Welcome to my world of injuries, rumors and most importantly,
statistics.
Recent events have made a pursuit of glory in fantasy sports
seem rather trivial, but in hopes of getting back into a routine
and some sort of normalcy, I’ve decided to breakdown the
impact of the terrorist attacks on the fantasy front.
Aside from the intangible, like the disturbing distraction that
a plane flying over Shea Stadium will cause, not to mention a
subdued crowd that will feel some measure of guilt while booing,
there are definite things to take into account.
Fantasy football survived a big scare when the NFL decided to
reschedule the Week 2 games. This will allow leagues to keep their
17-week schedule, with the only impact being that the Chargers now
have their bye-week in the last week of the season, as opposed to
the Patriots.
And after seeing the Patriots lose to the Bengals in Week 1, we
have to assume that whoever relied on the likes of Drew Bledsoe and
Troy Brown wasn’t going to reach the title game to begin
with.
Fantasy baseball is much more likely to be affected by the
week-long postponements.
First of all, Barry Bonds won’t break the 70 home run
mark. All season long I’ve said he wouldn’t do it and
for a little while there, I thought Bonds might prove me wrong.
And then came the seven-day layoff.
It’s hard for hitters to find their groove. It takes Homer
Simpson forever to set the one on his couch, so imagine how long it
takes Barry to find his.
His short, compact swing may yet get the job accomplished, but
Bonds has already gone through one 13-game streak without a home
run and regardless of his groove status, there is probably no way a
team will pitch to Bonds with the playoffs on the line. “Let
Jeff Kent and Andres Galarraga beat me,” I’d say.
Bonds, though, is just an example of my re-opening day theory:
It’s spring training out there for hitters.
I don’t care how much anyone calls these guys
professionals, the distractions created by the tragedy that
encompassed the nation disrupted any kind of groove that a hitter
had ““ good or bad.
It’s a known fact that hitters take longer to adjust
coming into spring training, looking lost at times while trying to
get their timing down. It’ll be the same for the next couple
of weeks.
Sure, some hitters will perform up to their ability, if not
better. But how can a giant like Richie Sexson or a bat-waving
lunatic like Gary Sheffield be expected to regain their stride
after being out of action for seven days?
I have trouble going back to work after a three-day weekend, and
timing is the least of concerns.
With fantasy baseball playoffs in most head-to-head leagues,
I’d try and start as many high batting average players as I
can, knowing that their short, compact swing is more likely to
return in the limited amount of playing time left.
Strikeouts should be bountiful and pitchers will once again
dominate the landscape. When ailing, aching, sore arms get much
needed seven days rest, you can expect a little bit of extra pop on
that fastball.
Look what the bum-shouldered Kerry Wood did in his first start
back: 7 innings, 2 hits, 1 walk, 9 strikeouts and no runs.
The numbers never lie.
The Fantasy League Guru has a weekly online column. Check him
out every Wednesday at dailybruin.ucla.edu.