Trying to Stay Afloat

I launched team Driftwood in a Yahoo Public league while waiting for my private league to come together. Driftwood is currently in 8th place out of 12. It ranks high in runs (1st), batting average (2nd, tied) and RBI (3rd). But the team is short on homeruns (7th), wins (7th) and strikeouts (6th), is hurting for saves (9th), has completely fallen away from the pack in steals (11th) and WHIP (10th, tied), and is dead last in ERA (12th).

Much of the problem can be traced back to my highly-flawed draft strategy. Chief among my poor choices were selecting both of the projected star catchers within the first four rounds, especially since one of them got hurt (Mauer) and the other forgot how to hit (McCann). Other draft mistakes include picking Nomar Garciaparra (who lost his power) and Bronson Arroyo (who lost his control). I selected several injury-plagued players, including Mark Prior (who must have been “healthy” that day) and Joel Zumaya (out most the the season). I also failed to secure two or three good relievers in the early rounds and got stuck with Ryan Dempster (currently on the DL) as my only closer. To top it all off, my last three picks were Matt Murton, Jacque Jones and Rich Aurilia; what on earth was I thinking?

The injuries haven’t helped, with Miguel Tejada (third draft pick) expected to be out for several more weeks, added to Dempster, Chris Capuano and two players I acquired through trades: Curt Shilling and B.J. Upton.

Speaking of trades, those haven’t gone very well for me, either. I sent Chipper Jones and Joe Mauer packing while they were on the DL, but now both are back and seem to be doing well. Along the way, I acquired Kenji Johjima, who has floundered ever since. I was also too quick to dump Chien-Ming Wang, dropping him at the beginning of the season before he and the Yankees remembered how to win.

The few bright spots have been the ever-reliable Chase Utley, a reinvigorated Gary Sheffield and a dominant C.C. Sabathia. I’ve also enjoyed decent production from Hideki Matsui, Dontrelle Willis and Andy Pettitte.

Looking forward, though, I decided to accept a deal trading Utley in exchange for a star closer (Bobby Jenks), a potentially great starter (Felix Hernandez), and change (Kelly Johnson). If the trade goes through, we’ll see what happens — at any rate, I should be decently covered at 2nd with Placido Polanco as my backup.

To round things out, I’ve also added 1B Adrian Gonzalez (who needs to break out of his slump) and RP Jeremy Accardo (who took the closing role in Toronto). If they have a good half, along with Johjima, Upton and rookie SP Tim Lincecum, I could break my way back into the top five. Otherwise, I’ll just continue riding the crashing wave into last place.

Keeping North

My private league is another story altogether. The Northpaws have dominated in almost every category and have maintained the pole position for most of the season. The Northpaws are currently 1st of 10 overall, as well as 1st in runs, homeruns, RBI, average and wins; 2nd in steals and strikeouts; 3rd in saves; and 5th in ERA and WHIP.

The team has benefited from suffering few injuries, as well as enjoying predictably-good production from its stars and surprisingly-great contributions and breakaway performances by the others.

The stars at the plate include Victor Martinez, Chase Utley, Hanley Ramirez, Aramis Ramirez, Carlos Guillen and Alfonso Soriano, all of them batting over .300 and each hitting 14 or more homeruns. Added to these are break-outs Russell Martin (now my starting catcher) and Adrian Gonzalez (now my backup 1B), along with solid veterans Hideki Matsui, Michael Cuddyer and Kenny Lofton, each of them producing good numbers.

On the pitching side, I repeated my error in giving up on Chien-Ming Wang too soon, but my other SPs have more than compensated for the loss, led by aces C.C. Sabathia and Cole Hamels, with Aaron Harang not far behind. As well, I’m again taking a chance on Tim Lincecum, and have stuck with Jered Weaver ever since pulling him off the waiver wire. Within the past week, I’ve also claimed Roy Oswalt from waivers, to my joy and surprise; even if he continues to slip from his former glory, you have to expect that an Oswalt funk will be better than the alternative, and could be worth at least six or seven wins in the second half.

I also can’t complain about my relievers, with Jonathan Papelbon remaining in the closer spot and recording 20 saves to go with Trevor Hoffman’s 25 and Chris Ray’s 14. Even if the Orioles demote Ray, as some expect, I should be able to pick up or trade for a comparable replacement.

For now at least, I’m happy with every member of my team and have little reason to make any further moves. Unless the second half brings a significant amount of injuries and slumps, I expect the team to continue rocketing up, up and away.