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)

After a bit of a vacation, I'm back writing my baseball blog. I took a break to commit myself to finishing up law school well, especially my clinic where I was working as a public defender, but now it's all over (3 yrs of tuition, good bye!) and I can finally commit to my baseball blog....

... Which brings me to the unenviable task of having to address the Phillies. As Jayson Stark so eloquently put it in a recent ESPN column, this team is easily the most perplexing in the majors. Seems like everyone said that this team on paper was built to contend in the NL East. Of course, they said that we'd win the East last year. And Baseball Prospectus did their math and said we'd end up with 90+ wins. And the list goes on. But what's happened? We're in LAST... behind the Nationals? Behind the Mets? How? Why?

Is it the manager? I don't think so. If anything, this year tells us it's probably not the manager. Now, I'm glad Bowa is gone, b/c I don't even think there was the potential of improvement under his angry command, and I do wish the Phillies had hired Leyland instead of Manuel... but Charlie Manuel has been pretty good at keeping even keel throughout the struggles, and I think that is an important feature (just look at Andy Reid). And the guys Manuel brought in as assistant coaches seem to be doing their jobs - well, at least the pitching coach Dubee. Milt the hitting coach might need a little fire under his butt to get our guys going, but what do I know.

Is it the pitching? Well, our bullpen has been less than advertised. Randy Wolf looks lost. Padilla is still recovering from his lack of spring training. Lidle is still just Lidle. But Lieber has been superb, Myers has finally been the guy he's supposed to become, and we still have Floyd in the wings. So I'm not worried.

Is it the hitting? Short answer, yes but with conditions. Long answer, probably this is a major part of the problem. David Bell isn't producing. Burrell's production is too herky jerky and not consistent from game to game. Abreu has been cold, but that's normal for his Aprils. Thome has been non-existent, of course. Utley hasn't played enough games. Our CF position is atrocious, especially without Lofton (I never thought I'd say that!). Lieberthal has hit the wall. Rollins is still Rollins, for whatever that means.

Is it the atmosphere? For some unknown reason, YES. Absolutely. We have no one exciting. (Beltran anyone?) We have no one who's a true take charge leader. Rollins is nice for both, but not the answer. All we have are guys who are good but who like to keep quiet, it seems.

What can be done? Trade Polanco for one thing - it's addition by subtraction. Utley will play more, and Polanco's annoying attitude can be taken out. As for Howard, given Thome's situation, I'd say we actually have to keep this guy around. At least till June or so. Perhaps wait till then to trade Polanco too? I don't know. We can also trade Lidle - I'd rather have Floyd in there. Who to acquire? No idea. Our big chance was at Beltran last winter. I'm still depressed that we didn't make a full out effort to get him, and I don't buy the money thing. Can you imagine the OF of Abreu, Beltran, Burrell?

I'm obviously living in a fantasy world still, but this team needs a dose of fantasy for sure. At least us fans do.