By Jeremy Tiermini
After the conclusion of the ALCS and the NLCS I took a look at the standings for the post-season fantasy baseball league I am in, which I have discussed in previous articles. A few things really stood out to me when I checked on my team’s scoring. First, I think that I should use this league and how I drafted it on my resume when I apply for a MLB GM position, since my first five draft picks have carried my team. Hey if a GM hits on his first five picks every year then he is doing something right. Each of these players also improved his production from the Division Series round of the playoffs (there was not a point multiplier in this round).
As you might recall my first five picks went: Jorge Posada, Derek Jeter, Jayson Werth, Shane Victorino, and Cliff Lee. I predicted a Yankees-Phillies World Series, so those picks have really paid off for me. Posada is actually my lowest-scoring player of this group, but he improved from 15 to 19 points. Jeter went from 24 to 29 points and Jayson Werth continued his post-season tear, actually jumping from 34 points to 41.5 points. Cliff Lee (as a Yankees fan, I say damn you, Cliff Lee!) went from 24.6 to 25.5 points, again proving he is the ace of the Phillies’ rotation. However, my most improved player was Victorino, going from 19 points up to 43.5 points.
Despite these performances from my top five, I was only in second place. As with real MLB teams a poor bullpen can doom a club. Phil Hughes continued his lackluster postseason, losing 10.2 points for my team. Chan Ho Park, who I liked, did not help by losing 12.4 points for my team. Again, had these pitchers scored NOTHING I would have been in first place by 21.8 points; instead, I trailed by 0.8 points.
In the World Series, I still have 13 players left on my active roster that can score so, as Carl Spackler once said, “I got that going for me.” This final round has a point multiplier of 1.5 so owners will be rewarded for excellent performances and punished by poor ones. Stop me if you have heard this, but Phil Hughes is killing me! His two walks in Wednesday’s Series opener resulted in a loss of six points. Jeter and Victorino kept hitting, scoring 6.8 and 9 points, respectively, in Game 1. However, my fifth round pick of Cliff Lee (again, damn you Cliff Lee!) ripped off 36.8 points and is the leading scorer in this league. While I am happy that I am now in first place by about 55 points, I HATE looking at my team page and seeing the “Nice Pick” icon next to the names of Lee, Werth, and Victorino. I am sure I will feel differently if the Yankees win the Series…the new strategy for Joe Girardi should be “win the games that Cliff Lee does not pitch in.” The Yankees in six?
