Kings « DTBL News

Archive for the ‘Kings’ Category

Hall Welcomes Six Legends

Tuesday, July 29th, 2014

On Sunday afternoon, the National Baseball Hall of Fame enshrined six new members: a trio of all-time great players and three legendary managers. The three players, Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux and Frank Thomas were all elected into the Hall in their first year of eligibility. And the three managers, Bobby Cox, Tony LaRussa and Joe Torre are almost indisputably the three most accomplished skippers of the past 30 years. The full class has been lauded as one of the greatest induction classes of all time. What makes this class noteworthy for our league is that the three players are probably the first full class of inductees who would all be certain DTBL Hall of Famers as well, if such a thing existed. Although Glavine, Maddux and Thomas made their MLB debuts prior to the formation of this league, the primes of their careers took place while on DTBL rosters.

The connection between Maddux and Glavine is obvious as long time teammates in Atlanta. But it’s Glavine and Thomas who spent many years as teammates in the DTBL with the Kings. Thomas and Maddux also have close ties in DTBL lore as both were first round draft picks in the inaugural DTBL Draft, making them the first official players for their respective franchises. The Choppers picked Maddux with the second selection in that 1993 draft, following the Gators’ pick of Kirby Puckett. So Maddux was the league’s first selected pitcher. Two picks later, the Kings drafted the slugging first baseman Thomas. As 13 year-olds at the time, Charlie and I may have let our personal fandoms of Maddux and Thomas sway our decisions, but neither of us would ever regret those picks. In the seventh round of that same draft, the Kings grabbed Glavine. He and Thomas would be Kings teammates for the first seven years of the DTBL.

Tom Glavine probably has the weakest DTBL Hall of Fame case (again, if there actually was such a thing) of these three. However, he is one of only four players to record 200 wins in this league. He won a total of 204 games for the Kings, Gators and Darkhorses. He won 13+ games 10 times, a feat only accomplished more often by two other pitchers (Maddux and Mike Mussina). Nobody has more 20 win seasons. He did that three times (1993, 1998, 2000 – 4 others also have 3 20+ win seasons). Glavine’s career ERA of 3.46 and WHIP of 1.317 may not seem terribly impressive by 2014 standards, but keep in mind that he was still going strong in the steroid era of the late 90′s and early 00′s. His 1,724 career strikeouts isn’t quite enough to put him in the top 10 all-time. When it comes to the Kings franchise record book, he’s #2 behind Randy Johnson in wins (115) and third in ERA (3.22) and strikeouts (1,048).

Glavine spent the first seven years of the DTBL with the Kings before being traded to the Gators late in the 1999 season for J.D. Drew. 15 years later, that sounds like an awful trade for the Kings, but it actually worked out quite well for both sides. Drew wound up being a key contributor for the Kings first three championship teams while Glavine arguably recorded the best season of his career for the Gators in 2000 as he won 21 games. He remained with the Gators until the end of the 2003 season. The Kings reacquired him the following year as a free agent. Finally, the Darkhorses also signed him as a free agent for the twilight of his career. In his final DTBL season of 2007, he won his first and only league title with the Darkhorses.

There is a reasonable case to be made that Greg Maddux is the greatest pitcher in league history. He’s certainly on the very short list. He holds the league record for most wins with 240. Only three retired starting pitchers have better career ERAs and WHIPs compared to Maddux’s 3.00 and 1.095. But those numbers are slightly inflated because of mediocre numbers late in his career. Nobody can match Maddux’s prime (well, maybe some guys in today’s pitching dominated game, but certainly not in Maddux’s era). Even though he wasn’t thought of as a strikeout pitcher, only five have a higher career total in that category. He is the Choppers career leader in wins and is basically tied with current Choppers’ ace Chris Sale in ERA and WHIP. Only Mussina struck out more hitters while a member of the Choppers.

The numbers Maddux posted in 1994 and 1995 were easily the two best consecutive seasons by a pitcher in league history and, alone, were the two lowest individual ERA seasons in the books. He had a preposterous 1.56 ERA in the strike-shortened 1994 season and followed that up with an absurd 1.63 ERA in 1995. Oh, and his WHIP was under 0.9 both of those years as well. Maddux won at least 15 games for 12 consecutive seasons, all with the Choppers. That will be a tall order for anyone else to ever reproduce. After 13 remarkable seasons with the Choppers, they finally released him after the 2005 season. He had mediocre stints with the Naturals, Mavericks and Darkhorses (twice) to close out his remarkable career. He was a member of four DTBL championship teams (’97 and ’99 Choppers, ’07 and ’08 Darkhorses). So he teamed up with his Hall of Fame buddy Glavine for that ’07 title, although neither were particularly key reasons why the Darkhorses won.

The career numbers of Frank Thomas speak volumes about what kind of a hitter he was. However, they were somewhat overshadowed by other players of his generation who would later become tarnished by connections to performance enhancing drugs. But never mind that. There still may not have been a better pure hitter in the 90′s than the Big Hurt. Thomas hit 412 home runs in his DTBL career, which ranks 10th all time. But more than half of the players ahead of him on that list have been tied to PEDs in one way or another. Along with the home runs, Thomas had a career average of .297 with 1,323 RBI and 1,045 runs scored. The full list of players with better career numbers in all four of those categories: Barry Bonds, Manny Ramirez, Albert Pujols and Vladimir Guerrero. Thomas trails only the very tainted Alex Rodriguez in HR, RBI and R in Kings franchise history.

Thomas was a machine for the first five seasons of this league. Each year, he hit over .300 with at least 35 HR and 100+ RBI and runs. He even managed to reach those numbers in the strike shortened 1994 season. He hit over .340 in three different seasons. It wasn’t until very late in his career when the averages started to fall, bringing his career mark just below .300. Unfortunately, a series of injuries in the second decade of his career really kept him from putting up numbers to rival anyone who has ever played the game. But the Kings kept him on their roster for 13 incredible seasons. He was a member of all four of the Kings four-peat championships (2000-2003). He had a brief stint on the Mavericks roster in early 2006, but never recorded any playing time with them. He did play for the Jackalope later that season. Finally, the Kings picked him back up for his final two DTBL seasons.

Unfortunately, my historical records on awards and such from the early years of this league are a little disjointed. So I don’t have an easy way of telling you about some of the honors these three players received during their DTBL careers. However, I know for a fact that Thomas was the league MVP at least once and Maddux won several Cy Young awards. Hopefully I’ll be able to fill in these blanks at some point, because this information is available somewhere on old hard drives and printed newsletters.

Finally, I want to wrap this up by mentioning a little bit about another Hall of Famer. Sadly, the great Tony Gwynn passed away last month at the much too young age of 54. Unlike the three players I just chronicled, the prime of Gwynn’s career was a little before this league started. However, he also holds a special place in DTBL history. He is the league’s all-time leading hitter (in terms of batting average) with an amazing .357 mark. That is almost 30 points higher than any other player this league has ever seen and it is hard to imagine anyone ever breaking this record. Despite that, Gwynn was not always an automatic starter for all of his teams in this league and bounced around to six different teams in nine years. Of course, part of that was simply circumstances. He wound up playing on three teams that folded while he was on the roster (Troopers, Titans and Panthers). He played for the Gators in his first two DTBL seasons, followed by two years with the Choppers. Despite ridiculous batting averages every season, he wasn’t a sure starter back in those days. Because there were so few teams in the league, it was hard for some teams to dedicate a spot for a guy with below average power. Had he put up those same numbers today, he’d be one of the most valuable players in the league. But as it stands, he just wasn’t able to accumulate enough stats to appear in the record books for anything other than batting average. His ability to get hits and avoid strikeouts may never be seen again in a player. Guys who are thought of as good contact hitters today will still strike out more often the next two months than Gwynn did most full seasons. He was a legendary hitter and will truly be missed by the baseball community.

Posted in Choppers, Darkhorses, Gators, Jackalope, Kings, Mavericks, Naturals | 1 Comment »

All-Star Break Grab Bag

Wednesday, July 16th, 2014

I hope you are having a great Worst Sports Day of the Year. The day after the MLB All-Star Game is so barren of sporting events that scoreboard tickers are featuring WNBA and cricket scores. This is frequently the day in which we play the DTBL All-Star Game. But as previously mentioned, that will not occur until next week on a date that is still TBD. In the meantime, this is the perfect opportunity for me to get caught up on a few items I neglected to write about during the first half of the season.

First, there were a pair of trades during the last two months that deserve mentioning. Although neither were what you would call blockbusters, both were intriguing nonetheless. At the end of May, the Demigods acquired closer Addison Reed and outfielder Melky Cabrera from the Mavericks in exchange for relief pitcher Danny Farquhar and outfielder Shane Victorino. Draft picks were also a prominent part of this deal. The Mavs picked up 2nd and 5th round picks in 2015 while the Demigods acquired extra picks in the 8th and 12th rounds. At the time of the deal, the Demigods were in a solid second place, just a handful of points behind the Naturals, while the Mavericks were toiling near the bottom of the standings. So this deal was clearly an attempt by the Demigods to boost their title hopes for this season, while the Mavericks had an eye towards 2015. Despite that, the Mavericks have actually been the stronger of these two teams since the deal. However, that’s not because of the trade since the Mavs didn’t acquire anyone who has helped with their resurgence. Reed has given the Demigods a boost in saves, recording seven of them for his new team so far. However, they will need a lot more from him and the rest of the team to run down the Naturals in the second half. Meanwhile, after one year of not being able to acquire any additional early round draft picks, the Mavericks have already ensured they will head into ’15 with extra early picks. Although this season is far from over for the Mavericks, at worst, they figure to be right back in the title hunt next year.

The second trade really flew under the radar as the Kings and Moonshiners swapped spare parts last month. In need of a catcher due to Wilson Ramos’ second DL stint of the year, the Moonshiners picked up Carlos Ruiz from the Kings for outfielder, and Ruiz’s Phillies teammate, Marlon Byrd. The main reason for this trade was so the Moonshiners could temporarily replace Ramos without wasting another free agent signing on a catcher. But as it turns out, Byrd has been a key piece in the Kings recent offensive resurgence. He already has eight home runs for the Kings, continuing to defy Father Time. Long term though, this trade doesn’t figure to have much of a lasting impact on either team. This was simply a short-term stop-gap deal for both sides. The Kings and Moonshiners continue to toil through very disappointing seasons.

Most of my first half writing focused on the negative, from the incredibly high number of injuries to the expected title contenders who were suffering through miserable early results. So I have almost completely ignored the team that has been dominating this league right from Day 1. The Naturals have held first place basically the entire year. In April and early May, that lead was small but consistent. However, in the past month or so, they have seen that lead balloon into double digits. At the All-Star break, they find themselves with a 13 point lead over the second place Demigods. The Naturals being in first place isn’t a huge surprise, considering they won the league just two years ago and are almost always in the title hunt. But I’m not sure anyone saw them dominating the league in this fashion. Until very recently, they had been leading the league in both batting and pitching points, the latter being a pretty big surprise.

The Naturals offense has been simply the best in the league, by a comfortable margin. They lead the league with 45 batting points, not far from a maximum total of 50. Troy Tulowitzki has been one of the best players in baseball. Andrew McCutchen is in the MVP discussion as well. Billy Hamilton and Anthony Rendon are two of the top DTBL rookies. I have no idea where Victor Martinez’s sudden power surge came from. Miguel Cabrera hasn’t been quite the same player he was in his two previous MVP seasons, but even so, his numbers are very good. The scary thing here is that there is actually room for improvement from some of the offensive roster. Cabrera could easily increase his productivity in the second half. Joey Votto and Allen Craig have been mostly MIA this year. If they bounce back the next few months, look out!

As several teams learned in the first half, one thing that can quickly derail a title run is a sudden surge of injuries. To this point, the Naturals have been relatively fortunate on that front. But they are currently dealing with a few issues on the mound. Homer Bailey and Jordan Zimmermann are dealing with ailments that hopefully won’t knock them out for too long, if at all. The Naturals only have one free agent signing remaining, so there are only so many holes that can be filled that way. But they are pretty well stacked with depth at the moment. By no means is this thing over, but the Naturals are sitting in great shape with two and a half months left to go.

Finally, a quick update on site related things I’ve been working on. When I introduced PAR last month, I mentioned slowly rolling out the numbers from previous seasons. Unfortunately, I haven’t made any further progress on that as we still have just 2013 and 2014 PAR numbers on the site. I intend to get back to this soon after the break. But before then, I have some updates to make to individual player pages and the All-Star and Awards pages (the latter doesn’t actually exist yet). I’m going to be adding a column to the players’ stats tables to list individual All-Star appearances and awards won. Like PAR, this will be a work in progress as I accumulate the necessary historical data. But recent All-Star appearances should be displayed on player pages very soon (maybe by the end of the week). I will keep you posted on this in the site update thread on the DTBL Forum.

More DTBL All-Star coverage will be coming soon. Now let’s get to Friday already so we can enjoy some real baseball again!

Posted in Demigods, Kings, Mavericks, Moonshiners, Naturals | No Comments »

DTBL June Awards

Thursday, July 3rd, 2014

We’re finally at the halfway point of the DTBL season, and it’s time to look at the best players up to this point. While a couple of players had ridiculous months that almost placed them in my top 5 list, I’ve decided to focus a bit more on consistency with my rankings. Sorry, Jose Altuve. I’ve again used ESPN’s Player Rater to help sort selections, particularly with Rookie of the Year. However, thanks to Kevin’s hard work with Points Above Replacement (PAR), I’ve used this stat to help with Cy Young and MVP ranks as well.To spice up the column a bit, and without giving away my entire ballot, you’ll find at the end my picks for All Star starters at every position, along with a closer. At the halfway point, it seems appropriate to recognize solid players who aren’t quite good enough to crack the top 5 at the end of year awards positions.

ROY:

1. Julio Teheran, Darkhorses – 0.950 WHIP, 2.34 ERA, 7 W, 0 SV, 103 Ks
2. Josh Donaldson, Moonshiners – .248 BA, 57 R, 18 HR, 61 RBI, 3 SB
3. Anthony Rendon, Naturals – .281 BA, 53 R, 12 HR, 46 RBI, 6 SB
4. Yaisel Puig, Jackalope – .311 BA, 44 R, 11 HR, 45 RBI, 7 SB
5. Billy Hamilton, Naturals – .281 BA, 40 R, 4 HR, 28 RBI, 34 SB

The top three from May still reside here in the Rookie of the Year rankings. Julio Teheran has continued his stellar rookie season here in DTBL; more on him to come. Josh Donaldson and Yasiel Puig continue to put up big numbers. Anthony Rendon returns to this list after falling off in May, with 6 homers, 19 RBI, 18 runs, and a .310 batting average making up for a lackluster May.

Unfortunately, Michael Wacha (injury) and Sonny Gray have fallen off this list for now. Brian Dozier and Corey Kluber’s full season numbers would easily be worthy of Top 5 consideration; however, their late entries to their team’s major league rosters continue to keep them off. Finally, Evan Gattis had a ridiculous June with a long hitting streak and 6 homers of his own, but he, too, has fallen victim to the injury bug.

Cy Young:

1. Felix Hernandez, Jackalope – 0.919 WHIP, 2.10 ERA, 10 W, 0 SV, 137 Ks
2. Johnny Cueto, Demigods – 0.836 WHIP, 1.88 ERA, 8 W, 0 SV, 122 Ks
3. Adam Wainwright, Cougars – 0.903 WHIP, 2.01 ERA, 10 W, 0 SV, 105 Ks
4. Clayton Kershaw, Mavericks – 0.920 WHIP, 2.04 ERA, 9 W, 0 SV, 107 Ks
5. Julio Teheran, Darkhorses – 0.950 WHIP, 2.34 ERA, 7 W, 0 SV, 103 Ks

This list is largely unchanged from May, only seeing Clayton Kershaw’s utter dominance since returning from the DL replacing Zack Greinke. The superlatives of this group run long – top 5 in ERA. 5 of the top 6 in WHIP. Fantastic strikeout totals. Solid win amounts. Anyone in DTBL would be thrilled to have any of this quintet heading their rotation.

That being said, there is no shortage of pitchers knocking on the door of this group. Greinke. Madison Bumgarner. Jon Lester. David Price. Max Scherzer. Yu Darvish. The overall pitching talent in DTBL may never have been better than it is now.

MVP:

1. Giancarlo Stanton, Jackalope – .313 BA, 57 R, 21 HR, 60 RBI, 7 SB
2. Mike Trout, Mavericks – .314 BA, 54 R, 18 HR, 59 RBI, 10 SB
3. Edwin Encarnacion, Mavericks – .278 BA, 55 R, 25 HR, 65 RBI, 2 SB
4. Nelson Cruz, Gators – .281 BA, 48 R, 25 HR, 66 RBI, 1 SB
5. Troy Tulowitzki, Naturals – .353 BA, 65 R, 18 HR, 47 RBI, 1 SB

Another month, another top two finish for Giancarlo Stanton and Mike Trout. These two players have almost identical numbers; Stanton’s slight power edge gives him the nod here over Trout’s speed. Edwin Encarnacion, after just missing in May, rightfully shows up here with his prodigious power numbers; better counting stats gives him the edge over Nelson Cruz. Finally, Troy Tulowitzki, who’s been here from the beginning, continues to ride his Coors Field numbers to an outstanding season. Hard to argue with a .353 batting average in June.

As I mentioned above, Jose Altuve raked in June. A .411 batting average. 17 steals. 11 runs and 9 RBI. He even missed three games. It was hard to leave him off this list, but consistency for the existing top 5 allowed them to hold on to their spots. If Altuve has a July even close to his June, he has a good chance of jumping into best of the best. Rounding out the just missed it group are Carlos Gomez, Michael Brantley, Paul Goldschmidt, and Victor Martinez. And, yeah, I’m still wondering when Miguel Cabrera will show up.

Here are my All Star starters.

American Divison:
C: Victor Martinez, Naturals
1B: Paul Goldschmidt, Jackalope
2B: Ian Kinsler, Moonshiners
3B: Josh Donaldson, Moonshiners
SS: Troy Tulowitzki, Naturals
OF: Giancarlo Stanton, Jackalope
OF: Nelson Cruz, Gators
OF: Jose Bautista, Choppers
SP: Felix Hernandez, Jackalope
CL: Craig Kimbrel, Choppers

National Division:
C: Jonathan LuCroy, Kings
1B: Edwin Encarnacion, Mavericks
2B: Jose Altuve, Demigods
3B: Todd Frazier, Darkhorses
SS: Hanley Ramirez, Darkhorses
OF: Mike Trout, Mavericks
OF: Carlos Gomez, Demigods
OF: Michael Brantley, Cougars
SP: Adam Wainright, Cougars
CL: Trevor Rosenthal, Demigods

Comments? Disagreements? Have at it in the comment section.

Posted in All-Star Game, Awards, Choppers, Cougars, Darkhorses, Demigods, Gators, Jackalope, Kings, Mavericks, Moonshiners, Naturals | No Comments »

Misery Loves Company

Saturday, May 17th, 2014

At the one quarter mark of the season, it is far too early to draw conclusions about how the season is going to turn out. However, the early indication is that this is not going to be a good year for two teams with serious title aspirations. The Kings and Mavericks were head and shoulders above the pack in 2013 and the pre-season projections indicated that they were the favorites again this year. But nearly seven weeks into the season, they find themselves in the bottom two spots in the league standings.

So what’s going on with these two recent powerhouses? Well, their problems are fairly obvious and similar. Both have had the strengths of their teams completely neutered by injuries. Of course, disappointing performances from healthy players haven’t helped the cause either, but it is nearly impossible to remain competitive when fielding a short-handed roster. At the risk of this turning into an article in which I whine about my team, that’s pretty much what’s going to happen. So you’ve been warned.

The Kings won the title last year on the strength of their offense. They easily led the league in batting points and finished in the top three of all five offensive categories. So far this year, they find themselves ninth in batting points and last place overall. They are at or near the bottom of every offensive category except stolen bases. Here are their currently injured offensive players: Brandon Belt, Ryan Zimmerman, Carlos Beltran, Jay Bruce, Wilin Rosario, Michael Cuddyer, Aramis Ramirez and Omar Infante. All of those players, except Ramirez and Infante, were major contributors on last year’s championship squad. Belt still leads the team in home runs and was pretty much their only offensive player having a good year at the time of his injury. Among their “healthy” hitters are two more guys who have dealt with injuries earlier this year: Jose Reyes and Coco Crisp. Only five offensive players have been in their lineup basically every day. As much as some of these hitters have struggled this year, the Kings probably weren’t going to be among the leaders right now even with a healthy roster, but these injuries have basically sunk the ship.

Oh, and the Kings pitching staff hasn’t been a model of clean living either. Anibal Sanchez and Jason Grilli are currently on the DL (though both are expected back soon). Three other injured pitchers have been dropped from the roster entirely to make room for injury replacements: Patrick Corbin, David Hernandez and Nate Jones. The first two are out for the year and Jones’ return is a complete mystery at this point. At the time I am writing this, 13 of the 28 players who were on the Kings roster at the completion of the draft are on the disabled list. That’s almost half the roster!

I don’t think the Mavericks are feeling too sorry for the Kings though. The Mavs haven’t had the same quantity of injuries, but the severity of the injuries they have suffered and the fact that they have mostly been consolidated to one specific position has created a grave situation for them as well. Arguably, the Mavericks had the best pitching staff in league history last year. Right now, they find themselves dead last in pitching points. Five of their star pitchers have been dealing with significant injuries this year. Matt Harvey probably won’t pitch this season following off-season Tommy John surgery. Martin Perez became the latest of the long list of pitchers lost this year due to torn elbow ligaments. Clayton Kershaw finally returned to action a couple weeks ago after missing more than a month. Mat Latos and Taijuan Walker are both yet to pitch in the big leagues this season and their return dates remain unknown. Of the starting pitchers who played a major role in the Mavericks’ super staff a year ago, only Stephen Strasburg has remained healthy throughout the early part of 2014 (knocking on wood w/r/t Strasburg). The Mavericks haven’t been dealt the same type of blow to their offensive roster, but the recent loss of Matt Wieters to an elbow injury is problematic.

The Kings and Mavericks find themselves in a bit of a predicament in terms of attempting to upgrade their rosters as well. Due in large part to all of the aforementioned injuries, both teams are running out of available free agent signings. The Kings are down to just four signings to use in the remaining 3/4 of the season while the Mavericks have only three at their disposal. Of course, a few other teams are in a similar bind. But it is safe to say these teams simply cannot afford many more injuries. It’s too early to give up, but the Mavericks and Kings need healthier rosters to get themselves back in the mix.

Finally, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the biggest injury casualty of the season to date, which occurred earlier this week. Demigods phenom pitcher Jose Fernandez was diagnosed with a torn UCL and underwent Tommy John surgery yesterday. I think he and Perez bring the number of Tommy John casualties this season up to a staggering total of 20. But Fernandez is the biggest loss yet. After a dominating rookie campaign that earned him the NL Rookie of the Year award, the Demigods selected him with the ~~second~~ third pick in the draft in March. He had already become the ace of the Demigods staff (well, he and Yu Darvish anyway) and arguably the best pitcher in the league. At the time of the injury, he led the league in strikeouts. According to Mike, he was the leading candidate for DTBL Rookie of the Year and very much in the mix for Cy Young as well. Fortunately, he is still only 21 years old and the success rate in returning from Tommy John surgery is quite high. So he still figures prominently in the Demigods future. However, this is a serious blow to their 2014 title hopes.

I would argue that this is the second straight year, and third time in the past five years, that baseball has lost it’s most electrifying, must-watch pitcher to a torn elbow ligament. Last year it was Matt Harvey. In 2010 it was Stephen Strasburg. Fortunately, there are still a lot of great pitchers out there to watch on a daily basis, but it really stinks that we are missing full seasons from these guys at the peak of their powers. I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again: this elbow injury epidemic is hurting the game. I continue to hope that the best minds in baseball and the medical community are able to solve this dilemma, even if the positive results take years to materialize.

Posted in Demigods, Kings, Mavericks | No Comments »

A Painful Start

Tuesday, April 29th, 2014

Darkhorses pitcher Matt Moore

For several years now, it has felt like the number of injuries has been on a steady rise in Major League Baseball. I’m sure there are facts to back this up, but I’m so certain of it, I’m not going to waste my time researching it. (That, and I’m lazy.) This year, we’ve reached a new high (or should I say low?). The number of players who have been sidelined due to injuries in the first four weeks of the season is staggering. Actually, this all started well before Opening Day. In March, at least a half dozen pitchers had their seasons end prematurely due to torn ligaments in their elbows. Several other pitchers have been added to that list since the season started. And now position players are dropping like flies as well. The only good thing about these injuries is that no team has been immune. Of course, the level to which each team has been decimated varies greatly. And to a slight degree, this is reflected in the current league standings.

It would be a lot quicker to list the DTBL teams who have not lost a player for the remainder of the season due to an injury. There are only three: the Choppers, Gators and Naturals. But even those three have been dealing with injuries to key players. Particularly the Choppers who just got Adrian Beltre back while Chris Sale remains disabled for at least another week and Mark Trumbo figures to miss at least another month. Those are three of their top players. The Gators are about to get Hisashi Iwakuma back in their rotation for the first time this season and they are dealing with some minor injuries to offensive players as well. The Naturals have probably been the luckiest team in the league, from a health standpoint. But even they currently have three players on the DL.

It’s kind of a disaster for the rest of the league. The two top teams from last season have both been dealing with all sorts of pitching injuries. The Mavericks knew they would be without Matt Harvey this year. But losing Clayton Kershaw after one start was a huge blow. Meanwhile, Mat Latos and Taijuan Walker are yet to make their season debuts. Same for Manny Machado offensively. The good news for the Mavericks is that all of those players are expected to return soon. The Kings may not have had as significant of injuries early on, but the sheer volume is starting to catch up to them now. Anibal Sanchez and Jason Grilli hit the DL last week, joining teammates Ryan Zimmerman, Michael Cuddyer and Nate Jones. They also lost two draft picks to Tommy John surgery within days of their selections: Patrick Corbin and David Hernandez, who both happen to play for the Diamondbacks as well. Several other Kings are dealing with day-to-day injuries too. It isn’t pretty.

The Cougars also lost a pair of pitchers to torn elbow ligaments: Kris Medlen and Josh Johnson. They are currently dealing with injuries to two of their top sluggers in Chris Davis and Josh Hamilton. Casey Janssen hasn’t pitched yet this year either. Then there are the Darkhorses who have managed to remain near the top of the standings despite another Tommy John casualty in Matt Moore. Mike Minor will finally take a big league mound for the first time this season later this week. But their biggest blow may have come this past weekend when Bryce Harper tore a ligament in his thumb and will be out until at least early July. Oh, Russell Martin is on the DL for them too.

How about the Demigods? Well, things were looking bleak in March when Doug Fister, Cole Hamels and Johnny Cueto were all dealing with injuries. But Cueto has been excellent and Hamels is back now too. Fister should return next week. So all in all, they are in decent shape. Except they too lost a pitcher, Bobby Parnell, to a torn UCL. Kole Calhoun is currently out with an ankle injury as well. The Jackalope are hopeful about the return of Aroldis Chapman who suffered quite possibly the most gruesome injury of the spring when he took a line drive to the head. On the other hand, Avisail Garcia is out for the year with a torn labrum and Jurickson Profar won’t make his season debut for at least another month. Finally, we have the Moonshiners. Just one season ending injury for them: Brandon Beachy who has undergone Tommy John surgery for the second time in three years and has pitched just 111 innings since the Moonshiners drafted him in 2012. They are also without second round pick Wilson Ramos who is recovering from a broken hand.

So there you go. That’s a pretty staggering list of injuries, but there are actually plenty of others I didn’t mention who are currently injured or have already returned from previous DL stints, including a whole bunch of current free agents. Everyone has their own theory on why all of these injuries are occurring, particularly when it comes to the torn elbow ligaments of pitchers. I don’t think there is a conclusive theory out there yet though. I certainly hope some of the best minds in sports medicine and therapy will be able to figure this out eventually, because it is taking a toll on the sport to see so many of the best players having full seasons in the middle of their primes completely wiped out.

There is a little bit of good news though. Injuries usually peak early in the season and settle down as the year goes on. So there is hope for that to occur this year too. But there are already a whole bunch of players who won’t be returning until 2015. Let’s all hope for a healthier May.

Posted in Choppers, Cougars, Darkhorses, Demigods, Gators, Jackalope, Kings, Mavericks, Moonshiners, Naturals | No Comments »

2014 Season Preview: Part IV

Sunday, March 30th, 2014

Kings outfielder Carlos Gonzalez

We’ve reached the final part of the 2014 DTBL season preview. Now it’s time to examine the two teams who are projected to finish at the very top of the standings. This has a familiar ring to it. A year ago, the Mavericks and Kings were projected to finish in the top two spots, with the Mavericks winning the title. How did it turn out? Well, they were the best two teams in the league, but the Kings just barely hung on for a one point victory. So here we are and the Mavericks and Kings are once again projected to be the league’s two best teams. They have been the two consistent title contenders for the past couple years. Not surprisingly, they look like strong contenders again this year. But will they be the league’s two best teams again this season? And who will enter the year as the pre-season favorite? Here are the final projections.

Marc’s Mavericks

Category – Projected Rank (2013 Rank)

Batting Average – 6th (7th)
Home Runs – 2nd (3rd)
Runs Batted In – 3rd (6th)
Runs Scored – 1st (2nd)
Stolen Bases – 4th (6th)
Earned Run Average – 1st (1st)
WHIP Ratio – 5th (1st)
Wins – 8th (4th)
Saves – 8th (2nd)
Strike Outs – 4th (1st)
Total Batting Points – 2nd (5th)
Total Pitching Points – 5th (1st)
Total Points – 2nd (2nd)

Summary:

No surprise to see the Mavericks in this spot, but how they are projected to get here is a little peculiar. Last year, the Mavericks had quite possibly the best pitching staff in league history. They broke records in ERA and WHIP on their way to a league high 46 pitching points. Their offense was middle of the pack though. This year, it’s their offense that is projected to be their strength. There is an explanation for this switch, but I’m not sure I’m buying it. Even though Matt Harvey may not pitch this season, their rotation is still unbelievably loaded with Clayton Kershaw, Stephen Strasburg, Mat Latos and newcomers Gerrit Cole and Zack Wheeler. They are dealing with some injuries to this rotation right now, but assuming those don’t linger, they are a strong bet to have the league’s best rotation again. The Mavericks have earned a reputation as the team most willing to take chances on young prospects in the draft. This year, they took it to a new level though. Every one of their first six draft picks made their MLB debuts last season. How many of these six players wind up panning out will probably determine their fate because they will be counting on all of them this year. Perhaps for comedy’s sake, they drafted Derek Jeter in the 11th round. He is approximately the same age as their first six picks combined. Anyway, these projections like the offense the Mavericks have assembled. With Mike Trout and company, that makes perfect sense. After a bunch of near misses, the Mavericks are a solid pick to win their first title since 2006.

Kevin’s Kings

Category – Projected Rank (2013 Rank)

Batting Average – 1st (3rd)
Home Runs – 3rd (2nd)
Runs Batted In – 1st (2nd)
Runs Scored – 3rd (1st)
Stolen Bases – 6th (3rd-T)
Earned Run Average – 6th (5th)
WHIP Ratio – 6th (3rd)
Wins – 1st (1st-T)
Saves – 3rd (9th)
Strike Outs – 1st (2nd)
Total Batting Points – 1st (1st)
Total Pitching Points – 2nd (3rd)
Total Points – 1st (1st)

Summary:

The defending champs are projected to repeat in 2014. The Kings broke a ten year title drought last season and appear to have the talent necessary to win again. They have a strong roster from top-to-bottom and are slated to once again lead the league in batting points, but with a slightly better pitching staff this year. The main reason for the pitching uptick is the bullpen. They have a good chance to finish much higher in saves, although these projections are assuming Nate Jones will be given the White Sox closer job, which isn’t a sure thing. Shelby Miller will try to fit in with the Tigers trio of Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer and Anibal Sanchez. Scherzer and Sanchez may have trouble duplicating the career years they had in ’13, but Verlander can certainly do better. On the batting side of things, the Kings have retained the entire core of the group that easily led the league in batting points last year. Plus, they have reacquired several former Kings: Norichika Aoki, Michael Cuddyer and Coco Crisp. Billy Butler will attempt to solidify the one weak spot for the Kings in recent years, first base. Despite having the best offense in the league last year, the Kings did not have a true MVP candidate. That could change this year if Carlos Gonzalez can stay healthy for a full season. It will be interesting to see if the change of scenery has a negative effect on Robinson Cano’s fantasy value. The projections have the Kings winning the league by a healthy 11 points. That seems very unlikely, but a second straight championship is certainly a reasonable expectation.

Here is a table containing the full projected standings and team totals in each of the 10 categories. One thing that sticks out to me is the huge gap between the top five and bottom five teams in batting points. It probably won’t actually turn out this way, but that does indicate quite a delineation between the haves and have-nots in hitting heading into the season. Pitching projections tend to be much less reliable.

So that’s it. I hope you found these previews to be interesting. As I watch the snow fall outside, it is hard to believe tomorrow is Opening Day, but boy am I thankful for that. Happy Opening Day to all of you!

Posted in Kings, Mavericks | No Comments »

Bold New Faces

Thursday, March 6th, 2014

Jackalope outfielder Yasiel Puig

Baseball is supposed to be fun. The first few players taken in the DTBL Draft all seem to understand that. Besides their prodigious talent, what these guys have in common is a youthful exuberance that occasionally rubs their opponents, and sometimes even their teammates, the wrong way. But only a curmudgeon who insists that the unwritten rules of the game be followed to a T wouldn’t enjoy watching these guys play. And when it comes to fantasy baseball, you definitely want them on your team.

The 22nd Annual DTBL Draft kicked off Wednesday morning. Almost exactly 24 hours later, the first round was complete. The round featured as strong of a set of young talent as we’ve seen in quite some time. Perhaps there have been stronger drafts at the very top spot or two, but the number of young superstars taken in this draft so far has been quite impressive, and should keep the draft entertaining for several more rounds.

The Jackalope kicked things off by selecting the Cuban phenom, outfielder Yasiel Puig. Yes, Puig Mania has made its way to the DTBL. It took Puig all of about a week after making his MLB debut last summer before he became the talk of the league. From the monster home runs, mind-boggling throws and blazing sprints around the bases, Puig proved himself to be the definition of a five tool player. Sure, some of those tools are easier to harness than others. But there is nothing he can’t do on a baseball field. Really, the only thing that kept him from being a complete no-brainer with the first overall pick was the Jackalope’s already full outfield and perhaps a small worry about a second year flame-out. But the decision to take Puig couldn’t have been too difficult. In just four months in the big leagues, he hit .319 with 19 home runs and 11 stolen bases. Most years, he would have been an absolute lock for Rookie of the Year with those numbers, but we’ll get to why that was not the case in a bit. The sky is the limit for this guy.

With the second pick, the Gators took another young phenom outfielder in Wil Myers. Prior to last season, he was traded from Kansas City to Tampa Bay before making his big league debut, a very rare occurrence for such a highly touted prospect. Once he got the call to Tampa, he did not disappoint. He slugged 13 home runs in 335 MLB at bats on his way to winning the AL Rookie of the Year award. Myers is probably the biggest power prospect in this draft. He doesn’t have Puig’s speed or flare, but he already looks the part as a middle of the order power hitter. He will join a Gators offense which has gone through a remarkable makeover the past two years. He joins Yoenis Cespedes, Starling Marte and Leonys Martin in a very exciting and young Gators outfield.

Trivia question: which team finished second to the Kings in batting points last year. Unless your name is Dom, you probably didn’t know the answer is the Demigods. Only a truly dreadful pitching staff relegated them to an eighth place finish rather than being a title contender. But was their pitching staff really that bad, or just a bit unlucky? Well, Johnny Cueto missed a majority of the season with an injury. Cole Hamels only won eight games despite excellent peripheral numbers. Doug Fister was his usual solid, underrated self. And Yu Darvish was one of the best pitchers in baseball. Enter the third pick in the draft, Jose Fernandez. For the second straight year, the Demigods acquired the best strikeout pitcher in the draft with their first pick (Darvish last year). Fernandez had an absolutely phenomenal rookie campaign for the Marlins. 12 wins, a sub 1.0 WHIP, 2.19 ERA and 187 strike outs. He beat out Puig to win the NL Rookie of the Year award. The addition of Fernandez could turn the Demigods league worst pitching staff into one of the best. I know there is a long way to go in this draft, but if you are looking for a sleeper team this year, the Demigods would be a solid bet.

Here are three awesome GIFs of the top three draft choices enjoying their home runs… yes, including the pitcher Fernandez. Wait, Puig’s was actually a triple, which makes it even better. Which one is your favorite?

The fun didn’t end with the first three picks though. With the fourth pick, the Moonshiners elected to go with the best available player, third baseman Josh Donaldson. Last year, Donaldson pretty much came out of nowhere to become a MVP candidate, or at least he would have been if we lived in a world where Miguel Cabrera and Mike Trout didn’t exist. He hit .301 with 24 home runs and 93 RBI. Although he figured to be an early draft pick, the Moonshiners are a bit of a surprise suitor since they already have David Wright and Kyle Seager at the hot corner. But all of them figure to be on their Opening Day roster. Donaldson should provide a solid boost to a strong core of Moonshiners hitters.

With the fifth pick, the Darkhorses went even younger, taking 21 year old third baseman Xander Bogaerts (he’s a couple months younger than Fernandez). 2013 was quite a year for Bogaerts. He progressed from highly touted AA prospect, to MLB utility player, to World Series starting third baseman. Bogaerts is considered an elite prospect because of his bat and his glove. The former makes him an attractive fantasy prospect as well, especially since he will likely shift over to shortstop next year. This is the kind of pick that is becoming the norm in the first round of DTBL drafts. Highly ranked prospects don’t stay on the board very long, no matter how little experience the player has.

The Cougars were the only team to pick a non-DTBL rookie in the first round. They selected outfielder Domonic Brown with the sixth pick. Despite only being 26 himself, Brown is actually three years removed from his one year of DTBL experience. He was a disappointment in that year with the Demigods and was starting to look like a bust of a former big time prospect until his breakout 2013 season. He slugged 27 home runs with 83 RBI for the Phillies. In the previous three seasons, he hit just 12 homers while bouncing up and down between MLB and AAA. But now he appears to be here to stay and should give the Cougars a solid power boost in their outfield.

There was no first round pick with a wider boom-to-bust potential than the Naturals selection of speedy outfielder Billy Hamilton with the seventh pick. Either Hamilton is going to win stolen bases for the Naturals by himself by being an every day top of the order hitter, or he is going to be too much of a liability with the bat that the Reds will use him almost exclusively as a pinch runner or send him back to the minors. There’s almost no in between for him. But if there is a team that can afford to take this gamble, it is the Naturals. They have guys like Miguel Cabrera, Joey Votto, Andrew McCutchen and Troy Tulowitzki who will pretty much assure them of finishing high in the power categories, allowing them to play a one dimensional player. But that one dimension could be unlike anything this league has ever seen. Hamilton has stolen over 85 bases in each of his three full professional seasons and stole 13 bases in his first 13 major league games (with just 22 plate appearances!) This is going to be fun to watch.

With the eighth pick, the Choppers selected second baseman Matt Carpenter. He was sort of the NL version of Donaldson, suddenly breaking out of nowhere to become a MVP candidate. He hit .318 and led all of baseball in hits (199), runs scored (124) and doubles (55). He doesn’t have great power or speed, but his high extra base totals led to plenty of RBI as well (78), making him an elite three category player. If some of those doubles start going over the wall, his value could soar even more. The Choppers were the surprise team of ’13 and appear primed to make a serious run at the title this year. Carpenter should help them in that endeavor.

The first round ended with two more young pitchers going off the board. The Mavericks grabbed Gerrit Cole with the ninth pick. The first overall pick of the 2011 amateur draft, Cole reached the big leagues for the Pirates last summer and pitched extremely well. In fact, he only got better as the season progressed. Some were a little concerned by his mediocre strike out rate in AAA, but he was actually more effective in that regard in the majors. And throwing his fastball in the high 90′s, it is hard to imagine him not continuing that trend this season. This year, he will try to replace Matt Harvey as best he can for the Mavericks. But in 2015, a rotation of Harvey, Cole, Clayton Kershaw, Stephen Strasburg and Mat Latos almost sounds unfair to the rest of the league.

Finally, the Kings concluded the first round by taking pitcher Shelby Miller. For the first few months of the year, Miller was one of the best pitchers in baseball and appeared well on his way to the NL Rookie of the Year award until Fernandez and Puig burst onto the scene and stole his thunder. Miller faded a bit in the second half and then was almost unheard from in October for the Cardinals. But that was probably the result of going well past his previous career high in innings and maybe the Cardinals being a little cautious as well. If he can put together a full season that resembles the first half of 2013, he will quickly become one of the league’s elite pitchers.

For the first time in six years, no first round picks were traded. On a related note, it was the first year in quite some time that the Mavericks didn’t make multiple first round selections. But there was one trade completed during the round. The Kings dealt second baseman Ben Zobrist to the Gators for outfielder Michael Cuddyer. This was a trade of excess pieces for both teams. After drafting Myers, the Gators had six outfielders on their roster while the Kings had four middle infield keepers. So this trade made sense for both sides to fill other needs. Zobrist has bounced between several positions in recent years, but has returned to the infield this year where he is much more valuable. He will provide the Gators with solid power and speed at a very thin position. Meanwhile, Cuddyer returns to the Kings squad that drafted and then cut him just a couple years ago. Cuddyer is coming off the best year of his career, hitting .331 with 20 home runs in 2013.

The first round was certainly a lot of fun. Let’s see what the rest of the draft brings us.

Posted in Choppers, Cougars, Darkhorses, Demigods, Draft, Gators, Jackalope, Kings, Mavericks, Moonshiners, Naturals | 4 Comments »

Kings Take the Fifth

Tuesday, October 1st, 2013

Kings third baseman Ryan Zimmerman and shortstop Ian Desmond

For the third time in four years, the league championship was determined by one point or fewer. Despite a second half fade which saw a double digit lead evaporate, the Kings held on for dear life and edged out the Mavericks by a single point. Kevin’s Kings are the 2013 Dream Team Baseball League champions.

With their fifth championship, the Kings can now claim more titles than any other franchise. But this one was a long time coming. After winning four straight titles from 2000 through 2003, the Kings have been on a bit of a roller coaster ride, bottoming out in last place in 2009. But in the years since then, they have built a solid foundation which eventually led to this title. A year ago, they came up just short, missing the title by the same one point margin that they won by this year. But in the year of the tenth anniversary of their last title, the Kings are champions once again.

For a good portion of the season, it appeared the Kings might win the league running away. They held a double digit point lead for a good portion of the summer. Their starting pitching was awesome in the first half, and the offense was even better. The Kings had a league high eight players on the All-Star team (two more than any other team). But their fortunes changed significantly in late July, and especially August. Part of this was due to the finger injury suffered by their best all around player, Carlos Gonzalez. Gonzalez suffered the injury in early July and wound up missing a majority of the second half of the season. The Kings actually coughed up their lead to the Mavericks for a couple days in the last week of August. But fortunately for them, they caught a hot streak in early September to regain positive momentum. However, in the final week or so, they started coughing up points with their struggling pitching staff and had to hold on for the one point victory. Had the season been another week longer, this might be a completely different article.

The Kings offense was the primary reason why they won the league. They led the way with 43.5 batting points, which was 9.5 more than any other team earned. They were a well rounded offensive squad, finishing in the top three in the league in all five categories. In addition to Gonzalez’s first half contributions, the other top offensive performers were all Kings veterans: Robinson Cano, Jay Bruce, Carlos Beltran, Ian Desmond and Ryan Zimmerman. Zimmerman’s contributions were especially important because his September surge carried an otherwise lackluster offense. But the other mentioned players were solid all year. The Kings also had a very impressive catching duo of Wilin Rosario and Jonathan LuCroy, giving them an edge on pretty much every other team at that position. It was truly a team effort because not one Kings player came near the league lead in any offensive category. Bruce (109 RBI) was the only player to finish in the top five of a category.

Even though the offense was better than the pitching, the improvement of the Kings pitching staff was a major reason why they won the league. Their offense was nearly identical to 2012, but the pitchers improved by nine points, finishing third in the league with 34.5 points. The rotation was led by the Tigers trio of Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander and Anibal Sanchez. Verlander has been the Kings ace for several years, but this year he was a distant third behind his two Tigers teammates. Scherzer is their top Cy Young candidate, leading the league with 21 wins, third in WHIP (0.97) and second in strike outs (240). He was probably the best non-Mavericks pitcher in the league. But Sanchez actually led the staff in ERA (2.59). To complement those three, the Kings made a key mid-season signing with Ricky Nolasco just before he was traded to the Dodgers. Nolasco chipped in seven key wins as the rest of the staff was struggling. Jake Peavy was his usual solid self in the rotation too. The bullpen turned into a bit of a disaster, finishing ninth in saves due to injuries to former closer J.J. Putz and mid-season saves leader Jason Grilli. Fortunately for them, the leaky pen didn’t come back to haunt them.

It is interesting to examine how this team was built. Usually, championship squads are able to win largely because of some great draft picks they made prior to the season. But that simply wasn’t the case for this Kings team. In fact, they had a rather poor draft in March. They made a historically bad trade in dealing their first round pick to the Mavericks for Ike Davis, who was a horrific bust. The Mavericks used that pick to select Manny Machado. If the Mavericks had won the league over the Kings, that trade would have gone down in infamy for the Kings. Although they did acquire some nice role players in the draft, almost all of their key contributors were the 16 players who they retained from a year ago. This speaks to the depth the team has built in recent years. In fact, they used two of their draft picks to reacquire players who didn’t quite make that 16 player cut in the winter (Jonathan LuCroy and Michael Morse). The solid core of players the Kings have assembled finally paid off with a title.

In the upcoming weeks, I’ll review the 2013 season for the other nine teams. If this government shutdown lasts a while, I may finish them all this week! I’m looking forward to the MLB playoffs, featuring a whole bunch of small-market, low payroll teams. It should be fun to watch. Thanks to everyone for another very fun year. 21 seasons in the book!

Posted in Kings | 2 Comments »

Live Blog: Game 163

Monday, September 30th, 2013

Mavericks shortstop Elvis Andrus

Tonight, the Rays and Rangers will play a tiebreaker to determine the second AL Wild Card participant. By league rules, this game will count towards DTBL stats since it is an official MLB regular season game. That means we have one more day of drama remaining in the 2013 championship season. The Kings enter the night with a two point lead over the Mavericks. This isn’t quite like last year with five teams still in the mix with a full slate of games on the final day, but it still should be very interesting. I will write occasional updates throughout the game, updating you on category point changes that may or may not occur, which could ultimately swing the title.

Although the Kings are in pretty good shape, this thing is far from over. Before we get this game started, here are some categories that are still in play for the Kings to lose points or the Mavericks to gain points. By my calculations, there are four categories to watch: runs, stolen bases, ERA and wins.

Runs is the category I’ve been focused on all week since the Mavericks have had an opportunity to catch the Kings for an immediate two point swing. However, that is not looking very likely at the moment. The Mavs trail by four runs and have only Elvis Andrus playing tonight. It would be quite a feat for him to erase this deficit, especially since the Kings have their own player going tonight too in Ben Zobrist. So I’ll label this one as a remote possibility, but obviously would be a game changer if it happened. Stolen bases is very much in play tonight for both teams. The Kings are currently tied with the Moonshiners, so 1/2 point could easily be lost here, especially since the Moonshiners have a bunch of players in this game: Alex Rios, Ian Kinsler, Desmond Jennings and Matt Joyce. Jennings is nursing a hamstring issue though, so he may not do much running tonight. Rios and Kinsler are certainly possibilities though. The Mavericks could also pick up half a point in SBs if Andrus steals two bases tonight. That’s not totally unrealistic. ERA is probably the most likely category for the Kings to lose a point. They just passed the Naturals yesterday to increase their overall lead by a point, but the Naturals could get that point back with David Price on the mound tonight, and possibly Jake McGee as well. By my calculations, Price and McGee need to allow two runs or fewer for the Kings to lose a point. If they give up zero or one, the Naturals will almost certainly pass the Kings. Two runs will require the Naturals pitchers to account for about eight innings of work. Three or more runs means the Kings point should be safe. Finally, there is only one win up for grabs tonight, but it could be big if it goes to a pitcher out of the bullpen. The Kings are currently tied with the Moonshiners, so if Moonshiners relievers Joe Nathan or Fernando Rodney (or Jeremy Hellickson since all hands figure to be on deck for this one) vulture another win, then the Kings would drop a half point. The Mavericks could also gain a half point in wins if they get a win out of this game. That’s not likely though since Alex Cobb and Matt Garza are two starters who aren’t likely to be used in relief tonight.

In my opinion, the Mavericks best chance at the title is for David Price to shut down the Rangers, costing the Kings a point in ERA, while Andrus grabs a pair of steals and one of the Moonshiners steals a base as well. The chances of all of these things happening? Probably not good. But after what we saw a year ago, and what I experienced just yesterday in another league I’m in (along with Marc and Nick), almost anything can happen. Check back throughout the night for updates. Enjoy the game!

8:30 pm EDT

Through one inning, the Kings continue to sit in good shape. Elvis Andrus walked, but was picked off, costing the Mavericks a shot at a much needed SB and R. I think we can rule out any change in the runs category tonight. So that leaves SB, ERA and W. Kings lead is 2 points. Rays lead the Rangers 1-0 through 1.

9:12 pm

It appears David Price is just going to go ahead and pick off every base runner that the Mavericks need to steal. This time it is the Moonshiners’ Ian Kinsler. Evan Longoria’s two run home run is irrelevant for the championship race, but did shift 1/2 point (RBI) from the Naturals to the Demigods. Kings still up two points through three innings.

9:42 pm

Price has now allowed just one earned run in five innings, which is enough to edge the Naturals ahead of the Kings in ERA. The Kings lead is down to just one point. But the other categories aren’t looking great for the Mavericks at the moment.

10:10 pm

Now things are getting interesting! Andrus singled, stole second and scored a run, opening up some possibilities for the Mavericks. They are now just one steal shy of gaining 1/2 point. However, the bad news for the Mavericks: the earned run allowed by Price has moved the Kings back ahead of the Naturals in ERA. The Kings lead is back to two points.

10:39 pm

Two innings to go and the Kings still lead by 2 points. The Mavericks need Price and/or McGee to pitch at least 2/3 of an inning without giving up a run to cost the Kings an ERA point. But where that second point will come from is not obvious. On a non-DTBL note, instant replay can’t get here quickly enough. The umpires botched a trapped ball which cost the Rays at least 1 run. 4-2 Rays after 7.

10:59 pm

Price gets through the eighth without allowing a run, so the Naturals are back ahead of the Kings in ERA again. The Kings lead is down 1. But the great play Price made to rob Andrus of a hit removed another steal possibility. It is starting to look like the Kings will win the title by one point, but we’re not quite done yet.

11:18 pm

For the third time in the last four years, the DTBL Championship has been won by a point or less. The Mavericks were unable to close the gap in any other category, so the Kings just lost the one point in ERA. Unless I have seriously overlooked something, the Kings are the 2013 DTBL Champions, besting the Mavericks by a single point. The official final standings will be updated at 8:20 a.m. EDT tomorrow. Thanks for following. Much more to come later this week.

Posted in Kings, Mavericks | No Comments »

The Stretch Run

Monday, September 23rd, 2013

Choppers outfielder Jayson Werth

I’m not sure we will ever see a final week of a baseball season quite like last year’s when five teams had a great chance to win the DTBL title right up to the last few pitches of the season. So compared to that, this year’s pennant race may seem a little boring. But for the four teams who have found themselves near the top of the standings most of the year, there is plenty of drama left in this season.

Let’s start with the team that came out of last year’s wild finish with the title. The Naturals haven’t quite been able to replicate last year’s success. They currently sit in fourth place, 11 points behind the leader. I’ll be honest, it doesn’t appear that they will be able to successfully defend their title. They just have too much ground to make up and too many teams to catch. The only case you could make for them to win this thing would be to put up an obscene stat line in the last week combined with a collapse from the three teams above. Part of the Naturals problem has been that the player they depend on the most, Miguel Cabrera, has been severely limited by injuries over the last month or so. Without his typical mashing, the Naturals offense just hasn’t been that strong. Also, the September injury to Allen Craig couldn’t have come at a worse time with nobody capable of replacing him. Their pitching has actually been very good of late, recently passing the Kings in both ERA and WHIP. However, I just don’t see enough categories where gaining additional points is possible to give them a realistic shot at winning this thing.

The case for the Choppers winning the league is much stronger. The surprise team of the year, the Choppers have been on fire of late. Their surprising pitching staff is now second in the league in pitching points, leading the way in saves and an impressive second place in ERA. Chris Sale has been a beast all year, despite the unfortunately low win total. C.J. Wilson is quietly having an outstanding year as well. The Choppers offense has been slugging their way up the standings too. It appears they will finish the season on top of the home run and RBI categories. If there were such a thing as second half MVP, Jayson Werth would be a strong candidate for it. Their key injury is to Jose Baustista, but his loss hasn’t really hurt their offense at all. The Choppers opportunities to pick up points are limited, but average and runs are the two to watch, especially since the teams they are chasing in those categories are the two ahead of them in the overall standings. They definitely need the Kings and Mavericks to drop a couple points this week, but that is very possible. Assuming they hang onto a top 3 spot, this will be their best finish since 2001. But they still have higher aspirations than just that.

The Kings have been the title favorites for a while now. They have topped the standings most of the season. On occasion during the middle of the summer, it looked like they might run away with the title as they frequently held a double digit point lead. But now they are hanging on for dear life. They actually gave up the lead for a few days near the end of August. But a couple strong weeks since have boosted them back to the lead. The moment when things started turning south for the Kings is easy to identify: when their best player, Carlos Gonzalez, suffered his finger injury in early July. The Kings have had to move on without him for virtually the entire second half of the season. But fortunately for them, they have found a few guys to pick up the slack on offense down the stretch, led by Ryan Zimmerman. The recent concern has been with the previously solid pitching staff. In the last week, they coughed up several points in ERA and WHIP. Barring a terrible last week, they should be safe from losing more points in most pitching categories though. Their vulnerability comes in two key categories: runs scored (currently 1st) and stolen bases (4th). If they can hold off the Choppers and/or Mavericks in those categories, they should be able to claim their fifth DTBL championship. That is hardly a sure thing at this point though.

I saved the Mavericks for last because I have a little more to say about them. There were two big stories involving the Mavericks in August which deserved their own articles, but I had a few hectic weeks around that time and wasn’t able to make the time to write about them. First, the Mavericks and Jackalope pulled off a major deadline trade. The Mavs sent shortstop Jurickson Profar, first baseman Eric Hosmer and their third round pick in 2014 to the Jackalope for shortstop Elvis Andrus, second baseman Daniel Murphy, relief pitcher Steve Cishek and a fifth round draft pick. The most fascinating thing about this trade is that the two key players in the deal, Andrus and Profar, have had their careers so tightly tied to one another the last couple years. Profar was widely considered the top prospect in baseball entering this season. The problem is, he is a shortstop for the Rangers, who happen to already have a pretty good shortstop by the name of Andrus. Profar has spent the entire season on the MLB roster, but has been a part time player, seriously hampering his fantasy value. But the Jackalope weren’t too worried about that considering this season was already a lost cause for them anyway. Expect the Rangers to fix this log jam in the winter, especially if they wind up missing the playoffs which now appears quite possible. Andrus and Profar should both be everyday players by next spring. The Jackalope also received an intriguing player in Hosmer, who is finally starting to show some of that potential that hasn’t been seen since his rookie year. This trade makes all the sense in the world for the Jackalope, acquiring two keepers for one as they begin their rebuild. Likewise, the Mavericks made a major upgrade at their weakest spot: middle infield. Cishek has given them a boost in the bullpen, which is now one of the league’s best to go along with their unbeatable rotation. I’m already declaring this trade a win/win for both sides.

The other piece of Mavericks news in late August was not nearly as positive. Phenom pitcher Matt Harvey was diagnosed with a partially torn UCL in his elbow. Usually, this leads to Tommy John surgery, but as of now it appears Harvey will try to rest and rehab without surgery. This will be a huge story next spring, because if he does succumb to surgery, that would obviously be a huge blow to the Mavericks for 2014. But as for this season, the injury has not had a major impact because the Mavericks had/have such an enormous lead in the three categories where Harvey provided the most value: ERA, WHIP and strike outs. If the Mavericks don’t win the title, it won’t be because Harvey got hurt. But this story clearly put a bit of a damper on their championship hunt.

The Mavericks are definitely the team with the best chance of catching the Kings in the final week. I can’t really put a probability figure on it, but I think they have a great chance. The Kings have been very vulnerable for a couple months now and have anything but a safe lead in a couple key categories, as described above. The Mavericks need a big week from their offense though. Like all of the other title contenders, the Mavericks are going down the stretch without one of their best offensive players. Team home run leader Edwin Encarnacion had season ending wrist surgery just last week. But the Mavericks have likely maxed out in the power categories anyway. Batting average, runs scored and stolen bases are the key. And they just happen to have the best player in baseball when it comes to contributing to all three of those categories: Mike Trout. Just like last season, Trout is finishing this campaign on fire. He will attempt to carry most of the load for the Mavs in the final week. His heroic effort down the stretch last season came up just short. Perhaps this year will be different.

So we have four teams vying for the title. It should be a fun week. Unfortunately, if the title comes down to the final day like it did last season, I won’t be able to do another live blog/tweet event because I will be spending most of Sunday behind the wheel driving back from South Bend. So you will be on your own to figure out what’s going on. The live stats should make that much easier to do this year though, if you are so inclined. Good luck to the championship contenders!

Posted in Choppers, Jackalope, Kings, Mavericks, Naturals | No Comments »

DTBL News