Now is the brief moment during which fantasy baseball players
can stop and smell the roses. Painful as it is for the fantasy guru
to admit, this is the turning point at which we all must get our
heads out of our computers and enjoy some actual baseball.
After 162 arduous games, the playoffs have begun and the men
have been separated from the boys. (Surprisingly, the Angels turned
out to be men.)
We can also take time to look back on the fantasy season with
20/20 hindsight and laugh at those who drafted Paul LoDuca in the
first round, took a chance on Hank Blalock or Morgan Ensberg as
their starting third baseman, or expected Phil Nevin to repeat a
.306-41-126 season (this year: .285-12-57).
It’s also time to hand out the 2002 Daily Bruin Fantasy
Guru Fantasy Baseball Awards (DBFGFBA), which will in no way
resemble any awards handed out thus far in the history of fantasy
sports.
Without further ado:
The Bill Buckner Award for Biggest Fantasy Baseball
Choker: Roberto Alomar, Mets.
The most consistent offensive stat-producing second baseman over
the last 15 years, Alomar was coming off a season in Cleveland that
saw him hit .336 (a career high), steal 30 bases, hit 20 home runs,
drive in 100, and smack 12 triples.
This year, sandwiched in a lineup with Mo Vaughn, Mike Piazza,
Roger Cedeno and Edgardo Alfonzo, the sky was supposed to be the
limit for the loogie-hawking second baseman with the New York
Mets.
What we got instead was a .267 average, 11 home runs, 53 RBIs,
16 steals and, in case you noticed, 4 triples. Ouch.
The Speaking of the Mets, Didn’t-They-All-Kinda
Stink-This-Year Award: Yeah, they did. Here’s their
opening-day lineup with statistics (BA/HR/RBI/OPS):
Cedeno, LF: .260/7/41/.664*
Alomar, 2B: see above
Vaughn, 1B: .259/26/72/.805
Piazza, C: .280/33/98/.903**
Alfonzo, 3B: .308/16/56/.851
Burnitz, RF: .215/19/54/.677***
Payton, CF: .284/8/31/.750, before being traded to Colorado
Ordonez, SS: .254/1/42/.616
*Plus 25 steals, after 55 last year
**These are good numbers for a catcher but bad for Mike
Piazza.
***Confound this with his 135 strikeouts, and Burnitz is
flirting with Rob Deer territory.
The “Sure, I knew they’d combine for 107
saves” Award:
Eric Gagne, Dodgers and John Smoltz, Braves.
The Albert Pujols Award For Coming Out of Nowhere to
Save Your Team: Alfonso Soriano, Yankees.
It’s always been a good idea to draft Yankees, but never
Soriano. After a near 40-40 year, he’s a sure-fire first
round pick next season.
The First Annual Darryl Kile Award For Midseason Tragedy
Which Supercedes Statistics: I wonder if anyone
successfully traded him after his death.
The Award For Worst Imitation of
Hudson-Zito-Mulder: The Marlins’ quartet of Ryan
Dempster, Josh Beckett, A.J. Burnett and Brad Penny were supposed
to be the second wave of young starting pitchers to rack up killer
fantasy numbers. With the exception of Burnett, it didn’t
quite pan out this way.
Beckett: 6-7, 4.10 ERA in 107.2 innings.
Penny: 8-7, 4.66 ERA in 129.1 innings.
Dempster: 10-13, 5.38 ERA. Lots of innings pitched, but they
were all pitched for Cincinnati after a July 11 trade.
Fantasy Comeback Player of the Year:
Johnny Damon, Red Sox. Said he liked playing closer to his East
Coast home after a year with the A’s. Statistically speaking,
he’s correct (AVG/HR/RBI/SB):
2000, Kansas City: .327/16/88/46
2001, Oakland: .256/9/49/27
2002, Boston: .286/14/63/31
Who will be next year’s fantasy comeback player of the
year? Chances are he plays for the Mets. Who will win the second
Annual Darryl Kile Award? No one knows for sure. Read the next
DBFGFBA to find out.
It’s time for the playoffs, where a present-day, real-life
Bill Buckner will surely emerge.