Chapter 72.1: Pitchers and Catchers

It's freaking cold outside! While I'm very happy about the Giants making the Super Bowl (more on that over the weekend), I'm getting a little antsy waiting for baseball. I just started reading Fantasyland by Wall Street Journal reporter Sam Walker, which is about how he fares in his first Rotisserie baseball experience, playing in one of the toughest leagues out there, Tout Wars.

I've been playing fantasy baseball for close to ten years now, though not in a formal Rotisserie league. My unfamiliarity with Roto drafts hasn't gotten in the way of my enjoying the book, which -- at least from a baseball fan's perspective -- is hilarious. Indeed, I'm finding the book inspiring; I will spend some time this weekend starting to analyze the players and getting a better sense of who I might want for my team. If the guys in my league are anything like those described in the book, I'm way behind already.

Baseball is an important part of my life. I know it's a game, but there's something that's so eternal about the sport that it transcends simple things like who won and who lost. Of course, I want my team to win, but I also enjoy being able to look back on the careers of players I've watched and discuss with other fans whether this guy was better than that guy or great plays from the past.

Yes, I'm a traditionalist, and I'm a guy who appreciates the little things that help teams win. As any fantasy baseball player out there reading this has probably determined, it's true: I suck at fantasy baseball.

So, with approximately twenty days to go before pitchers and catchers report, I issue a request: Give me your hungry, your tired, your poor tips for how I can improve my play. Tell me Web sites you find helpful. Leave a comment (anonymously is fine with me). What's in it for you? I don't know yet, but I'll at least give you the electronic equivalent of a hearty handshake and genuine thanks for well meaning advice.

I play in a free Yahoo head-to-head league with guys from work. For the first time we're going to include Holds. So I've got to figure out who the better middle relievers are and likely will be. I'm not sure where to start evaluating them and how they'll affect my staff. So any thoughts on that in particular would be appreciated.

Chapter 67.35: Free Willie?

That scant number of people who've been reading my blog may have noticed one person I'm not blaming for the Mets meltdown. Willie Randolph. Do I think he's without blame? Of course not. I think, for example, that Humber should have gotten the start that Brian Lawrence had, but I understand the reasoning for not using him. I think he's made some strange decisions -- from double switches he chose not to make to pinch hitters he chose not to use at particular times -- but I don't think he's to blame for the debacle that has made the Mets the butt of jokes for the entire off-season and probably well into the next decade.

He's going to have to win early in 2008; this team cannot afford to sleepwalk any more, regardless of how much of a makeover the roster receives.

But right now the problem is about the pitching staff mostly -- starters and relievers. Willie tried to put his best guys in there -- Heilman and Feliciano in particular -- but they kept giving up hits. Mota had a few good innings at the end, but none of these guys seems able to pitch more than one inning any more.

There's a lot of work to do, and a lot of blame to spread around. Perhaps from that crap, something worthwhile will grow. But for now, they just smell putrid.

Chapter 60: Random "If"

While checking out some baseball news, I noticed that on this date two years ago Aaron Heilman pitched a one-hitter. Any Mets fan knows that not only is Heilman one of the best eighth-inning set-up men working in the game, but he also desperately wants to be a starting pitcher.

Which makes me wonder, if instead of pitching that one-hitter against the Florida Marlins in 2005 he finished with the first no-hitter in Mets history, would he be a reliever today? I doubt it. Mets fans would call up WFAN after Willie Randolph and Omar Minaya insist on sending him back to the bullpen and clamor for them to let the kid start. "C'mon Mad Dog," they'd say, "we're talking about the only pitcher in Mets history who's ever thrown a no-no for the Mets!"

And Chris "Mad Dog" Russo would say, "It's a fair point. What do you think Mike?" And Mike Francesa (who is much better on football, in my opinion, than baseball. But he's knowledgeable in both) would say, "He's a good pitcher, but he's much more effective when hitters don't get used to his unique delivery and learn to lay off his hard sinking fastball."

But he would have started last year. Perhaps they don't acquire Orlando Hernandez as a result, keeping Jorge Julio for the bullpen. And who knows how many games Julio would have blown last year if he were our man in the eighth. Imagine if...

Ok, this is getting boring already. Suck it up Aaron, you got a win last night, and you're on the best team in the National League, I don't care what those goofs in Atlanta say. And forget about Jimmy Rollins for now.

Chapter 51.7: Kids in the Hall

It's Hall of Fame voting time again. (No, I don't have a vote.) This year's three big new names are Tony Gwynn, Cal Ripken, and Mark McGwire. Gwynn and Ripken are obvious HOFers, so I won't even belabor that debate. And McGwire, well, that's something else entirely. Given what's been mentioned on the radio and online lately, a lot of voters have decided to leave him off their ballots -- quite possibly enough to deny him election this year. Fair play. But will that happen next year too? Is he now forever left in the background because of the unproven (but likely) accusations of using enhancements? Time will tell, and it will speak loudly. Personally, I think voters eventually will acquiesce and vote him into the Hall and others will decry it as hypocrisy.

On another issue, I'd like to throw out these names for the Hall of Almost Famous: Jim Rice, Goose Gossage, Bret Saberhagen. (There are others too.) In my opinion, Rice was a great hitter and deserves enshrinement. Gossage too, because he helped change the role of relievers. But I don't think either will get in. Rice's numbers were short of most of the major metrics (e.g., 500 HRs, 3,000 hits, 1,500 RBI) and reportedly his attitude annoyed the writers who vote at this point, but he came darn close last year so perhaps there's hope. Goose? It's a harder sell. No one seems to remember that after he left the Yankees -- well, at least after the Padres -- he became just another reliever. Other than his final year (with Seattle!) he hadn't finished more than half the games he pitched; this man was not a closer the final seven years of his long career. But he had several years as one of the best. Of course, his time with the Yankees is his claim to fame, and while he was the most feared reliever at that time, I'm not sure he kept that status long enough for enshrinement. The man wasn't Mariano, whose eventual enshrinement is a foregone conclusion. Saberhagen? Excellent for a few seasons (two Cy Young awards), but not otherwise close to enshrinment. He just didn't have it for long enough to deserve it.

Just another guy whose baseball card is worth a few pennies more than the common player.