AL Ytnuoc Gnilwob Eugael: A Post-grading, Thank Whoever it’s Summer Evaluation
Through May 11
Everything in the league is backward. Or, at least, a lot is backward. Despite my preference for a keeper league, I did worry that it might create a few dominant teams and a few teams (including my former team) that would never contend. I no longer have this worry.
In my opinion…
The four teams with the best bats starting off the season were the NTAC (Pujols, Cabrera, Reyes, Crawford), LA Lollygaggers (Howard, Guerrero, Ortiz, Morneau), Own Personal Jesus (A-Rod, Teixeira, H. Ramirez, Beltran, Delmon) and Crazy 88s (Wright, Holliday, Ordonez, Sizemore). Two of these four are in the cellar.
The team with by far the best pitching to start the season was the Show Dogs (Santana, Verlander, Zambrano, Young). Those four finished last year ranked 1st, 10th, 11th, and 15th among starting pitchers. Add to those four Harden, Hudson, and Maddux. Despite this, the only pitching category the Dogs are excelling at is WHIP (9th place) and they are in 8th place.
Things are backwards within a couple teams too. As he has noted, The Bums are in contention because of their hitting, not their pitching. This is a team I left for dead because I didn’t see any real keeper bats. (The rumors that I threatened to leave Maud if she wouldn’t hand over her team, however, are TOTALLY false, the product of a shameful smear campaign by the Lollygaggers.) Likewise, the strength of Own Personal Jesus is pitching, not hitting.
Below are the rankings since we started the keeper league. The only real strong consistencies are (1) the Crazy 88s being in contention and (2) the Rude Boys not. The only team besides the Rude Boys not finishing (or currently) within the top 4 in at least one of these years is the Treehorns, who were in 2nd for 2008 yesterday.
Team 2006 2007 2008
Own Personal Jesus (Cyrus) 1 5 3
Lollygaggers (Jeff) 2 1 10
Crazy 88s (Josh) 3 2 2
NTAC (Marc) 4 6 9
Show Dogs (Joe) 5 4 8
Treehorns (Maud, now Dude/Maud) 6 10 5
Fordingers (Rich) 7 7 1
Bums (Dude, now Darren) 8 8 4
Rude Boys (Adam) 9 9 7
Foo (Mark) 10 3 6
Of the five teams at the top (within 6.5 points of each other), three are teams that haven’t been in contention the last two years: Fordingers (7th in 2006 and 2007), Bums (8th in 2006 and 2007), and Treehorns (6th in 2006 and 10th in 2007).
Of course, this is all good news for the league. There is a good deal of competition at the top, new teams in contention, and the team that stood to lose the most from the rules change is in second. Of course, the rest of us all like seeing Jeff and Marc at the bottom too :)
Questions and Answers
Q: Will NTACs and Lollygaggers continue to stay true to their names, or will they get the pitching they need to pull out of the cellar and contend? (I have no doubt their hitting will come along.)
A: I don’t see how. NTACs are getting the saves, but outside of Fuentes, the other numbers look scary, especially now that Isringhausen is not closing (Hoffman next?). And the starting pitching is nothing short of hideous.
If Maine and Sheets keep things up, Cueto continues his (mostly) dominant pitching, and Burnett and Cain start pitching like we know they can, then the Lollygaggers could finish in the top three. Will this happen? It could, but I’m not betting on it.
Q: What teams at the top have what it takes to stay there?
A: Crazy 88s and Personal Jesus clearly do. Despite my pre-season prediction, The Bubs' batting should keep them within the top 5 too. Fordingers will probably stay in the top five, especially if Berkman can get a few more of his 3 HR, 11 Rs, 8RBI, 3 SBs, 2.3 OPS per week. The Treehorns are over performing and will probably continue the slide that started yesterday.
Q: Will the Show Dogs continue to meow?
A: No way. If they can stay healthy, the Dogs will start to bark and finish among the leaders. Verlander and Young will only get better, Harden will actually stay healthy for the rest of the season, Zambrano and Santana will continue their dominance, and they will finish the season with the best pitching and among the top three.
Q: Foo Manchus or Foo Manpoos?
A: Foo Manpoos. The hitting will be fine, but with only two dominant starters (Lincecum and Matsuzaka), they’ll finish near the bottom.
Q: Are the Rude Boys really starting Glaus at third?
A: Yes :( they are. This is actually a team that could surprise. He needs Lee, Owings, and Santana to keep things up, Kazmir to look more like his second start than his first, and Sabathia to turns things around. If that can happen, the hitting should be okay. Will it happen? Probably not.
Predicted Finish
1. Own Personal Jesus
2. Crazy 88s
3. The Show Dogs
4. Four Dingers
5. The Bums Always Lose
6. L. A. Lollygaggers
7. L.L. Urban Treehorns
8. Rude Boys
9. Foo Manchus
10. NoTalentAssClowns
Bring on your wrath Marc, Mark, and Rich.
Everything in the league is backward. Or, at least, a lot is backward. Despite my preference for a keeper league, I did worry that it might create a few dominant teams and a few teams (including my former team) that would never contend. I no longer have this worry.
In my opinion…
The four teams with the best bats starting off the season were the NTAC (Pujols, Cabrera, Reyes, Crawford), LA Lollygaggers (Howard, Guerrero, Ortiz, Morneau), Own Personal Jesus (A-Rod, Teixeira, H. Ramirez, Beltran, Delmon) and Crazy 88s (Wright, Holliday, Ordonez, Sizemore). Two of these four are in the cellar.
The team with by far the best pitching to start the season was the Show Dogs (Santana, Verlander, Zambrano, Young). Those four finished last year ranked 1st, 10th, 11th, and 15th among starting pitchers. Add to those four Harden, Hudson, and Maddux. Despite this, the only pitching category the Dogs are excelling at is WHIP (9th place) and they are in 8th place.
Things are backwards within a couple teams too. As he has noted, The Bums are in contention because of their hitting, not their pitching. This is a team I left for dead because I didn’t see any real keeper bats. (The rumors that I threatened to leave Maud if she wouldn’t hand over her team, however, are TOTALLY false, the product of a shameful smear campaign by the Lollygaggers.) Likewise, the strength of Own Personal Jesus is pitching, not hitting.
Below are the rankings since we started the keeper league. The only real strong consistencies are (1) the Crazy 88s being in contention and (2) the Rude Boys not. The only team besides the Rude Boys not finishing (or currently) within the top 4 in at least one of these years is the Treehorns, who were in 2nd for 2008 yesterday.
Team 2006 2007 2008
Own Personal Jesus (Cyrus) 1 5 3
Lollygaggers (Jeff) 2 1 10
Crazy 88s (Josh) 3 2 2
NTAC (Marc) 4 6 9
Show Dogs (Joe) 5 4 8
Treehorns (Maud, now Dude/Maud) 6 10 5
Fordingers (Rich) 7 7 1
Bums (Dude, now Darren) 8 8 4
Rude Boys (Adam) 9 9 7
Foo (Mark) 10 3 6
Of the five teams at the top (within 6.5 points of each other), three are teams that haven’t been in contention the last two years: Fordingers (7th in 2006 and 2007), Bums (8th in 2006 and 2007), and Treehorns (6th in 2006 and 10th in 2007).
Of course, this is all good news for the league. There is a good deal of competition at the top, new teams in contention, and the team that stood to lose the most from the rules change is in second. Of course, the rest of us all like seeing Jeff and Marc at the bottom too :)
Questions and Answers
Q: Will NTACs and Lollygaggers continue to stay true to their names, or will they get the pitching they need to pull out of the cellar and contend? (I have no doubt their hitting will come along.)
A: I don’t see how. NTACs are getting the saves, but outside of Fuentes, the other numbers look scary, especially now that Isringhausen is not closing (Hoffman next?). And the starting pitching is nothing short of hideous.
If Maine and Sheets keep things up, Cueto continues his (mostly) dominant pitching, and Burnett and Cain start pitching like we know they can, then the Lollygaggers could finish in the top three. Will this happen? It could, but I’m not betting on it.
Q: What teams at the top have what it takes to stay there?
A: Crazy 88s and Personal Jesus clearly do. Despite my pre-season prediction, The Bubs' batting should keep them within the top 5 too. Fordingers will probably stay in the top five, especially if Berkman can get a few more of his 3 HR, 11 Rs, 8RBI, 3 SBs, 2.3 OPS per week. The Treehorns are over performing and will probably continue the slide that started yesterday.
Q: Will the Show Dogs continue to meow?
A: No way. If they can stay healthy, the Dogs will start to bark and finish among the leaders. Verlander and Young will only get better, Harden will actually stay healthy for the rest of the season, Zambrano and Santana will continue their dominance, and they will finish the season with the best pitching and among the top three.
Q: Foo Manchus or Foo Manpoos?
A: Foo Manpoos. The hitting will be fine, but with only two dominant starters (Lincecum and Matsuzaka), they’ll finish near the bottom.
Q: Are the Rude Boys really starting Glaus at third?
A: Yes :( they are. This is actually a team that could surprise. He needs Lee, Owings, and Santana to keep things up, Kazmir to look more like his second start than his first, and Sabathia to turns things around. If that can happen, the hitting should be okay. Will it happen? Probably not.
Predicted Finish
1. Own Personal Jesus
2. Crazy 88s
3. The Show Dogs
4. Four Dingers
5. The Bums Always Lose
6. L. A. Lollygaggers
7. L.L. Urban Treehorns
8. Rude Boys
9. Foo Manchus
10. NoTalentAssClowns
Bring on your wrath Marc, Mark, and Rich.
posted by Avery | 1:27 PM
1 Comments:
Zesty post, duderino! Though I'd have to sell my soul to finish 6th...and we all know I don't have one after the whole Darryl Kile incident!
Post a Comment
<< Home