The Good Phight - CBSSports.com Commissioners' League

by WholeCamels on May 24, 2010 1:36 PM EDT

So here we are, about six weeks into the season, time for an update on the proceedings in The Good Phight's inaugural CBSSports.com fantasy baseball league! The standings:

Rank	Team	Batting	Pitching	Total
1	ThinMountainAir	48.5	48.5	97
2	BudVugger	64	31	95
3	j reed	57	36	93
4	Remember the Phitans	36	53.5	89.5
5	LondonPhillie	36	49.5	85.5
6	Jose and the Contrarians	36.5	46	82.5
7	Alex Falzone	36	42.5	78.5
8	Wet Luzinski	35	43	78
9	WholeCamels	35.5	39	74.5
10	Chris Haines	43	25	68
11	Walcott	32.5	28.5	61
12	Cormican	23.5	36.5	60
13	The Dark	16.5	30	46.5
14	jonk	25	16	41

More after the jump...

So it's Thin Mountain Air, BudVugger, and j reed out in front. I'm stuck in a mediocre 9th place, although I'm leading the league in FIP (3.55) and Saves (30), but I'm dead last in Holds, with three on the whole damn season.

I'd have to say my best value picks so far are Josh Willingham and Barry Zito. Team dud? B.J. Upton.

So, fellow owners, time for smacktalk!

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Comments

Well, I don’t for a second regret the bracket-busting I did to nab Werth, although for all the doubles and OBP monsterness he should have more runs and more goddamned stolen bases. But that is clearly misdirected anger.

Jorge Cantu has been tremendous. And thank God for Matt Capps. I might have given up on Brett Myers too soon, but I just had to keep it real and kick him to the curb after a couple of bad starts. If that costs me a pennant, it’s not a pennant I wanted anyway. So there.

And, to quote Les Nessman: As God is my witness, I thought Mariners could hit.

Last, I haven’t had this much fun watching numbers on a computer since I owned WorldCom stock, Gordon Beckham.

by Wet Luzinski on May 24, 2010 1:49 PM EDT reply actions

Remaking the Roster

The interesting thing to me so far this season is the number of players I started with who are no longer on my team. The draft had 25 rounds. Of the players I picked, I only have 12 remaining, having traded 3 and dumped 10 outright. I don’t think there’s been a trade in the league without me yet.

Reviewing the top of the draft, nobody really got burned by players other than perhaps as a result of injury. I didn’t see any picks I would characterize as “Ryan Leaf” type picks. Texiera has been slow out of the gate, and I had my worries about Broxton getting S opportunities early on, but it’s still too early to say anyone got killed at the top of the draft.

Given the roster turnover I have had since the draft, it shows that there are chances to dig out by working the waiver wire/trades/picking up free agents.

That said, drafting Heyward in the 9th round paid off really well. And Ethier has been playing out of his mind (except for right now, with the pinkie injury). I’ve definitely been more engaged with the rest of MLB as a result.

Remember the Phitans

by RememberthePhitans on May 24, 2010 2:26 PM EDT reply actions

Considering I meant to build my team around hitting, I’m bemused that I’m dead last in HR, OBP, and runs, and only recently broke a tie for next-to-last on RBI. Victor Martinez has been a severe disappointment, and only my two Tigers (Cabrera and Austin Jackson) have been doing good things for me.

I’m also dead last in FIP and Saves, but tied for first in Holds, and middle of the pack for Ks and QSs. Not too bad, considering how bad Vazquez and Carmona hosed up the start of my season. I’ve slowly pieced together a decent starting corps of Dallas Braden, Brett Cecil, Wade LeBlanc, Ted Lilly, Jamie Moyer, Carl Pavano, Carlos Silva, and Jason Vargas.

I’ve also taken slight advantage of the system by having five relievers – Affeldt, Clippard, Marmol, and Villanueva fill the relief slots, while Sean Marshall takes up a starting slot, since I’ve never used all my starting slots the same day.

I have Furcal and Beltran on my IR, and am looking forward to getting Furcal back.

How’s my season going? Let’s put it this way – out of 25 draft picks, only 8 are still on my team.

Best picks so far – Miguel Cabrera in the 3rd round, or Rafael Furcal in the 22nd round
Worst picks – Victor Martinez in the 1st, David Wright in the 2nd, Javier Vazquez in the 4th

Honor is no substitute for victory.

by The Dark on May 24, 2010 2:27 PM EDT reply actions

I take back my “no Ryan Leaf” picks comment above. Those picks looked good on paper.

Remember the Phitans

by RememberthePhitans on May 24, 2010 2:28 PM EDT up reply actions

Martinez could still turn it around, and Wright’s not really doing poorly, but the Vazquez pick burned me, considering that Beckett, Lester, Carpenter, Hamels, and Peavy all went off the board after that in the same round.

Honor is no substitute for victory.

by The Dark on May 24, 2010 2:33 PM EDT up reply actions

By the way, I was trying to build for holds, figuring most people wouldn’t. Affeldt led the league in holds last season, and I originally had Luke Gregerson as well, who was tied for 2nd. Gregerson’s FIP and K rate were both poor to start the season, so I dropped him to grab Clippard.

Honor is no substitute for victory.

by The Dark on May 24, 2010 2:36 PM EDT up reply actions

Best picks:
Jason Heyward: 9th round, and
Ethier: 5th round

Worst pick:
Brandon Wood: 10th round

Best pickup:
Wiggington (free agent – held and traded)

Remember the Phitans

by RememberthePhitans on May 24, 2010 2:40 PM EDT up reply actions

Bud Vugger

He picked (HR/RBI/OPS):

Vlad Guerrero in the 14th: 10/37/.927

Vernon Wells in the 16th: 11/32/.951

and

Paul Konerko in the 23rd: 14/31/.985

Hard to top those. That might be why he’s leading in hitting….

Remember the Phitans

by RememberthePhitans on May 24, 2010 2:50 PM EDT up reply actions

Bud has the Back to the Future sports almanac. Mark my words.

by taco pal on May 24, 2010 2:56 PM EDT up reply actions

Yeah, well, I just picked up a free agent with a 4/20/1.127 split.

Then again, it’s Eric Hinske. I need a first baseman (he qualifies) while Cabrera’s on leave for the first series this week. Hopefully Hinske actually plays.

For free agent steals, I think Austin Jackson’s panned out for me. Not much power, but 31 runs, 11 RBIs and 6 SBs with a .3371/.3927/.4514 split.

Honor is no substitute for victory.

by The Dark on May 24, 2010 3:10 PM EDT up reply actions

I’m not sure how much longer Jackson can keep the house of cards standing though. As a guy with a soft spot for the Tigers, I hope he keeps it up though.

by Cormican on May 24, 2010 3:24 PM EDT up reply actions

I have no clue either, but I’ll keep using him as long as he’s worth using.

Honor is no substitute for victory.

by The Dark on May 24, 2010 3:36 PM EDT up reply actions

Vugger hosed us all in the late rounds. Again and again I was kicking myself for not paying better attention.

by Wet Luzinski on May 24, 2010 3:17 PM EDT up reply actions

Hard to talk smack from way down here. My lack of attention to the bullpen in the draft has haunted me, as I am dead last in saves. I also paid way little attention to team speed and am dead last there (by a long shot). I built my pitching for Ks (success there, so far) and my Offense for OBP (that has not gone well).

I drafted 3 1b, figuring I could use 2 as reserves, then gave up on Loney too early (though I dumped him for Pudge, which has gone pretty well). I’m mostly holding on to my other draftees, in the hopes that they turn it around, though the lack of any legit Closer is killing me.

by Cormican on May 24, 2010 2:51 PM EDT reply actions

My lack of deep understanding of FIP (as opposed to the “yeah, I think FIP and I were in math class in high school 25 years ago”) is punishing me. So gotta do some surgery on the rotation.

(::casts demonic eye toward Lackey and Wolf::)

It’s my first fantasy go-round, so I’m getting into it. Like any team approaching mid-season, I’m loaded down with underperformers so as June gets long it’s either time to wheel and deal or suck it up and hope for some mean regression.

Perhaps my favorite part of this are the people who absolutely eviscerate the cbs analysts.

by Wet Luzinski on May 24, 2010 3:16 PM EDT reply actions

Perhaps I can interest you in a trade of my FIP king Matt Thornton for Jayson Werth?

by Cormican on May 24, 2010 3:27 PM EDT up reply actions

Those analysts are the absolute worst. I value their opinions not at all. then again, considering where I sit in the standings, I should probably be doing something differently.

by Walcott on May 24, 2010 3:41 PM EDT up reply actions

What happened to Jonk? Does he still write for TGP?

by FuquaManuel on May 24, 2010 3:28 PM EDT reply actions

One more thing

Screw Fat Panda! That bastage is killing me.

by Cormican on May 24, 2010 3:29 PM EDT reply actions

I plan on treating each of you with the respect accorded your place in the TGP fantasy standings.

ThinMountainAir: you are welcome to my job if you want it.

WL: I will neither praise nor insult you.

The Dark: you’re clearly an idiot and I will ignore all of your opinions from this day forward.

by PhillyFriar on May 24, 2010 3:37 PM EDT reply actions

lol

by Cormican on May 24, 2010 3:45 PM EDT up reply actions

But I’m leading the league in holds! Holds, dammit! And stolen bases! My guys play the game the right way; it’s not their fault that my relievers are on teams that don’t get into save situations, and my batters advance runners but don’t score them!

[/sarcasm]

Honor is no substitute for victory.

by The Dark on May 24, 2010 3:46 PM EDT up reply actions

Honestly, though, it is my crappy batting that’s killing me – I’m last in batting, and by SEVEN POINTS behind the next-to-last position. I’m 11th in pitching, but it’s been improving. Looking just at last week’s numbers, my pitchers were 4th, behind Remember the Phitans, Wet Luzinski, and Jose and the Contrarians.

Honor is no substitute for victory.

by The Dark on May 24, 2010 3:50 PM EDT up reply actions

From the guy who’s 7 ahead of you: Thank you for keeping me out of last.

Seriously though, Pujols, Pence, Morneau, Sandoval, McCann, Abreu… How can that group consistently give me crappy stats (outside of that fact that none of them steal bases)?

by Cormican on May 24, 2010 4:01 PM EDT up reply actions

My original infield was Martinez, Cabrera, Brandon Phillips, Marco Scutaro, and Wright. I probably gave up on Phillips too quickly, although I have Juan Uribe, who produces fewer runs but more RBIs. My weakness was outfield, where I picked up too few underperformers – Carlos N Lee, Beltran (who’s still on my IR), Kubel, and Soriano.

I also wound up with two backup first basemen (David Murphy and Chris Davis) and a backup catcher (Rod Barajas) who I never used. Holding on to Barajas might have been worthwhile.

Honor is no substitute for victory.

by The Dark on May 24, 2010 4:11 PM EDT up reply actions

I hear you there. My First Basemen were Pujols, Morneau and Loney, while my outfield was Pence, Bruce, Abreu and Drew as a reserve. Probably should have used an earlier pick on an OF instead of 3 guys at first early on.

by Cormican on May 24, 2010 4:46 PM EDT up reply actions

So this means PF will barrage you with “productive” insults.

by Wet Luzinski on May 24, 2010 3:59 PM EDT up reply actions

Actually, I wouldn’t mind productive insults. I was a meathead catcher who got hisself an economics degree, but doesn’t have a background in sabermetrics, so learning this stuff is interesting to me. The closest I got to sabermetrics as a young feller was corresponding with Vic Debs about my great-great-uncle.

Honor is no substitute for victory.

by The Dark on May 24, 2010 4:47 PM EDT up reply actions

Seriously though, I feel your pain. My various fantasy teams run the gamut right now, but let’s just say none of them are dominating their league, while some of them are at the very bottom of the barrel. I’m a big believer in the “Shit happens” explanation.

by PhillyFriar on May 24, 2010 4:58 PM EDT up reply actions

What does fourth get me? In the Olympics, bubkes, I guess.

Remember the Phitans

by RememberthePhitans on May 25, 2010 8:46 AM EDT up reply actions

My hitting has left much to be desired, although my pitching has been quite solid, I need to pick up more saves as the season moves along. The left side of the diamond has been a constant revolving door which may or may not be stabilized with recent additions.

Coghlan has been an absolute dud so far, and he’s proving a big hole in what is otherwise becoming a progressively better lineup as the season advances. I fear I may need to make a trade for a big bat soon enough because dammit, I need some ribbies.

"I remember being three and I wanted to be a baseball player, that's all I ever really wanted to be. That and Spider Man." -Raul Ibanez

by Jose and the Contrarians on May 24, 2010 4:25 PM EDT reply actions

I really dislike the SB-CS stat. Nothing pisses me off more when you haven’t had a stolen base in a year and a day and you see that CS next to a player’s name.

by j reed on May 24, 2010 4:36 PM EDT reply actions

I think it should be balanced out by a S-BS stat so that the ’09 Lidges of the world are neutralized by more than horrendous FIP.

by Wet Luzinski on May 24, 2010 4:57 PM EDT up reply actions

I agree with you on princple but I got stuck with Trevor Hoffman

by j reed on May 24, 2010 6:38 PM EDT up reply actions

again, principle. Matt Capps just blew a save yesterday, so Imma tryin’ to be neutral here.

by Wet Luzinski on May 24, 2010 9:07 PM EDT up reply actions

I like the idea of S-BS, too. But for next year. We started out as-is, and can’t change mid-stream.

S-BS makes, say, Broxton more valuable relative to Alfredo Simon, for instance. That seems fair. While an objectively good closer helps with FIP and K’s, the S is the real yardstick in the “real world” of Proven Closers.

As far as other possible category “improvements”, I’m not sure that anything leaps out at me right now. I think that the set up is pretty good for the league overall. The size is right; the FIP is cool; SB-CS, while frustrating (I’m last there, ok?) is much more realistic — SB only help marginally (in macro) at about 75% success, so SB-2*(CS) might be an even better idea (someone smart can do the math — I’m still eating breakfast and dealing with the electrician).

Thanks for organizing the league and letting me play. I’m having a lot of fun with it.

Remember the Phitans

by RememberthePhitans on May 25, 2010 8:42 AM EDT up reply actions

we agree- I don’t want any changes mid-stream either.

S-BS just ensures you find guys somewhere in the middle who may not have their sins covered by good offenses or come into games with a greater % of 3-run leads as opposed to 1-run leads. Perhaps what I’m getting at is S conversion %, with a min attempts. But that’s waaay too complicated. As it stands, S with a FIP neutralizer does get at what I want.

I’ll echo RTP. In someways this only hones my managerial proclivities, in other ways wastes the time, but at least the price was right. Thanks WC.

by Wet Luzinski on May 25, 2010 10:06 AM EDT up reply actions

I’ve been tempted to suggest “blending” relievers by having a S+HD category, so that you’re not divided between taking a middle reliever or a closer. I’m not sure what could be added as another category – maybe something WHIP-based?

Honor is no substitute for victory.

by The Dark on May 25, 2010 10:20 AM EDT up reply actions

By the way, proposal for next season (if technically feasible): a player has to actually be hurt (have the little red box with a cross next to his name) to be on the IR. The way it currently is, the IR is basically an extra two-man reserve. I discovered this accidentally when I was bringing Lilly back from IR, and was able to put a healthy player on IR in his place.

Honor is no substitute for victory.

by The Dark on May 24, 2010 4:43 PM EDT reply actions

I’ve been stashing dudes there all year.

by Cormican on May 24, 2010 4:47 PM EDT up reply actions

Cheating bastard :P

Then again, I’ve only had less than two injured players for something like three days this season, since Beltran’s been on all year, and between Lilly and the daily grind on players, I’ve had somebody else there almost constantly.

Honor is no substitute for victory.

by The Dark on May 24, 2010 4:48 PM EDT up reply actions

I’ve been mostly trying to stash minor leaguers there, in the hopes of getting a break out performance like Heyward or Leake out of someone.

by Cormican on May 24, 2010 4:50 PM EDT up reply actions

I had done that temporarily with Chapman, but ended up needing the slot for actual injured players.

Honor is no substitute for victory.

by The Dark on May 24, 2010 4:54 PM EDT up reply actions

I got Leake. Other than the walks he’s been great.

by j reed on May 24, 2010 4:56 PM EDT up reply actions

I didn’t know that. Now you’ve all challenged me ethically. To quote my favorite CBP sign ever:

RUTH DID IT ON HOT DOGS AND BEER. AARON DID IT WITH CLASS. WHAT DID YOU DO IT WITH?

Sanctimony aside, Imma now give Curtis Granderson some company.

by Wet Luzinski on May 24, 2010 5:00 PM EDT up reply actions

thank you for John Jaso

by Wet Luzinski on May 24, 2010 5:12 PM EDT up reply actions

“cheating” seems to have gotten The Darfk and I to 12th and 13th, so I wouldn’t say we’ve done anything.

by Cormican on May 24, 2010 9:10 PM EDT up reply actions

and John Jaso immediatley went 0-4, so perhaps the dark side is only fueling my anger.

by Wet Luzinski on May 25, 2010 10:07 AM EDT up reply actions

Miguel Cabrera is now “injured” until his daughter’s born and he returns to the team.

Which means I now have the funky infield of Victor Martinez, Eric Hinske, David Eckstein, Rafael Furcal, and David Wright, and have benched Cabrera, Jose Reyes, and Juan Uribe. I was planning to sit Wright and play Uribe, but the matchups dictate otherwise (Uribe has Livan Hernandez; Wright has Moyer). Then again, I also have Moyer, so I’m a bit nervous now – either my hot corner’s useless, or one of my SPs is going to get rocked (or, worst-case scenario, both).

Honor is no substitute for victory.

by The Dark on May 25, 2010 7:24 AM EDT up reply actions

“WHAT DID YOU DO IT WITH?”

Well, if you’re a Met, then it’s a sheep, I think.

Remember the Phitans

by RememberthePhitans on May 25, 2010 8:44 AM EDT up reply actions

I have Strasburg in reserve, biding time…

http://www.thegoodphight.com

by WholeCamels on May 24, 2010 4:52 PM EDT reply actions

Question. What about the trade veto process? I haven’t had a problem with the few trades that have gone down but for the time I’ve played fantasy baseball on CBSsportsline any trade had to be approved by the league. I haven’t received any notifications about pending trades to vote on. Is there a reason for this or can any trade happen without consent of the group.

by j reed on May 24, 2010 6:28 PM EDT up reply actions

Yes, I’ve got Buster Posey stashed away. Of course, predicting what Brian Sabean will do is kinda difficult.

by ThinMountainAir on May 24, 2010 6:35 PM EDT up reply actions

I got really, really lucky on some middle-to-late-round picks. Ricky Romero, Jon Rauch and Casey McGehee have all been great. McGehee in particular has really exceeded expectations. Adam Jones, on the other hand . . . my patience wears thin.

by ThinMountainAir on May 24, 2010 6:33 PM EDT reply actions

I was in the top 3 for a long while, and then I went about a week without changing my roster and ended up in the bottom 3. I’ve now fought my way back to average. Considering I tried to focus on hitters in the draft and didn’t play too much attention to pitchers, my current ranks mean I sucked at following through on said plan.

Of course, picking Ellsbury (Rd 3), Sizemore (Rd 5), and Brian Roberts (Rd 6) where I did has pretty much sunk me in the early going. James Shields as my first SP wasn’t bad, though.

by Alex Falzone on May 24, 2010 7:27 PM EDT reply actions

I went from best week to worst in one week, so (cue Mel Allen) how about that?

by Wet Luzinski on May 24, 2010 9:09 PM EDT up reply actions

fanatasy baseball is up and down like a basketball game

by j reed on May 24, 2010 9:43 PM EDT up reply actions

I am not a happy camper about not being in first. My pitching was not well thought out and it’s killing me.

How's your wife and my kids?

by BudVugger on May 25, 2010 6:06 PM EDT reply actions

So, much weirdness for my pitching last night:

Dallas Braden has a “sprained ankle” and “flu-like symptoms,” goes only 4 innings, but has a 2.700 FIP
Jamie Moyer can’t miss a bat to save his life, but has a 3.200 FIP
Anibal Sanchez is a last-minute pickup, and goes 6.1 innings with 6 K, a QS, and a 3.200 FIP
My two closers (Villanueva and Marmol) combine for 2 innings, 4 K, a S, and each has a -0.800 FIP

Net result: 2 pitchers have off nights, yet I still improve on the pitching board by a point (offset by losing a point on the batting board – I had nobody with a multi-hit night, and three guys with 0fers).

Honor is no substitute for victory.

by The Dark on May 26, 2010 8:05 AM EDT reply actions