Despite all the mockery around his draft picks (see Aviles, Michael), Andrew is currently atop the leaderboard by a nice wide margin.
Bill got a lot of the attention for having the best value keepers, but looking at Andrew's team right now, it's pretty darn solid. We've got 2 legit MVP candidates (miggy, longoria), a 80+sb possibility (more than some teams may get), plus good value throughout the rest of the lineup (breakout Adam Lind, Ellsbury, Alex Rios).
Pitching looks to be the weakness right now, but if Verlander's break-out is for real, Andrew could compete there as well.
Plus, Andrew has Wieters waiting in the wings as well.
So is it too early to be declaring Andrew the favorite here?
9 comments:
I don't know if we should be terrified of him, but he certainly looks like a contender, despite all the shit he got after the draft. There were definite mis-steps there, but overall his team looks good. His only player who is playing way over his head is Swisher, although the 30 HR power could be there.
No, it's not too early, but I think he's going to have to do something to improve his starting pitching to lock in #1 contender status. His offense is scary good, though, in every category.
(I should note, I guess, that I don't think anyone else in the league has a better team - Andrew probably IS the #1 contender, I just don't find myself wowed by his pitching staff.)
Actually, I think Andrew is going to be middle of the pack in homeruns, and potentially RBI as well. He really isn't getting a ton of power out of his outfield and utility spot (Ellsbury, Crawford, Melky Cabrera) and his middle infield is awfully weak (Iwamura, Betancourt, Aybar/Aviles).
And I'll say it, I think my team is better. Despite getting absolutely nothing out of two of my keepers (Upton and Alexei Ramirez), and having my two best pitchers hurt/struggling to start the season (Lackey and Baker) I'm in the middle of the pack.
I mean, yeah, Andrew's team is good. Mine is better of course.
That said, I am starting to get concerned about Upton. He isn't really doing anything at all. Where is my 20/40 season that I was promised?
Here's my take on my team- I think the pitching is better than Caleb is giving credit for. I feel like I did a good job balancing high K guys who could hurt my WHIP (cough cough Burnett) and guys who will balance that out, like Uehara and Buerhle. My biggest fear, pitching wise, is about hte injury concerns to Morrow and the total suckitude of Fuentes. I think to win the league, I need to be near the top in saves.
Hitters wise, my MI is pretty weak, especially in the power department, but my CI make up for a lot of that, and other than Ellsbury, my OFs should all chip in homers wise. Rios is only just starting to hit, and Wigginton has been slow. Saying that Melky Cabrera is one of my starters is cherry picking a little bit- I'm hoping to ride the tail end of his hot streak, benefit some from the favorable winds at the new Yankee stadium in the late spring, then dump his ass when he's back to the old Melk-man. Hopefully by then, Wigginton will be hitting and Wieters will be up.
Should we be afraid of Taylor now? Andrew just lost 6 points in the standings and is now in 2nd place. Maybe it is a bit early to worry too much about the standings.
where's the fun in that?
Post a Comment