Fantasy Baseball Today

Jesse Litch

The AL East has produced the Wild Card team for the playoffs in 7 of the last 8 seasons. They always have 2 or 3 teams fighting for that playoff position. They are the power division in baseball. This year it may be a little different.

Presently the 5 teams are separated by 4 games after one quarter of the season. It may be difficult to separate these teams further with the quality of players on each team. Especially since they all play each other 72 times a season.

The Baltimore Orioles, the divisions cellar dwellers these past few seasons are trying to make a run at contention. The team added Derek Lee, Mark Reynolds, and Vlad Guerrero, but the real difference might be the maturing of their young pitching staff.

Zach Britton and Jake Arieta have been leading the way which is a very pleasant surprise for Orioles fans. If Chris Tillman and the others continue to improve, the O’s have a chance.

Injuries have played a big role against the Orioles. If they are to contend, their top players need to get healthy and stay healthy to have a chance. If all goes well, manager Buck Showalter will help give this team what it needs to get it done.

The Toronto Blue Jays seem to always be on the edge of contending every year, only to fade late in the season and finish out of the picture. This year the Jays believe they can get the job done.

Jose Bautista has made everyone a believer that his hitting is for real. He is hitting at such a torrid pace, it’s hard to say what kind of remarkable numbers he could end up with. If he continues, he will surely be the MVP of the league. Bautista isn’t the Jays only weapon. Yunel Escobar is hitting .295 and Adam Lind is at .313.

Aaron Hill hasn’t started hitting the way we know he will, so run production will not be a problem. It’s the pitching, and it may be ready to turn the corner, the same as the Orioles.

Jesse Litch is finally pitching the way the Jays had hoped, and along with Ricky Romero and Brandon Morrow, the starters should continue to be competitive. Out of the bullpen has Frank Francisco and Jon Rauch giving the Jays a very formidable staff. I expect the Jays to fight to the finish this year.

The Boston Red Sox will contend with their powerful hitting lineup. If a problem exists, it’s the depth of their pitching staff and a weakness behind homeplate. Neither is enough to keep them out of the picture.

The Tampa Bay Rays are young and loaded with talent all the way around. Manager Joe Maddon will keep this team focused and competitive to the end.

That brings us to the New York Yankees. What about the Yankees?

The Jorge Posada incident has caused a lot of controversy in New York and Derek Jeters response to it caused a bigger stir. Jeter being called in on the carpet by the big Yankees brass is nothing new. I’m sure Babe Ruth and Mickey Mantle went through the same thing. It’s how well the Yankees handle things that may very well decide their outcome.

Right now the team is in the doldrums. Yes, they won last night on A-Rods’ homers and they have been winning games with home runs led by Curtis Granderson. But the rest of their play is in question right now.

Robinson Cano leads their hitting at .285. A-Rod, Jeter, and Teixeira are all in the .250’s. Posada, with all his complaints, is at .179. This lineup is not the Yankees of old. They are aging and may not be able to put it all together as they have in the past.

The pitching is very suspect. The Yankees have not been able to win for C.C. Sabathia, and A.J. Burnett and Ivan Nova are only pitching mediocre. And to expect Bartolo Colon and Freddy Garcia to put up good numbers all season may be a stretch.

Overall, it appears the Yankees lack depth and in such a tough division, one has to wonder the Yankees fate. Is this the year they finish in last place?

One quarter of a season has passed, nothing in the AL East has been defined. It’s up for grabs but who will get it? What happens from this point forward is going to be very interesting. Baseball at its finest. The powerhouse AL East. Let the games continue.!

 

In 1993, the Seattle Mariners drafted a 17 year old short stop out of Miami with their number one pick of the draft named Alex Rodriguez. Three years later at the age of 20,  he  hit .358 with 36 homers and 123 RBI’s. He was an All-Star and 2nd in the league in MVP voting. Such players are everyones’ dream.

In 2008, the Tampa Bay Rays picked an 18 year old short stop out of Georgia with their number one pick of the draft named Tim Beckham. Three years later, he’s floundering around in AA ball. Such is life. Just pick up the pieces and move on.

Fantasy baseball has the same problems. We draft our high picks and expect big things from all of them but it doesn’t always happen. We watch as Carl Crawford and Carlos Gonzalez try to figure out how to hit again. We watch as Evan Longoria goes down with injury in game 2 of the season.

We watch as Josh Hamilton and Joe Mauer get injured and wonder if they will ever return. We watch as Ubaldo Jimenez gets battered every game he pitches. We wonder what is going on with Justin Morneau. And the list goes on.

As Fantasy managers, we have to move on with what we’ve got. We hope those stars will start hitting and finish with great seasons again. We hope the injured players come back and hit as before.

In the meantime, we have to just hang in there. We have to pick up the pieces and move on. Better days are ahead. It’s good that baseball is a long season. We still have hope. Things often even out in the end.

P.S. stay tuned in with up and coming minor leaguers. There are always a few that make an impact on a team every year.