex Castellanos
MLB impact: Furcal is clearly a big upgrade over Ryan Theriot at shortstop for the Cardinals. This all comes down to him staying healthy. If he is able to stick in the lineup, he will be a nice addition to the highest scoring team in the NL. This is pretty much just a dump for the Dodgers.
DTBL impact: Pretty much the same as the impact for the Cardinals. If Furcal can actually stay healthy, he will be a valuable contributor for the Moonshiners. This trade doesn’t change his value too much, though he will probably have a chance to score more runs with the likes of Pujols, Holliday and Berkman hitting behind him.
July 31 – Braves/Astros
Braves get: OF Michael Bourn (Jackalope)
Astros get: OF Jordan Schafer, RHP Juan Abreu, RHP Paul Clemens, LHP Brett Oberholtzer
MLB impact: Big addition for the Braves. They are trying to piece things together with all their recent injuries. Two obvious needs were center field and leadoff hitter. Bourn fills both holes. I think the Braves could have used another power hitter too, but Bourn will certainly improve the offense. This was part two of the Astros fire sale. Of course it makes sense for them to get as many decent prospects as they can, but boy are they going to struggle to win games the rest of this year and probably next season too.
DTBL impact: Once again, the Jackalope benefit from the Astros upheaval. Bourn was putting up great numbers for a pathetic team. I doubt he will be able to improve upon his current stats too much, but getting out of Houston is definitely a net positive for him and the Jackalope.
July 31 – Rangers/Padres
Rangers get: Mike Adams (Cougars)
Padres get: LHP Robbie Erlin, RHP Joe Wieland
MLB impact: You can pretty much read everything I wrote about the Uehera trade and repeat it here. In fact, Adams’ stats are almost identical to Uehera’s too. They have been two of the best setup men in baseball this year. So Adams is a very nice addition to the Rangers bullpen. Unlike the Uehera deal though, the Rangers actually gave up prospects to get Adams. Therefore, I would say this is a good trade for the Padres too. The Rangers are going to have an awfully strong bullpen.
DTBL impact: Again, a non-closing reliever changing teams doesn’t really change his value much. Neftali Feliz has struggled at times this season, so Adams could be next in line to get saves if that continues. But for now, Adams fantasy value is unchanged by this deal. Perhaps a slight downgrade based on going from a great pitchers park to a hitters paradise. The Cougars will no doubt continue to use him though.
July 31 – Pirates/Padres
Pirates get: OF Ryan Ludwick (Moonshiners)
Padres get: PTBNL
MLB impact: The Pirates need all the help they can get to improve their offense. Although I doubt he will make a major splash, Ludwick should help. Remember, he is only a couple years removed from being a big time power hitter for the Cardinals. Getting out of PETCO could be just what the doctor ordered. On the flip side, the dreadful Padres offense will only get worse without Ludwick. Hard to judge this trade for the Padres though since all they got was a player to be named later.
DTBL impact: This wasn’t one of the big deadline trades, but it has the potential to be one of the biggest in terms of fantasy implications. The Moonshiners haven’t gotten much out of Ludwick since signing him in early June, but he could be a major contributor the rest of the way. This deal is a big win for them.
Just a reminder that the DTBL trade deadline is still a couple weeks away. Trades must be completed by August 15. We haven’t had a trade since the draft, but this could certainly change in the upcoming weeks. I think the reason for the lack of trades is two-fold: a lot of teams have had their hands tied due to a rash of injuries, leaving few healthy bodies to deal. Also, it seems a lot of teams have needs at the same positions (3B and OF in particular). But now that the race is starting to heat up, perhaps some teams will get creative to make a deal.
Jose Bautista highlights a loaded American roster.
Sorry I’m a few days late with this, but I’m finally ready to announce the 2011 DTBL All-Stars. The 18th annual DTBL All-Star Game is tentatively scheduled for next Friday, July 15 at 10 p.m. EDT, 7 p.m. PDT. As mentioned a few days ago, the game will be live video-streamed here.
For the second straight year, the American Division will be managed by Nick while Dave will call the shots for the National Division. Perhaps there will be a little extra drama involved in this matchup as Nick and Dave try to claim final bragging rights from their championship tie a year ago. They broke all ties in voting and chose the 23rd player for their rosters. For the first time in league history, there was a team without any representation on the initial All-Star roster. Therefore, Nick was forced to use his 23rd player slot to make sure the Gators received a bid. He chose third baseman Johnny Peralta, who wasn’t even on the All-Star ballot (also a first). Peralta had fewer at bats than Danny Valencia at the time I created the list, which kept him off the ballot. Dave was able to use his 23rd slot with a more conventional pick, David Ortiz.
The American Division appears to have the stronger roster, which is not surprising considering they hold four of the top five spots in the standings. Their rotation of Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Jered Weaver, Felix Hernandez and Dan Haren is about as good as you can get (all but Haren were Jackalope a year ago). Meanwhile, the National team is loaded with Kings. 10 of the 23 players are from the Kings roster, which isn’t terribly surprising since they are the division’s lone contender so far this year.
One of the big stories of the 2011 season has been the rash of injuries to corner infielders, particular for the top contending teams. Perhaps the biggest blow came last week when the Jackalope lost their All-World first baseman Albert Pujols to a fractured forearm. This injury will probably put him on the shelf until sometime in August. In the mean time, the Jackalope’s strong hold on first place will be put to the test.
The Jackalope currently lead the league by a comfortable 13 points. They have perfectly positioned themselves to be able to survive injuries, even this one to their most valuable player. In years past, the Jackalope almost solely relied on Pujols to carry their offense. But that has not been the case this season. They have accumulated a very solid 37 batting points despite Pujols not quite putting up his usual MVP-worthy numbers. Of course, losing him for a couple months weakens their offense, but I believe they are still in great shape.
The off-season focus on rebuilding the offense may really pay off now. With Ryan Howard and Mike Stanton on board, the Jackalope do have some other guys to turn to for some power. Those two players were the direct result of a couple bold trades which sent elite starting pitchers elsewhere. The Jackalope pitching hasn’t missed a beat though as they are currently first or second in every pitching category.
The other thing the Jackalope have going for them is that they aren’t the only contending team fighting significant injury issues. The second place Kings learned yesterday that first baseman Justin Morneau needs neck surgery, and he too will likely be out until August. They also lost a pair of starting pitchers (Tommy Hanson and Clay Buchholz) to the DL last week, although neither are expected to miss much time. The Kings have been the hottest team in the league over the past month, despite a complete lack of production from the usual power position of first base. Morneau and Adam LaRoche were supposed to anchor that position, but both were ineffective and now injured. LaRoche is out for the year and has been released. On the other side of the infield, the Kings have had a pair of third basemen spend significant time on the disabled list. Ryan Zimmerman is back, but David Freese remains out.
Third base has been an especially troubling position for the third place team, the Moonshiners. Almost every week, the Moonshiners have had to call on someone new to fill the hot corner position. Losing David Wright to an injury has been very costly as his replacements have been completely ineffective. Next in line are the Naturals, who are also missing their top third baseman, first round pick Pedro Alvarez. Like the Moonshiners, the Naturals have had a hard time trying to find a worthy player to fill that spot. With all these injuries to corner infielders, there is basically nothing left to choose from in the free agent market.
So while the Pujols injury is very significant, the Jackalope have a great chance of holding their lead since their closest competitors have equal or greater injury problems of their own. I didn’t even get to the teams lower in the standings who have been absolutely decimated by injuries. It has been a war of attrition so far this year, and the Jackalope are winning that battle.
My timing isn’t very good with this post as Jered Weaver picked up his first loss of the season tonight. However, this doesn’t change the fact that he had a truly remarkable April and is the primary reason why the Moonshiners find themselves in first place one month into the 2011 season.
Weaver finished the month with a perfect 6-0 record, winning all six of his starts. He compiled a 0.99 ERA, 0.788 WHIP and 49 strike outs, all very impressive numbers. Shockingly, none of these marks were good enough to lead the league, except wins, but I’ll get to that in a bit. His six wins are two more than any other pitcher has accumulated though.
The Moonshiners acquired Weaver from the Jackalope during the first round of the draft in exchange for their first round pick. As we all knew at the time, Weaver was exactly what the Moonshiners needed: a true ace. However, I don’t think anyone expected him to come out of the gates quite this strong. He has helped lead the Moonshiners to a top two ranking in every pitching category except saves (4th). Combined with the league’s best offense to date, the Moonshiners find themselves 13 points ahead of the pack with a very impressive 87 points.
Trading Weaver hasn’t really killed the Jackalope as you much as you might think though. They still have arguably three of the top five pitchers in the league and are right behind the Moonshiners in total pitching points. If their offense, specifically Albert Pujols, picks it up a bit, the second place Jackalope will be right on the Moonshiners’ heals. Ryan Braun has carried their offense so far, with a league leading ten home runs and a .356 batting average. Braun would probably get my vote for Offensive Player of the Month. One other candidate for that title would be Darkhorses outfielder Andre Ethier. Just a couple minutes ago, he recorded a RBI single to extend his hitting streak to 28 games. Going into tonight, he led the league with a .378 average, just a few points ahead of his Dodger teammate Matt Kemp.
Weaver wasn’t the only pitcher who compiled ridiculous statistics in April. Amazingly, Gators pitcher Josh Johnson has him beat in both ERA and WHIP. Johnson has a 0.88 ERA and 0.707 WHIP. Some bad luck has kept his win total at just three though. Johnson has carried the Gators to the third most pitching points in the league, however a putrid offense has kept them near the bottom of the league standings. The third pitcher who deserves special mention is Weaver’s Moonshiners and Angels teammate Dan Haren. Haren has a 1.23 ERA and a 0.750 WHIP with four wins. At one point, Weaver and Haren combined for eight wins in eight starts.
There is one other big news item tonight. Mariano Rivera became the DTBL’s all-time saves leader with the save he picked up against the Tigers this evening. This is deserving of a separate blog post though, so I will go into more detail about Rivera later this week.
