Baseball season is in full swing! Unfortunately, so is finals season. I've had a lot of trouble finding time to write new content, but starting next Thursday I should be able to return to a more regular posting schedule. So now that that's out of the way, let's get to de beisbol!
As the awards are handed out throughout the NBA, I figured it would be a good time to bestow some accolades to the guys who have shined (or fizzled) after the first two weeks of the fantasy season. Without further ado, I present you with the winners of the TEGOAA (or Too Early to Give Out Awards Award) statues.
The Most Likely to Ruin my Team Award: David Ortiz
This isn't really fantasy, but it does have fantasy implications. My Padres have gotten off to a great start (yes, .500 is a great start by Padres standards) mainly due to Chase Headley's explosion onto the San Diego scene, but also from the steady play of our starters and team leader Adrian Gonzalez. Unfortunately, the team might not stay together, as new GM has his way with the finances. While dealing Heath Bell might be inevitable, I was holding out hope that A-Gon would remain in SD, but with the way that Ortiz is playing that might not be the case. Sure he might not play 1st base, but with the plethora of corner outfielders that Boston has, I figured they wouldn't need to deal for Gonzalez. But with Big Papi hitting a woeful .158 and sliding down the Red Sox lineup, they may just feel the need to secure one of the top 1Bs to secure their place as 2nd best in the AL East.
Best Y2K Impression: Co-Winners Andruw Jones and Ivan Rodriguez
If you had asked me prior to the season where these former All-Stars now reside, I probably would have guessed somewhere in the Caribbean, relaxing on a beach in their respective home countries. Little did I know that they would burst back into the fantasy picture, while doing their best to look like themselves, only from 10 years ago. Pretty much all of Jones' counting stats came from an offensive burst against Toronto, but he is still hitting .296 and even swiped a bag. Pudge has been raking consistently all year, batting an unbelievable .450 and providing a whopping 7 RBIs and 10 runs from the catcher position. Sure, he doesn't have a homer yet, but what can you complain about with a guy who is hitting over .400? Let's just hope that these two can keep their time machine running with whatever fuel it must need.
Best Use of a Timeshare: Brett Gardner
I really liked Gardner going into this season. I mean, what's not to like about a guy who has 40+ stolen base potential and gets to benefit from the run production of the Yankee lineup? When he has to split his time with Marcus Thames, that's when. Marcus Thames! The Yankees have a plethora of mashers, and Joe Girardi robs Gardner of 4 full games in favor of a guy with a .250 lifetime average?! It boggles my mind, but that's the way the Yankees work. While being stuck at the tail end of the lineup card will never allow Gardner to get a ton of at-bats, he has shown he doesn't need to get to the dish 600 times a year to be fantasy relevant. With 7 steals in a mere 35 plate appearances, he has shown that he can provide instant speed for any fantasy team struggling in the SB category. If you feel like taking a chance on a sudden change of Joe Girardi's heart be my guest.
Most Likely to Lose His Closer Job Next: Chad Qualls
The recession appears to be coming to a close, if it hasn't already passed, but even MLB closers can't escape the massive unemployment rate, with pitchers losing their jobs left and right. Sure, Qualls can blame quite a bit of his 8.44 ERA on Stephen Drew for his insanely terrible throw last Thursday, but he showed some shakiness even prior to that catastrophe in LA. While there isn't exactly an heir apparent to the D'Backs closer slot, Chad is doing everything he can to give the job away, blowing 2 saves already while wrecking his owner's WHIP. I just hope that Arizona might accept a guy whose only experience is in Little League, because I could sure use a Summer job.
Well there ya have it. Your 2010 TEGOAA winners. It was probably the shortest award show you have ever seen. But let's just face it, take out the commercials, musical performances and whitty banter by the presenters and you probably could have watched the entire Oscars during the time that you took to read this.
