After a rocky campaign from start to finish, the Pottstown Isotopes lost in the first round of the fantasy baseball playoffs, falling to the Blackjack Daveys by a final of 6-3. (See the post below for my coverage of Sunday's 11-1 Phillies win).
The Isotopes stumbled right out of the gate when I selected Barry Bonds with my first pick in the draft (12th overall). I took Jason Schmidt with the second pick, and at that point I could have forfeited the season.
The year ends with few positives. My best player was David Wright, not saying a whole lot for a 14-team league. I got by on pitching. My rotation was one of the deepest in the league, fortified with several mid-round picks like Mark Buehrle, Jeremy Bonderman and Jeff Weaver. And my policy of not drafting closers with high picks paid off once again, selecting Derrick Turnbow and Huston Street from the free agent pool.
Most of my transactions were ill-advised knee-jerk reactions. I was smart enough to snare Jorge Cantu very early, but dropped him after a bad week in April. I held on to Bonds and kept him on the DL until mid-August, hoping he would magically recover from three knee operations. I was also denied by league voters a big trade that would have sent Mark Texiera my way for Luis Gonzalez.
Needless to say, the Isotopes needed a lot of things, not the least of which was a capable GM. My team could have really used a player like Bobby Abreu, a member of the team that bounced me from the playoffs. Overall, Pottstown lacked speed and hitting. Here’s my final roster, finishing the season 112-96-12 (.536), a slightly better percentage than the Phillies.
Position players
C R. Barajas (Tex – C)
1B C. Delgado (Fla - 1B)
2B M. Ellis (Oak - 2B,SS)
3B D. Wright (NYM - 3B)
SS P. Feliz (SF - 1B,3B,SS,OF)
OF J. Gomes (TB - OF)
OF Lu. González (Ari - OF)
OF J. Guillén (Was - OF)
Util R. Freel (Cin - 2B,3B,OF)
Pitchers
SP J. Blanton (Oak - SP)
SP B. Claussen (Cin - SP)
RP H. Street (Oak - RP)
RP D. Turnbow (Mil - SP,RP)
P J. Schmidt (SF - SP)
P J. Marquis (StL - SP)
P Z. Duke (Pit - SP)
BN J. Suppan (StL - SP)
BN M. Buehrle (CWS - SP)
BN J. Westbrook (Cle - SP)
BN T. Hudson (Atl - SP)
BN J. Weaver (LAD - SP)
BN J. Bonderman (Det - SP)
Jason, Jason, Jason...I give you a great tip on Cantu and you drop him after a week? He had a helluva season...I'm in a keeper league, and I need to decide if I should keep him for next year or not...One year wonder or a future superstar?
Posted by: Tom G | Monday, September 12, 2005 at 09:25 AM
well, at least you made the playoffs unlike last season's champion.
Posted by: el123chico | Monday, September 12, 2005 at 11:11 AM
oh yeah, and i should have traded you kazuo early on like you wanted.
Posted by: el123chico | Monday, September 12, 2005 at 11:15 AM
I really wanted Abreu, but he was taken 5th or something. My next choice would have been Santana, then he was taken. Next on my list was Bonds, and if he wasn't there, I would have taken Helton. Helton fell to you in the second round (20th overall), and I called it "the biggest travesty in fantasy baseball history." Yeah, I was pretty clueless this season.
Posted by: J. Weitzel | Monday, September 12, 2005 at 11:15 AM
HAHA! That too! I forgot about that. The deal was Feliz for Kaz, who you dropped mid-season.
I forgot one other guy I came real close to picking up - Brian Roberts. Blew that one, too.
Posted by: J. Weitzel | Monday, September 12, 2005 at 11:17 AM
although, to be fair, helton has turned it on as of late. not that it helped me out at all. definitely should have made the kaz trade though. good thing i led the charge to keep texiera off your team.
Posted by: el123chico | Monday, September 12, 2005 at 01:52 PM