All Things Baseball

There are several hot pitchers right now in terms of fantasy baseball free agent pickups (that is, they stunk before the season started and now, after a string of 4 to 6 great starts, everyone is hopping on them). Erik Bedard from Baltimore, John Patterson from Washington, and John Thomson from Atlanta are only some of those ... but for today, let's talk about Brett Myers.

The year before I went to law school, I took some time off and drove cross country. That was the summer that Brett Myers was about to be called up from AAA, and I was excited. Here was this 6-3 (whatever he is) pitcher who drew comparisons to Curt Schilling, a former boxer who wouldn't back down from the challenges of the MLB, and a guy who didn't take losing lightly. I was checking Yahoo (for my fantasy leagues) daily in my motel rooms to see if he was called up and available in my league, and sure enough, he got called up (and I had the #1 waiver priority! A plan from the start that season b/c I wanted Brett Myers).

Then his first start - remember that gem?? Keep in mind, this was also the year that Mark Prior made his debut, and the world was abuzz with his talents... and then Brett Myers comes up, 20 something years old, and he strikes out something like 8 in his first start, with no earned runs. A win, with many K's... Mark Prior joined the list (with Curt Schilling) of pitchers Brett Myers was going to compare with favorably. His first year finished well enough, with the usual rookie bumps, but it was clear that he was destined for greatness... Philly history be damned.

I am in a keeper league, and I had Brett Myers slated to be a keeper for the next 10 years. But then, something happened along the way to the Hall... He started to plateau! And not in a good place... he plateaued at a 5.00 ERA, 1.30 WHIP clip. For two seasons.

I was distraught, what to do?

I traded him.

But then before last season, scouts talked about the effect Kevin Millwood was having on him, how he was taking to Millwood's ethic and style. He started well last year too, and I thought, he's finally here! So.. I traded for him again. And lo and behold, he began to absolutely stink. As Angelo Cataldi would put it, he was a stinkin' bum. Another 5.00, 1.30 season, and you know what? He was no longer keeper material. At the ripe old age of 24, Brett Myers was washed up! I myself wrote this spring that the Phillies should trade him the first chance they get... right here on this blog!

In my league, he went undrafted till about the 27th round, where I decided to draft him for kicks. But before the season started, after seeing him once down in Florida during my bachelor party (at Spring Training), I dropped him to the wire. And there he remained (unclaimed) till I realized that if he starts to rock, and he's not on my team, I'd be semi-pissed (to put it mildly... I take fantasy baseball seriously, as I'm sure I'll post later).

So I picked him up, in March, right before the season started.

(To be continued)