Weekly Windup's SportsJudge Fantasy League Analysis

Welcome back to another edition of the Weekly Windup. This biweekly wrap up is a report on the happening of the SportsJudge Expert League. Brian Doyle is still on top of the league standings. He has increased his lead and has spaced some separation between him and the rest of the league. Let’s take a look at the standings.

1. Brian Doyle 92 pts.
2. Parker Gold 81.5 pts.
3. Brett Smiley 71.5 pts.
4. Liz Rathbun 69.5 pts.
5. Matt Cohen 67.5 pts.
6. Kevin Fenstermacher 67.5 pts.
7. Joe Romano 67.5 pts.
8. Larry Bodin 67 pts.
9. Jeremy Mittler 56.5 pts.
10. John O’Malley 53 pts.
11. Marc Edelman 49 pts.
12. Steve Shoup 37.5 pts.

There was a lot of movement in the standings and Larry and Jeremy both dropped significantly from the top of the pack. Parker has hit a “Gold Rush” (these puns will never get old) these past two weeks and finds himself in second behind Brian. Jermaine Dye’s hot bat (.500 3HR 5RBI) this past week has propelled Parker up in some of the hitting categories. There still hasn’t been a trade to this point of the season, which is a real shock to me. The moves have also slowed down a bit with everyone really trying to figure out who the best breakout candidates are going to be. The free agency pool is a bit thin and there have not been many prospect call ups as of late.

This is the part of the article where I’ll show you the recent moves in our league and give you my APPROVE / DISAPPROVE verdict. The first move is…

Owner: John O’Malley

Add: Jeff Clement

Drop: Adam Loewen

Verdict: Approve

Loewen is still more than a month away from coming back into the rotation and Baltimore really doesn’t provide much in the area of run support. I expect a big fall off for this team in the next few weeks. They have been resilient and played surprisingly well, but they don’t have the talent to compete on a nightly basis. Clement is a top catching prospect (still waiting on catcher eligibility in many formats) for the Seattle Mariners. He is off to a slow start but is still getting the start night in and night out. Even if he doesn’t post outstanding numbers he will still produce better than most catchers. This was an even better move because of our two catcher format. Keep an eye on Clement if your catching situation is shaky because another prospect (Towles) or your veteran isn’t working out.

Owner: Matt Cohen

Add: Chris Iannetta

Drop: Ramon Castro

Verdict: Approve

If Clement is gone and you are in need for a Catcher, keep an eye on Chris Iannetta. He was hyped up big last year and didn’t perform well at all. He is taking a lot of time away from Yorvit Torrealba and is doing well with the increased playing time. As of now he is still the backup, but keep an eye on this situation in Colorado. Castro is only worth having in deep two catcher leagues because the backup catchers for the Mets usually receive a decent amount of playing time. The move to Iannetta is a smart change.

Owner: Brian Doyle

Add: Tom Glavine

Drop: Rich Hill

Verdict: Disapprove

It is hard to go against a guy with over 300 career wins, but I don’t think this move does enough to help out Brian’s team. He is without a win to this point and has more walks than strikeouts at this point. With this format (lineups set monthly) it is tough to hold onto a player who was just sent to the minors. In any other format I wouldn’t really understand the move, unless the team was in DESPERATE need for a pitcher. Hill will straighten himself out and be back on the team sooner than later. Hill has shown his potential and has great stuff. He showed he has the ability to be a front end of the rotation type of pitcher. Hill will regain his confidence in the minors and revert back to the Rich Hill of last season. I think that a few Glavine starts to replace Hill isn’t much of an improvement. Brian would be better without Hill getting starts and basically just sitting in the pitcher slot.

Owner: Joe Romano

Add: Max Scherzer

Drop: Homer Bailey

Verdict: Approve

I suggest holding onto Homer Bailey if you can, but if Scherzer is available it is definitely worth the move. Scherzer has 18 Ks in 14.1 IPs and just 3 BBs. He also has played good lineups and done well against them. His poor start in Philadelphia was hurt by some shoddy defense behind him. Scherzer is a must if you are playing against cavemen and he is somehow still available in your league. As for Bailey, hold on to him. He has pitched well in the minors and Cueto has struggled of late, which could mean a switch between the two. Manager, Dusty Baker doesn’t have much patience with young players and tends to go away from them so it is an important situation to watch. Belisle has pitched even worse and really doesn’t warrant a spot in this rotation with Bailey waiting in the minors. Fogg hasn’t pitched well in the bullpen either, so the move to Bailey could be soon. I would still go with Scherzer over the Bailey in the launching pad known as The Great American Ballpark.

The next report is in two weeks. Congratulations to Brian so far this year on first place and his graduation from Seton Hall University. We graduated on Monday (sorry for the lateness of this article due to such a simple thing like graduating college) and now look forward to what you all refer to as “The Real World.” Congrats to anyone else graduating from the various institutions across the country, especially to any other SportsJudge staff. As with all SportsJudge articles, please feel free to leave some comments. Keep an eye out for future installments of the Weekly Windup.

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