Midseason Review

1. Prestige Worldwide (61-43-6)

The Commish has overcome the injury to Longo in large part because of the emergence of Assdribble Cabrera, who has been the runaway fantasy MVP (Berkman is in the conversation, but SS is very weak). A-Gon and Granderson have been among the top players the entire season and the imposing offense is solid top to bottom. Pitching is questionable due to a severe lack of consistency. Guys like Hudson, Britton, Lackey, Pavano, and JSanchez make it difficult to know whether you’ll have a 2.00 era or over 4.00. Chacin and Price are high quality. The bullpen leaves much to be desired with Capps and Francisco not necessarily on the firmest ground and the Uehera/Broxton/Kuo combo thoroughly underwhelming. Still, if the pitching can win him two or three categories per week, he’ll win his matchup more often than not with that offense (8-3 in hr, 8-3 in r, 9-2 in rbi).

Going forward: An improvement to the pitching staff would be advisable. If he doesn’t want to take from his offense, dealing Price could net at least two solid top-tier (but not quite keeper) options. There’s no room here to keep a pitcher anyway.

Best move: Other than drafting Asdrubal, trading for Ethier for Stubbs during Andre’s hitting streak was a great move and also brought him a high pick.

Worst move: Not much to criticize here, but with a staff as inconsistent as it is there are too many roster spots devoted to middle relief/speculative closers.

2. Donkey Punchers (62-45-3)

Like Pierce, Chris has made very few roster moves (eight to be exact), yet sits near the top of the standings. Both owners should be applauded for their drafting ability this year. However, unlike Pierce, Chris has loads of power. In fact, even if he just had Berkman, Bautista, Cruz, and Teix (a combined 74- as of a week ago), he’d have more total home runs than SEVEN teams. He also ranks first in runs and is high in OBP and RBIs. His bullpen is killer with Bell, Marmol, Farnsworth, and Nunez, whose 50 saves are only two behind the leader. The other pitching categories are middle of the road, but respectable and would be better if Lilly and Carpenter returned to form. But the staff is solid. Overall, the team is probably the most balanced in the league and stands to make noise come playoff time.

Going forward: Pierce and Chris need to talk. They obviously like their own teams, but Chris has excess power and saves and needs a frontline SP. Pierce has SPs coming out his ass and no power or saves. Lets get these kids together.

Best move: Drafting Berkman in the 16th round. Whoa. Oh and he butt-raped Kyle in the Teix trade too.

Worst move: While the CC trade looked good on the surface, Cahill has stunk and CC is very consistent, while Marmol has been good, but an adventure at times. Of course, he added a first rounder in that trade too, so it wasn’t that bad.

3. Keepin it Real (58-43-9)

What a transformation for Pierce’s squad, who posted the third best record in the first half using only seven transactions. Whether you consider apathy or confidence in his drafted roster, you can’t argue the results, which are a refreshing change for the habitual bottom-dweller. There’s speed all over this team with Tabata, Pedroia, Ichiro, and Ells all totaling over a dozen SBs, which easily leads the league. His run total is top 5 and OBP is middling, but HR and RBI totals are among the worst in the league, making you wonder if this is a smoke and mirror type team that will eventually fade away. Meanwhile, he has no closer, and thus no saves, but his starters are really keeping this club afloat with Lester, Hanson, Pineda, Cain, Lee, Anibal, and Garza formulating the best staff in High & Tight. He’s only 4-6-1 in the K category and 5-4-2 in QS, but that will go up and the rates (9-2-0 for both) should be consistent. It will be Pierce’s offense that makes or breaks the team. Wright and Panda’s return would help.

Going forward: May want to think about dealing some of that speed and pitching to sure up other areas like power and saves.

Best move: Drafting in rounds 11-14 (Garza, Anibal, CJ Wilson, Pineda)

Worst move: Not making moves. DJennings isn’t good enough to have warranted a roster spot this long and Brandon Lyon has occupied the DL spot far too long.

4. Montezuma’s Revenge (54-44-12)

No one is more surprised than I am to see my team ranked this high, as injuries have plagued the team for most of the year (seven DLed players at one point). But I’ve managed to utilize my 32 transactions in a way that has kept me afloat. The offense has been anemic with a record below .500 in every offensive category, but still has some valuable parts with Pence and Upton among the top 50 players. I do give myself credit for overcoming the injury to the one true ace, JJ, and filling the staff with solid, consistent contributors who have allowed me to be one of two teams to never lose in a single category with a 9-0-2 record in QS (Angry Pirates has a clean plate with saves, 10-0-1). The key has been hedging inconsistent K guys (like Volquez and Holland) with consistent rate pitchers (IKennedy, Bedard, Jurrjens, Kuroda, Buchholz, McCarthy, and Stauffer). Having one closer (following the RFranklin, FRodney, JMcGee disasters) has hurt overall, but has allowed me to pick up wins when matched up against closerless teams. With 12 ties, this team could easily be higher in the standings or much lower.

Going forward: The offense, namely Dunn, Alvarez, Sizemore, Hosmer, Rasmus, and Santana, needs to produce to give me a chance to win. Trading Posey once a team drops out of the race could help here.

Best move: Grabbing Hosmer, who looks like a long-term keeper, and drafting Jurrjens in the 24th and Bedard in the 17th.

Worst move: It’s looking more and more like I’ll regret filling my hole at catcher with Santana, who is good but Lind has been amazing. Fucking Scott Cousins. Oh and the Ian Stewart/Pedro Alvarez strategy to 3B hasn’t quite worked out as planned. And I probably should’ve kept Haren over Jeter. Oh and Dunn is a piece of crap. But can’t whine too much with a record like that.

5. Angry Pirates (54-48-8)

The record is pretty surprising given that Kyle has been part of four trades and has seemingly been on the losing side of all of them. Sure he rid himself of Morales and got Teix to begin the season, but he also lost Soria, Latos, and his second pick next year and ultimately traded Teix (Lohse, Arrieta, and fourth rounder) and really only got Holliday and Moreland to show for it. The aforementioned Stubbs-Ethier trade didn’t work out (and he lost his first rounder). Meanwhile, he gave up CSantana, Phillips, Upton, DBrown and two third rounders for Felix Hernandez (Brantley has been OK, got a sixth rounder back). He’s worked around that with a lights out bullpen and strong pitching from Hamels, Felix, and Baker. But this team needs some work to keep up this playoff-bound pace. Moreland, Beckham, AJackson, DYoung, and Brantley are all starting lineup fixtures that are best left for a bench (Moreland more of a UTIL type). Meanwhile, the back end of the rotation has a lot of question marks with Chatwood, Wake, EJax, Wade Davis, and Matusz.

Going forward: To improve depth, a trade of Holliday or Hamels could do wonders and solidify some of the question marks. And with a number of teams looking for bullpen help, trading one of the closers could yield some quality players and still allow Kyle to compete in the category.

Best move: Neil Walker seemed like a reach in the fourth round this year, but has proven to be very valuable, while late draft picks Hanrahan and Walden are completely legit.

Worst move: Other than the trades? Delmon Young in the second round is painful. But the real issue will be next season when he doesn’t have a pick until the fifth round.

6. One Nut Wonders (55-50-5)

Always an adventure, Jason is never afraid to trade anyone and has been part of seven trades so far (with a trade proposal-to-completion ratio no doubt below 1%) with mixed results. Certainly the Morales trades was tough to swallow, but made easier with finding Mike Morse on the waiver wire. The Reyes – Hanley trade may be one he regrets, especially with the two high picks he had to give up, but did a good job getting Lind for one of his two top tier catchers. His draft has produced some extreme highs (Quentin, Montero) and extreme lows (EdwinEnc, BMyers) and after all the roster turnover, he’s left with an offense that is superb (though, perhaps better on paper) and a pitching staff with a lot of holes, with Wandy about the only guy who could be considered solid to this point (though Latos and Morrow certainly have the ability).

Going forward: Another trade or two (or twelve) are no doubt in Jason’s future, so this roster could look very different in a few weeks. But pitching is badly needed to balance this team. Or else he’s going to have a lot of weeks like the last one, where he’s left with his hand on his crank, dreaming of Braun, Morse, and Lind and his dominant offensive week, while his team goes 4-6.

Best move: Morse and Lind pick ups, closer drafting.

Worst move: Drafting Edwin “I’m about to blow your mind” Encarnacion.

7. Anal Hershiser (53-50-7)

Proof that an expansion team could join the league and put together a quality group of keepers (Verlander, Bruce, Cain, Haren, Konerko, Rasmus) without a confusing expansion draft. That was followed with a solid, albeit unspectacular, draft and some good moves on the waiver wire (Phil Humber) and one bad one (dropping Stauffer), and one bad trade (Tomlin and McClellan for Cain). All in all, a pretty good start that leave Anal in the position to get one of the eight playoff spots. The team is balanced enough to maintain the pace, but there are some contributors playing over their heads at the moment that will have to keep it up – Dickey, Livan, Marquis, Moseley, Humber, Turner, and Helton to name a few. But if Swisher, Cuddyer, and Cueto live up to their potential in the second half, this team could have a shot.

Going forward: The infield could use help with neither JTurner nor Cuddyer everyday starter-worthy. Verlander could command a lot of good players that could boost this area.

Best move: Other than solid keeper picking, Humber has been one of the best stories of the first half.

Worst move: Boy, I bet you wish you didn’t drop Bud Norris. And, again, Cain was worth more than that.

8. Ring of Fire (51-52-7)

Unfamiliar territory for the three-time former champion, who has faced some difficult match ups as of late and probably is better than where he sit in the standings (he’s top three in all total offensive categories except SB). His selections off the waiver wire have been spot on, with such standouts as Avila (who needs Mauer?), Espinosa, Norris, Salas, Melancon, and Vogelsong. And while Kemp has rebounded nicely and Ortiz decided to play the first couple months, Youk’s production isn’t quite where it has been in the past and Votto doesn’t have the power numbers you’d expect. Dagan’s patience with CPena has paid off. Lowrie served his purpose for a few weeks but came back to Earth and injuries to Mauer and Ike have hurt, while no one has been more frustrating to own than Ubaldo. But the staff is solid with Hellboy and Romero proving to be good picks and his bullpen overcame the lost of Thornton with Salas a key speculative add. It will be interesting to see if the pitchers can maintain this performance and match the quality of the offense, which has not yet been full force. Could make a serious second half run.

Going forward: Shortstop is a problem, with Dee Gordon not the answer and Lowrie only mediocre/injured. May be able to get something for Avila. Maybe package with Ubaldo to grab a top tier SP that is performing like one. Trades are fun Dagan, try one.

Best move: Vogelsong pickup. Crazy numbers. Sustainable? That’s another question.

Worst move: Drafting Brett Cecil again was odd, the Thornton pick certainly hurt.

9. Moose is Loose (50-52-8)

Actually, Brian is doing pretty good considering some of the challenges, which began with Greinke attempt at an NBA career. The underperformance of keepers Morneau, Uggla, and Choo are enough to kill any team, but the general suckiness of high picks Dempster (recently bounced back), Danks, and Pierre have also proven challenging. While other picks like Kubel, Braden, DLee, Richard, TWood, Thome, and Westbrook have all been more or less worthless. That said, Smoak has proven to be a great pick and his bullpen picking (KRod, Putz, Fuentes, and League) was superb. Melky has helped as well, but all in all the waiver wire has not helped. Moose is pretty much .500 across all categories with the exception of saves and steals, which cancel eachother out. The success of the team will hinge on getting contributions from those who have disappointed in the first half. If they do, Brian’s .500 play to this point will prove to be extremely valuable and most assuredly place last year’s champ back in playoff contention.

Going forward: Hold tight and hope for a turnaround or trade off assets while they’re still some speculative value? The answer probably lies somewhere in between.

Best move: Refusing offers for Tulo, drafting League in the 22nd.

Worst move: When needed most, the waiver wire pickups just have not been helpful.

10. Cowhide Joyride (49-54-7)

Dave had an up and down draft with very bright spots like Beckett, Andrus, Storen, Beltran, and LoMo and some big misses like Butler, Manny, Daisuke, Barton and Drew. Injuries to Hamilton and Zimmerman, along Reynolds slow start, sent him into a bit of a early season tailspin. Things have turned around recently and his team is healthy. There’s certainly enough talent here, but I wonder weather his pitching strategy will work with only seven starters and five relievers – two of whom are setup men, albeit good ones. He’s played the waiver wire relatively well, sending off players that aren’t showing much reboundability and grabbing guys like Joyce, RRoberts, and Wells. The roster is pretty well set up to make a serious run if healthy.

Going forward: A quality starting pitcher would probably help. With some of the shortstops currently starting in this league, I would think Dave could get a nice mid-level player for Andrus or Alexei.

Best move: Drafting Beckett and picking up Joyce just as he was exploding. Not trading Hamilton for pennies on the dollar was probably a good move, though he does have a hole to climb out of.

Worst move: Billy Butler is rosterable, but shouldn’t be the starting 1B on any respectable team. The Manny pick definitely hurt.

11. Billy Chapel (47-54-9)

Somehow, some way, this team is three games out of a playoff spot. But I expect that to change. If you look down the roster on the offensive side, you see a lot of good players but no great ones. One guy with double digit HR (Willingham, 10, on DL) and one double digit SB (Victorino, 12) and some solid yet unspectacular OBPs. On the pitching side, there’s Weaver, great closers, and a lot of mediocrity with the loss of BAnderson. Garcia and Hudson have been decent and the recent pickup of Karstens may prove valuable, but all signs point to a fall here. Picking AGordon and RMadson late in the draft were great moves, but its obvious Troy is missing some of the stars he traded off before the season started, namely Felix and JUpton. Three of the four guys he got in return have been awful (Hart, Rios, BAndrson – Weaver good). That said, unlike previous season where depth was an issue, the roster is pretty well full of rosterable players and its clear Troy has a renewed focus and has done well in the waiverwire with Polanco, Damon, Willingham, MHarrison, Lucroy and Karstens (definitely should’ve held on to Boesch though).

Going forward: There are two routes he could take – with eight playoff spots, he can definitely make a run. Trading a closer and/or Weaver could add some major talent and help propel him to success, but dilute his keeper options. The other route is trading off the quality non-keepers here for picks next year and making sure the six guys he keeps are worthwhile. He could stand pat and make the playoffs, but I don’t see a serious playoff run in the future.

Best move: Drafting Gordon, who looks to be playing at a keeper-worthy level.

Worst move: Felix should’ve got him much more than Rios and the injured Anderson.

12. THE GRUMPY MUNCHKINS (48-57-5)

Casten always makes for a fascinating case study in fantasy strategy. At the end of 2009, he had manipulated his roster brilliantly to have a keeper lineup that included Hanley, Pujols, Braun, ARod, and Bruce to start 2010, which seemed to have him set up well for future dominance providing he drafted well. Yet, here we are, again, witnessing a rebuilding effort. No matter what he says, this team doesn’t have the chops to make it this season. The Reyes trade was smart and got him a couple high picks, while he has Cabrera and Pujols to go with McCutch, Heyward, and JJohnson. Nice keepers, a lot of high picks for next year, but this year is a bust with a roster littered with guys you’d never have thought of drafting at the beginning of the year. The good ones are unlikely to continue to perform. It will be interesting to see how well he can position the team for next year’s draft going forward, with a trade of Shield likely to yield something positive. Give him credit for starting the no closer strategy several teams have employed successfully this year. Casten was doing this with success as well, but there simply isn’t enough left to keep those rates at acceptable levels.

Going forward: I would say the best move for Brandon would be to devote himself fully to the rebuilding process and try to pick up parts along the way that can be traded eventually. Next year, his team could be scary good.

Best move: Trading McLellan and Tomlin for Cain – easily – which ultimately brought him Cabrera.

Worst move: Surely, despite his happiness during the draft, he wishes he didn’t draft ARam with his first pick.

13. Colon No Like Salad (45-55-10)

This is perplexing. This team is littered with studs, perhaps moreso than any other team. Fielder, Stanton, Cargo, Cano, Kershaw, Halladay mixed with surprises like Ogando, Colon, Gio, and Gaby. Scherzer, Pagan and Hughes were regrettable early picks, and Maybin, Branyan, Snider, Freeman, Infante, and Happ weren’t great either, but the core is strong and should be a lot better. Russ’s pickups haven’t been particularly good percentage wise, but the good ones have been excellent – namely Colon and Ogando. If you look at his totals, he’s either middle of the road or better in every category and dominant in Ks, HR, and RBIs, making a turnaround likely and providing proof that he’s been the victim of some bad luck. That said, there’s holes that are being filled with less-than-ideal players including SP, OF, SS, RP, and 3B. He could probably stand pat and make the playoffs, where anything goes.

Going forward: Trading a stud could solve a lot of problems. He’s put Fielder out there but he’ll have to get a king’s ransom and most teams have been pretty stingy giving away talent given the scarcity of quality from expansion.

Best move: Ogando and Colon have both been All-Star worthy performers.

Worst move: Russ’s draft was not very good. I had a lot of hope for Scherzer too, but he’s stunk.

14. Urban Achievers (30-70-10)

The only team with literally no shot at this point. Statistically, there’s plenty of time to make up for the gap, but this roster is not deep enough. It’s got some good guys, particularly in the rotation, but it might be time to get first dibs at keepers for next year and picks. The first team to give up always gets a pretty good bounty and Dan stands to get 2012 off to a good start when he decides to call it. There’s not rush though, as every other team is likely to at least give it another month or so. The most painful transaction of the season thus far has been his drop of Morse, who very well could be a keeper by the time its all said and done. His draft was littered with aging mediocrity – Carlos Lee, Posada, Furcal, LaRoche, R & ASoriano, Byrd, Guthrie, AlexGon, Matsui, Wiggy – which wasn’t the best move for an expansion team. Jason’s X-Factor approach probably would’ve ben a better way to go and possibly yielded some keepers.

Going forward: Dump, dump, dump.

Best move: Trading Cahill at his peak was a good move.

Worst move: The keepers were not great, especially compared to Anal’s. And trading your first round pick was ill-advised.