TG Fantasy Baseball - Below the Fold

Below The Fold
Written by Nick T.
May 24, 2010

Webmaster note: Our sincere apologies for the lateness of this article posting.

Ladies and Gentleman,

Lets hope we're back on track in terms of timing moving forward...this time of the year always feels extremely busy so we'll excuse our editor and publisher for downing down our 10th Anniversary issue. After I wrote the issue, I began to reflect on this project. I started to realize that there is a correlation between my fantasy team's performance and this column. My moves are more calculated and timely because I know I have to share them with the people. It's kind of like exposing yourself to keep yourself in check. I actually came across this blog written by Stephanie Grant who does something similar but for her net worth. You can check it out here: http://superpositron.blogspot.com/. It's amazing what you can accomplish when you involve the masses! Cheers to our success!

Speaking of which, we won last week! Thanks to this column and the people who read it, we made the right decision between Nick Swisher, Andre Ethier and Grady Sizemore. Shortly after publishing the article, Sizemore and Ethier landed on the 15-day DL and Nick Swisher came back after a couple of games. While his total weekly production was subpar (5-14, 2B, 5 R, 2 BB, 3 KO), he did better than Grady and Andre (0). We also made the correct decision between Brian Fuentes and Andrew Bailey; while they both had 2 saves in week 7, Bailey had a blown save added to his line. While I think that Bailey is an above average closer, CBSSports.com is madly in love with this man. Here's what they had to say after the blown save: "Bailey has a loss and two blown saves in his last four outings. He should rebound, so continue to roll him out there in mixed Fantasy formats." I DON'T GET IT! In fact, he is humbly on the block at this point. While we're on the topic of closers, it is important to note that Kerry Wood is STILL on my roster...why? I'm not sure. This was his line for week 7: 3.1 INN, 7 HA, 2 BBI, 4 K, 6 ER, L, S, BS. It seems like my team's injuries are contagious so the next waiver wire injury replacement that occurs, Kerry Wood will get the ax.

Sharing the successes are wonderful but sometimes it's difficult to share some news that I'm not totally proud of. Last week, I practically dedicated my issue to John Ely. This week, he was traded for Alex Gonzalez of the Blue Jays. Before I say any more, I'd like to honor him one more time for helping Team Euro win in week 7 with these stats: 13 INN, 13 HA, BBI, 11 K, 4 ER, 2 W

It was a difficult decision and I already have Bartlett heating up, however, I thought I should sell high on John. Alex Gonzalez has been hot of late and is batting .275 overall this season with 10 homers and 30 RBI. He is currently seventh in the American League in homers and 12th in RBI and, as a shortstop. I viewed this as one of those opportunities that I had to take advantage of. So yes, John Ely served us right. We wish him the best (and less than Alex Gonzalez). What do we do with two SS going forward? Stay tuned!

In conjunction with John Ely helping us succeed in week 7, this man had a MONSTER WEEK!

Justin Morneau's line looked like this: 13-27, 5 2B, 2 HR, 9 RBI, 7 R, 6 BB, 8 KO. He has been among the major league leaders in batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage throughout the season, Morneau's American League-leading batting average is now up to .383. Talk about a keeper!

The last person I'd like to mention for their contribution during week 7 is Carlos Silva...6-0 in 2010! It's a shame I had to let him go for this week's two-start pitcher, Jeremy Guthrie (fingers crossed) but happy with these numbers: 11.1 INN, 12 HA, 2 BBI, 5 K, 5 ER, 2 W

Trading Block...

Last week's deals were rejected:

- Brian Fuentes,Yadier Molina for Anibal Sanchez,Geovany Soto

- Andrew Bailey,Yadier Molina for Anibal Sanchez,Geovany Soto

These deals probably didn't happen for the best for both of us.

Meet the Mets...

After the first Subway Series of 2010, the Mets are NEW YORK's WINNER! Before digging in, I thought it would be interesting to present how the Yankee and Mets fans compare (especially to non-NYers), according to a survey of 650 fans conducted by Public Opinion Strategies for the Wall Street Journal:

CHARACTERISTIC	YANKEES	METS
Fan breakdown	60	33
Fans in Manhattan	19	19
Likely to earn $100,000	28	24
Don't drink alcohol	30	16
Own a gun	5	11
Married	41	51
Have a pet	42	47
Tendency to worry	15	8
Blue-collar worker	21	16
Listen to sports radio	17	26

As for the series, there were some great moments for Mets fans...starting with last night, Santana yielded six singles in 7 2/3 innings. He struck out five and did not go to a three-ball count until walking Nick Swisher with two outs in the seventh. Lets hope this is the Santana we get the rest of the way. The rest of the starting pitching was great, allowing only 2 runs in 3 games...notable performances by Mike Pelfrey and Hisanori Takahashi who held the Yankees to no runs and five hits in six innings. Bring on the Phillies!

Getting ready for week 8:

Waiver wire moves made in preparation for week 8 include:

Guthrie, Jeremy SP BAL - Added [DOUBLE DUTY!]

Silva, Carlos SP CHC - Dropped

Gardner, Brett CF NYY - Added [INJURY PLAGUED OF]

Bonderman, Jeremy RP DET - Dropped

Looking ahead...

As mentioned, Guthrie replaced Silva in the lineup for two-start purposes, Rauch stays in after a horrendous week (2 INN, 3 HA, BBI, K, 2 ER, BS), Fuentes gets the nod over Bailey and Nolasco gets the start over Ervin (which I am NOT comfortable with). I'd also like to point out the risky Denard Span start...he left Sunday's game against the Brewers with a right shoulder contusion, as reported by the Minneapolis Star Tribune. The injury was sustained when he was in the back of the shoulder by a Marco Estrada pitch in the third inning. Span was lifted in the bottom of the sixth inning when Alexi Casilla pinch hit for him. He told the Minneapolis Star Tribune that he was confident that he would return for Tuesday's series opener against the Yankees. Lets hope this happens.

Here are the complete Starting Lineups for Week 8:

MY WEEK

Y. Molina C

J. Morneau 1B

M. Prado 2B

R. Zimmerman 3B

J. Bartlett SS

B. Gardner OF

D. Span OF

N. Swisher OF

P. Konerko U

B. Fuentes P

J. Guthrie P

J. Niemann P

R. Nolasco P

J. Peavy P

J. Rauch P

A. Wainwright P

HIS WEEK

R. Martin C

P. Fielder 1B

C. Utley 2B

J. Bautista 3B

Y. Escobar SS

J. Ellsbury OF

C. Lee OF

C. Young OF

J. Bruce U

D. Braden P

F. Cordero P

M. Garza P

G. Gonzalez P

C. Hamels P

S. Marcum P

J. Moyer P

So Far...

My team has cumulatively accomplished this: 0-5, KO

His team: 0-4, R, BB, KO

Needless to say, these stats are quite meaningless at this point in time. I guess that means its a good thing and I got the article out on time (almost)!

Finally, some random ramblings and findings from the week...

LOST had it's series finale last night.

I personally enjoyed the episode. I thought the writers wrapped up the characters as best they could in an appropriate way. I've heard various complains on the ending of the story and leaving out explanations. I don't think that was what the show was about. There are plenty of blog posts, tweets, etc. out there for you to read but in my opinion, I liked the episode and thought the series was epic. There was nothing of its kind til now and it will always hold a place in our hearts. PS - I also LOVED the Sopranos finale (after watching it for a 2nd time)

I'd like to wrap up the issue by saying thank you for contributing to my team's success and for being a part of this project.

Enjoy the BBQs this weekend and look out for the LATE edition of BELOW THE FOLD next week!

NT@BTFFS.com
You can visit the latest column directly by visiting

BTFFS.com

THE League, g.fantasy: GFANTASY.com

Going into week 8, we're 5-2. Chuck and pray!

Next Issue (1.12): Happy Memorial Day (LATE)!