Monday Morning Quarterbacking

The Fantasy Baseball season is winding down. Here’s how things stand right now. I have one championship to show for the 4 Yahoo! Leagues I competed in. My one MLB.com team was never in the race even though I had Albert Pujols on my team. As we enter the final week of competition, I’m leading in the run for the championship in the two ESPN Leagues I’m in, though both contests are tight and things could turn on a point here or there.

Meanwhile, Fantasy Football is in full swing. It's early but trends are developing, some good, some bad.

First, let’s look at the four Yahoo! Leagues, three private one public, I’m in. In Joe Willie Nation, a league I started a few years back, I’m 2-1 on the strength of strong performances by Peyton Manning and Maurice Jones-Drew. Jones-Drew, BTW, was listed as Probable before the game, but, luckily, I decided to stick with him. I screwed up in other similar situations, having benched Randy Moss and DeSean Jackson, because of fears related to reported injuries. Both played and played well, thereby costing me mucho points. I lost my first game in Yahoo! Public 123000, falling to 2-1. The loss of Frank Gore and another disappointing performance by the Steelers defense cost me dearly there. The 0-2 Mean Machine knocked me from the ranks of the unbeaten in the Field Of Honor private league. Again, here, I was hurt by the benching of DeSean Jackson. Also contributing to the loss were poor performances by Ted Ginn Jr., Matt Ryan, Isaac Bruce, Darren McFadden, kicker Rian Lindell and the Arizona defense. I ran my record to 2-1 on the strength of Peyton Manning, Ahmad Bradshaw and the New York Giant defense in private league Spies Like Us. I guess, looking back, I’m not doing that bad in the Yahoo leagues.

At NFL.com, in the Central Florida Headbangers League, I was thumped from the ranks of the unbeaten by Eastern Division rival carterandi. Contributing factors were a poor output by Drew Brees who had carried me through the first two weeks, and lousy performances by Darren McFadden, Chansi Stuckey, Visanthe Shiancoe and the Pittsburgh Steelers defense. Without Polamalu, the Steeler’s D sucks. If he doesn’t return on October 11th as prophesized, I’ll have to dump them.

My first venture into the ESPN Fantasy World has been thoroughly and undeniably unimpressive. I’m on the brink of falling 0-2-1 in the Tampa Bay Football League. Actually, before MNF, I’m ahead of the Riverview Weirdos by 7 points. But, I have no one playing tonight and my opponent has Felix Jones ready to go. Jones has looked impressive in the Cowboys games I’ve watched, besides, with Marion Barber’s status questionable, he may even get more carries. I’ve all but conceded this one.

The lackluster Crossville Jets knocked me to 0-3 in the ESPN Italian League. Here I was done in by poor performances by Larry Johnson, Santonio Holmes, Chris “Beanie” Wells, T.O. and Dustin Keller. The loss would have been averted if I hadn’t benched Moss, Greg Olsen or Steve Breaston but that’s how things go. The lesson about paying too much attention to minor injuries is one I’ve learned over and over again, apparently, to no avail. I’m about ready for the cement shoes.

My Fantasies

No Corey Magette, no Kevin Martin, no chance. I “competed” in (I was tempted to say “played” but I haven’t actually had my hands on a basketball in about 20 years.) 3 fantasy basketball leagues, four counting that Yahoo! league (Philly Basketball, ID# 93185) I was thrown out of for calling out a stupid league administrator, and made the finals in one, Yahoo Public 157437, only to have two of my high scorers on the bench suffering from injuries just when I need them most.

Unfortunately, this is nothing new. For one reason or another, teams often fall apart when the playoffs come around. Besides injuries, there’s the resting up for the actual NBA Playoffs phenomenon. If you’re not familiar with the way it works, fantasy playoffs are always scheduled to be over before the actual NBA playoffs begin. That way teams aren’t penalized if their players are on teams that didn’t make the playoffs. For some odd reason, coaches who rest up their players so they’ll be fresh for the playoffs are not worried about your fantasy competition.

To make things worse, my opponent in the finals boasts a team led by LeBron James. Let’s think about this. On one hand, my two high scorers are down, while, on the other, Superman LeBron is storming the backboard like no tomorrow. I’m toast.

Thank goodness, I’ve got distractions. In case you didn’t know, fantasy baseball (real MLB Baseball, too, I’ve heard) starts today. I’m in 4 Yahoo leagues, two ESPN leagues, and one MLB.com league. The drafts have produced mixed results. Still, I think I’ll be competitive. So, PLAY BALL.